MSI X99S MPOWER Motherboard Review

[section_title title=”Conclusion”]Conclusion

So after having a good amount of time to test and play with the X99S MPOWER it is time to give my final thoughts on it, so here goes.

When it comes down to the design, it is one I am personally very fond of, it is very simple in terms of looks but the yellow accenting really just sets it off and makes it look that much better. When it comes to the design from a functional aspect and MSI have done an impeccable job here as well, from the clear CMOS button on the rear IO, to the DeBug LED, V-Check Points 2, easy OC buttons and things like the switch BIOS switch, everything just seems to be in a good place for ease of use. While the X99S MPOWER may be designed for overclocking it sure will look the part inside a case as well.

When it comes to performance the X99S MPOWER does not letdown there either, whether at stock settings or when applying overclocks. When looking back at the benchmarks I have to say I am very impressed with the results where graphic quality was not the main focus point as this is where the MPOWER seemed to shine, especially at stock settings surprisingly enough. Could it be due in part to the fact the MPOWER is able to draw more power from the PSU and thus somehow deliver more to the CPU? Well, it very well could have something to do with that. It’s still early stages for X99 based boards and the MPOWER is not yet currently released at the time of this review so I have no doubts in my mind that with a BIOS update or two, the MPOWER will be able to to fully utilize its power and give better results, it will be very interesting to look at benchmark results for it in a couple of months time.

Here is where the MPOWER really spreads its wings and rightfully so as it was designed for this, overclocking. The X99S MPOWER is chalked full of options, settings and features to make sure almost anyone can achieve some good overclocking results. If you are a novice and are not quite sure about it all you can just use the OC GENIE button which will give you and almost instant overclock and while it of course won’t be as good as manually doing it, MSI have done a good job making sure the voltage is regulated very well when using the OC GENIE. For those who want to dig into the BIOS there are loads of settings that can be changed to help users reach the maximum overclock possible. Still not enough for you? Well don’t worry, MSI have include some V-Check Points where users who want to take it to extreme levels of overclocking can go ahead and hook up multi-meters and better monitor voltages so they can tweak everything just the way they want it.

Whether you’re a novice or professional overclocker MSI have done a great job of making sure you have all the tools you will need. Aside from the OC GENIE and crazy amount of BIOS settings, MSI have also gone and included some ‘OC Essentials’ such as the DeBug LED, Multi-Bios II that will allow users to switch back and forth between 2 separate BIOS, a GO2BIOS button that users can push and on their next start/restart the PC will boot directly into BIOS, Easy Button 3 that allows users to power on and reset the PC right from the motherboard and of course on the rear IO users will find a clear CMOS button that if I’m honest, came in handy while I was doing my testing.

In terms of value for the money, the X99S MPOWER is actually priced a bit cheaper than I would have expected it, making it a great value for the money board. For around £190 depending where you purchase it from, you’re getting a motherboard that offers great performance as normal, but also offers users some of the best features for overclocking. Now with that being said the X99S MPOWER is not going to start pouring LN2 for you or fine tuning your settings to reach record breaking overclocks but it will give you most of the tools needed to get started yourself. When it comes down to it this is still one of the cheaper boards as far as X99 goes but it offers great advances into overclocking that most boards don’t.

If you are in the market for one of the cheaper X99 boards the X99S MPOWER is an amazing choice as not only does it offer great performance, there are plenty of options and settings to do with overclocking that are sure to keep users busy for hours upon hours if they so decide to take on overclocking.

With that being said, I would like to thank MSI for sending the X99s MPOWER in for review and would rightfully like to give it some awards, the most important of which in my eyes is the editor’s choice.