MSI P67A-GD80 (B3) Motherboard Review - PAGE 1

Intel's Second Generation Core architecture has quickly become the de facto computing platform for most enthusiasts and gamers, now that the SATA 2.0 design flaw has been addressed. This was in large part due to Intel's quick response to the issue, which lead to a fix being implemented via an updated Cougar Point chipset. The new chipset uses the latest B3 stepping, which along with the SATA 2.0 degradation fix also includes some minor changes to the P67/H67 platform.

With the new motherboards on the market we are again starting to see high-end P67 based motherboards enter our labs and in this review we are going to be looking at the updated P67A-GD80 from MSI. This board uses the aforementioned B3 stepping and in terms of product placement in the MSI lineup, the GD80 is second only to the Big Bang series. This means the board has a rich feature-set that includes 3-way SLI/CrossFireX support, ten USB 3.0 ports, an uEFI interface with additional backup BIOS chip and Dual Gigabit LAN ports.

In addition, the P67A-GD80 also includes MSI's high quality "Military Class II" components. This gives the board a 12-Phase DrMos digital VRM, Tantalum capacitors and super ferrite core chokes. The Military Class II components along with the DrMos VRM increases the motherboard's overall efficiency, reduces leakage and also allows it to supply up to twice the current of a board that uses the reference design. This will increase the stability of the board and also potentiality improve the overclocking headroom.

The P67A-GD80 is available now and has an MSRP of $219. This puts it in the high price bracket for P67 based motherboards, but with a long list of features and support the P67A-GD80 might just be worth every penny. Still, at this price it has to hit the mark on performance as well, so read on (or just skip to the graphs and conclusion) if you want to see if this model can hit a trifecta.