MSI X99S Gaming 7 Motherboard Review

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In our ongoing coverage of Intel's enthusiast-oriented X99 LGA2011-3 platform, we are very pleased to bring you our very first review of one of MSI's popular Gaming Series motherboards. This product line has been on the market for a fair number of years now, and as its name implies, it is focused on the particular needs of gamers. The model that we are focusing on today is the X99S Gaming 7, which falls just below the flagship X99S Gaming 9 and X99S XPOWER AC in MSI's X99 motherboard lineup.

When compared to the $470 ASUS X99 Deluxe and the $440 EVGA X99 Classified that we have reviewed thus far, the MSI X99S Gaming 7 is downright affordable at around $315. What do you lose in exchange for that $100+ rebate? In practical terms, not as much as you would expect. Although this motherboard features four PCI-E x16 slots, it is limited to 3-way CrossFire/SLI due to the fact that some PCI-E lanes are being diverted in order to expand this model's high-speed storage capabilities. Given the microscopic amount of users who would ever even consider a four graphics card setup, this seems like a worthwhile trade-off to us...especially since that's about the only obvious shortcoming.

The X99S Gaming 7 features ten SATA 6Gb/s ports, a SATA Express port, a 'Turbo' M.2 slot with a full speed PCI-E 3.0 x4 connection, eight USB 3.0 ports with some unique capabilities, a gaming-oriented Killer E2205 LAN controller, a unique Audio Boost audio solution, voltage read points, onboard hardware buttons, and the OC Genie automatic overclocking feature. As usual, that's just the tip of the iceberg.

With its black and red colour scheme this Gaming Series model is going head-to-head against similar looking and seemingly as well equipped competition from the likes of ASUS and Gigabyte. However, implementation is key. If everything works the way it should and if the real-life capabilities match the marketing boasts, then that's when you have a jewel of a product on your hands. Is the MSI X99S Gaming 7 one such motherboard? Let's find out!

 

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Specifications & Features

Specifications & Features

Before we get up-close and personal with this new MSI X99S Gaming 7 through pictures and tests in the following pages, here is quick and dirty rundown of this motherboard's specifications as per MSI's website.

As you would expect, this motherboard has quite a few noteworthy features, and we will be examining some of them in-depth in the coming pages, especially the intriguing Audio Boost onboard audio and the overclocker-friendly voltage read points.

 

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The X99 Platform; Enthusiasts Rejoice

The X99 Platform; Enthusiasts Rejoice

One of the main critiques leveled at Intel’s X79 was its similarity to the old-as-the-hills X58. As a matter of fact, from a specifications standpoint, that’s exactly what it was: an X58 chipset with a new coat of paint in the form of PCI-E 3.0 support. Since it didn’t feature current technologies like native USB 3.0 and only had two SATA 6Gbps ports, motherboards required third party controllers to attain those functions, and support wasn’t the greatest especially for key features like RAID and high speed USB throughput. That caused a serious problem for a so-called enthusiast platform when Intel’s own Z87 incorporated those elements into boards that often cost hundreds less than their X79 cousins.

X99 changes this equation in a big way towards compatibility that many thought should have been incorporated into X79 in the first place. Nonetheless, we are now (finally!) going to see native support for USB 3.0, SATA Express, and Thunderbolt 2 on Intel’s enthusiast motherboards.

Starting with the most obvious thing first: X99 chipsets will still use the LGA2011 socket but it has been updated for Haswell-E compatibility. This not only means new microcode but also support for the processors’ fine grain power distribution needs and higher current capability. In short, older LGA2011 boards will not be forwards compatible with these new processors, nor will this so-called LGA2011-v3 socket be backwards compatible with Ivy Bridge-E CPUs.

The X99 platform is of course headlined by the Haswell-E CPU which provides up to 40 PCI-E 3.0 lanes (the i7-5820K will only come with 28 lanes enabled) which can be distributed via up to three integrated slots. This means a x16 / x16 / x8 setup is possible as is a 5x8 setup via third party controllers should motherboard vendors decide to go that route. The processor also houses the quad channel DDR4 memory controller.

As with all Intel platforms, the PCH is where all the I/O fun happens and it is connected to the processor via a x4 DMI interface providing up to 4GB/s of aggregate upstream / downstream bandwidth. In this case the X99 supports up to 14 USB ports spread across six USB 3.0 and 8 USB 2.0 along with ten native SATA 6Gbps ports. Through the use of Intel’s refreshed architecture these can be paired with additional PCIe 2.0 lanes for SATA Express or 4x M.2 compatibility without needing to resort to a so-called “FlexIO” interface. Naturally, those lanes can also be used for additional controllers as well which typically provide Bluetooth, secondary LAN and WiFi features.

Past the obvious continuity of an integrated Intel LAN, all of the SATA 6Gbps ports are backstopped by Intel’s RST 13.1 infrastructure should a motherboard vendor choose to include it (most will be). Extreme Tuning Utility compatibility is also a requirement here whereas on Z97 it’s considered an optional feature.

Since this is considered Intel’s high end platform, motherboard manufacturers are pulling out all the stops when it comes to board design. Take the MSI X99S Gaming 7 for example; it features a laundry list of must-have features for enthusiasts like up to 128GB of DDR4 RAM, 3-way SLI & Crossfire, M.2 x4 storage slot, SATA Express port, enhanced audio features, etc.

 

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Packaging & Accessories

Packaging & Accessories

Now that we have gone over the X99S Gaming 7's features and specifications, it is time to examine the new packaging and then crack open the box to take a look at the numerous bundled accessories. Let's check it out:

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As should come as no surprise, this motherboard's packaging features the same Gaming Series design that MSI has been using for a few years now with their gaming-oriented products. Particularly prevalent is the unmistakable dragon that is the centerpiece of the brand's logo.

The rear of the box lists some rudimentary specifications and highlights a few of this model's unique gaming-oriented features, namely those focused on the audio improvements. The packaging doesn't breathe fire at us, but it is overall well executed.

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Once you remove the outside packaging, you are greeted with an inner box that contains two separate sections, the top half holds the motherboard in an anti-static bag and the bottom half contains the software, documentation, a door hanger, cable labels, and the handful of included accessories. By the way, we are pleased to report that the user guide (and online manual) are extremely thorough, with a handy block diagram detailing all the interfaces and controllers, as well as a PCI-E bandwidth table explaining the complex manner in which PCI-E lanes are divided depending on how many graphics cards are installed.

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The accessories bundle starts off with a unique colour scheme matching I/O shield, a Gaming Series sticker, six SATA 6Gb/s cables, a 2-way SLI connector, the Direct Audio Power adapter, and the two user-friendly front-panel M-Connectors. Hardware-wise there is nothing too special about this bundle, and we would have like to see a 3-way SLI connector included. Having said that, MSI have included a six month premium license for the XSplit Gamecaster live streaming and recording service.

 

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A Closer Look at the MSI X99S Gaming 7

A Closer Look at the MSI X99S Gaming 7

Now that seemingly every motherboard manufacturer has adopted the black & red colour scheme for their gaming and/or overclocking series models, it's hard for us to get excited about this motherboard's aesthetics. It is obviously not a bad looking motherboard at all, but it does look like every other one.

Despite being quite packed with features, ports and slots, MSI have managed to keep the X99S Gaming 7 within the standard ATX form factor (30.5 cm x 24.4 cm / 12.0-in x 9.6-in), so there shouldn't be any issues when it comes to installing it into any properly designed cases.

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This motherboard has one of the least obstructed CPU socket areas that we have seen recently, and the MOSFET heatsink and memory slots do not pose any clearance issues, so you should have no problems installing a large heatsink, a waterblock, or even insulating the PCB for sub-zero cooling. Part of this is due to the very low profile Hi-c CAPs ((Highly-Conductive Polymerized Capacitor), which are solid capacitors that are not only tiny but super-efficient as well.

Although the X99S Gaming 7 model features eight physical phases, CPU power regulation is managed by a six-phase Intersil ISL6388 controller, so we can safely assume that this model features a 6-phase CPU VRM design. This is reinforced by the dozen 55-amp Fairchild FDMF5823DC MOSFETs and the dozen 45-amp Super Ferrite Chokes (SFC) chokes. The remaing two phases are likely directed towards some memory-related power tasks.

Behind the MOSFET heatsink, on the edge of the motherboard, you will find the 8-pin CPU power connector, as well as a bank of MSI's often-used Dark CAP capacitors.

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Thanks to the quad-channel memory architecture of this new high-end platform, this motherboard features eight DDR4 memory slots and supports up to 128GB of system memory. MSI lists support for overclocked memory frequencies up to DDR4-3333, but that is obviously heavily dependent on whether your processor can handle it...and the actual capabilities of the BIOS, as you will see later on. Each bank of slots features a 2-phase power design and are managed by brand new Powervation PV3203 controllers. The memory slots are clip-less on one side, which is handy since you don't have to uninstall your graphics card in order to remove the memory sticks.

As you can see, MSI is clearly using custom PCB's for its Gaming Series motherboard, so you're not just getting a standard PCB used in the regular models.

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MSI has outfitted this model with two internal front-panel USB 3.0 headers, both of which are supplied directly from the X99 chipset.

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As you might expect, this motherboard features a chipset heatsink that very closely resembles that of MSI's previous Gaming Series models. It doesn't really have much surface area nor does have any fins per se, but the X99 chipset doesn't run hot so cooling is not much of an issue.

In total, the X99S Gaming 7 features ten SATA 6Gb/s ports, all of which are supplied by the X99 PCH and but only six of which support RAID 0/1/5/10 and Intel Rapid Storage Technology. Two of those ports are integral parts of the included 10Gb/s SATA Express connector, so do keep that in mind. MSI have also included a "Turbo M.2" slot, which is a full-speed implementation that utilizes four PCI-E 3.0 lanes from the processor, and thus has a theoretical maximum bandwidth of 32Gbps (4GB/s). This interface shares PCI-E 3.0 lanes with the fourth PCI-E slot, but instead of simply disabling itself when an expansion card is present the interface switches over to two PCI-E 2.0 lanes from the X99 chipset, which bandwidth capabilities of up to 1GB/s.

 

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A Closer Look at the MSI X99S Gaming 7 pt.2

A Closer Look at the MSI X99S Gaming 7 pt.2

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In the lower right-hand corner is the debug LED display, the SATA Express connector (or just two additional SATA 6Gb/s ports), and a two USB 2.0 headers. You will also find two onboard BIOS chips as well as a Slow Mode Booting jumper, which have help stabilize the booting process when sub-zero cooling during extreme overclocking attempts.

On the very bottom edge of the motherboard you will also find the button used to enable/disable the OC Genie automatic overclocking feature, the power and reset buttons, as well as the front-panel audio header and the Direct Audio Power header.

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The X99S Gaming 7 features four mechanical PCI-E x16 slots, but unlike the other X99S motherboards that we reviewed thus far it does not make full use of the Haswell-E processors enhanced PCI-Express graphics capabilities. Since MSI is syphoning away PCI-E lanes towards expanding the high-speed storage capabilities, this model is limited to 3-way CrossFire and 3-Way SLI operation. Obviously, in a simple dual graphics card configuration, you will get full speed x16/x16 PCI-E 3.0 transfer rates. However, when three graphics cards are installed, the first and second card will run at x16 2.0, while the third operates at PCI-E x8 3.0. As noted on the previous page, this model's M.2 interface shares PCI-E 3.0 lanes with the fourth PCI-E slot. When you a install a graphics card in that particular slot, it deprives the M.2 interface of all PCI-E 3.0 lanes, but instead of being disabled it simply uses two PCI-E 2.0 lanes from the X99 chipset. If a full-speed M.2 interface is more important to you, you can install a graphics card in the third PCI-E x16 slot, but be aware that doing so will result in the first slot's bandwidth being cut in half. Basically, the PCI-E x16 slot breakdown will look like this: x8/x16/x8/x0.

The two remaining slots are PCI-E x1 2.0, which are theoretically capable of up to 500MB/sec.

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MSI have outfitted the X99S Gaming 7 with a pretty decent onboard audio solution. As a starting point, it is based on the familiar Realtek ALC1150 eight-channel HD audio CODEC that is covered by an
electromagnetic interference (EMI) shield. Next to the bank of Nichicon solid polymer capacitors is where you will find one of the two Texas Instruments OP1652 operational amplifiers (op-amps), which act as a dedicated headphone amplifier that can power 600 ohm headphones through the red audio jack. Below the EMI shield you will find the switch that enables or disables Direct Audio Power, which can direct power straight from the PSU through the Molex adapter and straight to the back panel audio ports. There is an isolation line surrounds the audio section of the PCB and protects it from the rest of the system. All of this serves to help to preserve the signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio and thus ensure the highest possible sound quality.

Unrelated to the audio sub-system is an NXP LPC812 chip, which is 32-bit ARM Cortex-M0+ microcontroller (with built-in flash and SRAM). As far as we can tell it is related to the OC Genie feature. Also, to the left of the Nuvoton NCT6792D+ Super I/O controller you might spot the seven voltage read points. They are in a truly unconventional location, but as you will see in our Voltage Regular section, they do work.

From left to right, there is a PS/2 port that supports either a mouse or keyboard, two USB 2.0 ports, a Clear CMOS button, six USB 3.0 ports, a gigabit LAN port, two USB 3.0 ports, five analog audio jacks and a digital optical S/PDIF output.

The single GbE LAN port is powered by a Qualcomm Atheros Killer E2205 network processing unit (NPU). Thanks to the included Killer Network Manager it is more versatile when it comes to managing the types of data packets used when gaming or streaming, but it is not necessarily higher performing than the usual Intel controller(s) when it comes to pure throughput or CPU utilization.

The two USB ports under the LAN port feature what MSI calls USB Audio Power. The gist of it is that these two ports are supposed to deliver a perfect 5V power output, which is ideal for high-quality external audio devices like USB DACs. We decided to test this by applying a somewhat high 750mA load to those ports, and the voltage dropped to between 4.88-4.89V on one and 4.91-4.92V on the other. Not perfect, but not too shabby either and actually quite stable.

While the two black USB 2.0 ports and the two USB 3.0 ports under the LAN port are supplied by the X99 chipset, the remaining are courtesy of a two-port ASMedia ASM1042E host controller and a four-port VIA VL805 host controller.

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On the rear of the motherboard is some covered CPU VRM components, a bunch of logos, and some metal screws that hold in-place the heatsinks and the audio EMI cover.

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Lastly, on the rear of the motherboard we also get a good look at some of the LEDs that illuminate the PCB isolation line that surrounds the audio sub-system.

 

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Hardware Installation

Hardware Installation

In the Hardware Installation section we examine how major components fit on the motherboard, and whether there are any serious issues that may affect installation and general functionality. Specifically, we are interested in determining whether there is adequate clearance in all critical areas.

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As mentioned in the previous section, this motherboard has a clean and clear CPU socket area. When installed in the East-West or North-South orientation, our Prolimatech Mega Shadow had no issues physically clearing the MOSFET heatsinks. We wish that we could say that we don't foresee any obstacles with even the largest of coolers.

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In the traditional North-South orientation, we surprisingly did not have any showstopping clearance issues when it came to the memory modules. Our cooler's fan clips did make contact with the nearest memory module, but it did not prevent installation or removal of the RAM. Those using a heatsink that is wider than 122mm or memory modules that are taller than 40mm will want to be careful, assuming a similar fan clip setup.

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There is a pretty large gap between the back of the graphics card and the memory slots, and the clip-less memory slots further help to prevent any clearance issues. The 24-pin ATX power connector and the 8-pin CPU power connector are both ideally placed, so that makes assembling and disassembling the system just a tad easier.

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This board will hold two or three dual-slot graphics cards without issue. However, in order to run 2-way SLI/CrossFire you need to install the graphics cards in slots E1 and E3, which are right next to each other. This is obviously less than ideal because it concentrates a ton of heat in a small area, thus needlessly heating up both cards. A better solution is to have a gap between the two cards (like we have pictured), but the second card would then run at PCI-E 3.0 x8. That's not ideal, but it shouldn't cause much (or any) performance penalty.

The cards overhang the motherboard, but the edge-mounted SATA connectors and various headers are still easily accessible. As on all motherboard, if you install a dual-slot expansion card in the bottom PCI-E x16 slot it will block the headers at the very bottom of the motherboards and make access to the various buttons difficult if not impossible.

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The eight right-angle SATA ports are obviously accessible no matter how many graphics cards are installed. The SATA Express port / two other SATA ports can still be used when a graphics card is installed in the last PCI-E x16 slot, however you need to plug in the SATA/SATAe cable first, and you need a graphics cards that is not thicker than 38 millimeters.

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Like on all LGA2011 motherboards past and present, this model comes with its own CPU backplate, so there is really nothing to worry about back there.

 

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BIOS Rundown

BIOS Rundown

The MSI X99 UEFI BIOS implementation is basically identical to that of their Z97 Gaming models, which should not be surprising since they are both based on the latest Click BIOS 4 version. This is good news since it represents a significant improvement over the version found on their previous Z87 motherboards. The layout and quantity of settings are not only enhanced, but the overall smoothness and mouse support are noticeably better as well.

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Unlike with some companies, there is no simple or advanced mode in MSI's implementation. What you see is what you get, which for some will certainly alleviate any potential confusion. The top left corner is where you will find the buttons for enabling/disabling the OC Genie feature and the XMP memory profile.

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The Settings menu is the section where you will find the bulk of the BIOS's settings. The System Status sub-menu lists some basic system information, including the date and time, standard storage devices, BIOS version, a few processor cache tidbits and the amount of memory installed. The Advanced sub-menu is also where you can enable/disable or just find all the various settings and options for all the onboard devices like the audio, LAN, USB 3.0, SATA ports, etc. The Boot sub-menu is essentially where you set storage device priority, select the boot drive, enable/disable the full screen logo, and ton of other boot settings that can help with the installation or troubleshooting of various OS installations. The Security sub-menu is where you can set the administrator and individual user passwords, as well as enable or disable chassis intrusion feature. There is also a Save & Exit option but that seems redundant since you can just hit the F10 key instead.

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The OC menu is where all the fun happens. Once the Advanced Mode option is selected, the BIOS opens up to reveal all of the essential system clock control options: CPU multiplier with an all-core and per-core option, CPU cache frequency, BLCK frequency, memory frequency, memory timing options, and all the voltage options. Although there is a DRAM Refence Clock setting, we found it odd that there doesn't seem to be a manual CPU strap option. You might expect that MSI have designed the BIOS to select the strap automatically, but as you will see in Overclocking Results section that doesn't seem to be the case.

As its name suggests, the Advanced DRAM Configuration section is where you will find all the memory-related settings. Within this section you can select and change all the memory settings, and each memory channel has its own section, from which you can alter the primary and secondary timings. It has just about every memory modifier that an enthusiast or overclocker would need to fine-tune their modules.

The DigitALL Power section has a whole slew of advanced power regulation settings for the CPU cores, CPU VTT and VCCSA (system agent/memory controller), and DRAM channels. This motherboard is setup well enough so that you should never actually have to tweak any of these settings though, unless you are really pushing the limits with phase-change or LN2 cooling. The exception to this is obviously Load-Line Calibration (LLC), which is a worthwhile feature that eliminates droopage on the CPU vCORE, and which we will take a closer look at in our Voltage Regulation section.

The CPU features section is where you can enable or disable all the CPU-specific features like the Thermal Monitor, Hyper-Threading, Virtualization, Enhanced SpeedStep, Turbo Mode, C-States, etc.

 

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BIOS Rundown pt.2

BIOS Rundown pt.2

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The M-Flash section is the built-in utility that greatly simplifies the BIOS updating process. You can easily update your BIOS from a ROM file located on your hard drive(s) or USB flash drive(s). It's quick, painless, and it takes the worry out of BIOS flashing.

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The OC Profile feature gives users the option to save and switch between BIOS profiles, for example an everyday profile and a benchmarking profile. Not only is this infinitely quicker than manually inserting every setting, but the profiles can be saved and shared among other X99s Gaming 7 owners.

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The Hardware Monitor section is dedicated to the monitoring of the various voltages, temperatures, and fan speeds. This whole section is quite comprehensive, it has all the essential temperature and voltage readouts that you would expect. It also has improved fan control functionality thanks to real-time fan speed graphs with four manually adjustable RPM points. For those that prefer a more hands-off approach, there is also a Smart Fan Mode that can intelligently managed fan speeds based on CPU and/or system temperatures.

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One of the unique aspects of MSI's BIOS is the Board Explorer feature, which has been improved to now show which fan headers, USB ports, and SATA ports are in use. It's actually a pretty neat trick.

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By pressing the F3 key or by clicking on the little heart icon in the top right corner you are brought to the new and somewhat hidden Favorites section. This basically mirrors what we have seen on ASUS motherboards, and it basically allows you to have all your most useful or most used settings in one place, so you no longer have to search through the whole bios to find what you need time and time again.

 

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Included Software

Included Software

Command Center​

The most important utility in MSI's software suite is the Command Center. Although MSI still has a few standalone apps for different functions, the CC can be used for an impressive wide ranging diverse range of tasks. This system management utility is the hub from which you can monitor system clock speeds, voltages, temperatures, and fan rotation but more importantly it allows users to do both automatic and manual overclocking from within Windows.

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The Command Center initially opens to the CPU section, where you can see the current CPU multiplier(s) and the BCLK frequency.You can manually change the multiplier for any one or all of the cores, as well as increase or decrease both the base clock and CPU core voltage on-the-fly. The DRAM section allows you to change the memory frequency, as well as alter the DRAM voltage (for each channel). The IGP section is a weird addition, which clearly highlights that this is just a lightly modified version of the utility bundled with Z97 motherboards. You can even setup a RAMDisk if you are so inclined. The OC Genie section is where you will find the automatic overclocking feature. As you will see in our Overclocking Results section, it is nowhere as versatile or aggressive as ASUS's implementation, but it does work.

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There are even additional sections at the bottom of each section which allow you to launch further capabilities. In the Advanced section, you can manually change most system voltages, finely tune all system fans, or even tweak most of the crucial DRAM timings.

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The Settings section is where you can record system voltages, fan speeds, and system temperatures. You can also establish high or low voltage, fan speed, and system temperature warnings. The Mobile Control panel is where you setup remote access to overclocking and monitoring functions, as well configure your mobile device as a remote for your system's media playback.

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The Information section is - as its name suggests - just some fundamental information about the specifications about the motherboard, the processor, and the system memory. There is also a Hardware Monitor that allows you to monitor system voltages, fan speeds, and temperatures.

ECO Center

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The ECO Center utility allows user to disable certain headers and ports that aren't being actively utilized in order to maximize power savings on this power hungry platform. It is an interesting approach, but we would like to see an automatic power saving mode that tweaks system voltages and frequencies as well.

Live Update 6

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The Live Update 6 utility is where you can automatically or manually update all the included motherboard-specific software, and also download and flash the latest BIOS. You can also install or uninstall any of the software suites from this app as well.