Review MSI Z97 MPOWER MAX AC: Siap untuk Overclock!

Author

Alva "Lucky_n00b" Jonathan

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Motherboard

September 13, 2014

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Motherboard seri MPOWER dari MSI memiliki satu ciri khas unik yang membedakannya dengan motherboard MSI seri lain: motherboard seri ini dirancang khusus untuk melakukan overclocking. Hampir semua aspek desain, komponen yang diberikan, hingga ke fitur yang disematkan, semuanya dikemas untuk memberikan kemampuan tuning yang luas, dan tentunya ketahanan ekstra saat menghadapi keadaan yang ekstrim.

Dulu, kami pernah me-review MSI Z77 MPOWER, dan juga MSI Z87 MPOWER MAX. Kedua motherboard tersebut menunjukkan bahwa MSI cukup serius menggarap kemampuan overclocking dari motherboard seri MPOWER. Sekarang, kami akan melakukan serangkaian pengujian pada motherboard MSI seri MPOWER yang terbaru: MSI Z97 MPOWER MAX AC.

Seperti pendahulunya yang menyandang nama ‘OC Series’, MSI Z97 MPOWER MAX AC dirancang untuk memberi kestabilan serta ketahanan ekstra, serta potensi tuning yang tinggi. Mari kita lihat motherboard ini lebih dekat, mulai dari chipsetnya.

Intel Z97 Chipset Diagram

Beberapa bulan lalu, Intel resmi merilis chipset terbaru mereka, yakni Intel 9-series chipset, dengan dua buah varian utama: Intel Z97 dan Intel H97. Dari keduanya, hanya Intel Z97 memiliki opsi tuning(overclocking), sehingga MSI jelas memilih chipset Z97 untuk motherboard OC series mereka.

Intel Z97 sendiri tidak terlalu jauh berbeda dari Intel Z87 seri sebelumnya, hanya saja chipset seri ini mendukung prosesor Intel next-gen ‘Broadwell”, dan juga adanya dukungan Intel Rapid Storage untuk M.2 PCIe SSD.

Spesifikasi

Berikut ini spesifikasi MSI Z97 MPOWER MAX AC, sesuai dengan yang dipaparkan di 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® Z97 Express Chipset

Main Memory
• Support four DDR3 DIMMs 1066/1333/1600/1866*/2000*/2133*/2200*/2400*/2600*/2666*/2800*/3000*/3100*/3200*(OC) DRAM, 32GB Max
– Supports Dual-Channel mode
– Supports non-ECC, un-buffered memory
– Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)

Slots
• 3 x PCIe 3.0 x16 slots (support x16, x8/x8, x8/x4/x4 modes)
• 4 x PCIe 2.0 x1 slots*

On-Board SATA
• Intel® Z97 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****
• ASMedia® ASM1061 chipset
– 2 x SATA 6Gb/s ports (SATA7~8)

* 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 Z97 Express Chipset
– 4 x USB 3.0 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*)

• ASMedia ASM1074 Chipset
– 6 x USB 3.0 ports on the back panel

• Renesas ASM1042 Chipset
– 2 x USB 3.0 ports on the back panel
* internal JUSB1 connector supports MSI Super Charger

Audio
• Realtek® ALC1150 Codec
– 7.1-Channel High Definition Audio
– Supports S/PDIF output
– Supports S/PDIF Input

LAN
• 1x Intel I218-V Gigabit LAN controller

Multi-GPU
• Supports 3-Way AMD CrossFire™ Technology*
• Supports 2-Way NVIDIA® SLI™ Technology
*Supports Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1.

Wireless LAN
• Wi-Fi/Bluetooth expansion module with Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 chip.
– Supports Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual band (2.4GHz, 5GHz) up to 867 Mbps speed.
– Supports Intel Wireless Display (WiDi)

Bluetooth
• Wi-Fi/Bluetooth expansion module with Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 chip.
– Supports Bluetooth v4.0 (includes BLE* and Bluetooth 3.0+HS)

Internal I/O Connectors
– 1x 24-pin ATX main power connector
– 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector
– 1 x 4-pin ATX 12V power connector
– 1 x 6-pin ATX 12V power connector*
– 8 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors
– 2 x USB 2.0 connectors (supports additional 4 USB 2.0 ports)
– 2 x USB 3.0 connectors (supports additional 4 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 Chassis Intrusion connector
– 9 x V-Check connectorsts
– 1 x GO2BIOS button
– 1 x Power button
– 1 x Reset button
– 2 x Base Clock control buttons
– 1 x OC Genie button
– 1 x Discharge button
– 1 x Multi-BIOS switch
– 1 x OC Genie mode switch
– 1 x Slow mode switch
– 1 x 2-Digit Debug Code LED
– 1 x Wi-Fi/Bluetooth module connector
* Provides additional power to PCIe x16 slots

Back Panel I/O Ports
– 1x PS/2 keyboard/ mouse port
– 2 x USB 2.0 ports
– 1 x Clear CMOS button
– 8 x USB 3.0 ports
– 1 x Optical S/PDIF OUT connector – 1 x HDMI port, supporting a maximum resolution of 4096×2304@24Hz, 2560×1600@60Hz, 3840×2160@60Hz, 1920×1200@60Hz
– 1 x DisplayPort, supporting a maximum resolution of 4096×2304@24Hz, 2560×1600@60Hz, 3840×2160@60Hz,1920×1200@60Hz
– 1 x LAN (RJ45) port
– 6 x OFC audio jacks
This platform supports dual-display and triple-display function

BIOS
• The motherboard BIOS provides “Plug & Play” BIOS which detects the peripheral devices and expansion cards of the board automatically.
• The motherboard provides a Desktop Management Interface(DMI) function which records your motherboard specifications.

Dimension
• 30.5cm(L) x 24.4cm(W) ATX Form Factor

Mounting
• 9 mounting holes.