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MSI Big Bang-Marshal (B3)

22 Mar 2011

MSI has unleashed the Big Bang-Marshal, which is equipped with a 24-phase DrMOS power design, and has excellent performance on over-clocking and stability for the enthusiastic user. Utilizing a dual 8-pin CPU power supply plus a set of 6-pin VGA power supply design, users can steadily provide power when overclocking, achieving the highest performance on the Sandy Bridge platform.

Tags: msi, big bang, intel p67

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HWZ's Overall Rating: 9.0

Performance:

8.5

Features:

Value:

7.5

Packed with features

Enthusiast oriented features, especially for overclocking

Expensive

<div id="product-review" class="article">
			<h2 class="header-green">Intel P67 Shootout - The Top Guns</h2>
		<span class="byline">Article by Vincent Chang on Monday, 28 Mar 2011</span>
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		 		<h2 class="page-title">Top of the Class</h2>
		 		<h3 class="page_title">Top of the Class</h3>
<p>First, these are not the B3 boards you're looking for. Indeed, while many manufacturers are starting to ship the revised, bug-free motherboards, they aren't in time to make our high-end enthusiast-oriented&nbsp;P67 shootout. But there should be no cause for worry, since our testing has always used the SATA&nbsp;6Gbps ports that are not affected by the <a href="/view/134879" target="_blank">Cougar Point glitch</a>. Hence, there is no impact on our benchmarks.</p>
<p>Consumers should also be reassured by the fact that besides the chipset revision, there are practically no differences between the five motherboards we are reviewing today, and the B3 versions that will eventually be on retail shelves. The prices (unfortunately, as these boards aren't exactly cheap) and features will remain the same. The changes if any, are likely to be in the BIOS, though expect minor tweaks rather than a complete revamp.</p>
<p>What we have here today are five of the top P67 motherboards from the biggest motherboard brands now - ASRock, ASUS, ECS, Gigabyte and MSI. These are the exact models involved in our shootout:-</p>
<ul>
    <li>ASRock P67 Extreme6</li>
    <li>ASUS Maximus IV Extreme</li>
    <li>ECS P67H2-A</li>
    <li>Gigabyte P67A-UD7</li>
    <li>MSI Big Bang-Marshal</li>
</ul>
<p>Boasting quality components and sturdy power delivery designs to enable that last gasp of overclocking, they come with features that enthusiasts will appreciate, from voltage measuring points to <a target="_blank" href="/view/2492">Lucid's Hydra</a> chip. How do they actually fare when it comes to the rigors of overclocking? That's something we'll find out in the following pages. Check out <a target="_blank" href="/product-guide/compare/195/116798,101809,98225,101806,157368">the comparison page</a> <em>(note: huge table that's best viewed with 100% screen view)</em> for those who need a broad view of each motherboard's various features and specs.</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><img height="327" width="500" alt="" title="One expects these high-end boards to be larger than life (or ATX) and two of them (the top row) are exactly that. The ASUS comes in an Extended ATX form factor while the MSI board took it further with an even larger XL-ATX form factor." src="/files/images/Main_21.jpg" /></p>
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<option value="/feature-intel-p67-shootout-top-guns/asrock-p67-extreme6">ASRock P67 Extreme6</option>
<option value="/feature-intel-p67-shootout-top-guns/asus-maximus-iv-extreme-0">ASUS Maximus IV Extreme</option>
<option value="/feature-intel-p67-shootout-top-guns/ecs-p67h2-0">ECS P67H2-A</option>
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<option value="/feature-intel-p67-shootout-top-guns/results-specviewperf-90-22">Results - SPECviewperf 9.0</option>
<option value="/feature-intel-p67-shootout-top-guns/results-futuremark-3dmark-vantage-far-cry-2-5">Results - Futuremark 3DMark Vantage &amp; Far Cry 2</option>
<option value="/feature-intel-p67-shootout-top-guns/temperature-power-consumption-19">Temperature &amp; Power Consumption</option>
<option value="/feature-intel-p67-shootout-top-guns/overclocking-16">Overclocking</option>
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	<span class="label" style="">Tags:</span> <a href="/product-guide/all/reviews/tagged/100-gigabyte">gigabyte</a>, <a href="/product-guide/all/reviews/tagged/345-asus">asus</a>, <a href="/product-guide/all/reviews/tagged/447-ecs">ecs</a>, <a href="/product-guide/all/reviews/tagged/448-msi">msi</a>, <a href="/product-guide/all/reviews/tagged/1194-asrock">asrock</a>, <a href="/product-guide/all/reviews/tagged/1489-intel-p67">intel p67</a></div>
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Motherboard Guide

MSI Big Bang-Marshal (B3)

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