Overclocking - The Hardware

When it comes time to look at overclocking with the MSI Z87-G45 GAMING, there's really not a lot to look at. There's just a single BIOS chip on the board, yet the same Super I/O, a Nuvoton NCT6779D, is here too, so the same fan-control abilities and monitoring options that were present on the OC-friendly MSI Z87-GD65 GAMING are here on the "lesser" Z87-G45 GAMING.


The DIMM VRM is of a similar design as well, with dual power delivery phases, and the measure points are also close-by. There are no included cables, though, and no header to plug them into. Instead, the board comes with a set of solder pans to touch with your multi-meter. This really highlights the differences between the MSI Z87-GD65 GAMING and the MSI Z87-G45 GAMING. While very similar in design, the MSI Z87-G45 GAMING clearly doesn't come with the overclocking-minded feature set of the MSI Z87-GD65 GAMING. Performance, however, relates something else as there are other clear difference that are not immediately obvious.