Layout

The MSI Big Bang XPower is based on a black PCB which carries black and blue expansion slots. The cooling blocks have been kept in a decent grey and blue being decorated by a logo in silver. Totally one can find seven PCI-express slots on this board. The space around the CPU socket is sufficient to install a big aircooler but it wouldn't have been wrong if there was some more. This would make the installation a bit easier.

This board comes with a 16 phase current supply which guarantees a stable system and good overclockability with great performance values. Furthermore the 16 Phase VRM Design can rely on firstclass Hi-C capacitors which have a life expectancy of 50'000 hours on average. Also the low RDS(on) MOSFETs allow lower temperatures and the high quality inductors are made of ferrite.

Totally you'll find six DIMM-slots on the MSI Big Bang XPower. Officially supported are DDR3-2133/2000/1600/1333/1066/800 with up to 24 GByte capacity.

Southbridge as well as current converters are being held at adequate temperatures using a passive heatpipe cooling solution. The blocks aren't as big as you might know it from other manufacturers. But never the less they look very nice and also the build quality and most importantly their efficiency is on a high level.