Our Final Thoughts
MSIÂ stepped up their performance game on the X99 XPOWER and there is obvious signs of this with the excellent performance tuning we see paying dividends in our performance testing. The XPOWER in most CPU tests pulls a defined lead but not a head over heels difference more the kind you see when you fine tune a system to get that extra edge. The one issue I see is the relative short life of the platform so far means that it could simply be firmware updates that could level the playing field again and then we are back to a features race.
Speaking of features the XPOWER sports alot especially for extreme overclocking enthusiasts. all of the familiar overclocking features we have grown to love on the XPOWER plus the awesome high-speed connectivity and wireless features just push the boards capability further and further.
If you want a board which can be a great gamer but really is meant to be on a test bench at extreme cooled temps the XPOWER is a great option. the features and performance I cannot compare with other OC level boards yet as I have not received any other OC level boards to test against but as they roll in we may have to revisit this one.
In summary MSI made a flat-out monster of a board that pulls some good performance ahead of boards tested to date and with the decent price positioning there is no reason why gamers could not make a monster machine with the new X99S XPOWER today!
The Pro’s: | Cons |
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Review Overview
Performance - 9
Value - 9
Quality - 8.5
Features - 9
Innovation - 8.5
8.8
The MSI XPOWER is built for extreme performance and it doesnt just perform well but looks awesome while doing it.