Saturday, June 27th 2009
MSI P55-GD80 Pictured
MSI's lineup of LGA-1156 motherboards has a new high-end entry in the making, apart from a seeming higher-end G9P55-DC which was recently pictured. The P55-GD80 fills the lineup, perhaps a notch below it, and the other MSI LGA-1156 motherboards that lack an NVIDIA nForce 200 chip and 3-way SLI support. The P55-GD80 was pictured in all its glory (read: release grade chipset cooling), sourced by SAV-Computer. The picture reveals a PCB layout very similar to the G9P55-DC, with differences in the CPU power circuit, overclocker-friendly features, and the storage connectivity.
The board uses a 10-phase CPU power circuit with standard solid-state capacitors, compared to the 11-phase circuit with flat-bed ML capacitors on the G9P55-DC. This board surprisingly has more overclocker-friendly features, such as on-board controls for clock-speeds, clear-CMOS, OC-Genie, a DIP switch to control voltages, and voltage-sensing points that make measuring voltages convenient. Apart from the Intel P55 PCH, it uses an NVIDIA nForce 200 bridge chip that broadcasts 16 PCI-Express lanes (from the processor root complex) to 32 lanes on the PCI-E x16 slots. Apart from the six SATA II ports the PCH provides, an additional controller provides two internal and one external SATA ports, and one IDE connector. Two gigabit Ethernet connections, 8-channel audio, Firewire, and around 13 USB ports make for the rest of the package. The board supports Intel Lynnfield and Clarkdale processors.
Source:
SAV-Computer
The board uses a 10-phase CPU power circuit with standard solid-state capacitors, compared to the 11-phase circuit with flat-bed ML capacitors on the G9P55-DC. This board surprisingly has more overclocker-friendly features, such as on-board controls for clock-speeds, clear-CMOS, OC-Genie, a DIP switch to control voltages, and voltage-sensing points that make measuring voltages convenient. Apart from the Intel P55 PCH, it uses an NVIDIA nForce 200 bridge chip that broadcasts 16 PCI-Express lanes (from the processor root complex) to 32 lanes on the PCI-E x16 slots. Apart from the six SATA II ports the PCH provides, an additional controller provides two internal and one external SATA ports, and one IDE connector. Two gigabit Ethernet connections, 8-channel audio, Firewire, and around 13 USB ports make for the rest of the package. The board supports Intel Lynnfield and Clarkdale processors.
26 Comments on MSI P55-GD80 Pictured
(winki winki ! sorry i had to)
The "northbridge" is on the processor's package.
:rockout:
Very nice.
:cool:
They stick all those features on the board, and then have the audacity to claim that it will be for budget/value/low end users.
Was the northbridge really that expensive?
Is intel setting up like this:
cheap: 775
upper range of cheap: p51/g51
mid range: p55
high range: x58
?
The 3 full PCI 2.0 16x GPU slots are very nice on the P55.
Ok , the reason i am doing this is because i wanted to demonstrate i did not make up the numbers ( motherboard price ) . Before we start i want you guys to picture this :
The mainboard manufacturers ( MSI in our case ) , dont make their components in their factories . Those components come from different manufacturers . All the SMD`s , chokes , mos-fets , integrated chipsets , resistors , capacitors , even the stupid plastic pci slots costs money . A cheap motherboard , does not have all the features , heatsinks for VRM , has less power phases , maybe a bad layout , less connectors , maybe a low-end integrated audiochipset and so on.Why? to be more cost effective , less expensive . Now i want you guys to figure something out . Look at this motherbord : MSI P55-GD80 .The design and layout look very professional right? the heatsinks look great ( high end ) . Solid state capacitors . The power phases are more than enough , connectivity ? it has all the features . You even spot oc genie knob , and onboard power and reset buttons .
NOW , look at a pic of MSI ECLIPSE SLI X58 . What do you see? exactly same high end components , but more ram slots supporting triple cannelDDR3 , and the lack of onboard audio. That is the only major difference .
The MSI ECLIPSE SLI is around 215EUR now , but had a pricepoint of 260EUR when first introduced to the market . no triple channel ddr3 , no audio card included in the bundle . Because this mainboard uses the same components , , looks sexy , has good conectivity , uses heatsinks found on other high end mobos , you are telling me this one is aimed for budget users ? MSI do not buid PC components for fun , they do it for profit . Now this board`s manufacturing cost is 30% lower ok? that means it will have a pricepoint of 170-180EUR ( decrease with 10-15% after 4-5 months ) .
Now the brand : MSI is a giant manufacturer , if you want value go for Jetway , ECS or smth .( they ue the same components btw. )
Distribution ( shipping ) costs money , and remember you are buying this one from an retailer , not from the factory . Retailers want their profit also . So i am looking at a stunning mainboard with all the features , great cooling , high end components . Are you telling me that this mobo will be for the < 120 -110 part of the market ? Put your feet on the ground for a sec. The i5 is aimed for the value sector right ? is it just me , or are more here who don`t believe in this crap? I mean lets be serious.. common...
Lynnfield 2.80GHz 95W @205 EUR ( i7 920 competitor )
Lynnfield 2.66GHz 95W @170 EUR ( AMD PH2 955 slayer "mith" )
Now the rumors say the i5 2.8 CPU will be almost at the i7 920 level ( performance wise )
and the 2.66 will aim for the AMD 955BE sector . BUT AMD made their homework and cut the prices . Now that is VALUE . paying less for more .
now for the mainstream there will be some 2core CPU`s priced at 120-130 mark , and lower end mobos at 110EUR . That`s around 240EUR for a combo . Why? because e8500 , e8400core 2 duo , are not selling anymore , and AMD took the market with the x3 720BE . You will pay the same cash for the i5`s and gain %5 performance maybe .
so let`s draw a line ...you wan`t a nice upgrade , a quad core with the MSI P55 mobo .
Lynnfield 2.80GHz @200 EUR
MSI P55-GD80 @150 EUR ( best case scenario )
Total : 360 EUR
Intel Core i7-920 @215 EUR
MSI X58 Platinum @162 EUR
Total : 377 EUR
U don`t touch the i7 920 performance , but if you want to outperform one you need decent cooling for overclocking right? So the stock cooler has to be replaced with a 40-50 EUR one .
Now you are beating the stock i7 920 , but you payed more .So i`m asking you again , where is the value ? I SEE EVERYWHERE , i5 for mainstream , value , bla bla . We have to wait and see right? Doesnt matter , the Cpu`s will be bought by people driven by curiosity , people that love to get 200 3dmarks more and arhive a file 1 sec faster .
That was my point . Intel doesnt like to cut prices , they love to gain . So all the i5 fuss will bring profit , just by replacing some cpu`s that costs the same and perform the same .
Cpu`s that don`t sell anymore , e8500 , i7 940 etc.
Omg i5 i5 ... i have to buy one , omg omg . Client happy with "new technology" , manufacturer happy with profit , and the Earth spins once more . This is not value put on the table, no improvement in technology , or performance , just stupid Intel marketing crap .
AMD cuts costs when they loose ground and intel makes promises . It`s not rocket science , Intel is loosing ground . In EU the X3 720BE and x550 are in a selling spree . I can`t remember the last time i saw someone i know buying a e8000 series CPU , even a quad from Intel . Sure they will get phased out , like the i7 940 . The i7 940 was a mistake , like the Athlon FX`s from AMD . And i see more coming ... just my point of view . If you dont agree , it`s ok...
Maybe i dont understand the meaning of "value" ..
Also i really love the timings on this campaign . Next gren GPU`s will arrive in Q4 2009 . wow what a coincidence , why not buy a i5 , to get the most out of the dx11 cards? you dont want any issues with your new graphic card do you? So why not buy a new generation CPU ? Bad thing you can`t use it in your mobo , you have to get another one . You can`t use your ddr2 sticks ,so damn buy some memory. This manipulations make me sick .
I am not an AMD fan btw . I am also sry for my bad English , but i hope you get the point .
for practially the whole time I have ran the NB at 1.5v - the maximum voltage (with an 80MM fan pointed at it)
Ive spilled conductive fluid on it while it was on.. (it shut off immediately)
My cats decided to wrestle on it while i was doing a rebuild...
And one of my back-plates short-circuited the MB and melted a quarter-sized area of the PCB around a choke before I ripped out the power... smelled like death.
That board is still the one in my rig, still massively OC'd, with dried coolant droplets on the copper heatsink and a slightly melted PCB on the bottom... the thing absolutely refuses to die. I think just for fun one day I will take it out of my rig, bounce it off the ceiling a few times, and put it back knowing that it will post. It reminds me of Boris the Blade from Lock Stock.
I think i'll be going MSI for my next build.
So my ass pulls out good numbers . Do a little research ...
When that's not how things are priced. The US $279.99 Core i7 920 (Newegg.com) costs €235.23, which is $329.6 (HOH.de (popular German e-tailer)). Currency conversion doesn't work. Here's a list of prices for i7 920 from almost every German e-tailer: www.schottenland.de/preisvergleich/preise/proid_9779166/preis_INTEL+Core+i7-920+BX80601920
so i decided to call him the catfather:laugh::roll::laugh: