The MSI Z68A-GD55/65 "G3" megathread

[the squonk]

Someone complained there wasn't any MSI Z68-megathread, so here you go


http://xeizo.com/blogg/wp-content/up...0714103730.jpg

I put one inside my box as late as yesterday, to replace my aging P5Q-DeLuxe. So far it has been rather undramatic, the UEFI-bios GUI is almost terrible but on the flip-side so does it OC exemplary. 4.5GHz at first try benchmark-stable, 4.9GHz Windows-boot and Superpi at second try and 4.8GHz stable so far at third try. A minimum amount of tweaking involved.

One screw for one of the MOS-heatspreaders interfer with the Antec Kühler 620 backplate, I just removed the spring under the screw which makes the surface on the back of the mobo flat but gives the heatspreader bad contact. On the other hand is it a tiny heatspreader so I don't think it matters much. Voltages have been very stable so far using the "low Vdroop"-setting in bios.

One more thing, it wouldn't boot with four RAM-sticks out of the box, but it worked fine to start with only 2 RAM-sticks and use F1 to change bios-settings. After doing it that it had no problem with 4 RAM-sticks.

The GD55 which I use is stripped from a few ports compared to the GD65 but has quite enough IO for me, more important is that it uses the same well executed VRM-section which is useful for me(OC). And it is much cheaper, about the same price as Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H which has 2 more SATA3 but MSI differs by using full 32GB-switches for the PCIE 16x/8x-graphic sockets which will possibly be beneficial with Ivy Bridge and nex gen high end-graphics. And MSI uses a "real" EFI-bios.

According to the Cinebench-scores so is this mobo with i7 2600K@4.8GHz more than twice as fast as my Q9450@3.84GHz was. It was a notable upgrade.

Specs:
http://www.msi.com/product/mb/Z68A-GD55--G3-.html

CPU

• Supports Intel® Sandy Bridge processors in LGA1155 package.
Please refer to CPU Support for compatible CPU; the above description is for reference only.


Chipset

• Intel® Z68 (B3) Chipset


Main Memory

• Supports four unbuffered DIMM of 1.5 Volt DDR3 1066/1333/1600*/2133*(OC) DRAM, 32GB Max
- Supports 1GB/ 2GB/ 4GB/ 8GB DRAM size
- Supports Dual channel mode


Slots

• 2 PCI Express gen3 x16 slots
• 3 PCIE x1 slots
• 2 32-bit v2.3 master PCI bus slots.
- Support 3.3v/5v PCI bus interface.



On-Board SATA

• SATAII controller integrated in Intel® Z68 (B3) chipset
- Up to 3Gb/s transfer speed.
- Supports four SATAII ports (SATA3~6) by Z68 (B3) PCH

• SATAIII controller integrated in Intel® Z68 (B3) chipset
- Up to 6Gb/s transfer speed.
- Supports two SATAIII ports (SATA1~2) by Z68 (B3) PCH
- SATA1~6 ports support RAID 0/1/5/10 mode by Intel Z68 (B3) PCH



USB 3.0

• 1 USB 3.0 internal connector by NEC® D720200
• 2 USB 3.0 rear I/O ports by NEC® D720200



Audio

• Chipset integrated by Realtek® ALC892
- Flexible 8-channel audio with jack sensing
- Compliant with Azalia 1.0 Spec
- Meet Microsoft Vista Premium spec



LAN

• Supports one PCI Express LAN 10/100/1000 Fast Ethernet by Realtek 8111E.



Internal I/O Connectors

- ATX 24-Pin power connector
- 8-pin ATX 12V power connector
- CPU x 1 / System x 4 FAN connectors
- CD-in connector
- Front panel audio connector
- Front panel connector
- 1 x chasis intrusion connector
- 3 x USB 2.0 connectors
- 1 x USB 3.0 connectors
- 4 x Serial ATAII connectors
- 4 x Serial ATAIII connectors
- 1 x Clear CMOS jumper
- 1 x SPDIF-out connector
- 1 x TPM module connector
- 1 x DLED3 connector
- 1 x Voltage Check Point
- 1 x Power button
- 1 x Reset button
- 1 x OC Genie button



Back Panel I/O Ports

- 1 x PS/2 Mouse/Keyboard port
- 1 x Coaxial SPDIF port
- 1 x Optical SPDIF port
- 1 x Clear CMOS button
- 1 x RJ45 LAN Jack
- 4 x USB 2.0 ports
- 2 x USB 3.0 ports
- 1 x Graphics Card port
- 1 x DVI-D port
- 1 x HDMI port
- 1 x 6 in 1 audio jack
MSI Reminds You...
• HDMI, DVI-D & Graphics Card ports can only work with CPUs with GPUs core inside.


BIOS

• The mainboard BIOS provides "Plug & Play" BIOS which detects the peripheral devices and expansion cards of the board automatically.
• The mainboard provides a Desktop Management Interface(DMI) function which records your mainboard specifications.



Dimension

• 30.5cm(L) x 24.5cm(W) ATX Form Factor

Mounting

• 9 mounting holes.

German EFI-bios forum(for the latest beta-bios):
http://forum-de.msi.com/index.php?pa...ID=84&baf9e3da

Tested at HardOCP:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2011/...rboard_review/

Still, we have NEVER seen a 5GHz overclock out of this particular 2500K though!

My own few(sof far)testings published on my bedroom-server:
http://xeizo.com/blogg/?p=61
http://xeizo.com/blogg/?p=58
http://xeizo.com/blogg/?p=40
http://xeizo.com/blogg/?p=36


http://xeizo.com/blogg/wp-content/up...11/10/one1.jpg

My thread about getting MSI Z68A-GD55 G3 at sweclockers.com:
http://www.sweclockers.com/forum/55-...3-pa-ingaende/

Settings changed for 4800MHz OC and 1600MHz RAM:

Vcore = 1.36V
Low VDroop = Enabled
CPU Spread Spectrum = Disabled
PLL Overvoltage = 1.91V
VDIMM = 1.61V
CPU Multiplier = 48x
Mem speed = 1600MHz

Everything else at the default-setting or auto. Very easy, really.

My current (gaming)rig, not "main" because I mostly use Linux on a box with lesser hardware:

MSI Z68A-GD55 G3, EFI-bios 2.3b5
16GB(4x4GB) Kingston Valueram 1333MHz 1.5V @ 1600MHz 1.61V
Antec Kühler H20 620 cpu-watercooler w. Fractal Design 1000rpm 120mm pull and a Noctua 12P@1300rpm 120mm push(the default fan is too noisy)
Core i7 2600K @ 4.8GHz
Corsair F3 120GB SSD SATA3 firmware 1.3 (OS-disk)
WD Black 640GB SATA2 (programs and file-storage)
Seagate 7200.10 320GB SATA2 (storage)
WD 2TB USB2.0 (WD Green) external storage (was very cheap)
Fractal Design R3-case(black) with bitumen noise isolation and 3x140mm(600rpm) + 4x120mm(1000rpm) case fans.
Fractal Design Tesla 650W PSU
Gigabyte GTX470 reference design (does 810MHz/3.9GHz in bench, but too noisy, 700-750MHz is doable while gaming but default is most often enough)
M-Audio Audiophile 2496 (I use this box as a DAW too)
Some old Samsung DVD-RW for installing Windows


So, this was just a start, I hope there will be more impressions posted from people using these affordable Sandy Bridge mobos with very solid hardware but strange and quirky bios that surprisingly is usable but ugly.

edit. been running @4.9GHz succcesfully for a while;
http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=2042107

[teurorist]

can you test super pi with

bclk 100
and 99.9
pleas ther was a bug in the p67

[the squonk]

I can do that, but how do you want med to achieve the respective settings? I wonder because when I have bclk set to 100(10000) in bios so does cpu-z display it as 99.8.

[clone38]

I can do that, but how do you want med to achieve the respective settings? I wonder because when I have bclk set to 100(10000) in bios so does cpu-z display it as 99.8.

Asked MSI about the 99.8 bug and was told its not important,it puts me off looking at it all the time as its a half arsed job and could no dought be fixed in about 5mins .

[the squonk]

I wouldn't bother, it's just to raise bclk. I tested 102MHz(101.8) and it worked just as fine @ 4.9GHZ only marginally faster, if one want's faster.

From what I can see so does MSI indeed have a slightly lower bclk than other mb:s, on the other hand so does some have higher(for marketing reasons I guess, as it gives a slight edge when benchmarking @ default)

Anyway, I got my processor stable for daily usage at 4.9GHz with a minimum effort and all the benchmark results are where they should be, so I couldn't be happier

When I feel I have more time to dig into it I will go for 5.2-5.4GHz ....

[the squonk]

Current bios-settings @ 4.9GHZ, for reference:
(and bios 23.3b6 can be downloaded from the German support-forum, which is what I use)

[Tor_2000]

Whats the date on this BIOS version you are using and how can you download from the German forum without registration? Is this version free of all the doubleclicking? I like the new Click BIOS II tough, its a big step up from the first version. Wish they released it tho all their 1155 boards, not just the Z68 Gen 3 boards.

[the squonk]

Whats the date on this BIOS version you are using and how can you download from the German forum without registration? Is this version free of all the doubleclicking? I like the new Click BIOS II tough, its a big step up from the first version. Wish they released it tho all their 1155 boards, not just the Z68 Gen 3 boards.

You must register to download, I now run bios 23.3b6 from 2011-10-07. I haven't tought about doubleclicking as I use the keyboard. Currently I'm OCCT 1h-stable and IBT-stable at 4.8GHz, vcore is 1.4V in bios and droops to 1.38V during full load.

[the squonk]

Asked MSI about the 99.8 bug and was told its not important,it puts me off looking at it all the time as its a half arsed job and could no dought be fixed in about 5mins .

Yes odd bug, bclk 100 is reported as 99.8 but when I lower it to 99.9 it is reported as 99.9.

[the squonk]

I'm now running the latest official bios, it's 100% stable @ 4.8GHz too, so nothing to complain about.

The bclk is still strange though, now it's even lower @ 9990 setting in bios and at 10000 it's at 99.8 as used to be the case with 9990 before. Never mind, because whatever I'm setting it at; it at least keeps that frequency stable.

This board has been fairly undramatic to use, everything works and it overclocks well, couldn't really ask for more

[Lightman]

Got GD65 and because this is my first Intel board since .................................................. . Celeron 300A (lol) I have no reference to other available on the market.
Anyway it works as it should, measuring points are a nice touch for those with DMM, VRM is solid and voltages are kept very well.

I have to dive into clocking 2500K a bit more over this weekend, but so far I'm impressed with power consumption even when clocked to 4.4GHz 1.29V.
Just to make it clear I did few tests @4.8GHz 1.4V but had few issues at the restart of the system when mobo was on/off few times and reverting to lower clocks. Windows was stable @4.8GHz in my brief testing.
CPU was good till 4.2GHz on stock 1.2V which after Vdrop under load was reported as 1.18V (low Vdrop setting in BIOS).

Overlay board seems very solid, BIOS is good but can be better, stable when OC, Gen3 ready.


One issue I'm having with it on newest BIOS is UEFI BIOS mouse sometimes not working correctly when XBOX360 pad is plugged in. I can only move cursor vertically.

[Nelly]

Hi there, anything above 4.6GHz I cannot do on Auto - CPU Core Voltage, I am hoping MSI add an offset feature to the BIOS, on Manual CPU Voltage I did manage 4.8GHz on around 1.424v, I need to retest this, I could not get 5GHz stable need to look into it more.

I now have my 2500K @ 4.6GHz CPU Core Voltage = [AUTO] which is 1.336v in Windows at load and around 1.024v at idle.

Click >> BETA UEFI Releases for Z68A-GD55/65 (G3) [MS-7681 v4.0] [E7681IMS.Nxx releases] (Currently testing BETA Bios 23.4B4 27th Oct 11)

The MSI Z68A-GD65 (G3) motherboard undervolts ram slightly it seems using the ram listed below so maybe 2 nudges above auto maybe required as I need this at x46 multi for stability otherwise I BSOD anything above x44 multi.

If you have a voltage tester maybe worth checking out.

Crucial 2X2GB CT2KIT25664BA1339 first mem kit tested
Corsair CML8GX3M2A1600C9W 1,35V Vengeance kit currently on the MB



Source

This is the settings I use within CPU Features and within ECO - Energy Saving sections of the BIOS.

MSI Z68A-GD65/55 (G3) - Overclock Settings


EIST = [Enabled]
Eup 2013 = [Disabled]
CPU Phase Control = [Intel SVID Mode]
C1E Support = [Enabled]
Intel C-State = [Disabled]

I have listed my bios settings below in the MSI UEFI Bios Screenshots.

[temexter]

I'm intrested in GD55 and as lazeý and dummy thought i'll ask guys with in depth info. Moreover didn't find any GD55 reviews :/

Is the only difference between GD55 and GD65 the amount of SATA3 ports (2/4) and if i've got it right CPU VRM?

So do you see any difference in performance - except maybe OC potential?

Thanks in advance

//temexter out

[Nelly]

Is the only difference between GD55 and GD65 the amount of SATA3 ports (2/4) and if i've got it right CPU VRM?

So do you see any difference in performance - except maybe OC potential?

Thanks in advance

//temexter out

The GD55 and GD65 share the same BIOS, they should overclock the same.

Yes that is correct it's not a big deal, also measuring point, and included adapter cables that when mated with a digital multi-meter.

I don't think the blue socket connector is included on the GD55, again not a big deal.

[the squonk]

CPU VRM is actually exactly the same, as is bios. They should OC identically so for those not requiring the extra features GD55 is a solid buy competetively priced.

What differs is Marvell SATA, Dual Bios and voltage measuring points. Nothing more.

Offset is the biggest missing feature in the bios so let's hope MSI implements it. I will try to nag about it in the MSI-forums

Edit. It was an absolute nightmare to post this from an Iphone with Swedish T9

[Nelly]

Offset is the biggest missing feature in the bios so let's hope MSI implements it. I will try to nag about it in the MSI-forums

I think people have been requesting Offset since the P67 motherboards, I've sent another email to http://support.msi.com/ the more people who request I guess more chance of them adding the feature.

I sent another e-mail on Friday, hopefully they will fix Spread Spectrum when disabled as well to get the Bus Speed to 100MHz instead of 99.8MHz, I got around it by using MSI Control Center to lock 100MHz.

I think I've got an average 2500K, 4.6GHz is the best I'm going to do with this CPU 4.7GHz is needing around 1.37v and 4.8GHz around 1.424v. Batch No: L104A429

This is only a gaming rig anyway so 4.6GHz is very good.

[Lightman]

I think people have been requesting Offset since the P67 motherboards, I've sent another email to http://support.msi.com/ the more people who request I guess more chance of them adding the feature.

I sent another e-mail on Friday, hopefully they will fix Spread Spectrum when disabled as well to get the Bus Speed to 100MHz instead of 99.8MHz, I got around it by using MSI Control Center to lock 100MHz.

I think I've got an average 2500K, 4.6GHz is the best I'm going to do with this CPU 4.7GHz is needing around 1.37v and 4.8GHz around 1.424v. Batch No: L104A429

This is only a gaming rig anyway so 4.6GHz is very good.

Quite agree on offset voltage!
Thanks for tip how to get CPU drop voltages when idling! I had mine set to 1.29V and it was down clocking but kept voltages.

My CPU is L113B853 and does 4.4GHz @1.29V and around 4.7GHz @1.4V. Haven't tested it fully yet so take that 4.7GHz claim as work in progress. This is on H70 water.

EDIT: Tested on Auto vCore and 46x multi resulted in 1.38V on my CPU! After a bit of Cinebench, 3DMark and then some Witcher 2 computer blue screened. Not stable! Now 45x and 1.36V on Auto. So far so good but only tested for 30 minutes.

[Nelly]

Quite agree on offset voltage!
Thanks for tip how to get CPU drop voltages when idling! I had mine set to 1.29V and it was down clocking but kept voltages.

My CPU is L113B853 and does 4.4GHz @1.29V and around 4.7GHz @1.4V. Haven't tested it fully yet so take that 4.7GHz claim as work in progress. This is on H70 water.

EDIT: Tested on Auto vCore and 46x multi resulted in 1.38V on my CPU! After a bit of Cinebench, 3DMark and then some Witcher 2 computer blue screened. Not stable! Now 45x and 1.36V on Auto. So far so good but only tested for 30 minutes.

Have you tried 4.6GHz on the exact same settings as me using Auto vCore? by the looks of things you have a better CPU than me.

[Lightman]

Have you tried 4.6GHz on the exact same settings as me using Auto vCore? by the looks of things you have a better CPU than me.

Yes, as in my EDIT, it failed at 1.38V after 40 minutes of testing.

[Nelly]

MSI Z68A-GD65 (G3) 99.8MHz bug, temporary fix to make it 100MHz



With the current available official and beta bios, when disabling spread spectrum, the bus speed does not increase from 99.8MHz to 100MHz, I have messaged MSI support again to look into this with the current 23.4B4 Beta Bios.

Anyway I have found a fix for this, download the latest Control Center v2.2.0036 off the MSI website.

If your CPU Base Frequency is at default in BIOS 10000 you will see 98.8MHz on CPU-Z so in Control Center change the Base Clock (MHz) to 100.2 MHz and click save.

If you set your CPU Base Frequency at 10010 in BIOS you will see 100.2MHz on CPU-Z so in Control Center change the Base Clock (MHz) to 100MHz and click save.

Either way when you reboot it will always show 100MHz - You will need to redo this in Control Center if you have had your PC switched off for more than a few minutes, rebooting from windows it should keep the 100MHz bus speed.

Hopefully this will be fixed in a future BIOS update, it works on the equivelent B3 motherboards, which they also fixed in a BIOS update.

[the squonk]

MSI Z68A-GD65 (G3) 99.8MHz bug, temporary fix to make it 100MHz

...

Nice tip! Not that I will use it myself, I dont think it really matters if I run 4789MHz instead of 4800MHz. But someone else may think it's useful. The best thing would be if a permanent fix was implemented in the next beta bios.

Currently I'm running the latest N44 beta-bios, finally the mouse issues inside bios have been fixed for me using the old trusty MX-510 mouse But by now, I'm already used to the keyboard

There is a new MSI LIve Update utility on the mainboards product page at MSI, if one uses that one will find new versions of Control Center and Click-Bios II through the utility. I've installed them all(but not all the extra MSI software that the utility will also find).

[Nelly]

Their is a E7681IMS.N46 BIOS, that fixes the Lucidlogix only available in 'Trial Mode' for GD55-G3 only, well thats what the UK MSI Rep put on the forum I'm reading.

He didn't say if it fixes anything else. Link: http://marketing-uk.msi.com/images/E7681IMS.zip

Please note that flashing this release occurs entirely at your own risk!
>>Use the MSI HQ Forum USB flasher<<, Method II for best results.
Do not use the BIOS/UEFI integrated M-Flash Routine.

[the squonk]

Their is a E7681IMS.N46 BIOS, that fixes the Lucidlogix only available in 'Trial Mode' for GD55-G3 only, well thats what the UK MSI Rep put on the forum I'm reading.

He didn't say if it fixes anything else. Link: http://marketing-uk.msi.com/images/E7681IMS.zip

Please note that flashing this release occurs entirely at your own risk!
>>Use the MSI HQ Forum USB flasher<<, Method II for best results.
Do not use the BIOS/UEFI integrated M-Flash Routine.

Thank you! I guess I will test it tomorrow, mabe it's time to see if Quick Sync is any fun to use

[Nelly]

New BETA BIOS released, see below.

E7681IMS.N45 ---> E7681IMS.N46

- Add the Virtu license key to support Z68A-GD55 model.
- Add boot option for winki
- Modify some string.
- Add support F12 screenshot save as different filename function.

... and then we now have:

E7681IMS.N46 ---> E7681IMS.N47

- Adjust the font color setting for grayout controller.
- Implement M-FLASH solution for NTFS file support. (Now only support update BIOS Function.Support Read-only. No writes to media of any kind are supported. Compressed, Encrypted, and Sparce files are not supported).

Please note that flashing this release occurs entirely at your own risk!
>>Use the MSI HQ Forum USB flasher<<, Method II for best results.
Do NOT use the BIOS/UEFI integrated M-Flash Routine.

Click here >> http://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?to...760#msg1139760

[IndianScout]

great thread I'm building my 2nd system but going with the GD55 board this time where as before I went with the G43, from what I can see physically there isn't a whole lot of difference



IBT score was a bit low I was still dialing in the system, I finally settled on 124flops like the OP