Introduction and Features

MSI ramps up Z68A-GD80 with next-gen PCI 3.0, Virtu technologies and more!

Introduction

Courtesy of MSI

Micro-Star International, better known as MSI, has been busy little bees in 2011 to fend off fierce competition from ASUS, Gigabyte and other motherboard vendors. This year’s launch of the Z68 chipset from Intel combined the capabilities and features from the H67 and P67 chipsets, and MSI capitalized on this when they joined forces with LucidLogix to include their Virtu technology in their latest Z68A-GD80 motherboard. Lucid’s Virtu tech provides users with switchable graphics, which allows users to enjoy both graphics power of integrated GPU and discrete GPU.

 

Courtesy of MSI

MSI also used the Z68A-GD80 as their first motherboard to support PCI Express 3.0, which boosts 32GB/s of transfer bandwidth and makes this mobo a bit more future proof for users looking for their next hardware upgrade. MSI also upgraded their BIOS system to ClickBIOS II, which  provides a consistent user interface both in the UEFI BIOS and in Windows. Users can control their system settings directly from Windows and the GUI also supports touchscreen controls.

 

Courtesy of MSI

MSI also brought a host of other key features to the Z68A-GD80 like enhancing their one-click overclocking utility dubbed OC Genie II and developed several other applications for power management, instant web browsing, and updating BIOS versions and hardware/software drivers.

 

Features

Here’s a compiled list of key features that are available with the Z68A-GD80 to help users get the most out of this $200 motherboard.

  • Military Class II components: Top quality & stability
  • OC Genie II: Auto OC to boost performance in 1 sec
  • ClickBIOS: Easy-to-use UEFI BIOS interface
  • Super Charger: fast charge iPad/iPhone/smartphone
  • THX TruStudio PRO: delivers the fullest audio experience
  • Supports USB 3.0 & SATA 6Gb/s

Let’s take a look at the Z68A-GD80’s overall specifications and what the new board looks like out of its retail packaging!

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