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Overall we are very impressed with what the MSI Z77A-GD65 motherboard has to offer. It's clear they are targeting the Asus Republic of Gamer's range and we believe the Z77A-GD65 is one of the finest motherboards we have ever tested.
MSI have come up with a motherboard recipe that is sure to appeal to a wide range of gamers. The gaming-orientated feature set includes a Bigfoot Killer E2200 network chip and a Sound Blaster audio codec which help to enhance the gaming experience. The attractive red and black colour scheme should go down well with gamers, too.
When it comes to performance, the Z77A-GD65 certainly didn't leave us with any concerns. It was incredibly simple to achieve a stable 4.8 GHz overclock with our Intel Core i7-3770K. This yielded significant performance benefits throughout our extensive test suite. We expect that you could achieve a higher overclock than this given some time and perhaps some slightly enhanced cooling. Nonetheless, our results were excellent.
The MSI Z77A-GD65 Gaming Motherboard can be yours for a price of £155 from Aria Technology, making it around £25 more expensive than the original Z77A-GD65. There are differences between the two models, namely the Bigfoot Killer network card, Sound Blaster Audio Codec and support for 2800 MHz and 3000 MHz memory. If you're looking to save some pennies and don't need these extra features then the original version is still an excellent choice.
If you want one of the finest motherboards that money can buy however, then the MSI Z77A-GD65 we reviewed today should be right at the top of your shortlist.
Pros:
- Excellent overclocking performance.
- Attractive design.
- Integrated Bigfoot Killer network card.
- Intuitive UEFI interface.
Cons:
- Original version is still a tempting proposition, saving some money.
KitGuru says: An excellent motherboard from MSI which can easily compete with the finest Z77 motherboards on the market.
Awesome, great photos too Henry, really enjoyed that read. ordering one today as I am not moving to haswell this generation.
Well that is a beautiful design, I love the dragon engraved into the heatsink. excellent power delivery potential. Price point is quite competitive, considering the big foot networking adds a lot of the cost.
MSI bioses are solid, I always buy them. I am waiting on haswell and their high end board for the 4770k.
Good product though, just at the end of a life cycle which might stop sales a little. Haswell is due in a few months.