MSI X99A GODLIKE Gaming Motherboard Review - Introduction

MSI X99A GODLIKE ACK motherboard
The best Haswell-E motherboard ever ?

We review the MSI X99A GODLIKE motherboard, this motherboard from the MSI Gaming series isn't shy when it comes to naming. But truth be told, it is among the best X99 chipset based motherboards we have tested to date. It ticks all the right boxes and has a feature-set that is amazing. I'm not talking about the RGB LED system even, multiple Killer NICs, the best AC WIFI solution e ever tested and well, just so much more in regards to SLI/Crossfire support, SATA3 connectors, M.2., overclock features, a very nice audio solution and much more. Join us in a the MSI X99A GODLIKE review, a product that is bound to please the PC gamer.

The Intel Core i7-5960X and other Haswell-E chips have been released on the market for little less than a year now, September 2014 and are based on socket LGA2011-V3 infrastructure with DDR4 quad channel memory. The Haswell-E series are Intel's best consumer class processors, available in three models, two 6-core and one 8 core processor series intended for the most high-end desktops. With Haswell-E processors came a new chipset and slightly revised processor socket. Intel still uses Socket 2011, but its a revision 3 socket, meaning that the older Socket 2011 will not work on the new X99 chipset motherboards. That of course goes both ways, you can not use Haswell-E on say an X79 motherboard. Interesting is a first introduction towards DDR4 memory. The new memory allows for lower voltage memory modules, this memory defaults towards 2133 MHz at 1.2 Volts. However the memory controller is quad-channel compatible. As a result with overclocked memory at roughly 3 GHz, you can reach 70 maybe 80 GB/sec on your memory bandwidth, which are insane numbers. In this article we'll have a chat about a X99 motherboard in terms of the chipset and then will throw a decent photo-shoot and a benchmark suite at the products and get an indication what performance is like with the Intel Core i7-5960X and X99 Platform.

The motherboard manufacturers have gone wild with crazy designs on X99 as het, it is a hot platform. Back on Computex 2015 MSI was showing what we tested today, the MSI X99A GODLIKE motherboard for the above mentioned Intel Haswell-E series processors. Yes, the MSI X99A GODLIKE ACK motherboard is released, that ACK by the way means AC WIFI and the K for Killer NIC Ethernet. This MSI motherboard will come with nice PC options like 8-pin EPS connectors, a hefty VRM design (12 phases) for the processor and memory, five PCI-Express x16 slots . There is an extra EMI shield that covers the rear-panel I/O on-board, and audio is shielded as well. The board comes with two Killer gigabit Ethernet controllers and the best 802.11 AC WLAN solution we have tested to date. Storage wise you will get ten SATA 6 Gb/s and of course an M.2 slot (PXie x4 linked this HEAPS of bandwidth). Overclocking features include voltage measurement points, and a diagnostic POST LED display. Other keywords for this product are V-Check Points 2, OC Engine, Military Class IV components and intricate Audio Boost 3 technology. This new Audio Boost 3 PRO is based on a Hi-Fi ESS 9018K2M DAC, delivering studio-grade audio quality, on-board. An on-board audio solution that delivers 120dB SNR 192 kHz/32-bit of purest sound quality via a dedicated 6.3mm stereo headphone out. The X99-Series motherboard is merged under that large Dragon/Dragoon style Gaming G-Series heatsink. It doesn't stop there though, you get two USB 3.1 connectors as well, one Type-A and Type-C and a new gaming oriented LED feature. The motherboard is loaded with RGB LEDs that you can control in color and animation. Also included is a Turbo U.2 Host Card which fits into the M.2 slot.

Dudes & dudettes, this motherboard offers EVERYTHING, so join Guru3D in an extensive review and overview of what MSI has to offer with the MSI X99A GODLIKE ACK motherboard. Next page please.