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When you first boot up the system you are presented with the above splash screen, thankfully it can be disabled for those who want to shave a few seconds off of the bootup time. Once you enter the BIOS, you find yourself in the main menu screen.


The Standard CMOS Features section lists the date & time, as well as what storage devices are connected. The System Information sub-meny lists some rudimentary specification info, including the BIOS date & version, the type of processor and the amount of memory installed.


The Advanced BIOS Features section is essentially where you set storage device priority and select the boot drive, set supervisor and user passwords, and also disable the full screen logo.


As per its name, the Integrated Peripherals section is where you can enable/disable all the onboard devices like audio, LAN, FireWire, eSATA, etc.


The Power Management Setup section contains the settings linked to the power-saving Standby States and the Wake Up options.


The Hardware Monitor contains the temperature & voltage readings, and very decent fan control settings. We are to glad see that all three main voltage rails are present and accounted for, but we would like to see some additional system voltages. What really makes this section special though is the Dr.MOS Temperature sub-menu, which reveals a unique feature in the form of individual MOSFET temperature readouts. We have never seen this on any other motherboard thus far, and it's pretty cool.


The Green Power menu always you to disable all the phase control settings, as well as the motherboard LEDs and the touch-based Easy Buttons.


The Cell Menu is where all the fun happens. This is where you can tweak all the system frequencies, voltage, timings, CPU features, and more. If you want to have manual access to the static +2X multiplier that can be unlocked, simply set Intel EIST (Enhanced SpeedStep) to 'Auto'. Setting it to 'Enabled' with enable it, but you won't have manually access to it. It say 22X (for example) in the BIOS, but actually boot up at 24X.


As you can see, the P55-GD80 has a very rich selection of memory information and settings. No complaints here.


Both the memory and QPI frequencies have ratios that can be selected via dropdown menus.


For those attempting to hit very high BCLK, the PCI-E frequency and CPU Amplitude Control settings will help you in your overclocking endeavours.


This motherboard has a solid assortment of voltage options, which can be inputted manually, and an option for Load-Line Calibration (LLC). If the voltage ranges are not extreme enough for you, you can adjust the V Switch dip switches to unlock truly insane voltage levels.


M-Flash is a built-in utility that greatly simplies the BIOS updating process. You can easily update your BIOS from a ROM file located on your hard drive(s), USB flash drive(s), or even a CD. It's quick, painless, and it takes the worry out of BIOS flashing.

The Overclocking Profile menu gives users the option to save and switch between BIOS profiles, for example an everyday profile and a benchmarking profile, which is infinitely quicker than manually inserting every setting.


Overall, MSI have done a good job with this BIOS. It's fast, relatively user-friendly, and it's chalk full of options. The Cell Menu section in particular has nearly setting that we would expect in a motherboard of this caliber.

Included Software

Now that we have the motherboard unpacked and installed, it is time to take a look at some of the software utilities that MSI have included with the P55-GD80.


Here we have the familiar setup screens for the included software CD. It contains all the drivers and MSI-specific utilities that you will need to get your system up & running. However, we obviously recommend that you visit MSI's website to get the very latest drivers and software revisions, or...


...you can use Live Update 4, which will search for and download the latest BIOS, drivers, and utilities for you.


Control Center is MSI's main software utility and it contains system information, overclocking & tweaking settings, and energy-saving features. To be honest though, it's not all that brilliant. It doesn't recognize the highest Turbo Boost CPU multipliers, so when our i7-870 is using 24-25-26-27X multipliers it will only show 23X max. It also crashes...a lot. Every time we would adjust the vCore and then run LinX, Control Center would have a fatal error requiring it to close. Every time we clicked on the 'Max Power Saving' setting the system would just shut down, as if someone pulled the power cord. Thankfully, the voltage and temperature monitoring section does have accurate real-time readouts. There are also a few neat gimmicks like the ability to enable/disable the motherboard LEDs from within Windows and the ability to view individual MOSFET temperatures. Overall though, this is one utility that needs some serious work. We were using build version 1.0.128, just for reference sake. (- Oct. 21 '09: This issue has been resolved, see update in the conclusion.)

The Drive Booster Manager is a simple utility that works in coordination with the onboard JMicron 322 SATA RAID controller to help view hard drive information, create RAID arrays (0/1/JBOD), and delete RAID arrays.

Test Setup & Methodology

Test Setup

Testing will occur on a Highspeed PC Standard Top Deck Tech Station and not in a traditional case. This allows easier access to the motherboard for the constant poking and prodding that is required during the reviewing process. The setup remained as pictured during the duration of the benchmarking and stability overclocking process.

Overclocking Methodology

The P55-GD80 represents the pinnacle of MSI's current P55 lineup, and as such we expect it to have some impressive overclocking capabilities. The overclocking section is definitely the part of our reviews that we take the most pride in, and we spend an excruciating numbers of hours testing, tweaking, failing, and succeeding in order to give you the best possible insight into each motherboard’s overclocking capabilities. After all, if you are anything like us, the overclocking section is the first (and often last!) part that you read when checking out a motherboard review.

For the purposes of this review, our overclocking efforts will primarily focus on four main areas: highest stable BCLK overclock, highest stable CPU overclock, and highest stable memory overclock. However, given the increasing prevalence of automatic overclocking solutions, we have also included an "auto overclocking results" section, in which we will see how good these manufacture-provided technologies really are.

In these overclocking tests we put an emphasis on stability. While the question “What is stable?” could be debated endlessly, we have devised a methodology that combines a wide range of programs that test the stability of the entire system.

Here are some of the applications that will be run in order to validate each of the overclocks:

• Four/Eight 32MB instances of SuperPi Mod 1.5 (ran at the same time)
• 3+ hours of dual Prime 95 v25.6 using the Stress Testing Blend
• 1 hour of OCCT Auto 1H Medium Data Set OCCT v3.1.0
• LinX 0.5.9 - 25 runs - use all memory
• Multiple loops of 3DMark 06 (30 minutes of looping the full tests each)
• 1 hour of game play in Left 4 Dead & Crysis @ 1680x1050

Altogether, the above suite should provide enough stress testing to ensure a completely stable overclock, however we are always up for new suggestions. As always, no two systems are ever alike, so your results may vary. Also, overclock at your own risk! The Lynnfield/P55 platform is brand new, and although we are somewhat conservative with our voltage estimates, there is always the possibility that you could damage any and all of your components. If you aren’t fully confident in what you are doing, feel free to stop by our forums and our helpful community will be glad to offer some assistance.

Benchmark Methodology

For this review, we have compared the MSI P55-GD80 with the ASUS P7P55D Deluxe and the Intel DP55KG "Kingsberg" motherboard, all in stock configuration and using the Core i7-870 processor with Turbo Boost enabled.

We have outlined the three setups in the sample graph above. The green results are from the P55-GD80, the blue results are from the P7P55D Deluxe, and the red results are from the Intel DP55KG.

For all of the benchmarks, appropriate lengths are taken to ensure an equal comparison through methodical setup, installation, and testing. The following outlines our testing methodology:

A) Windows is installed using a full format.

B) Intel Chipset drivers and accessory hardware drivers (audio, network, GPU) are installed followed by a defragment and a reboot.

C) Programs and games are then installed followed by another defragment.

D) Windows updates are then completed installing all available updates followed by a defragment.

E) Benchmarks are each ran three times after a clean reboot for every iteration of the benchmark unless otherwise stated, the results are then averaged.

We have listed the benchmark versions above each graph as results can vary between updates. That should about cover everything so let's see what kind of numbers this motherboard puts up in the overclocking section and in our chosen suite of benchmarks.

Manual Overclocking Results

If you are buying or building a Lynnfield/P55 system chances are that you don't already own a Core i7/X58 system. Many of you will likely be transitioning over from Intel Core 2-based systems and you have to realize that overclocking Core i5/i7 processors is quite different than with the previous Core 2 architecture. There are now four important clock speeds (CPU/BCLK/MEM/QPI) and three multipliers (CPU/MEM/QPI) to tweak, as well as five different voltages. Put simply, there are lot of new variables and potential limitations that an overclocker must now take into consideration. At the moment, no one is an expert when it comes to Lynnfield overclocking, and we are all learning new tricks and tweaks on a weekly basis. At this point in time, for our overclocking tests we have a imposed a few relatively conservative voltage limits, namely vCore up to 1.40 vCore, VTT/IMC up to 1.35V, and vDIMM up to 1.70V. It is our estimation that these voltages can be safely used 24/7 without seriously shortening the lifespan of any components...with proper cooling of course.

Highest Stable BCLK Overclock

BCLK overclocking has thus far proven to be a very interesting experience for us. On the one hand, our i5-750 sample has proven quite BCLK friendly, achieving a stable 212Mhz with as little as 1.21V VTT/IMC. However, no matter how much additional voltage we gave the chip, it wouldn't gain 1Mhz of additional stable BCLK headroom. On the other hand, our i7-870 is a voltage hog, needing a full 1.35V VTT/IMC in order to stabilize a 202Mhz BCLK. Why this huge disparity between chips? Well, to be honest, our particular i7-870 sample is probably just a little weak in the BCLK area. We have seen several i7-800 series retail chips that are stable in 210-215Mhz BCLK range.

With regard to the P55-GD80, we were able to squeeze an additional 3Mhz BLCK from our i5-750 sample compared with the ASUS P7P55D Deluxe, but one less BCLK Mhz from the i7-870 which was only stable up to 201.5Mhz compared to 202.7Mhz on the ASUS, an insignificant difference.

Highest Stable CPU Overclock

In our search for the highest stable core clock, we were able to once again break 4.0Ghz mark on both chips. Specifically, we were able to achieve 4064Mhz with 1.40 vCore on the i5-750, and 4022Mhz at 1.35 vCore on the i7-870. Why did we only use 1.35V on the 870? Heat! HyperThreading increases core temps by a solid 10C, so at these settings we were already well within the high 80C range, with the very occassional peak into the low 90C's. Once Thermalright releases a proper LGA1156 mounting mechanism, instead of the push-pin design that was bundled with our MUX-120, we should be able to push both chips even higher and with lower temps too thanks to better contact and mounting pressure.

Both of these results are slightly lower (~20Mhz) than what we achieved on the ASUS P7P55D Deluxe, which is effectively just a 1Mhz BCLK difference.

Highest Stable Memory Overclock

While searching for the highest stable memory overclock, we pushed aside our i5-750 due to its weak IMC and focused on the i7-870. In doing so, we were able to achieve a solid DDR3-2167 9-9-9-24-1T with 1.65Vdimm and our self-imposed 1.35V VTT/IMC voltage limit. The P55-GD80 officially supports up DDR3-2133 via overclocking, so surpassing that specification by a 34Mhz is not too shabby. Having said that, we could not quite match the DDR3-2200 frequency that we achieved on the P7P55D Deluxe, even after tweaking some of the secondary timings (tWR, tWTR, tRRD, tRTP, tFAW, etc).

Auto Overclocking Results

Now automatic overclocking solutions are nothing new, most of us have encountered them in one way or another for quite a few years now. However, they have historically been shockingly ineffective. They either a) didn't work as advertised and locked up your system, or b) worked as advertised and locked up your system. Either way, they were not a joy to use and the results were inevitably disappointing. Is MSI implementation truly better? Let's find out!


While the above results are what were able to manually achieve with this motherboard, the P55-GD80 is outfitted with a new auto-overclocking solution that they claim works in one second flat. Utilizing the new OC Genie overclocking processor, they promise easier and higher auto-overclocking results. Basically, all you need to engage this feature is push the OC Genie button and then start the system. Let's see what it can do:

As you can see, the OC Genie feature does work, as it managed to overclock our i5-750 by 26% and our i7-870 by 27%, which are 674Mhz and 801Mhz gains, respectively. However, as you can see by the identical BCLK, vCore, and memory settings, this not really what we would call a 'smart' auto-overclocking solution. It doesn't adjust the overclock based on the individual capabilities of your components. Instead, it uses presets that MSI's engineers have determined would work on every 750/860/870 manufactured. By attempting to ensure that every single chip would hit the same levels, no matter how weak it was, they had to be quite liberal with the voltage. As result, OC Genie automatically sets quite high voltages: 1.38V vCore, 1.40V VTT on i5-750, 1.44V VTT on the i7-870, and a full 1.74V vDimm. Now OC Genie automatically enables Load-Line Calibration (LLC), but it clearly does not work on our motherboard. As a result, that 1.38Vcore drops to 1.30-1.32V under heavy load. While this might seem terrible, it does keep temperatures lower and the overclock was still completely stable.

Now we understand that the VTT was set so high to ensure that every processor would be able to achieve the high 196.5Mhz BCLK that OC Genie sets, but we cannot understand why they took this approach. They could have simply used a higher multiplier and lower BCLK, like ASUS have done, which would not require such high VTT voltages. We wouldn't want any of our chips running 1.40V+ VTT 24/7 since no one knows what the medium and long-term effects are yet.

The memory voltage is also completely overkill, since DDR3-1179 7-7-7 is achievable with just about any cheap generic DDR3 memory kit, and no one is going to use subpar memory on a high-end model like the P55-GD80. Common sense dictates that the Intel-specified 1.65V memory voltage limit would have been sufficient in this case.

Believe it or not, we like the OC Genie feature since it provides novices with a near-instantaneous method of significantly boosting overall performance. However, the current implementation could and should be improved, specifically with regard to the low CPU multiplier/high BCLK approach that necessitates high VTT. Hopefully, MSI will implementent a high multiplier/low BCLK approach in a future BIOS update, and with lower voltages too. Higher memory frequencies would be nice as well, but we understand that there are simply too many variables to make this a reality.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Lavalys Everest Ultimate v5.02

Everest Ultimate is the most useful tool for any and all benchmarkers or overclockers. With the ability to pick up most voltage, temperature, and fan sensors on almost every motherboard available, Everest provides the ability to customize the outputs in a number of forms on your desktop. We selected two of Everest's seven CPU benchmarks: CPU Queen and FPU Mandel. According to Lavalys, CPU Queen simple integer benchmark focuses on the branch prediction capabilities and the misprediction penalties of the CPU. It finds the solutions for the classic "Queens problem" on a 10 by 10 sized chessboard. At the same clock speed theoretically the processor with the shorter pipeline and smaller misprediction penalties will attain higher benchmark scores. The FPU Mandel benchmark measures the double precision (also known as 64-bit) floating-point performance through the computation of several frames of the popular "Mandelbrot" fractal. Both tests consume less than 1 MB system memory, and are HyperThreading, multi-processor (SMP) and multi-core (CMP) aware.


In stock form, all three motherboards are roughly equivalent in the CPU Queen benchmark, with a slight edge going towards the ASUS. But the situation is a fair bit different in FPU Mandel. Why? The reason is simple, both the ASUS and MSI utilized a 1X higher multiplier throughout the test than the Intel board did.


Lavalys Everest Ultimate v5.02

As part of its enthusiast favourite Cache & Memory Benchmark, Everest provides very useful and in-depth cache performance figures. For this chart, we have combined the read, write, and copy bandwidth figures to achieve an aggregate bandwidth figure for each cache stage.


With their most recent BIOS versions, all three motherboards are effectively even across all three processor cache levels.


Lavalys Everest Ultimate v5.02

Everest Ultimate is the most useful tool for any and all benchmarkers or overclockers. With the ability to pick up most voltage, temperature, and fan sensors on almost every motherboard available, Everest provides the ability to customize the outputs in a number of forms on your desktop. In addition to this, the memory benchmarking utility provides a useful tool of measuring the changes to your memory sub-system.


Once again, all three motherboards are even when it comes memory bandwidth, and any differences can be attributed to this benchmark's wide results variance.


Although the P55-GD80 consistently had the highest memory latency, the difference between it and the ASUS model was a mere 1%. On the other hand, the DP55KG keeps its crown as latency champion at the moment, largely due to its more aggressive default secondary memory timings.


Now let's see if ScienceMark echoes these results.

ScienceMark v2.0

Although last updated almost 3 years ago, and despite its rudimentary interface, ScienceMark v2.0 remains a favorite for accurately calculating bandwidth on even the newest chipsets.


ScienceMark reveals the MSI to have the lowest memory bandwidth of all three motherboards, but the difference between the models is a mere 1.5%.

ScienceMark does support Everest's memory latency results, with the MSI once again exhibiting higher latency than both the ASUS and Intel models.

There's really not much to report here as all three motherboards are performing within less than 1-2% of each other in these popular synthetic benchmarks. Will the results be any different in real-life applications? Let's find out.

 

Next, MSI P55-GD80 LGA1156 Motherboard Review‏ Part. 3