Intel's new Core i7 processors and its accompanying X58 chipset, have made plenty of headlines in recent weeks. The new processor is equipped with an internal memory controller, which helps reduce memory latencies and boosts overall performance. It was welcomed by many enthusiasts, but it also received some negative response from mainstream users who question about Intel's intentions. One of the reasons why, include the fact that the exisiting Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad processsors had plenty of life span, and does not require users to upgrade to Intel's new Core i7 platform just yet. They claim it's another attempt by Intel to force users to part with their money, which means you'll need to get a new motherboard, new triple channel memory kit and the new Core i7 processor. Analysts predict that Intel's Core i7 will not become mainstream until middle of 2009.
I've been asking this question to myself ... why did MSI release the X58 Platinum that only supports 2-way Crossfire, leaving the X58 Eclispe to support upto 3-way SLI and 3-Way Crossfire? Then, I realise that, not everyone is an enthusiast or a gamer. The MSI X58 Eclispe is really aimed and marketed at the very highend and enthusiast market ... so why pay more for a motherboard that you won't even get to fully utilise. This is where the MSI X58 Platinum comes in. It gives users more choice to choose the right motherboard for their needs at an affordable price. Interestingly, MSI have also released another version ... called the X58 Platinum SLI, which supports 2-way SLI only.
MSI is not alone, both Asus and Gigabyte have done something similar as well. The support for both 3-way SLI and Crossfire are reserved only for their extreme enthusiast and highend motherboards. We're expecting the performance of the MSI X58 Platinum motherboard to be very similar to other X58 based motherboards from Asus and Gigabyte. The only other issue, is how far can the MSI X58 Platinum overclock, and what extra features it offers over its competitors.
We'll be testing the MSI X58 Platinum motherboard using the usual PC Mark 2005, 3D Mark 2005, 2006 and Vantage tests. We'll also be running some DX games too. Our test rig includes the newly released Intel Core i7 - 920 @ default 2.67Ghz, ATI Radeon HD 4870x2, Corsair Dominator DDR3-1600 Tri-Channel 6Gb Kit, PC Power & Cooling Turbo Cool 860W PSU and a 24" Samsung SyncMaster 245B LCD monitor. Windows Vista with native DX10 was used as our OS.
OK, let's not waste any more time an take a look a closer look at the MSI X58 Platinum motherboard ...
Specifications and Features
Taken from MSI's Website ...
Specifications
 CPU
• Supports Intel® i7 based processors in LGA1366 package.
Please refer to CPU Support for compatible CPU; the above description is for reference only.
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Chipset
• Intel® X58 Chipset
- Supports QPI up to 6.4GT/s
• Intel® ICH10R Chipset
- Hi-Speed USB (USB2.0) controller, 480Mb/sec, up to 12 ports.
- 6 SATAII ports with transfer rate up to 3Gb/s.
- PCI Master v2.3, I/O APIC.
- ACPI 2.0 compliant.
- Serial ATA RAID 0/1/5/10.
- Integrated AHCI controller.
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Main Memory
• Supports six unbuffered DIMM of 1.5 Volt DDR3 800/1066/1333/1600 SDRAM, 24GB Max
- Supports 1Gb/ 2Gb/ 4Gb DRAM size
- Supports x8 / x16 data lines per DIMM
- Supports up to 3 channel mode
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Slots
• 2 PCI Express gen2 x16 slots
- supports ATI® Crossfire™
• 3 PCI Express gen2 x1 slots
• 2 PCI slot, support 3.3V/ 5V PCI bus Interface
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On-Board IDE/SATA
• One Ultra DMA 66/100/133 IDE controller integrated in JMicron® 363.
- Supports PIO, Bus Master operation modes.
- Can connect up to two Ultra ATA drives.
• SATAII controller integrated in ICH10R/JMicron® 322 / 362 chipest
- Up to 3Gb/s transfer speed.
- Supports six SATAII ports by ICH10R
- Supports two SATAII ports by JMicron 322, support SATA RAID 0/1/JBOD.
- Supports one eSATA port by JMicron 363.
- Supports AHCI controller with SATA RAID 0/1/5/10 by ICH10R.
MSI Reminds You...
• The RAID setup floppy disk is optional depending on the districts. You can download the files from the website to make the setup disk. |
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Audio
• Chipset integrated by Realtek® ALC888
- Flexible 8-channel audio with jack sensing
- Compliant with Azalia 1.0 Spec
- Meet Microsoft Vista Premium spce
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LAN
• Supports two PCI Express LAN 10/100/1000 Fast Ethernet by Realtek 8111C.
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IEEE1394 / FireWire
• JMicron® 381 chipset
- Supports up to two 1394 ports. (Rear panel x1, pinheader x1)
- Transfer rate is up to 400Mbps.
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Internal I/O Connectors
- ATX 24-Pin power connector
- 8-pin ATX 12V power connector
- CPU / System x 5 FAN connectors
- CD-in connector
- Front panel audio connector
- Front panel connector
- 1 x chasis intrusion connector
- 1 x serial port pinheader
- 2 x USB 2.0 connectors
- 8 x Serial ATAII connectors
- 1 x ATA133 connector
- 1 x IEEE1394 connector support additional 1 port
- 1 x GreenPower Genie connector
- 1 x Reset Button
- 1 x Power Button
- 1 x SPDIF-out connector
- 1 x D-LED2 connector
- 1 x TPM module connector
MSI Reminds You...
• The floppy disk cable will be optional. |
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Back Panel I/O Ports
- 1 x Clear CMOS button
- 1 x PS/2 Keyboard
- 1 x PS/2 Mouse
- 1 x eSATA port
- 1 x IEEE1394 port
- 8 x USB 2.0 ports
- 2 x RJ45 LAN Jacks
- 1 x 6 in 1 audio jack
- 1 x Optical SPDIF-out
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BIOS
• The mainboard BIOS provides "Plug & Play" BIOS which detects the peripheral devices and
expansion cards of the board automatically.
• The mainboard provides a Desktop Management Interface(DMI) function which records your
mainboard specifications.
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Dimension
• 30.5cm(L) x 24.4cm(W) ATX Form Factor
Mounting
• 9 mounting holes.
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Intel's X58 Express Chipset
Desktop PC platforms based on the Intel® X58 Express Chipset, combined with the Intel® Core™ i7 processor family, drive breakthrough performance and state-of-the-art technology to performance and mainstream platforms.
The Intel X58 Express Chipset supports the latest 45nm Intel Core i7 processor family at 6.4 GT/s and 4.8 GT/s speeds via the Intel® QuickPath Interconnect (Intel® QPI). Additionally, this chipset delivers dual x16 or quad x8 PCI Express* 2.0 graphics card support, and support for Intel® High Performance Solid State Drives on ICH10 and ICH10R consumer SKUs.
Features and benefits
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| Intel® QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) @ 6.4 and 4.8 GT/s |
Intel’s latest system interconnect design increases bandwidth and lowers latency. Supports the Intel® Core™ i7-965 processor Extreme Edition and Intel® Core™ i7-940 and i7-920 processors. |
| PCI Express* 2.0 Interface |
PCI Express 2.0 delivers up to 16GB/s bandwidth per port, double that of PCIe* 1.0. It provides leading-edge graphics performance and flexibility with support for dual x16 up to quad x8 graphic card configurations or any combinations in between. |
| Intel® High Definition Audio¹ |
Integrated audio support enables premium digital sound and delivers advanced features such as multiple audio streams and jack re-tasking. |
| Intel® Matrix Storage Technology² |
With additional hard drives added, provides quicker access to digital photo, video and data files with RAID 0, 5, and 10, and greater data protection against a hard disk drive failure with RAID 1, 5, and 10. Support for external SATA (eSATA) enables the full SATA interface speed outside the chassis, up to 3 Gb/s. |
| Intel® Rapid Recover Technology |
Intel's latest data protection technology provides a recovery point that can be used to quickly recover a system should a hard drive fail or if there is massive data corruption. The clone can also be mounted as a read-only volume to allow a user to recover individual files. |
| Intel® Turbo Memory³ |
Intel's innovative NAND cache designed to improve the responsiveness of applications, application load times, and system boot performance. Intel® Turbo Memory, paired with the Intel® X58 Express Chipset, also allows the user to easily control the applications or data in the cache using the new Intel® Turbo Memory Dashboard interface, boosting performance further. |
| Serial ATA (SATA) 3 Gb/s |
High-speed storage interface supports faster transfer rate for improved data access up to 6 SATA ports. |
| eSATA |
SATA interface designed for use with external SATA devices. It provides a link for 3 Gb/s data speeds to eliminate bottlenecks found with current external storage solutions. |
| SATA Port Disable |
Enables individual SATA ports to be enabled or disabled as needed. This feature provides added protection of data by preventing malicious removal or insertion of data through SATA ports. Especially targeted for eSATA ports. |
| USB Port Disable |
Enables individual USB ports to be enabled or disabled as needed. This feature provides added protection of data by preventing malicious removal or insertion of data through USB ports. |
For more information ... please visit Intel's website . The above information may change without prior notice.
The Package and Contents
The demand for these motherboards have been so high, that we've only just now managed to get hold of a sample.
The MSI X58 Platinum boasts some innovative features such as DrMOS, which includes XpressCool, GreenPower, RapidBoost and the Cell Menu in the BIOS. It supports triple memory and all Intel Core i7 processors which uses the new LGA Socket-1366.
A Closer Look
Standard IDE and 6 x SATA connectors ... plenty for hard drive expansion
D-LED 2 feature allows an external monitor module to be added for diagnostic purposes.
The internal power-on and reset switches. There's also a dip switch for manually selecting BCLK frequencies ... 133, 166 or 200Mhz
The solid capacitors for increased stability and longevity, but I can only see 5 phases ....
The onboard Realtek gigabite ethernet controller
The onboard Raltek HD audio controller
The onboard SATA Raid controller
Installation and I/O
The ususal PS/2 mouse and keyboard, firewire, SPDIF optical, eSATA, clear CMOS switch and 4 x USB ports
Another 4 x USB ports, dual gigabit ethernet and an array of audio connectors
A little close ... our Radeon HD 4870x2 just about managed NOT to foul the SATA connectors
Test Setup, Procedures and BIOS
Test Setup and Procedures
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Test System Socket-1366 (X58)
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| Motherboard |
MSI X58 Platinum Motherboard |
| CPU Default |
Intel Core i7 - 920 @ 2.66GHz (20x133)
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| Overclocked |
Intel Core i7 - 920 @ 3.9GHz (20x195) |
| Ram |
Corsair Dominator Tri-Channel DDR3-1066 6Gb Kit |
| Video Card |
ATI Radeon HD4870x2 (2Gb GDDR5) |
| SLI/Crossfire Mode |
N/A |
| Video Drivers |
Catalyst v8.11 |
| Chipset Drivers |
Intel Chipset drivers from CD |
| Hard Drive |
Seagate 500Gb SATA II |
| CD/DVD ROM |
Pioneer Dual Layer DVD±RW Writer |
| Cooling |
Coolermaster Hyper Z CPU Cooler |
| Sound Card |
Onboard HD Audio |
| PSU |
PC Power & Cooling 860W Turbo Cool PSU |
| LAN |
Onboard Gigabit Ethernet |
| CRT Monitor |
19" Dell Ultrascan P990 |
| LCD Monitor |
24" Samsung SyncMaster 24B LCD Monitor |
| OS |
Windows Vista with native DirectX 10 |
Testing Procedures
To test the MSI X58 Platinum Motherboard, we used 6Gb (3x2Gb) DDR3-1600 Tri-Channel memory kits from Corsair. In the BIOS we used default (AUTO) settings for maximum compatibility. Memory clock was set to DDR3-1066, while the memory timings were set to AUTO. We also used the latest video, audio and chipset drivers.
Here's a list of software/games we used for benchmarking. In all the gaming benchmarks we used a resolution of 1920x1200 (where possible) with maximum settings turned on (x4 AA and x16 AF)
- CPUZ
- CineBench R10
- Science Mark 2
- SuperPi 32M
- PC Mark 05
- 3D Mark 2005
- 3D Mark 2006
- 3D Mark Vantage
- F.E.A.R. (DX9)
- Call of Juarez (DX10)
- Crysis (DX10)
Windows Vista with native DX10 was used as our operating system.
BIOS
This BIOS page shows the specifications of the current CPU installed ... in this case, it's an
Intel Core i7 - 920 @ 2.67Ghz
The CELL MENU has a variety of BIOS options ... allowing you to tweak and adjust your performance
This BIOS page allows you to adjust CPU, memory, NB and SB volatges ...
Here you can Enable/Disable onboard devices
Now why would anyone want to disable Hyper-Threading ... turn it on ... all of it :P
Green Power and OC Center
The GreenPower Center software allows user to adjust various power saving options "on-the-fly" ... it's very handy if you're environmentally sensitive. You can save (or not save) as much power as you want. Just select the right options.
OC Center is a not as slick as you'll find on other overclocking software from Asus or Gigabyte. Again, it allows "on-th-fly" overclocking by selecting various pre-determined profiles. If you're a novice and you don't do much overclocking, then the OC Center may be pretty good to use. Personally, I prefer the good old fashion of manual overclocking in the BIOS.
CPU-Z and Everest
CPU-Z Information
Everest
Benchmarks: Futuremark Suite
PC Mark 2005
Standard Test (Default Settings)
3D Mark 2005
Default Test, 1024x768
3D Mark 2006
Default Test, 1280x1024
3D Mark Vantage
Default Performance Test
Benchmarks: 3D Gaming
Benchmarks: F.E.A.R. (DX9)
High Quality, x4 AA, x16 AF
Benchmarks: Call of Juarez (DX10)
High Quality, x4 AA, x16 AF
Benchmarks: Crysis (DX10)
High Quality, x4 AA, x16 AF
Benchmarks: ScienceMark 2 and SuperPi
Benchmarks: Science Mark 2
Full Test (Default Settings)
SuperPI Test
32M Calculation
Overclocking
Overclocking the MSI X58 Platinum was a little more involving than I would have liked. I wasn't easy ... but I did manage to overclock the Core i7 - 920 from 2.67Ghz to 3.9Ghz (20x195) which is excellent, but it wasn't easy to achieve this overclock. Very careful options had to be selected in the BIOS.
In the end, we had to select the following options below. Some of the BIOS options maybe different on MSI's other X58 motherboards, so please double check.
Set the memory multiplier to AUTO
Set memory timing to 8-8-8-24-1T
Fix PCI at 37.3MHz
Disable spread spectrum
Enable EIST
Disable C-Dtate
Enable "Turbo" boost
Set base clock to 195MHz
Set QPI to Full-Speed
Leave it at 4.8GT
Set CPU Vcore voltage to +0.25~0.30
Warning: Any overclocking is done at your own risk. We are not responsible for any damaged hardware.
CPU-Z Information
Science Mark 2
Default Test
Verdict and Conclusion
Overall I thought the MSI X58 Platinum was a decent performer with great features. It produced very convincing scores in all of our benchmarks and competed very well against X58 boards from the Asus and Gigabyte. In fact, during our 3D Mark2005 and 2006 tests, the MSI X58 Platinum came out on top, as well as poducing a top score in the Science Mark 2 test. So, whatever MSI did on the X58 Platinum ... it certainly was very good.
The motherboard comes with Green Power and OC Center software from MSI. It's their equivalent to Asus's EPU and Gigabyte's DES, and works pretty well ... it gives you the option to select some power saving options, expecially during idle in Windows. The OC Center is not really my cup of tea ... software overclocking in Windows never really appealed to me. It may be good for the novice, but I prefer manual overclocking via the BIOS.
The package and contents of the whole motherboard were nicely laid out, and comes with all the necessary cables, manuals and drivers on CD. This is exactly what you'll expect from a MSI product. As far as other features are concerned, ther motherboard has a small, but effective copper heatpipe chipset cooler which is plenty adequate, as the new X58 chipset runs a lot cooler. The use of solid capacitors help to give the motherboard stability and longevity, and what's more the X58 Platinum has my favourite bit ... internal power-on and reset switches.
The external clear CMOS button located on the rear ATX I/O panel, is extremely handy for failed overclocking attempts. Which I have to say was very common on the MSI X58 Platinum. As far overclocking is concerned, I was little disappointed with how difficult it was. In the end, I did manage to overclock the core i7 - 920 from 2.67Ghz to 3.9Ghz (20x195) which is excellent, but it wasn't easy to achieve this overclock. Very careful options had to be selected in the BIOS. Maybe a new BIOS updae would fix that. See Overclocking section ...
You have to remember, the MSI X58 Platinum motherboard is aimed at the higher end of the mainstream market, and because this version only supports 2-way Crossfire ... it might not be suitable for the extreme gamer or enthusiast who wishes to use a 3-way SLI or 3 -way Crossfire setup. Having said that, the MSI X58 Platinum is a very well built motherboard with plenty of features and offering good performance too.
Pricewise, the MSI X58 Platinum is one of the cheapest X58 based motherboards available on the market, behind Gigabyte. And for this reason ... I would recommend it to anyone who's already got a Crossfire setup and don't need SLI support.
Final Words: It's hard to say what I really thought about the MSI X58 Platinum motherboard. Something inside of me really like the performance it has to offer, but another part of me didn't like the difficulty in the overclocking department ... a BIOS update would probably fix that. But not everyone is an overclocker. So, from an end user, non-enthusiast point of view, the MSI X58 Platinum motherboard has everything going for it ... good performance, great features and it's cheaper than the Eclipse.
Pros:
- Very good performance
- Support for Intel's new Core i7 Processors
- Support new Tri-Channel memory
- New LGA socket 1366
- Feature Rich
- Green Power and OC center
- Crossfire support
Cons:
- No SLI support (so you need to get the Eclipse or the Platinum SLI version)
- Overclocking was not simple or easy
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