• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

MSI Z68A-GD80 (B3) Motherboard Pictured

btarunr

Editor & Senior Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 9, 2007
Messages
47,297 (7.53/day)
Location
Hyderabad, India
System Name RBMK-1000
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
Motherboard ASUS ROG Strix B450-E Gaming
Cooling DeepCool Gammax L240 V2
Memory 2x 8GB G.Skill Sniper X
Video Card(s) Palit GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER GameRock
Storage Western Digital Black NVMe 512GB
Display(s) BenQ 1440p 60 Hz 27-inch
Case Corsair Carbide 100R
Audio Device(s) ASUS SupremeFX S1220A
Power Supply Cooler Master MWE Gold 650W
Mouse ASUS ROG Strix Impact
Keyboard Gamdias Hermes E2
Software Windows 11 Pro
Here are the first pictures of MSI Z68A-GD80 (B3), the company's first socket LGA1155 motherboard based on Intel's new Z68 PCH. Intel is weeks away from launching the Z68 PCH, which is a middle-ground between P67 and H67. P67 let you overclock, while it didn't feature Flexible Display Interface (FDI); H67 featured FDI, but didn't let you overclock. Z68 features FDI, it also lets you overclock to the potential of P67. MSI's Z68A-GD80 makes use of the B3 revision of the Z68 PCH. It intends to offer loads of overclocking features, ample discrete GPU expansion, as well as FDI connectivity to let you use the processor-embedded graphics.

The LGA1155 socket supports 2011 Core i5/i7 "Sandy Bridge" processors. The LOTES-made socket on the Z68A-GD80 is powered by a 15-phase VRM that uses "solid-state" chokes that don't buzz on load. The VRM is cooled by two heatsinks that share heat over a heat pipe. The socket is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots that support dual-channel memory. Expansion slots include three PCI-Express x16 (electrical x16/NC/x4 or x8/x8/x4), two PCI-E x1, and two PCI.



Storage connectivity includes four SATA 3 Gb/s ports, three SATA 6 Gb/s ports (two from PCH, one from a 3rd party controller), and one eSATA 6 Gb/s. FDI display connectivity includes DVI and HDMI. Other connectivity features include 8-channel HD audio, USB 3.0 (two rear-panel, two by internal header), dual gigabit Ethernet, USB 2.0, and FireWire.

Overclocker-friendly features include OC Genie 2, memory optimizer technology, auxiliary 6-pin power input for additional electrical stability, consolidated voltage measure points, and likely a feature-rich BIOS.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site
 
Joined
Jan 13, 2011
Messages
120 (0.02/day)
Location
In a Van down by the river!
System Name Blue & Silver v1.o
Processor 2600k @ 4.5GHz
Motherboard ASUS P8P67 EVO Pro B3
Cooling Megahelms
Memory G.Skill Sniper DDR3 2x4GB
Video Card(s) MSI Twin Frozr II 580GTX
Storage Crucial M4 SATA3 128Gb SSD, 750GB Western Digital Blacks raid 0
Display(s) Samsung SyncMaster T240HD
Case NZXT Phantom
Audio Device(s) on board
Power Supply Corsair HX1000
Software Win 7 Pro 64bit
so this is a mid-range board then? I just don't see the point I guess.. The P67 boards are priced decent already just curious where these will land price wise...? Not to mention benefits of OC and features...
 
Joined
Aug 7, 2008
Messages
5,739 (0.96/day)
Location
Wakefield, UK
Oooo. I LOVE that it has onboard aswell as 3x PCI-E!

Great feature, been waiting for something like this.

Well done MSI.
 

Cold Storm

Battosai
Joined
Oct 7, 2007
Messages
15,010 (2.39/day)
Location
In a library somewhere on this earth
System Name Haro
Processor AMD 1700x
Motherboard AsRork x370 Taichi
Cooling EK Custom Loop - CPU only
Memory 32gb G-Skill Trident Z
Video Card(s) EVGA 1080 Superclock 2
Storage Too Many
Display(s) Viewsonic VX2450WM-LED 24" & LG 32 IPS
Case Cooler Master Cosmos II
Power Supply Cooler Master V1000
Mouse SteelSeries Rival 500
Software Win10 Pro
Benchmark Scores i5 750 4.62ghz pi runs // Evga FTW p55
I has some good stuff... :banghead: on the factor that the Volt measure points are probably going to be covered up due to the 24pin..
 

btarunr

Editor & Senior Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 9, 2007
Messages
47,297 (7.53/day)
Location
Hyderabad, India
System Name RBMK-1000
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
Motherboard ASUS ROG Strix B450-E Gaming
Cooling DeepCool Gammax L240 V2
Memory 2x 8GB G.Skill Sniper X
Video Card(s) Palit GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER GameRock
Storage Western Digital Black NVMe 512GB
Display(s) BenQ 1440p 60 Hz 27-inch
Case Corsair Carbide 100R
Audio Device(s) ASUS SupremeFX S1220A
Power Supply Cooler Master MWE Gold 650W
Mouse ASUS ROG Strix Impact
Keyboard Gamdias Hermes E2
Software Windows 11 Pro
so this is a mid-range board then? I just don't see the point I guess.. The P67 boards are priced decent already just curious where these will land price wise...? Not to mention benefits of OC and features...

It will be priced above P67 boards, definitely above the P67 GD80.
 
Joined
Jan 13, 2011
Messages
120 (0.02/day)
Location
In a Van down by the river!
System Name Blue & Silver v1.o
Processor 2600k @ 4.5GHz
Motherboard ASUS P8P67 EVO Pro B3
Cooling Megahelms
Memory G.Skill Sniper DDR3 2x4GB
Video Card(s) MSI Twin Frozr II 580GTX
Storage Crucial M4 SATA3 128Gb SSD, 750GB Western Digital Blacks raid 0
Display(s) Samsung SyncMaster T240HD
Case NZXT Phantom
Audio Device(s) on board
Power Supply Corsair HX1000
Software Win 7 Pro 64bit
I has some good stuff... :banghead: on the factor that the Volt measure points are probably going to be covered up due to the 24pin..

yeah that was a stupid place for those.. WOW how does something like that get through quality control/common sense.. lol
 
Joined
Jan 13, 2011
Messages
120 (0.02/day)
Location
In a Van down by the river!
System Name Blue & Silver v1.o
Processor 2600k @ 4.5GHz
Motherboard ASUS P8P67 EVO Pro B3
Cooling Megahelms
Memory G.Skill Sniper DDR3 2x4GB
Video Card(s) MSI Twin Frozr II 580GTX
Storage Crucial M4 SATA3 128Gb SSD, 750GB Western Digital Blacks raid 0
Display(s) Samsung SyncMaster T240HD
Case NZXT Phantom
Audio Device(s) on board
Power Supply Corsair HX1000
Software Win 7 Pro 64bit
It will be priced above P67 boards, definitely above the P67 GD80.

oh the way I read it they were somewhere between P67 and the H series....P67 being the top tier.. No?? :wtf:
 

Cold Storm

Battosai
Joined
Oct 7, 2007
Messages
15,010 (2.39/day)
Location
In a library somewhere on this earth
System Name Haro
Processor AMD 1700x
Motherboard AsRork x370 Taichi
Cooling EK Custom Loop - CPU only
Memory 32gb G-Skill Trident Z
Video Card(s) EVGA 1080 Superclock 2
Storage Too Many
Display(s) Viewsonic VX2450WM-LED 24" & LG 32 IPS
Case Cooler Master Cosmos II
Power Supply Cooler Master V1000
Mouse SteelSeries Rival 500
Software Win10 Pro
Benchmark Scores i5 750 4.62ghz pi runs // Evga FTW p55
yeah that was a stupid place for those.. WOW how does something like that get through quality control/common sense.. lol

The only way i see that it wouldn't be a problem is if you use, single braided connector... but, I really don't like to move them around all the time to get to the modular I need to check on..
 

afw

Joined
Mar 4, 2009
Messages
646 (0.11/day)
System Name StealthX
Processor Intel i7 2700k
Motherboard Asus SABERTOOTH z77
Cooling Prolimatech Genesis
Memory CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB DDR3
Video Card(s) ASUS GTX 960 2GB black edition
Storage CORSAIR FORCE GT 120GB SSD + Samsung Spinpoint F3 (1TB + 2 x 500GB)
Display(s) Acer G235H 23" (1920 x 1080)
Case Silverstone Raven RV02
Audio Device(s) OB
Power Supply Seasonic x650 GOLD
Software Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
like 'Z68' ... sounds better than 'P67' for me ... :laugh:
 
Joined
Sep 15, 2004
Messages
1,583 (0.21/day)
Location
Poland,Slask
System Name HAL
Processor Core i5 2500K
Motherboard Asus P8P67 Pro Rev3.1
Cooling stock
Memory 2x4GB Kingston 1600Mhz Blu
Video Card(s) Asus 560Ti DirectCuII TOP
Storage Kingston 120 3K SSD,WD Black WD1502FAEX
Display(s) LG 1440x900
Case Chieftec Mesh Midi
Audio Device(s) onboard
Power Supply Corsair TX750V2
Software w8
oh the way I read it they were somewhere between P67 and the H series....P67 being the top tier.. No?? :wtf:

Which part of this you don't understand ?
Z68 features FDI, it also lets you overclock to the potential of P67.

Z68 = P67+FDI hence Z68>P67
 

btarunr

Editor & Senior Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 9, 2007
Messages
47,297 (7.53/day)
Location
Hyderabad, India
System Name RBMK-1000
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
Motherboard ASUS ROG Strix B450-E Gaming
Cooling DeepCool Gammax L240 V2
Memory 2x 8GB G.Skill Sniper X
Video Card(s) Palit GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER GameRock
Storage Western Digital Black NVMe 512GB
Display(s) BenQ 1440p 60 Hz 27-inch
Case Corsair Carbide 100R
Audio Device(s) ASUS SupremeFX S1220A
Power Supply Cooler Master MWE Gold 650W
Mouse ASUS ROG Strix Impact
Keyboard Gamdias Hermes E2
Software Windows 11 Pro
oh the way I read it they were somewhere between P67 and the H series....P67 being the top tier.. No?? :wtf:

Well that's why it's numbered Z68. It will overclock just like P67, and also feature FDI. That makes it superior to both P67 and H67.
 
Joined
Jan 13, 2011
Messages
120 (0.02/day)
Location
In a Van down by the river!
System Name Blue & Silver v1.o
Processor 2600k @ 4.5GHz
Motherboard ASUS P8P67 EVO Pro B3
Cooling Megahelms
Memory G.Skill Sniper DDR3 2x4GB
Video Card(s) MSI Twin Frozr II 580GTX
Storage Crucial M4 SATA3 128Gb SSD, 750GB Western Digital Blacks raid 0
Display(s) Samsung SyncMaster T240HD
Case NZXT Phantom
Audio Device(s) on board
Power Supply Corsair HX1000
Software Win 7 Pro 64bit
Which part of this you don't understand ?


Z68 = P67+FDI hence Z68>P67

Well that's why it's numbered Z68. It will overclock just like P67, and also feature FDI. That makes it superior to both P67 and H67.

ah thanks! Got it sorry.. Minor brain fart before my morning coffee... :ohwell:

this is what confused me.... "Intel is weeks away from launching the Z68 PCH, which is a middle-ground between P67 and H67."
 
Joined
Feb 19, 2006
Messages
6,270 (0.91/day)
Location
New York
Processor INTEL CORE I9-9900K @ 5Ghz all core 4.7Ghz Cache @1.305 volts
Motherboard ASUS PRIME Z390-P ATX
Cooling CORSAIR HYDRO H150I PRO RGB 360MM 6x120mm fans push pull
Memory CRUCIAL BALLISTIX 3000Mhz 4x8 32gb @ 4000Mhz
Video Card(s) EVGA GEFORECE RTX 2080 SUPER XC HYBRID GAMING
Storage ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 1TB 3D NAND NVMe,Intel 660p 1TB m.2 ,1TB WD Blue 3D NAND,500GB WD Blue 3D NAND,
Display(s) 50" Sharp Roku TV 8ms responce time and Philips 75Hz 328E9QJAB 32" curved
Case BLACK LIAN LI O11 DYNAMIC XL FULL-TOWER GAMING CASE,
Power Supply 1600 Watt
Software Windows 10
That last PCI-E slot looks to be worthless for a graphic card... The caps (or what ever it is) are too close and too tall, other than that it seems ok.
 
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
154 (0.03/day)
Location
Belgium
System Name Orange_box
Processor i5-3570K (@ 4.4 Jiggahurtz ;)
Motherboard P8Z77-I DELUXE
Cooling Thermalright Archon with 2 TY-140
Memory 16GB Corsair Vengence LP (1600)
Video Card(s) Asus GTX 1060 6G
Storage Samsung 850 EVO + Samsung 840 EVO + 4TB WD
Display(s) Samsung 24''
Case Bitfenix Prodigy (orange)
Audio Device(s) Asus Xonar U3
Power Supply Corsair 750 W
Mouse Roccat Kone
Keyboard Logitech (el cheapo)
Software W10pro x64 / Manjaro XFCE x64
Benchmark Scores who cares...
That last PCI-E slot looks to be worthless for a graphic card... The caps (or what ever it is) are too close and too tall, other than that it seems ok.

Maybe worthless for GPU but very usable for one of those expensive PCIe SSD... :cool:
or for physics GPU?
 
Joined
Oct 2, 2005
Messages
3,059 (0.44/day)
Location
Baltimore MD
Processor Ryzen 5900X
Motherboard ASUS Prime X470 Pro
Cooling Arctic liquid freezer II 240
Memory 2 x 16 Gb Gskill Trident Z 3600 Mhz
Video Card(s) MSI Ventus 3060 Ti OC
Storage Samsung 960 EVO 500 Gb / 860 EVO 1 Tb
Display(s) Dell S2719DGF
Case Lian Li Lancool II Mesh
Audio Device(s) Soundblaster Z
Power Supply Corsair RM850x
Mouse Logitech G703
Keyboard Logitech G513
Software Win 11
i spy a usb3 header, bout damn time
 
Joined
Oct 7, 2009
Messages
396 (0.07/day)
System Name Just A Gaming Rig.
Processor AMD FX-8320 @4.1GHz, 1.268V
Motherboard ASUS M5A97 Evo R2.0
Cooling Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo
Memory 8 GB Crucial Ballistix Sport 1600MHz
Video Card(s) Club 3D R9 280X 3GB royalQueen, @1115/1615MHz
Storage OS+Often used stuff: Kingston SSDNow V300 120GB, Mass storage: WD Blue 1TB
Case Zalman Z3 Plus
Audio Device(s) Integrated
Power Supply Corsair CX600M
Software Windows 8.1 64-bit
Can't seem to figure out, why Z68 even exists. Are there any situations, when you would need integrated graphics and discrete graphics from the same PC? If your going for a HTPC or some other type of media PC, you would choose the H67. If you intend to do gaming, you will be getting a discrete graphics card and would want to squeeze some extra out of your CPU, therefore you would choose P67.
 

TheLostSwede

News Editor
Joined
Nov 11, 2004
Messages
17,769 (2.42/day)
Location
Sweden
System Name Overlord Mk MLI
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard Gigabyte X670E Aorus Master
Cooling Noctua NH-D15 SE with offsets
Memory 32GB Team T-Create Expert DDR5 6000 MHz @ CL30-34-34-68
Video Card(s) Gainward GeForce RTX 4080 Phantom GS
Storage 1TB Solidigm P44 Pro, 2 TB Corsair MP600 Pro, 2TB Kingston KC3000
Display(s) Acer XV272K LVbmiipruzx 4K@160Hz
Case Fractal Design Torrent Compact
Audio Device(s) Corsair Virtuoso SE
Power Supply be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 850 W
Mouse Logitech G502 Lightspeed
Keyboard Corsair K70 Max
Software Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores https://valid.x86.fr/yfsd9w
Can't seem to figure out, why Z68 even exists. Are there any situations, when you would need integrated graphics and discrete graphics from the same PC? If your going for a HTPC or some other type of media PC, you would choose the H67. If you intend to do gaming, you will be getting a discrete graphics card and would want to squeeze some extra out of your CPU, therefore you would choose P67.

Intel Quick Sync?
Also LucidLogix Virtu makes it well worth it, as you can save on your power bill by using the Intel graphics and power down the graphics card when you don't need the extra GPU power.
 

EastCoasthandle

New Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2005
Messages
6,885 (0.96/day)
System Name MY PC
Processor E8400 @ 3.80Ghz > Q9650 3.60Ghz
Motherboard Maximus Formula
Cooling D5, 7/16" ID Tubing, Maze4 with Fuzion CPU WB
Memory XMS 8500C5D @ 1066MHz
Video Card(s) HD 2900 XT 858/900 to 4870 to 5870 (Keep Vreg area clean)
Storage 2
Display(s) 24"
Case P180
Audio Device(s) X-fi Plantinum
Power Supply Silencer 750
Software XP Pro SP3 to Windows 7
Benchmark Scores This varies from one driver to another.
The asus version I saw is "Pro" version and looking at this one all seem to be mid range. I though they would be top tier boards? So far it looks like they took the mid-range and imported video connectivity, etc to it.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Feb 18, 2005
Messages
5,847 (0.81/day)
Location
Ikenai borderline!
System Name Firelance.
Processor Threadripper 3960X
Motherboard ROG Strix TRX40-E Gaming
Cooling IceGem 360 + 6x Arctic Cooling P12
Memory 8x 16GB Patriot Viper DDR4-3200 CL16
Video Card(s) MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Ventus 2X OC
Storage 2TB WD SN850X (boot), 4TB Crucial P3 (data)
Display(s) 3x AOC Q32E2N (32" 2560x1440 75Hz)
Case Enthoo Pro II Server Edition (Closed Panel) + 6 fans
Power Supply Fractal Design Ion+ 2 Platinum 760W
Mouse Logitech G602
Keyboard Razer Pro Type Ultra
Software Windows 10 Professional x64
I thought Z68 was for LGA2011 boards...
 
Joined
Jul 5, 2008
Messages
337 (0.06/day)
System Name Roxy
Processor i7 5930K @ 4.5GHz (167x27 1.35V)
Motherboard X99-A/USB3.1
Cooling Barrow Infinity Mirror, EK 45x420mm, EK X-Res w 10W DDC
Memory 2x16GB Patriot Viper 3600 @3333 16-20-20-38
Video Card(s) XFX 5700 XT Thicc III Ultra
Storage Sabrent Rocket 2TB, 4TB WD Mechanical
Display(s) Acer XZ321Q (144Mhz Freesync Curved 32" 1080p)
Case Modded Cosmos-S Red, Tempered Glass Window, Full Frontal Mesh, Black interior
Audio Device(s) Soundblaster Z
Power Supply Corsair RM 850x White
Mouse Logitech G403
Keyboard CM Storm QuickFire TK
Software Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores https://valid.x86.fr/e5uz5f
Mmmm... Smelly...

I like the look of the board, had 5GHz LinX stable (not Prime) on P67 GD80 hopefully this can nail it.
 
Top