MSI Z68A-GD80 motherboard review

Posted by Hilbert Hagedoorn on: 05/22/2011 01:00 PM [ 0 comment(s) ]

MSI Z68A-GD80 (B3) Specifications

But let's now focus on the motherboard tested today, the MSI Z68A-GD80.

MSI Z68A-GD80 (B3) Specifications

CPU (Max Support)	i3/i5/i7
AM3 CPU Ready	N/A
FSB / Hyper Transport Bus	100MHz
Chipset	Intel® Z68 (B3)
DDR2 Memory	N/A
DDR3 Memory	DDR3 1066/1333/1600/2133(OC)
Memory Channel	Dual
DIMM Slots	4
Max Memory (GB)	32
PCI-Ex16	3
PCI-E Gen	Gen2 (1x16, 1x8, 1x1)
PCI-Ex4	N/A
PCI-Ex1	2
PCI	2
IDE	N/A
SATAIII	3
SATAII	4
RAID	0/1/5/10
LAN	10/100/1000*2
TPM	1
USB 3.0 ports (Rear)	2
USB 2.0 ports (Rear)	4
Audio ports (Rear)	6+Optical SPDIF
Serial ports (Rear)	N/A
Parallel ports (Rear)	N/A
1394 ports (Rear)	1
eSATA	1
HDMI	1
DVI	1
VGA Max Share Memory (MB)	1024
DirectX	DX10.1
Form Factor	ATX
DrMOS	Y
APS	Y
SLI	Y
CrossFire	Y

MSI Z68A-GD80

The focus of this motherboard is that it has a dark looking design whilst remaining competitive with pricing.

We dig the two tone (black/blue) design a lot, dark colored PCBs are the trend these days. What immediately catches the eye are the sheer looks and heatsinks sitting on top of the chipset. The board has lots of features including auto-overclocking, dual-BIOS, dual Gigabit NICs, voltage control points and just so much more.

MSI Z68A-GD80

We received the final retail sample and as such it comes packed with a quite decent product bundle. Among the gear inside the kit you'll find the following:

1 x Motherboard
1 x 2-Way SLI Bridge
1 x I/O Shield
1 x USB 3.0 Bracket (can be connected to the motherboard directly)
Voltage monitor cables for DMM
2 x SATA 6G cables
2x Molex to SATE power converters
Manual
Driver CD

That's it, keep in mind that MSI tried hard to keep this motherboard affordable. The extras you need to seek in the overall design and components usage, which is impressive all by itself when you peek at the motherboard for the first time.

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MSI Z68A GD80 G3 PCIe Gen 3.0 motherboard review
A little while ago we tested the MSI Z68A-GD80 (B3) motherboard, a product with an absolutely gorgeous design. Merely weeks later another SKU based of this model has been released, the MSI Z68A-GD80 (G3). The G3 hints to something we have been hearing about for a while now, yes this is the debut of a PCI Express 3.0 compatible motherboard. A sincerely cool looking motherboard that is equipped with the latest gadgets, features and obviously that Z68 chipset.

MSI Z68A-GD80 motherboard review
So, today a closer look at Z68 technology and of course we'll review a unit, the Z68 motherboard tested, reviewed and spanked comes from MSI. We'll test their Z68A-GD80 motherboard. A sincerely cool looking motherboard that is equipped with the latest gadgets, features and obviously that Z68 chipset. Have a peek at the motherboard, and then let's head onwards into the review.