Misc

Review: MSI Big Bang XPower

When Intel unleashed the six-cored Core i7-980 Extreme a while back, a few motherboard manufacturers took the opportunity to go away and refresh some of their X58-based motherboards, adding in the latest technologies, such as SATA 6Gbps and USB 3.0 in the process. MSI did that and a whole lot more, and launched the mighty MSI Big Bang XPower, a board with a spec sheet that lives up to the billing its name gives it. The feature list for the Big Bang XPower makes for impressive reading; high end components in the power delivery (something MSI call 'Military Class') system, six DIMM slots supporting up to 24GB of triple-channel DDR3 memory, dual Gigabit Ethernet, six PCI-E slots (two x16, two x8, two x4 speeds), advanced Quantum Wave audio and more overclocking features than you can wave a stick at, including MSI's OC Dashboard, an external device for monitoring and tweaking settings on the Big Bang XPower.Cinebench R11.5Ranking 2.94X264v2Pass 1 (avr) 75.003fpsPass 2 (avr) 26.897fpsX264v3Pass 1 (avr) 68.860fpsPass 2 (avr) 26.225fpsGames Performance (HD5670 / GTX460)Far Cry 2 
(1280 x 1024 small farm benchmark avr fps)
HD5670 41.29HD5670 CrossFire 75.75GTX460 54.31GTX460 SLI 144.94Just Cause 2 (1280 x 1024 Dark Tower map)HD5670 43.69HD5670 CrossFire 64.90GTX460 74.31GTX460 SLI 98.31USB 3.0 HD TachAverage Read 65.7MBpsRandom Access 16.1msSATA 6Gps HD TachAverage Read 111.4MBpsRandom Access 16.7msPower (system power measured at wall, peak running Everest burn-in test)Idle 102 WattsPeak 220 WattsAlthough MSI's Big Bang XPower comes with six PCI-E slots, only the first and fourth slots run at full x16 speeds if you use two cards in a CrossFire or SLI setup. If you really want to impress your friends, you can fill all six but then the speeds drop to x8 / x4 / x4 / x8 / x4 / x4. To help power all this cards there is a six-pin power connector sitting just above the first PCI-E slotJust one look at the Big Bang XPower and you can see MSI mean business with this board – the build quality is really top notch. The X58 Northbridge and the major power circuitry are cooled by passive heatsinks connected by thicker than normal 8mm heatpipes (MSI claims that the thicker pipes increase thermal efficiency and therefore aid cooling).MSI's Big Bang XPower is very well laid out with plenty of room around the CPU socket, which allows for some fairly big third party coolers to be fitted – you might need it if you tackle the plethora of overclocking options MSI have given the board.The six memory slots – remember the X58 is a triple channel memory supporting chipset – have latches only on the far side of the slot so that they don't interfere with the massively cooled graphics card the Big Bang XPower cries out for.If you were in any doubt that the Big Bang XPower is a power user's board, there are two eight-pin 12V power connectors, which are handily placed near to the board's edge. There's also an edge-mounted block next to the SATA ports, which enables the use of a voltage meter to check the real time voltage going to various components such as the CPU, memory and both chipset bridges.The base of the board contains a small panel which holds the OC Genie (automatic overclocking) button and four other touch-sensitive areas; Power, Reset and two Direct OC controls. We likedA very well put together board, MSI's Big Bang XPower features top notch build quality and a feature list you've come to expect from a motherboard aimed at enthusiasts. The one nice surprise is the price tag. Okay, at over £250 you need deep pockets and long arms, but this is actually a very good price for a board like this. Some of its competitors will run you well over £300.We dislikedDespite all the PCI-E slots, the board doesn't support quad SLI, but it does support quad CrossFire.VerdictYes, it's reasonably expensive even though, to its credit, MSI has tried to keep the price down, but it's a basically a niche product for the enthusiast. It could even make the basis of a decent workstation, because you do get an awful lot of motherboard for your money. Related LinksRead more motherboard reviewsTechRadar's Reviews GuaranteeRelated StoriesReview: MSI P55A FuzionReview: MSI P55A Fuzion

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