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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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Last edited by Solara2xb; 06-08-2013 at 13:33.
CPU: Intel 2500k 3.8Ghz |
M/B: MSI Z68A-GD65 (3) |
RAM: G.SKILL Sniper 16GB |
GPU: Gigabyte GTX 670 OC |
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Very professional review Kenny! Like always![]()
Solara2xb (27-06-2013)
CPU: Intel I5 7600k Gabby Lake |
M/B: Gigabyte aorus Z270X gaming K7 |
RAM: 16 gig Ballistic tacticle DDR4 |
GPU: powercolor devil R9 270X Windforce |
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Exceptional Review Kenny thanks for posting
Solara2xb (27-06-2013)
CPU: Core i7 3930K |
M/B: ASRock X79 Extreme9 |
RAM: 64GBs Kingston Beast 2133MHz |
GPU: Two EVGA GTX 690s in Quad SLI |
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Great job on the review Kenny ! Gotta go, it's time for my 2nd doctors appointment, should be back around 12pm.
Solara2xb (27-06-2013)
CPU: Amd Phenom BE 720x3 |
M/B: Asus M4a79 t Deluxe |
RAM: G-Skill 1600 |
GPU: Radeon 4870x2 |
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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 (27-06-2013)
CPU: Intel i7 5930K / Intel i7 4820K / Intel i7 4790K |
M/B: ASUS X99 R5E / ASUS X79 Sabertooth / ASUS Z97 MVIIF |
RAM: 32GB Kingston DDR4 3000MHz / 32GB Corsair 1866MHz / 16GB HyperX Savage 2400MHz |
GPU: EVGA GTX780 TRI SLI Classy / EVGA GTX 780 SLI / XFX R9 290 (xfire) w XSPC WB |
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Thanks All, This was a great board to work with.. The Gaming series from MSI really stepped up on its game.
CPU: Intel 4960x @ 4.3ghz |
M/B: MSI x79 GD45 Plus |
RAM: 16GB Patriot Viper Ram @ 2133mhz |
GPU: Nvidia GTX Titan 6GB |
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great review Kenny. Im really liking this board!
You don't know me and that's the way i like it!
Solara2xb (27-06-2013)
CPU: Intel i7-5820k |
M/B: ASRock X99 WS |
RAM: 32GB Crucial DDR4 2133 |
GPU: 2 R9-290s Xfire |
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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.
"If you got it, Build it"
A+ Certified. Dell, Lenovo, HP, Lexmarks, Xerox, Panasonic and NEC Certified ASP.
Solara2xb (27-06-2013)
CPU: Intel Core I7 2600K - 4.5Ghz. |
M/B: ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe |
RAM: 16 GB G. Skill Sniper |
GPU: EVGA GTX 680 4GB |
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Thanks for the review Kenny. As always excellent job and very informative. Much appreciated for your time.
Rick
Intel Core i7-870 2.93GHz, ASUS P7P55 WS Mobo, 8GB OCZ Ram, (2) EVGA 560ti, Sound Blaster X-Fi Sound Card, Cooler Master 932 HAF Case, Thermaltake G1 Mechanical Keyboard, Logitech G9X Laser Gaming Mouse, 24 Inch Samsung Monitor, and LG BluRay/DVD Player/Burner.
Solara2xb (27-06-2013)
CPU: Intel 4790K @ 4.6GHz |
M/B: ASUS Z97 Sabertooth |
RAM: 16GB Patriot Viper Xtreme D4 2133 |
GPU: nVidia GTX 780 Reference |
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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.
Solara2xb (27-06-2013)
CPU: Intel Core i5 2400 @ 3.10GHz Sandy Bridge 32nm Technology |
M/B: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 (CPUSocket) |
RAM: Crucial Balitix 8.00GB Single-Channel DDR3 @ 800MHz |
GPU: GeForce GTX 960 |
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great job kenny ,and is that the board you are giving away ?
Solara2xb (27-06-2013)
CPU: Intel i7 5930K / Intel i7 4820K / Intel i7 4790K |
M/B: ASUS X99 R5E / ASUS X79 Sabertooth / ASUS Z97 MVIIF |
RAM: 32GB Kingston DDR4 3000MHz / 32GB Corsair 1866MHz / 16GB HyperX Savage 2400MHz |
GPU: EVGA GTX780 TRI SLI Classy / EVGA GTX 780 SLI / XFX R9 290 (xfire) w XSPC WB |
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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.
CPU: Intel i7 5930K / Intel i7 4820K / Intel i7 4790K |
M/B: ASUS X99 R5E / ASUS X79 Sabertooth / ASUS Z97 MVIIF |
RAM: 32GB Kingston DDR4 3000MHz / 32GB Corsair 1866MHz / 16GB HyperX Savage 2400MHz |
GPU: EVGA GTX780 TRI SLI Classy / EVGA GTX 780 SLI / XFX R9 290 (xfire) w XSPC WB |
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CPU: Intel Core i7 - 4770K |
M/B: MSI Z87 MPOWER |
RAM: 32 GB DDR3 2400 G.SKILL SNIPER |
GPU: 2X- EVGA GFORCE GTX 960 4GB FTW |
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Great review Kenny very well done my friend, and at that price the MSI board is a really great value
Solara2xb (27-06-2013)
CPU: i7 3770k De-Lidded@4.7 |
M/B: MSI Z77 M-Power |
RAM: 8GB G.Skill TridentX @2933 |
GPU: 2x EVGA GTX 680's |
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Solara2xb (27-06-2013)
CPU: Intel i7 3770K herp derp Mhz 6 oclock |
M/B: Asus P8Z77-V Deluxe Sausage not included |
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport 2X8GB DDR3-1600 1.5V CL9 |
GPU: MSI 670 SLIng |
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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.
Solara2xb (28-06-2013)