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MSI X58 Platinum

Among MSI’s boards supporting the Intel Core i7 CPU, the X58 Platinum seems to have a good mix of features and performance all while being one of the most inexpensive LGA 1366 motherboards you can purchase..

Introduction

MSI is known throughout the enthusiast crowd for its many years of quality and high performance products. The company continues to carve a path through the sea of high performance computing, using a mix of technological and design prowess to deliver some of the best overclocking capable products on the market. With their Core i7 capable boards, MSI has chosen to push the envelope even further, matching feature packed solutions with the normal MSI technological flair that we’ve all come to know and love.

The MSI X58 Platinum motherboard tout’s support for the Intel Core i7 processor, through the use of the Intel X58 Northbridge chipset. The chipset itself offers innate support for the following technologies: Intel LGA1366 Core i7 processors, DDR3 memory operating in Triple Channel memory mode up to 1333MHz officially, and ATI CrossFireX graphics mode using matched graphics cards. The X58 Platinum board is a feature complete solution, requiring only a minimal number of components for a working system, which include the following: an Intel LGA1366 Core i7 processor, DDR3 memory, a video card, drives, and a PSU. MSI chose to integrate the following peripherals in to the X58 Platinum’s design: 6 SATA II ports (RAID 0, 1, 0+1 and 5 capable) on the Intel ICH10R controller; 2 SATA II ports (RAID 0 and 1capable) and 1 eSATA port on the JMicron controller; 12 USB 2.0 capable ports (8 in rear panel, and 2 onboard headers supporting 2 ports each); 2 IEEE 1394 capable ports (1 in rear panel, and 1 onboard header supporting 1 port each); 2 x Realtek GigE Ethernet ports in the rear panel; Realtek 8-channel HD audio codec with S/PDIF optical output port; power button, system reset button, and base clock speed jumper bank; and a PS/2 keyboard/mouse ports in the rear panel.

Main Specifications Overview:

Detailed Mainboard Specification List:

Packaging

MSI took a simplistic approach to the X58 Platinum’s box art, with the box front depicting a scene reminiscent of a solar eclipse, all in black and silver tones. The board name and supported technologies are shown very clearly across the box front as well. MSI includes the following accessories in with the X58 Platinum: IDE drive ribbon cables; SATA drive cables and power adapters; the rear panel shield; 2-way CrossFireX connectors; a rear panel USB 2.0 bracket; the M-Connector modules; and the normal complement of manuals and drivers discs, with the separate driver discs includes for Windows XP and Windows Vista. The M-Connector modules allow for an easy to use interface for connecting devices to the integrated motherboard device headers.

Board Layout

The X58 Platinum board’s design was well thought out and implemented, with adequate space provided around all critical components and a layout that is clean and orderly. The heat pipe cooling solution for the 2 board chipsets is implemented unobtrusively, with a low profile cooler sitting on top of the Southbridge chipset, and carefully laid piping connecting it to the Northbridge cooler. While no clearly identifiable serial number is present on the board, the board’s revision is silk-screened to the surface in between PCI slots 1 and 2. The board used in testing was a revision 1.0 model. For the board’s power handling, MSI chose to use aluminum based solid-state capacitors in the board’s design.

So as not to hinder CPU cooler placement, MSI used low profile power components for those in close proximity to the CPU socket. However, the CPU socket area is relatively clear of components, with the exception of those lining its upper quadrant. The CPU cooler itself is held down via the standard LGA1366 based 4 hole design. The X58 Northbridge chipset is located to the left of the CPU socket, covered by a thin finned copper heat sink, which doubles as a termination point for the onboard heat pipe chipset cooler. Just above the CPU socket is a standalone copper cooler, cooling some of the more critical CPU power related circuitry, with the 8-pin ATX12V power connector located to the right of this cooler.

The X58 Platinum can house a total of 6 DDR3 type memory modules working in triple channel memory mode. Triple Channel memory mode is active when matched DDR3 modules are placed in 3 of the like-colored slots. Just below the DIMM slots is the 24-pin ATX power connector. The 4-pin CPU fan header is located to the right of the upper set of DIMM slots.

The ICH10R Southbridge chipset is located just under the primary PCI-Express x16 slot, covered by a low profile copper cooler. This cooler acts as a terminating point for the onboard heat pipe based chipset cooling solution. Just under the chipset are the 8 onboard SATA 2 ports, the ATA-133 IDE port, and the SYSFAN1 and SYSFAN3 headers. The 2 red colored SATA 2 ports are controlled by the JMicron RAID controller, while the 6 purple colored ports are controlled by the ICH10R RAID controller. The front panel headers are located in the lower left corner of the board, with the trusted module header (TPM), serial port header, and onboard USB 2.0 headers just above them. The D-LED2 device header and button are located to the right of the front panel headers, just above the IDE port. The D-LED2 device header supports integration with MSI’s D-LED2 diagnostic display, which can be used to troubleshoot board boot related issues.

MSI designed the X58 Platinum with 2 PCI-Express x16 slots, 3 PCI-Express x1 slots, and 2 PCI slots. Along the outer edge of PCI slot 2 are the base clock speed jumper bank, the power and reset buttons, the IEEE 1394 header, the CD_IN header, and the front panel audio header. The base clock jumper bank can be used to hardwire the default board FSB and base clock speeds to speeds of 133MHz, 166Mhz, or 200MHz. Note that using this jumper does not inhibit the use of the BIOS for base clock speed setting, but the board will default to the jumpered base clock speed on CMOS reset. The SYSFAN2 header is located just above the secondary PCI-Express x16 slot, while SYSFAN4 and SYSFAN5 headers are located to the upper right of the primary PCI-Express x16 slot. The CMOS battery, as well as an S/PDIF output header, are located just under PCI-Express x1 slots 2 and 3.

The X58 Platinum comes standard with the following integrated ports in its rear panel: 2 PS/2 keyboard/mouse ports; 8 USB 2.0 ports; 1 IEEE 1394 port; 2 Realtek GigE Ethernet ports; 1 eSATA port; a CMOS reset button; and 6 analogue and S/PDIF optical audio output ports.

MSI OverclockingCenter

MSI included their OverclockingCenter application on the included driver CDs, used for Windows based overclocking. The application itself is divided in to 2 sections, System Info and D.O.T. (Dynamic Overclocking Technology). The System Info section displays read-only statics concerning the onboard devices across 3 tabs, labeled Motherboard, Memory, and PCI.

The D.O.T. section allows for BIOS controlled and manual controlled overclocking. The BIOS controlled overclocking functionality is controlled by a series of buttons across the top of the screen of the Basic tab, with the settings tied to each of the default profiles shown when the button associated to the profile is selected. The Advanced tab allows for direct user manipulation of the board’s base clock speed, which affects both the CPU and memory speeds, and several of the board device voltages. You also have the option of creating and using custom profiles through the Save and Load buttons, located in the screen’s lower right corner.