MSI X99S Gaming 9 AC Motherboard Review - Introduction

MSI Haswell-E  X99S Gaming 9 AC motherboard - it is yummie!

We review that all new Intel X99 based MSI X99S Gaming 9 AC motherboard, which is probably one of the most gorgeous looking X99 motherboards that is and will be available on the market. MSI took the X99 chipset and then started adding stuff with the result offering you a gorgeous motherboard that has massive SLI/Crossfire support, AC WIFI, heaps of SATA3 connectors, M.2., overclock features, a very nice audio solution and yeah, so much more. Join us in a the MSI X99S Gaming 9 AC review, a product that is bound to please you, the PC gamer.

The Intel Core i7-5960X and other Haswell-E chips are released on the market September 2014 and based on a new socket LGA2011-V3 infrastructure and DDR4 quad channel memory. The new Haswell-E series being released feature three models, two 6-core and one 8 core processor series intended for the most high-end desktops anno 2014. For Intel it is the first 8 core desktop CPU for consumers. However Intel has been offering 8 and even 12 core processors in their Xeon server line for quite some time now to the business channel.

With the new Haswell-E processor comes 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.

Now back to MSI. The Gaming series really is supposed to be the mainstream model but I'd tag this is enthusiast class, alright. This MSI X99S Gaming 9 AC will come with nice PC options like 8-pin EPS connectors, a 7+2-phase VRM design 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 a Killer E2205 gigabit NIC and 802.11 AC WLAN. 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, SATA Express and M.2 interface and intricate Audio Boost 2 technology. The 9-Series gaming series is merged under that large Dragon/Dragoon style Gaming G-Series heatsink. Interesting is the inclusion of a  AverMedia Capture Card, it can stream gaming activities at 1080p 60Mbps without impacting FPS and gameplay.

Guys & girls, this motherboard offers it all, so join Guru3D in an extensive review and overview of what MSI has to offer with the MSI X99S Gaming 9 AC motherboard. Next page please.