Overclocking

Overclocking with the MSI Z68A-GD65 (G3) proved pretty easy, but at first we met with some difficulty getting our memory stable, as well as operating the "Click BIOS" while in Windows. We contacted MSI and received a new BIOS, which fixed both problems, thankfully. MSI notified us that all production boards should be shipping with the revised BIOS, so while it was an issue for us, users can rest assured that MSI is on top of things, and it shouldn't be a problem in production boards.

Of course, with so many features geared to overclocking, we were sure to put them to the test when we ran into problems, and they definitely helped us diagnose the issues we encountered so that when we approached MSI with our problems, they were quickly solved. We also need to mention the "OC Genie" button, which offered not only an immediate overclock to 4.2 GHz on our Intel i7 2600K, it also enabled our memory's XMP profile too, and the system proved fully stable upon stability testing. However, it did boost the voltage a fair bit too high for our CPU, all the way to 1.35 V, while as you can see in the CPU-Z screenshot above, we needed much less for stability at much higher clocks. We also were able to match the voltages used on other boards near exactly, albeit a bit lower, hinting at untapped potential left for the extreme crowd.

Overclocked Performance Summary

Cinebench provided a substantial performance increase when overclocked, something that resounds true through the entire series of SandyBridge products.


Likewise, Super Pi 32m results proved the same as Cinebench, with substantial performance increases that are noticed on previous Intel platforms.


WPrime 1024M numbers further the results, showing that there is true power available when overclocking the MSI Z68A-GD65 (G3).


For a bit of 3D action, we fired up Code Master's F1 2010, to be impressed with the performance boost offered, compared to the other products.