MSI Z77 Motherboard Preview

The Z77A-GD55 is next in the lineup of motherboards that we have to look at, specification wise all looks very similar to the entry level board and on paper all is virtually the same. The changes and upgrades here are more feature based.  Over the GD45, the GD55 supports VirtuMVP technology which utilises a 3rd party graphics card in coalition with the onboard graphics procesor, giving the onboard system more power when needed for full load 3D rendering.  In addition to this also MSI’s easy 3 button arrangement next to the ATX power connection and also a voltage check point for overclocking in the same area. The last major change that takes place between the boards is the upgrade from three to five star Militray Class III components – this is change is mainly seen by the Hi-c caps that are used around the CPU area instead of the standard solid caps.

The major change that we will note around the CPU socket is the loss of the solid caps to the left and above.  Instead of these and to bring to board up to 5 star status, we now find an array of Hi-C caps which as we saw on the previous pages, allow for a higher level of stability and better efficiently.

The expansion slot area of the board is the same as we found on the GD45, with support for 3 way Crossfire or SLI.

At the base of the board, we find the standard array of front panel headers including USB, LED status and audio.

Keeping up with the similarities, the chipset cooler is the same size as the entry level board.

Beside the chipset cooler, we have the SATA headers and USB3.0 header.  The two white ports in the middle are SATAIII and the four black to the left are all of SATAII class, and all 6 of these ports are controlled by the Z77 chipset itself, each set with full RAID support.  Like the GD45, the USB3.0 header has been moved to this location but this time to the right hand side.  To the left of the SATAII ports is a space where another pair of SATA ports may or may not be located, although this is a reference board so this may be omitted on the final design.

Moving up from the storage headers, we find the usual 24-pin ATX power connection and fan header.  We also find a set of voltage check points, and also a power and reset button at the top.  Next to these is the OC Genie II button for the onboard overclocking features.

Round behind the I/O panel is the other usual 8-pin AUX power connection, although this has been rotated and moved down slightly on the board.

The CPU area heatsinks here are much more substantial in comparison to the GD45 heatsinks, and similarly they have the very subtle pistol design to the left hand sink.

The rear of the board gives us a whole range of connectivity options including, 4x USb2.0, 2x USB3.0, PS2 combo (mouse & keyboard), Gbit LAN and a clear CMOS button.  Audio is served via a S/PDIF and optical output and also a 7.1ch audio subsystem with THX TruStudio Pro.