MSI Readies Big Bang XPower X58 Motherboard

There is no question that MSI's line of Big bang motherboards has been successful among high-end users and enthusiasts. As such, the company is nearing the completion of yet another model in this series, a motherboard which aims to cater at the needs of speed enthusiasts. The upcoming product, dubbed the MSI Big bang XPower, boasts the new USB 3.0 and SATA 6 Gbps interfaces and has a high expandability and capability for overclocking.

The motherboard is designed to support LGA-1366 Intel Core i7 central processing units (it is based on the X58 + ICH10R chipset), which will be powered by a 16-phase DrMOS PWM, supplied with power by to 8-pin power connectors. The motherboard features six triple channel-capable DDR3 DIMM slots and the same number of PCI Express x16 slots. This means that the mainboard will be able to handle SLI or CrossFireX setups and still have enough room for additional PCI-E devices or PhysX accelerators. Stable electricity is supplied to these PCI Express slots by a 6-pin PCI-Express power input.

The MSI Big Bang XPower motherboard has a significant array of storage, connectivity and Input/Output options. The board has a number of USB 2.0 ports besides two USB 3.0 connectors, as well as six internal SATA 3 Gbps ports revealed by the ICH10R. An extra controller reveals the implementation of two SATA 6 Gbps connectors and the product also includes two Gigabit Ethernet interfaces, as well as FireWire and two power eSATA ports. What is interesting about the motherboard is the audio. This capability is provided by a “Quantum Wave Audio Card,” which uses the single PCI Express x1 slot that the XPower has. This device supports 7.1 channel audio, as well as EAX 5.0 HD and the THX TruStudio PC Suite.

The MSI Big Bang XPower is compatible with MSI's OC Genie and Easy Switch overclocking features. It is set to become available sometime in March and its roadmap seems to suggest that the company might already be working on something stronger. No word on prices, but it will likely leave most wallets crippled.