Foreword:
Friends who often play memory overclocking should know that motherboards with ** slot memory design are easier than motherboards with four-slot memory design. To put it simply, the vast majority of four-socket motherboards use daisy-chain mode (each channel is connected to a socket first, and then "expanded" from that socket to a second socket); On the other hand, the motherboard is designed in direct-attach mode, so that the latter minimizes the signal loss of the memory, thereby maximizing memory frequency and performance.
Taking stock of the current overclocking motherboards born for memory, I have to talk about MSI's Uinfy-X series, when I used the MSI MEG Z690 Unify-X motherboard, which also exceeded the memory to 8000MHz for the first time. And this year, MSI has brought a "specialized" motherboard for memory overclocking - Z790Mpower, which not only has excellent memory overclocking strength (8000MHz+ is nominal), but also is relatively close to the people. How does this motherboard perform? Take a look at the following.
Unboxing + dismantling introduction:
In terms of packaging, MSI Z790MPOWER is different from the current MPG and MEG, and directly uses the physical rendering of the product, which makes the visual appearance more intuitive.
The back of the package shows a series of highlights of the motherboard, including an expandable heatsink, a powerful power design, an overclocking engine, and more, but most notably the one designed for DDR5 memory overclocking.
Unboxing accessories are not few, including wifi antennas, M2 Set screws, SATA cable, hands-on guide, stickers, and an additional simple control board.
This simple control board can be wired to quickly boot, reboot and reset the BIOS directly during debugging, and is also equipped with a debug diagnostic light for users to view the current board information.
Especially in memory overclocking attempts, the addition of this control board can easily improve efficiency.
As a Z790 motherboard, the power supply unit of MSI Z790Mpower is not bad, designed for 12+1+1 phase power supply, and the CPU auxiliary power supply interface is designed with dual 8pins, which can make the performance of the processor more stable.
In terms of memory, MSI Z790MPOWER uses the ** slot of CPU direct connection, through excellent workmanship and ultra-high BIOS tuning, memory optimization and other technologies, for which MSI officially also indicates that the motherboard supports DDR5 8000MHz (OC) and above frequencies.
The motherboard comes standard with 3 PCIe slots. The first slot is CPU direct and the protocol is PCIe 50*16 to meet the bandwidth requirements of the latest graphics cards; And the PCIe slot is also equipped with metal armor to further slow down the deformation of the motherboard.
The second slot is PCIe 30*1, mainly expand other accessories.
The third slot is PCIe 40*4, bandwidth provided by chipset.
As for mThere are 2 of the 2 slots, both of which are PCIe 40 protocol, and all covered with thermal armor. It's just the first m2 slots are directly connected to the CPU; The second m2 slots provide bandwidth for the chipset.
In terms of I-O interfaces, the MSI Z790Mpower performs well, with 4 USB 2s from top to bottom0 port, 1 DP and 1 HDMI port, 1 USB 32 Gen 2*2 Type interface (20Gbps USB 3.)2 Gen 2 interface (10Gbps 2.)5G LAN interface, WiFi antenna and audio interface.
Of course, in order to see the materials and some components of the motherboard, I also removed the heat dissipation module mounted on the MSI Z790Mpower.
The first is the CPU power supply module, the CPU core power supply is 12 phases, and the DRMOS is RAA 220075R0, and the maximum power supply current of a single DRMOS reaches 75A.
The PWM chip of the motherboard is RAA229132.
The USB hub controller is CREATEV GL3590.
2.The 5Gbps wired network card is the small crab RTL8125BG.
The WiFi 6E wireless network card is Intel AX211, which can be used normally whether it is Win11 or Win10.
The integrated sound card is the small crab ALC897, and the PCB is designed with shielding and filter capacitors.
But what surprised me the most was that the MSI Z790Mpower also comes with an additional clock generator - RC26008.
I've seen it before on the MSI B660M Mortar MAX motherboard, and with the help of this clock generator, some non-K processors can be overclocked by adjusting the external frequency. For this reason, MSI also named this clock generator as an overclocking engine.
mpower certified memory - Golden Baida White Blade 16GB*2 7600MHz
After introducing the MSI Z790Mpower motherboard, let's take a look at the memory with Mpower certification. At present, there are many brands that have joined this certification, including Acer, PNY, TEAMGROUP, Bodi, Oloy, Lexar, Jinbaida and so on.
That's what I got this timeGolden Baida White Blade 16GB*2 Set,It is not difficult to see that the starting frequency of this memory is very high, reaching 7600MHz.
In terms of exterior design, the memory is no different from the previous version, using a pure white metal heat dissipation vest, which is very thick, and an industrial-grade thermal grease is also used inside.
Of course, the most eye-catching thing on the heat dissipation vest is the red "blade" and the logo of Jin Baida, combined with some silver lines around the periphery, which is directly recognizable. It's just that in the lower right corner, there is also a sticker of mpower certification to indicate the identity.
In terms of specifications, the memory has a single 16GB capacity, equipped with Hynix's original A-Die particles, 10-layer PCB design, and the opening XMP frequency is 7600MHz, the timing is CL36 (36-46-46-120), and the voltage is 145v。
Renderings on the machine:
Although the cooling vest of the Golden Baida White Blade 16GB*2 memory is very thick, it will not be incompatible with the thickness of the MSI Z790MPOWER motherboard.
Renderings on the machine:
Combined with MSI Center on MSI Z790MWower, you can achieve a very cool ARGB lighting synchronization effect.
In this installation, I used the Antek C8 white version of the chassis. The positioning of the chassis is the sea view room chassis, the biggest feature is the use of double-sided 4mm drill-free tempered glass side transmission + no column design, can achieve a large field of view of 270°, the visual effect is very good.
In terms of internal compatibility, the performance of the Antek C8 is also very good, with a maximum support for E-ATX (280mm) motherboards, a maximum height of 175mm CPU cooler, and a maximum support of 440mm for graphics cards. In addition, up to 10 fans can be installed in the chassis to form a vertical air duct to enhance internal heat dissipation. Water cooling is also supportive, easy to put together.
The graphics card is the Ӱ RTX4070 20th Anniversary Edition, which can be said to be the most designed RTX40 series graphics card at present, with two 100mm silent frost fans on the front, and at the same time supports intelligent start and stop, which does not start when the graphics card is unloaded or low load, further reducing noise and prolonging fan life. At the rear of the graphics card are large heatsink fins, and a hollow design is used to further improve heat dissipation efficiency.
At the same time, there is also a 90mm diameter design specification at the tail, and together with two 100mm fans on the front, it can achieve high flow rate convection heat dissipation and enhance the heat dissipation effect. The most interesting thing is that the fan is also combined with the front "2" character to form the logo of the 20th anniversary.
The most important thing is that the interface part of the graphics card is also hidden, which is placed at the back of the PCIe slot, which can achieve a more simple installation effect, especially the pure white family bucket.
Performance measurement:
The accessories of this test platform are as follows:
CPU: Intel i7 13700K (P-core OC 5.)5ghz）
Radiator: MSI MAG Coreliquid E360
Motherboard: MSI Z790Mpower
Memory: Golden Baida White Blade RGB 7600 16GB*2
Graphics: Ӣ RTX4070 20th Anniversary Edition.
Chassis: Antik C8 pure white version.
Power supply: MSI MPG A1000G
Let's take a look at the particles with the MPOWER certified Jinbaida White Blade 16GB*2 memory kit, model H5CG48AGBDX018. This batch of memory chips is Hynix's latest batch and is available in an FBGA-82 package, which not only improves the reliability of the product, but also allows it to be more efficient in a compact space. And the starting operating voltage of this memory particle is only 11V, which is not only more energy-efficient, but also has more powerful overclocking potential.
The default frequency of this memory is 5600MHz, and when XMP is enabled, the memory frequency is increased to 7600MHz, the timing is 36-46-46-120, and the voltage is 145v。
At 5600MHz default frequency:
According to AIDA64, the read speed of the memory is 85098MB s, the write speed is 75638MB s, the copy speed is 75465MB s, and the latency is 753ns。
Master Lu's memory score is 307104 points.
The PerformanceTest 11 test score is 3415.
Turn on XMP 7600MHz:
According to AIDA64, the read speed of the memory is 118420MB s, the write speed is 114080MB s, the copy speed is 111630MB s, and the latency is 539ns。It can be said that after turning on XMP, the memory can meet the needs of the vast majority of users in terms of performance and latency.
Master Lu's rating reached 439999.
The PerformanceTest 11 test achieved a score of 4789.
Overclocked 8400MHz:
Try overclocking further to boost the voltage of the memory to 16V at 8400MHz with a timing of 38-48-48-76. And try 8600MHz frequency can turn on, but the test can't be completed.
According to AIDA64, the read speed of the memory is 129450MB s, the write speed is 125720MB s, the copy speed is 122380MB s, and the latency is 487ns。
Master Lu's score was raised to 482178 points.
The PerformanceTest 11 test broke through 5,000 points and reached 5,017 points.
The summary chart of the performance test is as follows:
OC BIOS Settings:
About DDR5 memory overclocking, simply put, it is the adjustment of voltage, but DDR5 memory is very sensitive to voltage, and it is recommended to explore the voltage range corresponding to the frequency, and then try to modify the small parameters. There are also a lot of assignments on the Internet, which you can learn from.
However, there are a few points to be emphasized.
The first is to upgrade the motherboard BIOS to the latest version, which is currently P13. Theoretically, the newer the BIOS, the more friendly it is to overclocking the memory.
The second is that novices can try memory try lt!function, this function is equivalent to a memory overclocking preset, for novice users to directly preset some parameters, for old birds, you can further optimize the parameters, improve overclocking efficiency.
Of course, there is an important feature. Performance mode must be enabled for memory extension mode. When this feature is enabled, the performance of the memory will be further improved. So it is highly recommended to turn it on.
Summary:
Through actual testing, MSI Z790Mpower is indeed a motherboard born for memory overclocking, and I easily achieved a frequency of 8400MHz, so it nominally supports DDR5 8000MHz frequency under normal circumstances, as long as the memory is fine.
And the motherboard is more generous, only a little more expensive than the high-end B760 motherboard of the first-line brand, so once the motherboard is released, it will be out of stock, so if you want to try it, remember to squat for a wave.