MSI X58 Platinum SLI
MSI’s MS-7522 motherboard is available in both SLI and non-SLI versions, because Nvidia charges per-motherboard to add an SLI driver hook to BIOS code. The version we received is aptly named X58 Platinum SLI.
MSI doesn’t pretend that reduced-cost motherboards will be adequate 3-way SLI solutions, and instead omits any third slot from the X58 Platinum SLI layout. It’s still perfect for SLI or CrossFire configurations that use only two graphics units, including four-GPU solutions using two high-end GTX 295 or HD 4870 X2 cards.
MSI puts an extra space between its two x16 slots to allow better cooling for the top card, but it does bother us a little that the company didn’t take advantage of the X58 northbridge's four left-over PCIe 2.0 lanes. We don’t believe substituting an x1 slot for an x4 slot would have had a very large effect on pricing. A full seven expansion slots provide tremendous flexibility, but this is a situation where the “missing” x4 slot could have seriously boosted the motherboard’s specification sheet.
Power cables connections are exactly where we want them, but the Ultra ATA connector is a little low in the X58 Platinum’s front edge for use with upper drive bays. Bottom-rear corner placement of Front-Panel Audio and IEEE 1394 FireWire headers make cable management a challenge for owners of top-panel-access cases.
As with every board in today’s comparison, forward-facing Serial ATA ports allow cables to slip easily under the leading edge of long expansion cards while also requiring additional space around any nearby hard drive cage. Most cases are designed with these types of connectors in mind. Two additonal SATA ports that face outward from the X58 Platinum SLI’s surface are located far enough below the top PCIe x16 slot to fit under any oversized graphics card coolers.
Power and Reset buttons located under the bottom PCI slot make bench testing a little easier. A third button near the motherboard’s front edge is intended to switch modes for the optional D-LED2 diagnostics display.
| MSI X58 Platinum SLI (Revision 1.0) | |
|---|---|
| Northbridge | Intel X58 Express |
| Southbridge | Intel ICH10R |
| Voltage Regulator | Six Phases |
| BIOS | V3.1 (01/21/2009) |
| 133.3 MHz Base Clock | 133.7 (+0.28%) |
| Clock Generator | ICS 9LPRS133BKLF |
| Connectors and Interfaces | |
| Onboard | 2 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (Full Bandwidth) |
| 3 x PCIe x1 | |
| 2 x PCI | |
| 2 x USB 2.0 (2 ports per connector). | |
| 1 x IEEE-1394 FireWire | |
| 1 x Serial Communications Port | |
| 1 x Ultra ATA (2 drives) | |
| 8 x Serial ATA 3.0Gb/s | |
| 1 x Fan 4-pin (CPU, System) | |
| 5 x Fan 3-pins (Chassis, Power) | |
| 1 x D-LED2 Diagnostics Module Header | |
| 1x Front Panel Audio connector | |
| 1 x CD-Audio In | |
| 1 x Power Switch | |
| 1 x Reset Switch | |
| 1 x D-LED2 Function Switch | |
| IO panel | 2 x PS2 (keyboard, mouse) |
| 8 x USB 2.0 | |
| 1 x IEEE-1394 FireWire | |
| 1 x Digital Audio Out (optical) | |
| 1 x External SATA (eSATA) 3.0Gb/s | |
| 1 x CLR_CMOS button | |
| 2 x RJ45 Ethernet | |
| 6 x Analog Audio Jack (8 ch. out + line, mic in) | |
| Mass Storage Controllers | |
| Intel ICH10R | 6 x SATA 3.0Gb/s (RAID 0, 1, 5, 10) |
| JMicron JMB363 PCIe | 1 x Ultra ATA-133 (2-drives) |
| 1 x External SATA (eSATA) 3.0Gb/s | |
| 1 x SATA Interface for JMB322 Port Multiplier | |
| JMicron JMB322 on SATA | 2 x SATA 3.0 Gb/s to 4x SATA 3.0 Gb/s |
| Network | |
| 2x Realtek RTL8111C PCIe | Dual Gigabit LAN with Teaming |
| Audio | |
| Realtek ALC888 HD Audio Codec | Eight-Channel (7.1 Surround) Output |
| IEEE-1394 FireWire | |
| JMicron JMB381 PCIe | 2 x FireWire 400 (1x Internal, 1x I/O Panel) |
Just as with the competing Asus model, the MSI X58 Platinum SLI uses a JMicron JMB322 port multiplier to provide two internal ports from a single JMB363 connection, sending the controller’s other connection to an eSATA port. Everything on that controller, including any Ultra ATA drives, must then share a single 2.5 Gigabit PCIe pathway to the chipset. MSI labels its two red SATA ports “Double Speed” in spite of this huge bottleneck, a marketing slogan that refers to the port multiplier’s built-in RAID 0 capability.
Networking faces no such bottlenecks, as each Realtek RTL8111C Gigabit Ethernet controller is fed by its own 2.5 Gb PCIe link.
FireWire 400 ports have no need for the bandwidth of PCIe, but the newer interface allows JMicron’s JMB381 controller to use less motherboard real estate.
Rated at 97dB signal-to-noise ratio, the RTL888 HD Audio codec provides 7.1-channel surround audio and is capable of multi-streaming a separate stereo signal to the front-panel headphone jack.
Check prices for MSI's X58 Platinum SLI
