Hands-on Review & Overclocking MSI H97 Gaming 3

Author

Alva "Lucky_n00b" Jonathan

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Motherboard Overclocking

July 16, 2014

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Spesifikasi Lengkap

Berikut ini spesifikasi yang diusung oleh MSI H97 Gaming 3, seperti yang tertera pada website-nya:

CPU
• Supports 4th and 5th Generation Intel® Core™ Processors, and Intel® Pentium® and Celeron® Processors for Socket LGA1150
Please refer to CPU Support for compatible CPU; the above description is for reference only.

Chipset
• Intel® H97 Express Chipset

Main Memory
• Support four DDR3 1066/1333/1600 MHz DRAM, 32GB Max
• Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)

Slots
• 1 x PCIe 3.0 x16 slot (PCI_E2, supports x16 speed)
• 1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 slot (PCI_E4, supports x4 speed)*
• 2 x PCIe 2.0 x1 slots
• 3 x PCI slots
* The PCIe x1 slots (PCI_E1, PCI_E3) will be unavailable when installing an expansion card in the PCI_E4 slot.

On-Board SATA
• Intel H97 Express Chipset
– 6 x SATA 6Gb/s ports (SATA1~6)
– 1 x M.2 port*
– M.2 port supports M.2 SATA 6Gb/s module
– M.2 port supports M.2 PCIe module up to 10Gb/s speed**
– M.2 port supports 4.2cm/ 6cm/ 8cm length module
– Supports RAID 0, RAID1, RAID 5 and RAID 10***
– Supports Intel® Smart Response Technology, Intel® Rapid Start Technology and Intel® Smart Connect Technology****
* The SATA5 and SATA6 ports will be unavailable when installing a module in the M.2 port.
** M.2 PCIe interface only supports UEFI option ROM, NOT support legacy option ROM.
*** M.2 PCIe interface does not support RAID 0, RAID1, RAID 5 and RAID 10.
**** Supports Intel Core processors on Windows 7 and Windows 8/ 8.1

USB
• Intel H97 Express Chipset
– 6 x USB 3.0 ports (4 ports on the back panel, 2 ports available through the internal USB connectors)
– 6 x USB 2.0 ports (2 ports on the back panel, 4 ports available through the internal USB connectors)

Audio
• Realtek® ALC1150 Codec

LAN
• 1x Killer E2205 Gigabit LAN controller*
* The Killer Network Manager is only available for Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 currently. The supported drivers for other operating systems would be available on the website if provided by vendor.

Multi-GPU
• Supports 2-Way AMD CrossFire™ Technology*
* Supports Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1.

Internal I/O Connectors
-1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector
-1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector
-6 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors
-2 x USB 2.0 connectors (supports additional 4 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 TPM module connector
-1 x Serial port connector
-1 x Parallel port connector
-1 x Chassis Intrusion connector
-1 x Direct audio power connector
-1 x Audio power switch

Back Panel I/O Ports
– 1 x PS/2 keyboard/ mouse combo port
– 1 x LAN (RJ45) port
– 2 x USB 2.0 ports
– 4 x USB 3.0 ports
– 1 x VGA port, supporting a maximum resolution of 1920×1200@60Hz
– 1 x DVI-D port, supporting a maximum resolution of 1920×1200@60Hz
– 1 x HDMI port, supporting a maximum resolution of 4096×2160@24Hz, 2560×1600@60Hz
– 1 x DisplayPort, supporting a maximum resolution of 4096×2304@24Hz, 2560×1600@60Hz, 3840×2160@60Hz,1920×1200@60Hz
– 6 x OFC audio jacks
– 1 x Optical S/PDIF OUT connector

Kemasan + Perlengkapan

Kemasan MSI H97 dibuat dengan warna khas MSI Gaming series: merah-hitam, dengan tambahan sebuah logo naga. Pada bagian perlengkapan, anda akan menemui:

Buku Manual + Driver Disc
I/O Shield
Kabel SATA
Emblem + Door Hanger MSI Gaming Series
Direct Audio Power cable

Perlengkapan yang diberikan MSI H97 Gaming 3 cukup minimalis, termasuk wajar mengingat harga motherboard ini termasuk kelas menengah kebawah. Aksesori unik yang menyertai H97 Gaming 3 adalah kabel Direct Audio Power.

Aksesori ini juga terdapat pada beberapa motherboard Gaming series MSI, (Seperti MSI Z97 Gaming 7). Tujuan dari kabel audio ini menurut klaim MSI adalah memberikan daya yang lebih ‘bersih’ untuk kualitas audio lebih baik. Karena pembahasan kami berfokus pada overclocking, kami tidak akan membahas fitur ini lebih lanjut.