Introduction
Contents
MSI has released four motherboard models for the new socket LGA2011 platform, the X79A-GD45, the X79MA-GD45, the X79A-GD65, and the X79A-GD65 (8D), targeted to the most high-end processor Intel offers for desktops today, the Core i7 “Sandy Bridge-E” models. Let’s take a look at the X79A-GD65 (8D), which comes with five PCI Express x16 slots.
To better understand the MSI socket LGA2011 motherboard line-up, we compiled the table below.
| X79A-GD45 | X79MA-GD45 | X79A-GD65 | X79A-GD65 (8D) | |
| Form Factor | ATX | microATX | ATX | ATX |
| Memory Sockets | 4 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| PCI Express x16 | 3 (x16/x16/x8) | 2 (x16/x16) | 5 (x16/x16/x8/x1/x1) | 5 (x16/x16/x8/x1/x1) |
| PCI Express x1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Standard PCI | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SATA-300 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| SATA-600 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| eSATA-600 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| USB 2.0 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 |
| USB 3.0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| FireWire | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Price | USD 270 | USD 230 | NA | USD 300 |
In Figure 1, you see the MSI X79A-GD65 (8D) motherboard.
Figure 1: MSI X79A-GD65 (8D) motherboard