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MSI X58 Platinum - $80 cheaper then most X58 boards

S

Sureshot324

Diamond Member
All X58 boards on newegg

The MSI is listed at $220, and other then the Intel board, there's nothing else for less then $300. The MSI board only has 2 PCIe X16 slots, but still supports both SLI and Crossfire in 2 card configurations. Also I read on Fudzilla that to save money they didn't use Hi-C capacitors on this board, whatever that means.

I do plan to overclock my 920 but I'm not going to push it to the limit. Maybe 3.5ghz or so. I never plan to go triple SLI/Crossfire. Is it worth it to spend an extra $80 on the Asus A6T? What other differences are there between the MSI X58 Platinum and the ~$300 boards?
 
I'm not sure the cheaper MSI board supports even regular 2-way SLI. If you were considering that as a future option, I'd suggest to make sure it does before purchasing.

The Intel board of course does not support SLI.

I wonder if Gigabyte is using the NV200 chip for more PCIe lanes?

For anyone thinking of three way SLI, the third slot CANNOT be an x4 slot. This means the MSI X58 Eclipse listed on Newegg right now for $353 with x16 x16 x4 can only support 2-way SLI, not 3-way SLI. I know this for a fact. The Eclipse+ model will do x16 x8 x8 and support 3-way SLI.

Note that you can still use the x4 slot for a PhysX card, it just has to be different from the other cards. For instance, three GTX 280 or three GTX 260 will result in no POST, but two GTX 280 and a single GTX 260 works fine.
 
Gotta go with the Eclipse SLI for nV support. It'll do 16x16 with two cards. Sharp board. MSI says their 6 phase PWM is "superior to competition." Must admit, their PWM and caps seem impressive. It's sound card is hardware X-FI, unlike others that rely on software X-FI (no chip on card).
 
Why do you recommend the Gigabyte so strongly? I thought GA had a history of vdroop problems on their boards?
 
Originally posted by: Sureshot324
According to Tom's, all the MSI boards will support both SLI and Crossfire.
Click to expand...
Actually, the THG news blurb cites Fudzilla as the source for the 'leaked' slide. So, according to Fudzilla, not THG. And that leaked slide was first published in late September, which means it could be from an MSI presentation given the week prior, with some specs being preliminary or tentative.

According to current information from MSI, X58 Platinum does not support SLI ("N/A"). Whether that is final or MSI might still be weighing SLI support for a future BIOS, I don't know, but the former is much more likely.
 
Originally posted by: Compddd
Why do you recommend the Gigabyte so strongly? I thought GA had a history of vdroop problems on their boards?
Click to expand...

Avoid Gigabyte like the plague with a new platform. They have a horrible support track record with just about the worst customer service to boot.

Get the MSI if SLI is not important; get the Asus if you want CF and SLI.

 
So does the MSI X58 Platinum support crossfire?And performance wise is there any loss if one was to choose it over other x58 boards?
 
Originally posted by: tim924
So does the MSI X58 Platinum support crossfire?And performance wise is there any loss if one was to choose it over other x58 boards?
Click to expand...

Yes, ALL x58 chipset motherboards will support Crossfire.

No, there will be no performance loss choosing one board over another... unless a board overclocks worse. Having an integrated memory controller pretty much takes "motherboard performance" out of the equation.

Originally posted by: tcsenter
According to current information from MSI, X58 Platinum does not support SLI ("N/A"). Whether that is final or MSI might still be weighing SLI support for a future BIOS, I don't know, but the former is much more likely.
Click to expand...

Latest news...

MSI x58 Platinum will support 2-way SLI with a BIOS flash.

MSI Eclipse will support 3-way SLI with a BIOS flash (yes, even with the PCIe x4 slot).

MSI Eclipse+ will use an NF200 chip (as shown in the slide cyburzaki linked) for more PCIe lanes and will have four PCIe slots, with a mixture of PCIe 2.0 and 1.1.

Of course this is subject to change and I may be imagining things.

I did get the new Eclipse BIOS today, so I'll hopefully be trying it out tomorrow, time permitting, with three GTX 280.
 
Originally posted by: Zap
Latest news...

MSI x58 Platinum will support 2-way SLI with a BIOS flash.
Click to expand...

Is this "Latest news" taken from a trustful site? Where did you read about this?

I checked MSI Website and they don't say anything about a bios flash for the X58 Platinum to make it SLI Compliant.

They show they are offering to the market 2 X58 Platinum MoBos. The normal one, without SLI compatibility and a X58 Platinum SLI, which obviously has SLI support.

Are both MoBos physically identical and the only thing we have to do is tho flash the bios or the SLI version has some hardware components to make it SLI capable???
 
Originally posted by: abrahkkan

Is this "Latest news" taken from a trustful site? Where did you read about this?

I checked MSI Website and they don't say anything about a bios flash for the X58 Platinum to make it SLI Compliant.
Click to expand...

lol...I don't think this bios flash would exactly be manufacturer supported. I suppose it's possible that MSI has decided to switch these boards around, but I think it's more likely that this is a custom modification.
 
They have an MSI Platinum SLI version for people who want SLI, probably just a little cheaper than the Eclipse series.
 
Originally posted by: abrahkkan
MSI x58 Platinum will support 2-way SLI with a BIOS flash.
Click to expand...

Is this "Latest news" taken from a trustful site? Where did you read about this?
[/quote]

Well, go to NVIDIA's SLI Zone and select Intel X58 SLI for motherboard, and MSI X58 Platinum is available in their drop-down list.

In any case, I got my hands on a BIOS that enabled 3-Way SLI on the Eclipse (yes even with the PCIe x4 slot). I don't think there is anything physical on the board that enables SLI, just some code in the BIOS which is allowed if a motherboard manufacturer pays the fee.
 
Nice, I really like the layout of the eclipse, how stable is the bios? Have you tried to overclock it?

Zap, please post your impressions, I don't know anyone else that has this board.

Thanks in advance.
 
I think the eclipse looks the best, especially with all the bling of those blue LEDs, but then if I ever do go 3x SLI, it would not work with my case since the last PCI-E slot is at the seventh slot....
 
Has anyone here used the MSI Platinum? Is there any reason why it wouldn't overclock as well as some of the other boards, save slightly less overclocking options?
 
I love the layout of the Eclipse too--its nearly ideal (in my mind) expansion slot configuration, a bounty of ten SATA and two eSATA ports, an X-Fi audio riser, and the GreenPower energy saver module, etc. etc. But the little I've read about its overclocking performance isn't that impressive (although TechReport did measure a wildly dazzling--and highly improbable--HDD read burst speed via its JMicron controller). But TechReport also decided that, in spite of the Eclipse?s X-Fi plug-in card, the EX58-UD5 put out better sound.

This crudely translated Czech comparison also shows the MSI, Gigabyte, and Intel entries lagging behind the Asus boards in attainable memory speed?so if overclocking is your game, you might derive greater pleasure from a P6T or R2E.

But these X58 boards have only been out a few weeks, so it's surely too early in the game to jump to any hard and fast conclusions, what with manufacturer BIOS tweaking still having a long road to go.

It'll be interesting to see what conclusions the Anandtech X58 board rundown makes when it comes out (hopefully this week), but my guess is the EVGA and Asus entries will be the top performers.

EDIT: a HardwareZone review just appeared that suggests MSI's Green Power Genie causes erratic system crashes. That review also found that Gigabyte's Dynamic Energy Saver (DES) edges out MSI's new scheme... (and the EX58 wins handily in NB temps too).
 
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