[Review] MSI Z77A-GD65 (March of the DRAGON ARMY)

KeYoKe

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Greetings bros of HWZ, I am here to do a short review on the MSI Z77A-GD65 Gaming Motherboard which just reach our shores this week.

As everyone knows that MSI came out with the MSI Z77 Mpower motherboard which was targeting at extreme overclockers and even allows overclockers to RMA their board if the board got damaged during the process of overclocking.

However, gamers like myself don't really got the time to overclock and perform all the stability and stress test after overclocking. Hence, I bought myself this board and decided to do a short review to share my experience with the bros in HWZ.

Pictures speaks a thousand words.

Firstly, let us take a look at the packaging of the motherboard

Packaging

I personally prefer the material used in this packaging. It has a matt black coating and the box feels solid and firm compared to the material used in the packaging of other motherboards

Front of the packaging
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Back and side of the box
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KeYoKe

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Accessories included in the package

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Accessories included:
1 x MSI Z77A-GD65 Motherboard driver DVD
1 x Corbell Warranty Card
1 x Black and red themed I/O Shield
4 x Sata 6Gb/s cable (will prefer it all black instead)
1 x MSI Black SLi Bridge
1 x Front Panel conenctors "Easy Installer"
1 x MSI G Series Gaming Motherboard Case Badge
1 x Voltage Checkpoints probes
1 x MSI "Do Not Disturb" Door Handle Sign
1 x MSI Z77A-GD65 GAMING User Guide
1 x MSI Software and Application User Guide

MSI G Series Gaming Motherboard Case Badge
This case badge unlike other case badge feels solid. In love with the design and the material used in this case badge. Despite that, it also uses 3M Adhesive, which I believe will not damage the area which it is sticked on.

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KeYoKe

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Overview of Motherboard features

Killer E2200 Game networking:
This board uses the Killer E2200 network chipset which provides a smoother and stutter-free in game performance, thus, providing lowest latency for game data.

Sound Blaster Cinema:
This board uses a Realtek ALC898 chipset which allows gamers to have a more precise and crystal clear sound during gaming, and also enables gamers to clearly hear specific sounds in gaming environments

ALC898 Realtek Chip features a 110dB Signal to noise Ratio (SnR) playback and 104 SnR recording. ALC898 Realtek Chip together With Sound Blaster Cinema will deliver a much more realistic and immersive experience.

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SBX Surround: Improves sound algorithm and expands virtual surround spaciousness.

SBX Crystalizer: Provides a more vibrant and dynamic sound, and enhances the dynamic range of compressed audio source to give the user a more realistic experience

SBX Bass: Extends the low frequency tones and gives the extra impact for a dramatically improved sound experience

SBX Dialog Plus: Enhances voices in movies for clearer dialog, allow the listener to hear the dialog over the rest of the soundtrack and over the ambient noise in the listening environment

SBX Smart Volume: This feature addresses the problem of abrupt volume level changes during playback and between songs by automatically and continuously measuring volume, and intelligently applying gain and attenuation to compensate those changes

Ideal PCI-Express 3.0 slot orientation:
This motherboard features one or more PCI-Express 3.0 slots, perfectly orientated for optimal airflow for gamers whom are adopting multiple GPU solutions (SLi/Crossfire) which will in turn decrease the temperature of the GPUs during gaming.

Gaming Device ports:
gamingdeviceport_1.png

Keyboards/Mouse plugged into these ports will be more responsive, which provides a smoother gameplay and faster reactions. These ports has 3 x more gold than regular connectors which has 10 times longer lifetime when plugging and unplugging and also prevents oxidation.

Military Class III Components:
DrMOS II is used to deliver accurate and precise power for the CPU. It stays cool and is more power efficient than other powersaving solutions.
Solid CAP has an aluminum core design which drastically improves the lifespan of the board
Hi-c CAP is a very small and super efficient capacitors which allows up to 93% energy efficiency.
MSI Super Ferrite Choke has a Ferrite core which allows it to run 35 degree celcius cooler and have a 30% higher current capacity and a 20% improvement in power efficiency and better overclocking power stability

Easy Button 3
Onboard Power and Reset Button, OC Genie

DDR3 3000Mhz Support
Super Charger
Click BIOS II
Total Fan Control


ocessentials2.png

Clear CMOS Button
V Check points
MultiBIOS
Debug LED
 
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KeYoKe

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Motherboard
Will prefer if MSI can use the Matt Black PCB which was used in the Mpower Board and also makes the motherboard looks cleaner and more professional

Front of the motherboard:
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Back of the motherboard:
Please do take note of the components near the CPU socket. Some consumers with large CPU coolers which has a large backplate might encounter some trouble mounting it on this board.
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KeYoKe

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Rear I/O Conenctors
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4 x USB 2.0 Port (Including 2 x Gaming Device Port)
1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse Port (Gaming Device Port)
1 x Clear CMOS Button
1 x Coaxial S/PDIF-out port
1 x Optical S/PDIF-out port
2 x USB 3.0 Ports
1 x HDMI port with max resolution 1920 x 1200 @ 60Hz
1 x DVI-D port with max resolution 1920 x 1200 @ 60Hz
1 x VGA port with max resolution 2048 x 1536 @ 75Hz
1 x 6.1 Channel audio Jack
 

KeYoKe

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A Closer Look at MSI Z77A-GD65
CPU socket + 12 Phases PWM + 8 pin PSU connector + VRM heatsinks:
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DDR3 DIMM + 24 pin PSU connector + V Check points + Easy Button:
The V Check points is in an awkward position and inaccessible after the 24 pin PSU connector is plugged in
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4 x SATA 3Gb/s + 4 x SATA 6Gb/s Conenctors + Right angled USB 3.0 connector:
The rightmost SATA 6Gb/s conenctor is drive by Intel Z77 Chipset, while the leftmost is powered by Asmedia ASM1061 Controller. This board also has a right angled USB 3.0 connector for neater cable management
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The Rise of the DRAGON:
Chipset is cooled by a ferocious DRAGON heatsink
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KeYoKe

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PCI-Express 1x and 16x Orientation + Asmedia ASM1480 PCI-E controller:
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Debug LED + MultiBIOS:
This motherboard features dual BIOS which allows consumers to toggle between these two BIOS in case one fails.

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The debug LED displays temperature of the CPU after loading into the Operating System

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Killer E2200 Ethernet Controller:
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Realtek ALC898:
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Fintek F71889AD:
Fintel F71889AD chip allows voltage monitoring, fan speed controlling and temperature monitoring
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KeYoKe

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After shots of the system:
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KeYoKe

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Test results of the system:
MSI Z77A GD65 Gaming + Intel I5 3570K
Corsair H80 AIO Watercooling
Gskill Ripjaw X DDR3 1866Mhz 2 x 4GB
Powercolor HD7970 Reference Card 3GB
Seasonic P660W 80+ Platinum Power Supply
Crucial M4 128GB SSD
Everything at stock:

OC Genie Off:
Cine Bench:
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3DMark:
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OC Genie On:
Cine Bench:
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3DMark:
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Crystal Disk Mark on Crucial M4 128GB SSD (Sata 3 Performance)
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Conclusion:
MSI Z77A GD65 Gaming adopts the black and red theme which also includes the "Dragon" heatsinks. This protrudes an overall ferocious look of the motherboard to the professional PC gaming. This board uses military class III components, Killer E2200 ethernet controller and realtek ALC898 chipset with Sound Blaster Cinema, which aims to target at extreme gamers allowing them to perform their best in games. Gamers can also overclock the system to increase the overall system capability during gaming if required with the incorporated cooling and overclocking solutions of the motherboard.
OC Genie increases the system performance by just a press on the "OC Genie button" and without having a need to even stress test it to test for stability!

despite that, MSI also come out with gaming boards for lower end motherboards such as MSI Z77A G43, MSI Z77A G45, MSI B75a G43. This allows consumers with budget to also enjoy the benefits of the gaming board itself
 
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ah hui

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N.O 1 to support!! Maybe add in some pics of the board running in with oc of the cpu??
 
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mike911

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Nice review with images Bro :)
That badge, haha machiam Ferrari + Lambo so nice.

The heatsink for chipset very neat looking too. Liked the dark theme color.
 

KeYoKe

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Nice review with images Bro :)
That badge, haha machiam Ferrari + Lambo so nice.

The heatsink for chipset very neat looking too. Liked the dark theme color.

thats exactly wad i liked to... yea the badge really like ferrari LOL!.

my photo taking skills just suck. somemore using HP cam
 

mike911

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thats exactly wad i liked to... yea the badge really like ferrari LOL!.

my photo taking skills just suck. somemore using HP cam

:D

can see good liao. Not those blurry ones is good enough.
 

MoneyFace =p

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I wonder why MSI doesn't want to use Intel Gigabit LAN and non-Realtek better onboard audio on such gaming series, some more for this Z77 model..

Anyway nice review bro! ;)
 
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