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MSI P67A-GD80 LGA1155 Sandy Bridge ATX Motherboard Reviewed

Eric Garay
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We’ve had the privilege of reviewing the most affordable mid-range P67 motherboards available which included the MSI P67A-GD65 and others. We highlighted any features that resulted in improved system performance in our tests. While all the boards in the round up use similar technology to achieve their objectives, it’s nice when function and design align. A good example is the GD65 with its MSI OC Genie II, driver-Mosfets (DrMOS), intuitive software bundle, and a well rounded accessories bundle for setting up the motherboard.

For all intents and purposes, the MSI P67A-GD65 is a very affordable option an INTEL platform. Even with Z68 boards dropping around it. But there are some who like a extra performance, particularly when overclocking. That’s where the P67A-GD80 fits into the picture. It’s a tougher board that can be found at decent pricing and is said to be able to overclock better. Let’s find out if that’s true!

Features and Specifications

Naturally, this is a B3 stepping P67 motherboard which addresses the issues that early P67 boards had and we’ve heard that some manufacturers have taken the B3 opportunity to make some last minute tweaks underneath that we can’t see. As for the GD80, it’s designed to give users a little more performance from their CPU given the extra VRM circuits around the socket. Let’s look it over first before testing in our video overview and unboxing.

The GD80’s theme is super clean. The overall layout is very similar to the GD65 with only a few changes worth noting. For example, the power, reset, and OC Genie buttons are located near center bottom now. This also includes the placement of the USB 3.0 expansion bracket ports. We also noticed that there are fewer SATA6Gbps ports than on the GD65. There is also a 6-pin auxiliary PCIe power connector right above the top PCI Experss x16 slot. For other than for ensuring high end cards like the GTX 580 or 590 have extra power, it’s a little unusual given that the board only supports 2-way NVIDIA SLI and AMD CrossfireX.

About the only miniscule issue tuning enthusiasts might run in to is the placement of the 24-pin and blue voltage access header. It’s not uncommon for the main PSU power cable to lean over that part of the board given the usual method of running wires in a case. For our purposes, we use the ports mainly for voltage monitoring to make sure the board is functioning well.

Price for the board is around the $199 US range making, making it only marginally more than the lower end GD65 version at $179 US. It’s available at most major MSI dealers like NCIX, NewEgg and others.

Test Setup and Configuration

Nearly identical to our P67 Roundup, we’ll be using an unlocked Intel Core i7-2600K processor to see where the motherboard can go in terms of overclocking after the stock tests. Here’s the hardware configuration.

We’re using the latest BIOS on the boards. Some of the fixes as of late help upper frequency stability as well as some BIOS setting tune ups. We’re using NVIDIA’s 270 series video card drivers. The HyperX Genesis DDR3 was used to confirm each motherboard successfully supports 2133MHz, or overclocked frequencies.





BIOS Notes and Overclocking

The BIOS is extremely similar to the GD65 BIOS. Its appearance and layout is basically the same except for some minor changes in the video settings area. It may not be the most attractive or responsive UEFI BIOS we’ve seen, but it’s easy to figure out.

When it comes to overclocking, the OC Genie button truly is the easiest method. After pressing the button, the letters light up and it takes only a few seconds for the system to come alive. This pushed our Core i7-2600K to 4.2GHz effortlessly. The max frequency you’ll get depends on the particular processor you’re using along with the other components in your system build.

BIOS overclocking provided a very pleasant surprise. While the GD65 board still seems to find 4.5GHz a challenge, the GD80 is much more willing. It hit 4.8GHz easily without extreme measures. It supported the HyperX Genesis memory just fine at 2133MHz at CAS 9 and CAS 8 timings. Overall, these are pretty high frequencies and tight timings with just basic manual tweaks.

Benchmark Suite

Our benchmark suite consists of software designed to test the system’s overall abilities right down to its IO and Audio. If something isn’t performing correctly, it’ll show in our testing. Here are benchmarks we’ve hand picked for the task.

  • Sysmark 2007 (Triple Iteration)
  • Cinebench R11.5 (Multi and Single Core)
  • 3DMark11 (Performance Setting)
  • RightMark Audio Performance
  • I/O Performance (Crystal Disk Mark)
  • Power Consumption

In regards to the power consumption, this was measured at the socket using a power meter. On with the benchmarks!

Sysmark 2007

This program benchmarks a computer’s overall performance rating the system in areas such as E-Learning, Video Creation, Office Productivity, and 3D Modeling. E-Learning uses apps like Adobe Flash and Photoshop to execute rich image, video, and audio in web based presentations. Video Creation creates a video rendering uses apps like SONY VEGAS to stress the system in professional video editing using effects and images from multiple sources, content types and formats. Office Productivity uses the real Microsoft Office to assess performance gains using these types of application. Finally, 3D Modeling professional applications to stress the system in real world modelling simulations.

Here are the stock numbers which are pretty decent. We have a good rating and comparable performance across the board. Let’s look at it overclocked, but keep in mind that we require stability for at least three passes without any errors. If it can pass this test, you can count on it being stable.

Due to its more aggressive tuning, the GD80 proved itself a solid, stable performer even when overclocked. It definitely outpaces it’s GD65 sibling as well as the rest of the boards in our tests.

Cinebench R11.5

Rendering in this benchmark is very CPU intensive and sensitive to things like CPU frequencies and any special tuning built in to a motherboard like Intel Turbo response.

Now, these are some numbers to be proud of for sure. The GD80 is within the pack as most boards with a similar chipset are. Once some overclocking is enabled, the GD80 pulls ahead with its extra performance headroom. It’s clearly a great platform to build a multi-core rendering platform with.





3DMark11 – Performance Settings

This is the latest 3D benchmark from Futuremark. It’s pretty handy for validating our test system’s synthetic 3D performance. This benchmark will also tell you if your video card and/or drivers aren’t running properly.

These results should please anyone looking for a potential benchmarking winner. Particularly with some more overclocking tweaks. It’s faster than the rest we’ve tested for sure, but synthetic tests only tell part of the tale in 3D. Let’s add an actual game title to the mix.

Metro 2033

Since these are all NVIDIA SLI capable motherboards, if we didn’t make an excuse to play some games and run some real world benchmarks. Metro 2033 is definitely one of the toughest games to hit a system since the original Crysis.

Results here are extremely close across the systems. Given Metro 2033’s extremely detailed DirectX 11 tessellation, we suggest two video cards when playing with resolutions of 1920 x 1200 or higher. Otherwise, you can overclock your processor and get up to a nice 15 frame per second jump as shown here.

Rightmark Audio Analyzer

For objective testing, we used Rightmark Audio Analyzer to give us a definitive, mechanical rating of the audio solutions onboard. Having said that, we also needed to ensure that the human heart was satisfied with our own subjective listening tests through headphones. For sake of comparison, we threw a couple other boards with similar Realtek HD audio processors in.

The audio test results were quite good overall. Most of the test results are affected by hardware implementation with a small portion by the software drivers. In a nut shell, the audio quality is pleasantly clear. Since integrated audio solutions are intended to cut down on cost, it doesn’t boast much gain so distortion sets in much quicker than a solution with better headphone amps. Otherwise, you should be pleased with the basic performance, especially when using good speakers.

I/O Performance – Crystal Disk Mark & Sisoft SANDRA

The majority of boards have the same or similar baseline performance and besides overclocking performance, I/O performance can also vary widely depending on implementation. Things like a PLX controller here or a more clever component placement there can improve performance.

We’re not surprised to see similar performance results in some feature tests since these are all very similarly designed platforms. Upper echelon models with extra PCIe lanes can and usually do perform faster. Still, we can’t help but wonder why cut away two SATA6Gbps ports on the GD80, when they are present on the GD65?





Quality Control and Power Consumption

Inspecting the motherboard for defects, crooked components, or any poor materials used is something we like to do to help manufacturers keep an eye on what goes out. Fortunately, we couldn’t find any components out of place. The heat sinks, I/O expansion ports, sockets and buttons are all well fastened or secured to the motherboard. Also, if you recall, our voltage monitoring shows us the board is getting the correct voltage needed.

That said, the P67A-GD80 and GD65 actually consume similar amounts of power at idle and load. It was the same when using automated OC Genie II overclocking feature. However, the GD80 consumes slightly more power when taken further. Keep in mind that when using the board’s auxiliary 6-pin PCIE power connector, power consumption may increase by as much as 60 watts when under heavy load with larger graphics cards.

Final Thoughts

We know that the MSI P67A-GD80 offers much better overclocking compared to its GD65 sibling. But, it was a nice surprise seeing 4.8GHz without really doing a whole lot of serious tweaking. Granted, 4.2GHz OC Genie II automation is great. But, all that extra headroom via the BIOS is definitely impressive to say the least. Given the board’s overclocking aggressiveness, would it be too much to ask to program OC Genie II to be a little moer aggressive beyond 4.2GHz? Or at least have an OC Genie II “Overdrive” option?

Overall, performance is very commendable. The GD80 seems to be a very well polished platform right down to the software and onboard features. There is nothing that should shy away any type of user looking for a very worth upgrade. It’s just a little strange that it comes with only six total SATA ports. Yet, you get a lot of extra USB 3.0 which has proven to be fast external expansion option. At the same time, we’d be willing to sacrifice a few USB 3.0 if it got the price well under $200 US. Especially with a barrage of competing Z68 boards hitting the market now.

At a current $199 US price tag, it’s not exactly an expensive board and is only marginally more expensive than the GD65 at around $179 US. Since most of the other boards don’t offer the same level of performance, that extra $20 means enthusiasts will get a good high quality experience from MSI DrMOS. Because of that, the MSI P67A-GD80 motherboard deserves an enthusiastic Futurelooks Recommended Award.

Pros

  • Great Performing P67 board
  • Overclocks the Core i7-2600K to 4.8GHz with basic tweaks
  • Extra clean layout and implemented motherboard
  • Commendable motherboard bundled accessories
  • OC Genie II always works flawlessly

Cons

  • Only 6 SATA ports vs the 8 on GD65

Overall Rating: 9.0 / 10.0


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