Overclocking - The Hardware

Since overclocking is clearly a large part of the MSI Z87 MPOWER MAX's focus, there are quite a few overclocking-specific features included here, over and above all the added functionality I've already covered. The bottom-right corner of the MSI Z87 MPOWER MAX has all the BIOS-related hardware, including dual BIOS chips with a physical switch to swap between them. There's also a dual-digit LED POST code display and a Fast Boot button that gets you directly into the BIOS, every time. One more BIOS-related switch, a CLEAR CMOS button, can be found on the rear I/O backplate. Its position allows you to access that function with the board installed into a closed case.


There are two different v-measure points on the MSI Z87 MPOWER MAX—one on the board's upper right edge and one right below the socket. The one on the board's right edge works with the included wires and the built-in pin header, but using the points below the socket takes manual prodding.


The DIMM VRM is a true dual-phase design, as you can see in the picture above. A controller, a simple input phase, dual-path MOSFETs, and chokes are all in clear view. The CPU VRM is mostly hidden underneath the VRM cooler, which I did not remove; however, I did find ten separate input drivers on the rear of the board, which indicates that the multiplexed CPU phases are most likely a real 20-phase design—way more than any user is ever going to need.


Even the CPU power plugs come in a pair, as I found two 8-pin EPS power connectors near the board's top edge, so the CPU's power draw can be spread out over more wires to lower the load on each wire, which improves thermal characteristics. Haswell CPUs don't really pull that much power overall, so adding as many power components might seem like an exercise in futility, but this is all in an effort to lower temperatures around the board's VRM and CPU, while increasing efficiency. That said, the MSI Z87 MPOWER MAX's power design is more than enough to take your parts to the limit, at least physically. It even includes an LN2 mode via bridging a couple of pins near the CPU_FAN plugs.


Down on the board's bottom edge are the OC buttons—one is for the OC Genie function that provides an easy, automatic overclock, two are for POWER and RESET, and two can be used in combination with MSI's OC Panel software for real-time clock changes at the hardware level while the board is running. There is also a switch just to the left of the OC Genie button. It allows users to toggle between a low-clock and high-clock mode. What clocks the OC Genie function uses is dependent on what CPU is installed.