Almost perfect?
Designed as an enthusiast board, the P55-GD65 has the usual power button. However, MSI also adds in an 'OC Genie' and '+' and '-' buttons for base-clock manipulation. They are designed to aid easy overclocking via a two-part technology dubbed, well, OC Genie.
The technology consists of a dedicated overclocking processor and a single push-button overclocking switch. The idea, in theory, is that you push the button and OC Genie will automatically determine and implement the optimum overclocked settings. It'll take seconds, and it beats the traditional method of 30 minutes of trial and error, says MSI. To get the best out of a system, the OC Genie chip will, at the touch of a button, adjust CPU clock speed, CPU voltage, memory frequency and memory voltage. We'll be conducting a hands-on evaluation next week to verify the claims.
The Intel Core i5/i7 LGA 1156 chips provide a total of 16 PCI-Express lanes that can be split into two x8 for multi-GPU setups. MSI supports both SLI and CrossFireX here. Other expansion options are good, with two x1 PCIe slots, an open-ended x4, and two PCIc at the bottom.
The rear I/O section is also good, with both forms of S/PDIF-out from the onboard 8-channel HD audio. Eight USB ports, a combo eSATA, FireWire, and dual Gigabit LAN make for eclectic connectivity.
We're not sure about the red-coloured cables. MSI should have kept with the black-and-blue look, to complement the board. Both SLI and CrossFireX bridges are thrown in for good measure, which is nice.
The documentation is a touch above average and the box art, here and here, is nicely understated.
A look at the full-retail board shows that MSI has got almost everything right with the layout and features of P55-GD65. Whether or not the performance can match the external appearance and layout remains to be seen, but, assuming it can, it should be a tasty proposition if it comes in at, say, £115.
Then there's the P55-GD80, which boosts the feature-count by adding in an NVIDIA nF200 chip for three-way SLI, a 10-phase supply, and another internal SATA port. Sounds like overkill, right?
