Introduction and Technical Specifications
The Z87-GD65 Gaming board is MSI’s flagship board in their Gaming product line, bringing a Killer to the Intel Z87 chipset…
Thanks for stopping by our coverage of the Intel Haswell, 4th Generation Core processor and Z87 chipset release! We have a lot of different stories for you to check out and I wanted to be sure you knew about them all.
- The Haswell Review – Intel Core i7-4770K Performance and Architecture
- PCPer Live! ASUS Z87 Motherboard and Intel Haswell Live Event! – Tuesday, June 4th we will be hosting a live streaming event with JJ from ASUS. Stop by to learn about Z87 and overclocking Haswell and to win some motherboards and graphics cards!
- ASUS ROG Maximus VI Extreme Motherboard Review
- ASUS Gryphon Z87 Micro-ATX Motherboard Review
Introduction
Courtesy of MSI
The Z87-GD65 Gaming board is MSI's flagship Intel Z87 board in their Gaming line of produces. MSI packed the board full of features including an integrated Killer NIC and an illuminated audio chipset. The board is stunning with its red and black coloration and the series' dragon logo prominently imbedded in the chipset heat sink. At a retail price of $189.99, this board would be a nice addition to any enthusiast system.
Courtesy of MSI
MSI designed the Z87-GD65 Gaming with an impressive 12-phase digital power delivery system for the CPU alone, guaranteeing system stability under the most stressful situations. The Z87-GD65 Gaming board includes the following integrated features: eight SATA 6Gb/s ports; an mSATA 6Gb/s port; a Killer E2205 GigE NIC; three PCI-Express x16 slots for up to tri-card support; four PCI-Express x1 slots; Lucidlogix Virtu® MVP 2 support; onboard power, reset, BIOS reset, OC Genie, and GO2BIOS buttons; 2-digit diagnostic LED display; and USB 2.0 and 3.0 port support.
Technical Specifications (taken from the MSI website)
CPU Support |
4th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 / Intel® Core™ i5 / Intel® Core™ i3 / Pentium® / Celeron® Processors for LGA 1150 socket |
Chipset |
Intel® Z87 Express Chipset |
Memory Support |
4 x DDR3 memory slots supporting up to 32GB Supports DDR3 3000(OC) / 2800(OC) / 2666(OC) / 2600(OC) / 2400(OC) / 2200(OC) / 2133(OC) / 2000(OC) / 1866(OC) / 1600 / 1333 / 1066 MHz Dual channel memory architecture Supports non-ECC,un-buffered memory Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) |
Expansion Slots |
3 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 slots (support x16, x8/x8, x8/x4/x4 modes) 4 x PCI Express 2.0 x1 slot |
Onboard Graphics |
1 x VGA port, supporting a maximum resolution of 1920×1200 @ 60Hz, 24bpp 1 x DVI-D port, supporting a maximum resolution of 1920×1200 @ 60Hz, 24bpp 1 x HDMI port, supporting a maximum resolution of 4096×2160 @ 24Hz, 24bpp / 2560×1600 @ 60Hz, 24bpp / 1920×1200 @ 60Hz, 36bpp |
Multi-GPU Support |
Supports 3-way AMD® CrossFire™ Technology* Support 2-way NVIDIA® SLI™ Technology * Supports Windows 7 and Windows 8. |
Storage |
Intel Z87 Express chipset – 1 x mSATA 6Gb/s port* – 6 x SATA 6Gb/s ports (SATA1~6) – Supports RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10 – Supports Intel Smart Response Technology, Intel® Rapid Start Technology, and Intel Smart Connect Technology* ASMedia ASM1061 Chipset – 2 x SATA 6Gb/s ports (SATA7~8) * The SATA6 port will be unavailable when install a SSD in the mSATA port. ** Supports Intel Core processors on Windows 7 and Windows 8. |
USB |
Intel® Z87 Express chipset – 6 x USB 3.0 ports (4 ports on the back panel, 2 ports available through the internal USB connectors) – 8 x USB 2.0 ports (2 ports on the back panel, 6 ports available through the internal USB connectors*) * Internal JUSB1 connector supports MSI Super Charger. |
Audio |
Realtek® ALC1150 Codec – 7.1-Channel High Definition Audio – Supports S/PDIF output |
LAN |
1 x Killer E2205 Gigabit LAN controller* * The Killer Network Manager is only available for Windows 7 and Windows 8 currently. The supported drivers for other operating system would be available on the website if provided by vendor. |
Back Panel Connectors |
1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse port 2 x USB 2.0 ports 1 x Clear CMOS button 1 x Coaxial S/PDIF OUT connector 1 x Optical S/PDIF OUT connector 1 x VGA port 1 x DVI-D port 1 x HDMI port 1 x LAN (RJ45) port 4 x USB 3.0 ports 6 x OFC audio jacks |
Internal I/O Connectors |
1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector 8 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors 3 x USB 2.0 connectors (supports additional 6 USB 2.0 ports) 1 x USB 3.0 connector (supports additional 2 USB 3.0 ports) 2 x 4-pin CPU fan connectors 3 x 4-pin system fan connectors 1 x Clear CMOS jumper 1 x Front panel audio connector 2 x System panel connectors 1 x Chassis Intrusion connector 1 x TPM module connector 1 x Serial port connector 7 x V-Check points (7 x V-Check connectors) 1 x GO2BIOS button 1 x Power button 1 x Reset button 1 x OC Genie button 1 x Multi-BIOS switch 1 x OC Genie mode switch 1 x 2-Digit Debug Code LED |
I/O Controller |
NUVOTON NCT6779 Controller Chip |
Hardware Monitor |
CPU/System temperature detection CPU/System fan speed detection CPU/System fan speed control |
BIOS Features |
2 x 64 Mb flash UEFI AMI BIOS ACPI 5.0, PnP 1.0a, SM BIOS 2.7, DMI 2.0 Multi-language |
Special Features |
OC Certified Audio Boost Killer Ethernet Military Class 4 OC Genie 4 Click BIOS 4 NVIDIA SLI AMD CrossFire Lucid Virtu MVP 2.0 Sound Blaster Cinema GO2BIOS Easy Button Direct OC V-Check Points Clear CMOS Button Total Fan Control Gaming Device Port Super Charger Super RAID Command Center |
Software |
Drivers MSI – Command Center – Super Charger – Super RAID – Live Update 5 – Fast Boot Lucid VIRTU MVP 2.0 7-ZIP Intel Turbo Boost Monitor Intel Extreme Tuning Utility Norton Internet Security Solution Trend Micro SafeSync Sound Blast Cinema Killer Network Manager |
Form Factor |
ATX Form Factor 12 in. x 9.6 in. (30.4 cm x 24.4 cm) |
CMOS battery and reset jumper
CMOS battery and reset jumper location blocked it board used in multi-GPU configuration
Wish they didn’t go with red
Wish they didn’t go with red but silver or all black instead.
I see the under
I see the under drivers/software listed for this board it shows Lucid Virtu MVP 2.0.
Does that mean its got a full license included with the board, or is it just trial version?
Morry
Did you notice that the
Morry
Did you notice that the mb clocked the CPU to 3.9 at idle? Mine clocks the CPU to 3.9 at idle and the CPU will not drop down to 800 like it should. Did you notice this behavior on your board?
Does anyone know if the MB
Does anyone know if the MB com port is already enabled and just needs a 9 pin connector installed or is it enabled in the bios
Thanks
what are the best graphic
what are the best graphic cards to bring this mother boards system to its highest potential?
finaly a board with msata
finaly a board with msata 6gb/s