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The MSI X99S MPower offers a solid range of features that will appeal to power users and those interested in overclocking their system. Creating a value-orientated overclocking-geared motherboard can be a difficult task, but MSI has minimised that risk by equipping the X99S MPower with a broad range of general usage features.
Overclocking performance was solid for the X99S MPower. The board had no problem taking our 5820K to its 4.5GHz limit with 24/7-safe voltage levels. 3GHz memory support is also present, although the required BIOS is still undergoing stability testing ahead of its public release. And the range of overclocking-orientated UEFI options is a positive factor.
Performance for the MPower was excellent. MSI's OC series part consistently outperformed similarly-priced competitors in a range of workloads and tasks. That positive performance continued through to gaming and overclocked scenarios.
Board layout is decent, and could easily be better. Firstly, MSI puts the two x16-bandwidth PCIe slots in a position that will force cooling problems with back-to-back dual-slot graphics cards. And then there's the poor positioning of the SATA Express connector and voltage check points.
Other than SATA Express interference, there shouldn't be major layout issues, but the design could have been made better with relative ease. That said, the good fan header distribution and USB 3 connectors positioning are positives that are worth noting.
From a software perspective, the Click BIOS 4 UEFI is functional and filled with adjustable parameters, even if its layout is a little disordered. The range of OS-based tools that MSI includes with its boards is well-suited for an overclocking-geared user; monitoring and tweaking applications take the limelight.
Priced at £187.99 from OverclockersUK, the MSI X99S MPower represents good value for money. It is actually one of the cheapest X99 motherboards on the market, but offers a number of noteworthy upgrades over the lowest cost boards, especially in the overclocking department.
Perhaps one of the biggest considerations for MSI's X99S MPower is its similarity to the company's £10-more-expensive Gaming 7. For that extra £10 you get an almost identical motherboard that switches to red and black colours, a Killer NIC, a better audio solution, and less overclocking flexibility.
Sticking to the overclocking target audience of the X99S MPower, we don't see anything that they will feel is left out on the OC series part when compared to the Gaming 7. And that's a good thing that makes the MSI X99S MPower‘s overclocking-orientated feature set and £187.99 price tag even easier to recommend.
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Pros:
- Good overclocking performance with a range of user-adjustable settings.
- A good number of features for a sub-£190 X99 motherboard.
- Solid, in-depth UEFI implementation, even if it is a little disordered.
- 32Gbps Turbo M.2 connector can be used simultaneously with SATA Express.
- Good set of onboard buttons.
- Strong audio performance.
Cons:
- Some layout decisions could be better (especially V-Check Point Lite positions).
- Graphics card spacing needs to be better.
KitGuru says: With the X99S MPower, MSI has successfully brought overclocking-geared features to an even lower-cost segment of the LGA 2011-3 market.
So there’s a new bios out soon that handles high speed ram better then eh? Interesting as I’m running this mobo with 16GB of 3GHz Hyper X Predator ram and currently stuck running it @ 2666 so would be nice if theres a new bios out soon which’ll help take it to full speed…
As for those worried with tight dual GPU placement, I’m running SLI and have the cards in slots 1 & 3 instead with 2 empty, lots of room for cooling that way and works absolutely fine!