MSI Z77A-GD65 Motherboard

Main Specifications

The main specifications for the MSI Z77A-GD65 include:

• Socket: 1155
• Chipset: Intel Z77 Express
• Super I/O: Fintek F71889AD
• Parallel ATA: None
• Serial ATA: Four SATA-300 ports, two SATA-600 ports controlled by the chipset (RAID 0, 1, 10, and 5), and two SATA-600 ports controlled by an ASMedia ASM1061 chip (no RAID)
• External SATA: None
• USB 2.0: 10 USB 2.0 ports, four on the rear panel and six available through three headers on the motherboard
• USB 3.0: Four USB 3.0 ports, two soldered on the motherboard rear panel and two available through a header on the motherboard, controlled by the chipset
• FireWire (IEEE 1394): One port through a header on the motherboard, controlled by a VIA VT6315N chip
• On-board video: Yes, controlled by the CPU, VGA, DVI-D, and HDMI connectors
• On-board audio: Produced by the chipset together with a Realtek ALC898 codec (7.1+2 channels, 24-bit resolution, 192 kHz sampling rate, 110 dB SNR for the outputs, and 104 dB SNR for the inputs), on-board coaxial and optical SPDIF outputs
• On-board LAN: One Gigabit Ethernet port, controlled by the chipset using an Intel WG82579V chip to make the interface with the physical layer
• Buzzer: No
• Infrared interface: No
• Power supply required: EPS12V
• Slots: Two PCI Express 3.0/2.0 x16 slots (x16/x0/x0 or x8/x8/x0 or x8/x4/x4, supporting SLI and CrossFireX), one PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot (working at x4), and four PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots
• Memory: Four DDR3-DIMM sockets (up to DDR3-2667, 32 GB maximum)
• Fan connectors: One four-pin connector for the CPU cooler, one four-pin connector for an auxiliary fan, and two three-pin connectors for auxiliary fans
• Extra features: Two BIOS chips, POST diagnostics display, voltage measuring points, “OC Genie” button
• Number of CDs/DVDs provided: One
• Programs included: Motherboard utilities
• More Information: https://us.msi.com
• Average Price in the U.S.*: USD 170.00

* Researched at Newegg.com on the day we published this First Look article.