MSI Z87A-GD65 Gaming Motherboard Review

[News Team]

Haswell has been on store shelves for a little over two weeks now, and we have seen an abundance of motherboard releases. Choosing the right one for your needs is the challenge. Some are looking for pure aesthetics, some are looking for pure performance, and some look for both. Today we are going to take a look at an MSI motherboard to see if it can live up to that last one. We have in for review today the MSI Z87A-GD65 Gaming Edition motherboard. MSI's release of their gaming series motherboards stood out with both aesthetics and performance during its Z87 chipset series. Today we are going to see if they were able to maintain that same level of performance and aesthetic appeal to capture the widest audience. To test the MSI Z87A-GD65 Gaming Edition, we are going to use the latest Haswell processor, the Intel i7 4770K. The 4770K works with the lastest Z87 chipset and comes with great performance changes that we are going to put to the test. But, before we do, let's talk a little bit about MSI.

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[Lil' ½ Dead]

Very professional review Kenny! Like always

[xelosia]

Exceptional Review Kenny thanks for posting

[Doctor_Death]

Great job on the review Kenny ! Gotta go, it's time for my 2nd doctors appointment, should be back around 12pm.

[Bill Barnes]

Great review!!! Ive never owned an MSI board or a Intel Rig for that matter but would be glad to have get my hands on this board!! Of course I would have to sell my car to get an i7 CPU and it cost more than my current car! LOL Matter of fact my current computer cost more than my car!

[Solara2xb]

Thanks All, This was a great board to work with.. The Gaming series from MSI really stepped up on its game.

[TeeBlack]

great review Kenny. Im really liking this board!

[Cyberburnout]

very in depth and professional review on the board. MSi really made a feature packed and great performance board.

It Was like a bonus review in a review! Thanks for the detailed review of the 4770k. Based on the results I see no reason for anyone to upgrade to it. If you compare the OC results of the 3770k to the 4770k they are pretty even. If you run at stock speeds then you may see a small advantage but it wouldn't be noticeable.

[Rick44]

Thanks for the review Kenny. As always excellent job and very informative. Much appreciated for your time.
Rick

[Ciarlatano]

I had never been a big fan of MSI boards in the past, but they really stepped up their game with the Z87 boards. They are good looking, feature packed and have excellent performance. Nice review on a great board.

[Adham]

great job kenny ,and is that the board you are giving away ?

[Solara2xb]

great job kenny ,and is that the board you are giving away ?

This isn't the board in the giveaway. Buts its close...
I actually sent this board to Stan after I was done reviewing it and I am keeping the MPower for my test bench and possible in the future if time and money permits, I am going to do DICE and see what kind of OC I can get with the 4770K.

[Solara2xb]

Great job on the review Kenny ! Gotta go, it's time for my 2nd doctors appointment, should be back around 12pm.

Thanks! Hope all is well Stan!

[vinman]

Great review Kenny very well done my friend, and at that price the MSI board is a really great value

[JamesLT3]

Great review Kenny, MSI is becoming a force to reckoned with!

[MattyMatt]

Wow, exceptionally thorough review. I am not a fan of MSI, mostly because of past experiences, but they have been starting to grow on me again lately, friends buying their boards and not having issues. I like that.

Oh and Dragon Age build? Looks like a board for a Dragon Age build. You should make a Dragon Age build, because DRAGONS.