Software and Accessories
The MSI Core Center software includes basic voltage and clock speed settings to allow overclocking for improved performance, and underclocking for improved power savings. The home panel provides chipset, FSB and CPU clock settings, but the temperature reading isn’t anywhere close to being accurate.
Another panel reveals additional details, with fan speeds and CPU FSB clock adjustments.
Any large increases in FSB clock speeds will also require increased voltage to stabilize related components. Clicking a button reveals core voltage, memory, and northbridge adjustments, along with chipset and highly inaccurate CPU temperature displays.
Unfortunately, this software version doesn’t appear to be geared towards this specific motherboard, as even the smallest changes would crash the system. The driver CD also included Nvidia’s NTune utility, which has some similar features.
Documentation & Software | Quick Installation Guide |
Row 1 - Cell 0 | X-Fi Xtreme Audio Driver CD |
Row 2 - Cell 0 | Motherboard Driver CD’s (Windows XP, Vista) |
Hardware | 3x SLI Bridge |
Row 4 - Cell 0 | 6x SATA Data Cable |
Row 5 - Cell 0 | 1x M-Connector Kit |
Row 6 - Cell 0 | 3x 4-pin to SATA Power Adapter |
Row 7 - Cell 0 | 1x 80-conductor Ultra ATA cable |
Row 8 - Cell 0 | 1x Floppy Cable |
Row 9 - Cell 0 | 1x I/O Panel Shield |
Row 10 - Cell 0 | 1x SATA to eSATA Breakout Plate (2-ports) |
Row 11 - Cell 0 | 1x eSATA (port) to SATA (drive) Data Cable |
Row 12 - Cell 0 | 1x 4-pin to SATA Power Adapter (External) |
Row 13 - Cell 0 | 1x Port Breakout Plate (2x USB, 1x IEEE-1394) |
MSI’s accessory kit is fairly comprehensive, with bonus cables that allow you to connect internal drives externally. Three SLI bridges allow 2-way or 3-way SLI configuration, where the longer bridge cable must be placed across the top and bottom cards.