First Impressions and Packaging
So here what the packaging looks like. The box features this military signature all over it, with boasting its updated clock BIOS II. OC Genie II, among other features. We don’t need an in depth description into what the box looks like do we folks as it’s a very visual thing anyway. But needless to say, the box is very eye catching and would stand out if next to many in its Z68 range.
Opening up the box, we can instantly see quite a few bits and pieces with the board. One addition it was nice to have chucked in was the USB 3.0 back plate, which many other manufactures leave out half the time. MSI have really included everything for almost every user in the bundle, even including a Molex-to-SATA power extension, making sure any buyer is fully prepared for their upgraded experience. All components include:
- 1x User Manual
- 1x I/O Shield
- 1x Software Guide
- 1x Quick Install Guide
- 1x Driver CD
- 4x SATA cables with locking pins
- 1x Molex-to-SATA Power Extension Cable
- 1x USB 3.0 PCI Slot Cable Kit
- 1x SLI Bridge
- 1x Front Panel Pin blocks
- 4x Voltage Measuring Cable
First Glance
The MSI Z68A-GD65 motherboard features Smart Response Technology, which is the latest technology allowing an SSD to be combined with a HDD to offer a much increased performance over standard single drives, it allows for faster singular SSD performance as well as increasing the storage space of a normal hard drive. The Z68 series is classically designed to make the users life easier to change settings and increase their overall systems performance at the same time.
The colour scheme of the board has a blue on black aesthetic features some solid “Military” heatsinks, giving an impression overlook of the board.
As you may know, the Intel Z68 series boards were made to offer easy overclocking of the CPU and GPU, but the MSI Z68A-GD65 (G3) also a offers custom configuration that is the first of its kind. The board has PCI-Express 3.0 support in the secondary graphics card slot. It also features an on-board overclocking button that we just don’t see enough on boards that are great for gaming enthusiasts. The button makes for an instant OC, no fuss, no stability worries and excel your performance on another level.
