First Looks: MSI Big Bang-XPower II (X79) Motherboard

[siopao1984]

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Front of what is a VERY glossy and rainbow coloured boxBack End

MSI Big Bang-XPower II (X79) Motherboard - XL-ATX, 7 PCIe slots, 8 DIMMs

Back of motherboard. Notice the solder points of the PCIe slots - only the 1st and 5th slot will get full x16 PCIe lanes connectivity, while the rest get x8 lanesI/O Panel - PS/2 port, 6 USB 2.0, 4 USB 3.0 (NEC D720200AF1), Firewire-800 (VIA VT6315N), Dual Gigabit LAN (Intel 82579V and Intel 82574L) and 7.1 Channel Audio Ports (more on this later)Documentation and O/C GuideSLi bridges, SATA Cables, Extenders for voltage monitoring and other common stuff

[kenox]

nice ni dah..bagay sah akong theme..black =)

[siopao1984]

From left: An additional 6-pin PCIe connector for powering the extra slots, USB 3.0 Internal port, 10 SATA ports (6 from the X79 PCH and 4 from ASMedia 1061)



Attractive bullet-theme heatsink over the X79 PCH



This will definitely get you in trouble with airport security...



Heatsink removed



PLX PEX8608 (PCIe Gen 2) Switch Chip to service the 2nd, 4th and 6th Slots



ASMedia ASM1480 PCIe 3.0 compliant switches



Only the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th slots are PCIe 3.0 capable



Switches to enable/disable PCIe lanes and buttons to adjust BCLK



Buttons for Auto OC/Presets and a mandatory PORT-80 POST Code display



BIOS Toggle Switch



Hmm... Creative X-Fi?



Nope, underneath the heatsink is a bog standard Realtek ALC898 Codec



Intel 82579V and Intel 82574L Gigabit PHYs



NEC/Renasas D720200AF1 USB 3.0 chips

[siopao1984]

CPU Socket Area - Buyers of this board will (rightfully) get the full 8-DIMMs that the Quad Channel Sandy Bridge-E IMC supports



DrMOS FETs



Renesas 20655 PWM Controller



The mini-gun themed heatsink over the MOSFETs





No sign of any possible accidental electrical shorts here, which we have seen fry CPUs in other boards



Low Temperature Booting Jumper



The 2 EPS 12v connectors give a hint of the board's overclocking pedigree



uP1618, 6+2 Phase Buck Controller



Voltage measuring points for the common things overclocker's care about





Read more: First Looks: MSI Big Bang-XPower II (X79) Motherboard by VR-Zone.com

[NapoleonBlownapart]

I don't like the fancy heatsink but the 8 slots for memory is nice..

[akomao]

gnahn jd clag pang gira na theme.. wew me no like