Here at WCCFTech we have taken a fancy to Sandybridge offerings from MSI. We really liked the C43, had good things to say about the GD65, concluded that the E23 was a decent office/ productivity board. Today we have the latest offering from MSI, based on the newest member of the x6x family, the Z68.
| Socket | LGA 1155 |
| Processor Support | All LGA 1155 Processors |
| Segment | Mid Range |
| Size | ATX |
| Memory | DDR3 4 Slots / 32 GB |
| Features | Military Grade Components
Active Phase Switching OC Genie Onboard Power, Reset, & OC Genie Buttons On-Board points for voltage monitoring (V-Check) Multi GPU Support (Xfire & SLi) EFI Driven Menu Dual EFI Lucid's Virtu Software Support Intel Smart Response Technology Integrated SandyBridge Graphics |
| Slots | PCI-e x16 (2) (x16 or x8,x8)
PCI-e x1 (3) PCI(2) |
| Overclocking | Yes (Both Processor & Graphics Core) |
| I/O | USB 2.0 & USB 3.0
SATA 6Gbps Realtek LAN |
The Z68
Z68 is what the P67 should have been. Z68 unlike the P67 and like the H6x chipsets allows the use of and over-clock the graphics core within the second generation core processors. Like the P67 and unlike the H6x, it can also over-clock the processor core (or more correctly over-clock memory). Thus Z68 is a sum of P67 and H6x. Intel added a couple of extras to make Z68 relevant.
A cursory glance at the diagram will reveal that Z68 allows for the use of onboard graphics dye. A more interesting feature is the “Intel Smart Response Technology”. This allows the use of a (small capacity; maximum of ~60GB) SSD to complement hard disk performance. In fact Intel sells a specific SSD model (based on SLC) to serve this purpose. Apart from this, there is nothing new here. It is basically an H6x and P67 hybrid. More correctly is P67 which allows processor core over-clocking.
The board comes in a usual MSI cardboard box. Military Class components, B3 revision, OC Genie II and HDD performance boost analysis are prominently displayed. Though there never really was a problem with the Z68 (the P67 rev B2 had a SATA bug), the box still mentions B3. This is a part of Intel (& its partners) branding program just to make sure there remains no confusion regarding board versions (whether affected or not)
An extensive set of accessories, which includes SATA 3 & 6 Gbps cables, SATA power cable, USB 3.0 bracket (2 port), points for measuring voltage, 2 port SLI bridge, easy connectors for USB & front port, the back plate, obligatory disk and manuals are provided with the board. The manual, though well written does get a little confusing as it covers more than one product.
Motherboard Tour
This full length ATX board has a black and blue theme which is very common for Sandybridge board from the 3 major manufacturers. The board features MSI Military Class II specification which means that they have employed super ferrite chokes (SFC), Hi-Caps and solid capacitors. These help improve power delivery and efficiency while extending component life cycles. MSI employs a 6 phase power setup for the processor and 2 phase setup for memory (6+2 design). Each phase can deliver up to 35 amperes.
The voltage regulation circuitry is covered by passive heat-sinks connected by a heat pipe.
There is enough clearance around the socket area for the largest of heat sinks.
The active phase switching LEDs are located to the right of the Lottes manufactured LGA 1155 socket.
Right in front of the 4 DDR3 memory slots are the power connector and V-check points. These points aid in measuring/ monitoring board voltages (CPU, VTT, PCH and memory). A blessing for purists who do not rely on EFI or software readings! Three system fan connectors are also found located right next to the V-check point and one to the left of the 24 pin power connector respectively. Unlike the P67-GD65 the OC Genie button is located here, rather than with the other onboard buttons. This makes it kind of hard to reach with the board installed in a case. It would have been better just to leave the button with the power & reset buttons (along the left edge of the board).
The board features 8 right angles SATA ports. The SATA 6 Gbps ports are at the periphery (white), while the SATA 3 Gbps ports are central (black). The extra 6 Gbps ports come from a Marvell 88SE9128 controller.
The Z68 chipset lies under a low profile heatsink which should not interfere with multi-slot GPUs.
The first PCI-e x16 connector lies in the line of SATA ports, it will be difficult to plug/ unplug devices to the affected ports when a large graphics card is installed. It would be wise to connect the SATA devices before installing a graphics card. Two PCI-e x1 slots separate the second PCI-e x16 slot (electrical x8) from the first. A lone x1 slot is located to the right of the x16 PCI-e slot. The two PCI slots are located towards the left edge of the board. With two dual slot GPUs installed, the board will still have 1 PCI and 2 PCI-e x1 slots available for use.
The power and reset buttons are located along the left edge of the board together with the USB (2.0 and 3.0, the latter powered by a NEC chip), and front audio ports headers.
The board sports dual EFI (the two yellow ICs to the right and above the USB header, not visible in the picture).
The IO area provides a wealth of connectivity options; Realtek LAN and Audio codec (892), both co-axial and optical SP/DIF, USB 2.0 (6) and USB 3.0 (2) ports as well as a legacy PS2 mouse/ keyboard connector complete the list. Video output for integrated graphics includes DVI, D-Sub and HDMI. A nifty reset button is also included at the back panel. Strangely no E-SATA connectivity has been provided.
The back of the board is devoid of any large solder points (or other structures) which would prevent after market cooler back plate installation. All the heat-sinks are held in place by screws which makes removal and reapplication of thermal compound really easy (we all know how good default TIM is!).
There are 5 fan connectors strategically located all over the board. The CPU fan connector is a 4pin variety while the rest are the usual 3pin variety.
Overall the board is well designed. MSI has relocated the front panel connectors that interfered with the second PCI-e x16 slot on the P67A-GD65. However the repositioned OC genie button is kind of a step in the wrong direction. It was fine where it was on the P67 equalent.
EFI
MSI employs its Click bios icon based mouse driven interface for EFI navigation. It is easy to use, though not quite as polished as the Asus solution. The main EFI screen has only 5 icons for each of the 5 main functions. Each icon then takes you to a subset of icons or control parameters.
The Utilities icon gives you access to a very hand memory tester, an equally handy HD backup program, ability to update the EFI online and design your own boot screen. The last three utilities require the motherboard’s disk to be in the optical drive.
The settings icon takes you to another series of icons via which you can setup your board, update the bios and check the system status.
Perhaps the most unique aspect of the EFI is provision of games! Yup you heard it right the EFI has games functionality. Don’t expect these to be your Call of Duty level games. They are basic games reminiscent of 80s arcade games. Good time killers, but nothing more than that.
Perhaps the most important icon is the over-clocking icon. This takes you to the various parameters that will help in your over-clocking endeavors.
As you can see that the board allows complete control over core CPU voltage, memory voltage and some control over PCH voltage.
You can also set the OC genie button function in the EFI. If this is activated then it is only possible (recommended) to change the various over-clocking parameters via software (MSI Control Center II, discussed below).
As always it is recommended to use the latest EFI available for this board.
As the board supports discrete as well as integrated graphics as well Lucid’s’ Virtu software for hybrid GPU functions (more on Virtu a little later), the EFI allows the user to switch between “i-mode” (where the output is connected to the onboard connector and any work being done on the discrete graphics must be copied over to the integrated GPUs frame buffer before being displayed) or ‘d-mode’. In this mode the output is connected to the discrete graphics card. This delivers discrete GPU performance.
Bundled Software & Over-clocking
The board comes with MSI’s Control Center II application, which is one of the best software based over-clocking tools I have ever used.
Apart from its use as monitoring tool (for voltages, frequencies and power phases in use), the tool also allows software based over-clocking either via an automatic algorithm (OC Genie) or manual adjustment. To use the former one must press the OC Genie button on the board.
The board booted successfully at 4.2 GHz by using OC Genie, by manual tweaking we were able to get to a speed of 4.5 GHz using nothing but the standard heat-sink! This required exactly the same voltage as compared to the P67-GD65 board that WCCFTech tested sometime ago.
Note: Download the latest version of Control center from MSI’s website for enhanced stability.
CPU-Z
Lucid Virtu
Lucid is a company that specializes in multi display technology, its primary product, Hydra, made a name for itself by providing hardware base support for asymmetric multi GPU processing. Lucid also provides a software solution for the Z68 chipset that allows the concurrent use of onboard and discrete graphics dubbed “Virtu”. In “i-mode” the video display is connected to the onboard video output. This allows the concurrent use of both display hardware (in the CPU as well discrete video card) setups.
This allows the use of integrated GPU for video conversion (via Quick Sync) and gaming on discrete GPU at the same time. The problem is that, as the output is connected on integrated GPU, all information from the discrete GPU must pass through the integrated GPU’s frame buffer.
As the software must intercept what is being run on discrete GPU Lucid must update Virtu for new games (or otherwise) that are released. The following flow sheet shows how this is done.
If the video output is connected to the discrete GPU (the “d-mode”), the user gets the absolute best discrete graphics performance as all graphics data does have to go through integrated GPU’s frame butter. Quick sync is still available in d-mode.
The advantage of i-mode is power saving as well as access to both discrete and integrated graphics. The disadvantage is a performance hit on discrete graphics performance (which could be up to 40% especially in gaming). The advantage of d-mode is absolute best discrete GPU performance, SLI and XFire availability of integrated graphics (for quick sync). The disadvantage is considerably greater energy consumption.
It must be noted that Virtu is a requirement for dual GPU use. Intel does not provide its own solution to this end.
Improved Hard drive Performance (Smart Response Technology)
The other feature of the Z68 is its ability to improve hard disk performance by using an SSD as an IO cache for the hard disk, what Intel calls Smart Response Technology (SRT). This is not a hardware feature. Intel can make it available to P67 users as well. Intel’s RAID driver controls caching. It is a pity that Intel is trying to ‘strong arm’ customers into buying a new product where as the old product can do just a good a job! Intel allows a maximum of 64GB of SSD space to be used as cache. Any remaining space can be treated as a physical drive.
Intel’s driver allows for either a ‘enhanced’ mode (minimal benefits, maximum security) or ‘maximized’ mode that offers maximal benefits, but if the SSD cache dies (for whatever reason) it could have detrimental impact on your hard disk.
Intel offers its own 20GB SLC SSD to be used with Z68 boards as cache.
We had a G.Skill SSD lying around that was tested sometime ago. We did a ‘dirty’ test (using maximized mode) to see how our OS boot times (from Starting Windows screen to Login Screen, see system specs below for more information) would improve by using this drive as a cache
| With SSD | Without SSD |
| 71 Seconds | 47 Seconds |
An improvement of about 35%, not too shabby!
Testing motherboards is not an easy task. No matter what types of test are done the CPU’s performance does come into play. Testing IO is basically only testing the ability of the PCH. Thus what separates motherboards these days is their ability to provide functionality you need (read over clocking potential, RAID, multi GPU setup etc). But as the saying goes; when in Rome do as Romans do; we’ll put up some numbers to prove that we did spend time testing the board to dissect the ‘quantum’ difference between it and its peers!
System Specifications
| Motherboard | MSI Z68A-GD65
MSI P67A-GD65 MSI P67A-C43 Asus P8P67 Asus Sabertooth P67 |
| Processor | Core i7 2600K |
| Video | HIS 6950 2GB |
| Memory | G.Skill Sniper 2X4GB (1600MHzl CL9; 1.25V) |
| Hard Disk | Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 1TB (Both systems) |
| Power | Corsair HX 620 |
| OS | Windows 7 (Service Pack 1) |
Test Suite
| Synthetic | Sandra 2011
X 264 Benchmark (HD V3) Cinebench 3D Mark 11 - Physics Test |
| Real World | 7-Zip
Far Cry 2 Crysis Warhead |
| I/O Performance | SATA - HD Tunre
USB - Crystal Mark 3 |
LEGEND
| S67 | Asus Sabertooth P67 |
| P67 | Asus P8P67 |
| C43 | MSI P67A-C43 |
| GD 65 | MSI P67A-GD65 |
| Z68 | MSI Z68A-GD65 |
All benchmark indices are rounded off to the nearest 0.
Synthetics
Sandra
Sandra is a very competent stress testing and benchmarking suite.
The Z68 mirrors its P67 brother to the dot!
X264 HD V3 & Cinebench R11.5
This benchmark measures the encoding performance of the processor. It offers a standardized benchmark as the clip as well as the encoder used is uniform.
Cinebench is based on Maxon’s Cinema 4D. It is used to compare graphics as well as processor performance.
Again it is impossible to separate the Z68 and P67 –GD65 boards.
3D Mark 11 – Physics Test & Games
This is the latest incarnation of one of the oldest graphics benchmarking suites. The latest incarnation supports DirectX 11. It has a physics test that emulates physics on the processor.
More of the same, the two MSI boards at the top of the chart are impossible to tell apart.
Games
The base line for all tests is a Core i7-950 processor running at its default speed (100%)
Far Cry 2
| Far Cry 2 | 1680x1050 |
| Benchmark | Inbuilt 'Ranch Small' CPU |
| Rendering Path | DX9 - Medium |
Crysis -Warhead
| Crysis Warhead | 1680x1050 |
| Benchmark | Customized |
| Rendering Path | DX9; Physics Set to Entusiast |
The situation does not change when testing games.
7-Zip
Some might argue against using 7-zip’s compression and decompression benchmark as a ‘real world’ test. But if you try and think about it for a minute, the benchmark does show how fast the program will either compress or decompress, while negating the impact of disk transfers.
It is amazing how one can use charts to accentuate minor differences so that they appear as if the difference is like between day and night!
IO Tests: Storage
USB Tests
USB performance was compared between boards. Crystal Mark V3 was used in conjunction with a USB 3.0 compliant Kingston Data Traveler (Ultimate 16 GB)
HD Tune was used to assess SATA performance.
Again differences, if any, are minor. All platforms perform the same. Z68 and P67 are identical in performance.
Conclusion
The Z68 offering performs exactly like the P67 (GD65) offering from MSI. It seems all MSI has done is changed the P67 PCH for the Z68 added the requisite display ports and electrical lines.
The Z68-GD65 is a well rounded board. Its performance characteristics mirror that of the P67-GD65 to the dot. If you need the additional integrated graphics and SSD caching the Z68 price premium justifies its purchase. For the rest of us looking for good over-clocking and gaming performance the P67-GD65 would do just fine.
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
