Intel P67 3-Way Motherboard Roundup - PAGE 11

Overclocking the Intel K series Sandy Bridge chips is an easier task than it has been in previous Intel Core CPUs, because relying on a motherboard to have a high bclock ceiling is no longer a concern. With the K series, the overclocking is done via the unlocked multiplier; adjustments to the bclock are now just a means to fine tune the final clock speed. In our Sandy Bridge review, the 2600K was able to achieve nearly a 4600MHz clock speed on the Intel P67 Express reference motherboard, but stock motherboards usually don't have the same overclocking potential as those made by the likes of the three manufacturers in this review.

High-end motherboard manufacturers pull out all the stops to ensure their board will achieve the highest overclock possible. The Gigabyte motherboard utilizes their Ultra Durable III design featuring high-end components, along with features such a 2x copper PCB to achieve a higher overclocking ceiling. The MSI board on the other hand uses "military grade" components in their design, along with the ability to monitor the voltage level in real-time. Lastly, the ASUS motherboard uses high quality parts like the rest, but also includes their DIMI+VRM solution to enhance overclocking. As you can see, each of the companies have devised their own means to ensure stability, but there is only one real way to see whose design wins out in the end!

Gigabyte P67A-UD4

Intel Core i7-2600K

• Baseclock : 100.2 MHz
• Clock multiplier : 47x
• Processor clock : 4704.8 MHz
• Memory clock : 1600 MHz
• Processor voltage : 1.4V

The Gigabyte motherboard was the first one to go into our test system, so its results come up first. Since most of the overclocking was done through the multiplier there is little to mention regarding the actual process. After some tweaking to the bclock and voltage, the Gigabyte board was able to achieve a rating that is over 100MHz better than the Intel P67 Express motherboard. The end result was a stable CPU clock speed 4704MHz. For anyone who prefers not to overclock from within the BIOS, Gigabyte includes their Easy Tune 6 utility for easy overclocking from within Windows itself.

ASUS P8P67 Deluxe

Intel Core i7-2600K

• Baseclock : 103 MHz
• Clock multiplier : 47x
• Processor clock : 4780 MHz
• Memory clock : 1600 MHz
• Processor voltage : 1.4V

Next up was the ASUS motherboard, and its overclocking potential just blew us away. This motherboard had what seemed like an endless amount of voltage options not just for the standard components, but it also gives the user direct control over the DIMI+VRM voltage level. Once all of these settings were adjusted to the max, the ASUS motherboard gave the highest CPU overclock in our roundup: a stable 4780MHz!

Within its BIOS the ASUS P8P67 has an easy overclock feature that allows the motherboard to find the best overclock for the system. With this overclocking tool active, the chip was pushed up to 4120MHz, which is a decent increase for an auto overclocking tool. (Pictured on the left).

MSI P67A-GD65

Intel Core i7-2600K

• Baseclock : 101.2 MHz
• Clock multiplier : 47x
• Processor clock : 4708 MHz
• Memory clock : 1600 MHz
• Processor voltage : 1.4V

The MSI motherboard was also able to achieve a stable CPU clock speed of 4700MHz, and ended just shy of 4710MHz. The MSI P67A-GD65 also has the easy overclocking Genie II button on the motherboard which allows for auto-overclocking simply by pressing the button. With the button pressed, the auto overclock feature adjusted the chip speed to 4120MHz, which is right to the same level as the ASUS model. This is an impressive performance increase for simply pressing a button on the board.

Like the other models, the MSI P67A-GD65 includes an easy to use overclocking utility in the from of Control Center II, which allows the user to adjust the voltage for the CPU and memory from within Windows.