MSI MOA (Master Overclocking Arena) 2011 – Americas Finals

The Equipment

MSI has provided the following components and tools for each team:

• MSI Big Bang-XPower Motherboard (A7666IMS.148 BIOS)
• Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition CPU
• MSI N580GTX M2D15D5 video card (263.09 driver)
• Patriot Viper II Sector 7 PC3-16000 2 GB x 3 memory kit
• Western Digital VelociRaptor WD3000HLFS HDD
• Antec CP-1000 Power Supply
• Tt eSPORTS CHALLENGE Pro Keyboard
• Tt eSPORTS Black Mouse
• Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
• Software: CPU-Z 1.56, GPU-Z 0.48, CPU Tweaker 1.5, Cinebench 11.529, wPrime 1.55/2.04, MSI Afterburner Setup210MOA (2.1.0 MOA)

Figure 3: Assembly

There were two rounds of testing: the processor was the first, trying to achieve the highest score in SuperPi 32M; the second was video card, which aimed at achieving the highest score in 3DMark 11. SuperPI 32M is a relatively fast way to test the stability and performance of the processor and memory. 3DMark 11 is the world’s most popular reference test to measure graphics performance of PCs.On site, the contestants have worked hard to try to get the best scores possible with the available material. We saw excellent overclocking results in really low temperatures and the competition was fierce.

Figure 4: Adjustments