MSI Eclipse SLI Motherboard

[Mastermind]

MSI has continued to uphold a business philosophy that stresses "Award-winning product quality and outstanding customer service." MSI specializes in the design and manufacture of mainboards, graphics card, add-on cards, servers/workstations, iPC, barebones, communication devices, CE products, Notebooks, and car PC products.

"Quality Products Create Faithful Customers" is a motto that guides all that we do at MSI. For this reason, MSI goes all out to be the best of the best in research and development. Currently, 2,500 experienced engineers staff our research and development department. This talented team carries out its work with the latest research equipment, continuing to raise the bar on product quality and innovative product features.

At MSI, we put our motto -- "Quality Products Create Faithful Customers" into living practice. MSI received ISO-9002 and ISO-9001 product quality certification, respectively. MSI received ISO-14001 environmental certification, affirming our commitment to the environment. Furthermore, MSI products undergo rigorous quality control testing, attaining a 99.6% quality rate, a level far higher than the industry standard. MSI's superior product quality has garnered exceedingly favorable coverage from the global media, countless awards, and a very enthusiastic customer response.

In recent years, MSI has aggressively expanded into mainland China to meet the needs of our global customers. In the first quarter of 2001, the Baoan Plant in Shenzhen started production, vastly increasing MSI's production output as well as revenue. Aside from the Baoan Plant in Shenzhen, MSI has also established production facilities and a research and development center in Kunshan, China in 2003. The mainboard annual production is expected to reach 20.8 million units and the annual graphics card production is expected to reach 11.8 million units. Combined with the production from Taiwan, MSI is now becoming one of the biggest mainboard and graphics card manufacturers in the world.

To keep abreast of the global market and offer our customers the best service, speediest product delivery, as well as sales and technical support, MSI has established subsidiaries in mainland China, Czech Republic, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, India, Taiwan, the U.S.A., Canada, Brazil, Germany, France, Australia, the Netherlands, Turkey, U.K., Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, and Poland.

To broaden our global market and to build a good image, we keep striving on marketing promotions, for example, posting advertisement on some reputed media, releasing news information, improving product box design, holding many promotion activities and attending all important PC exhibitions in the world. Apart from developing the mainboard, graphics card, server/workstation, and barebone, MSI has also introduced the communication, CE, Notebook, iPC, and car PC products to bridge the transition to the post-PC world. MSI adopts a diversified business model, and is transforming itself into a leader in the Consumer Electronics age.

[Mastermind]

Internal Features:

Drmos:

Excellent energy-saving capability and offers high-computing performance.
Provide superior energy-saving function and maintain an ultimate low temperature operation.
Comes with three incredible features.

Active Phase Switching:

APS is Active Phase Switching is complete function to Control Power Demand With Switcing Dynamically, it’s for CPU, Memory and Chipset PWM.
Saving Power under Variable Loading.
Power Usage More Efficiency.

All Solid Capacitors:

Longer lifespan than electrolytic capacitors
Endurable to operation under higher frequency & temperature
Avoid exploding capacitors to cause mainboards failure

All Shielded Choke:

A choke is an inductor responsible for storing power and regulates the current.
All shielded choke could reduce core power loss, lower EMI interference.
Store energy longer at higher frequency, achieving higher efficiency.

Easy OC Switch:

Help end-users upgrade CPU FSB directly
Buy an essential CPU but want to reach higher performance
Skip the complicated BIOS OC setting and enjoy the higher level CPU performance

HI-c Cap on PWM:

Hi-c CAP (Highly-conductive polymerized Capacitor)
High voltage derating / heat resistance → higher over-voltage / overclocking possibility
Best stability & long lifespan → Average life 44800 Hrs @ 85℃ chamber

M-Connectors:

Easy connect to front panel & chassis cable
2x USB, IEEE 1394, front panel (JFP1/2)& audio(JAUD1) M-connector in the package.
Easy to tell the definition of each pin

X-FI Audio:

Make MP3 music sound better than CDs
Transform to surround sound (speakers/headphone) from stereo audio source
EAX ADVANCED HD 4.0 provides the fidelity of gaming audio effect
World’s 1st PCIe interface X-Fi audio card

User Friendly:

Functions designed with button to be easy use.
Help power-users tweaking process in-chasis enviornment
Onboard SATA ports are stacked on the mainboard to avoid mechanical issue with giant graphic cards like 8800 Ultra.

3 Way SLI:

NVIDIA 3-way SLI Technology build the fastest gaming solution available with NVIDIA nForce chipsets and three NVIDIA® GeForce high-end graphics cards.
Compared with single graphic card solution, it brings 2.8X faster performance gained.

Live Update Online:

The MSI Live Update online is designed to automatically download and update the BIOS and driver when there’s a new version online. It helps reduce the risk of getting the wrong file and minimize the trouble of searching the files from MSI website.

Live Update 3:

Live Update 3 is a single utility software that automatically checks BIOS, driver and utility updates and installs for you , which can save your time for searching and lower the risk while updating.

ATI Cross Fire X:

Equip with 2 or more PCIe x16 slots, ATI CrossFire Ready.
The ultimate multi-GPU performance gaming platform.
Provides 2.7x faster performance than single graphic card solution.

[Mastermind]

External Features:

CPU:

Supports Intel i7 based processors in LGA1366 package.

Chipset:

Intel X58 Chipset
Supports QPI up to 6.4GT/s

Intel ICH10R Chipset

1. Hi-Speed USB (USB2.0) controller, 480Mb/sec, up to 12 ports.
2. 6 SATAII ports with transfer rate up to 3Gb/s.
3. PCI Master v2.3, I/O APIC.
4. ACPI 2.0 compliant.
5. Serial ATA RAID 0/1/5/10.
6. Integrated AHCI controller.

Main Memory:

1. Supports six unbuffered DIMM of 1.5 Volt DDR3 800/1066/1333/1600* (OC) SDRAM, 24GB Max
2. Supports 1Gb/ 2Gb/ 4Gb DRAM size
3. Supports x8 / x16 data lines per DIMM
4. Supports up to 3 channel mode

Slots:

1. 3 PCI Express gen2 x16 slots
2. Two Black PCIE x16 slots (PCI_E2 &PCI_E4) support up to PCIE x16 speed, one Blue PCIE x16 slot(PCI_ E5) supports up to PCIE x4 speed
3. supports ATI Crossfire, NVIDIA SLI
4. 2 Black PCI Express x1 slots
5. 2 PCI slot, support 3.3V/ 5V PCI bus Interface

On-Board IDE/SATA:

1. One Ultra DMA 66/100/133 IDE controller integrated in JMicron 363.
2. Supports PIO, Bus Master operation modes.
3. Can connect up to two Ultra ATA drives.
4. SATAII controller integrated in ICH10R/JMicron 322 / 362 chipest
5. Up to 3Gb/s transfer speed.
6. Supports six SATAII ports by ICH10R
7. Supports four SATAII ports by JMicron 322, support SATA RAID 0/1/JBOD.
8. Supports two eSATA ports by JMicron 362.
9. Supports AHCI controller with SATA RAID 0/1/5/10 by ICH10R.

Audio:

1. Creative SB X-Fi Xtreme H/W Audio Card (MS-4132)
2. 24-bit / 96KHz audio quality
3. 100dB SNR clarity
4. Up to 7.1ch EAX 5.0 Surround Sound

LAN:

Supports two PCI Express LAN 10/100/1000 Fast Ethernet by Realtek 8111C.

IEEE1394 / FireWire:

1. VIA VT6308P chipset
2. Supports up to two 1394 ports. (Rear panel x1, pinheader x1)
3. Transfer rate is up to 400Mbps.

Internal I/O Connectors:

1. ATX 24-Pin power connector
2. 8-pin ATX 12V power connector
3. CPU / System x 5 FAN connectors
4. CD-in connector
5. Front panel audio connector
6. Front panel connector
7. 1 x chasis intrusion connector
8. 1 x serial port pinheader
9. 2 x USB 2.0 connectors
10. 10 x Serial ATAII connectors
11. 1 x ATA133 connector
12. 1 x IEEE1394 connector support additional 1 port
13. 1 x GreenPower Genie connector
14. 1 x Reset Button
15. 1 x Power Button
16. 1 x D-LED2 connector
17. 1 x TPM module connector
18. The floppy disk cable will be optional.

Back Panel I/O Ports:

1. 1 x Clear CMOS button
2. 1 x PS/2 Keyboard
3. 1 x PS/2 Mouse
4. 2 x eSATA ports
5. 1 x IEEE1394 port
6. 8 x USB 2.0 ports
7. 2 x RJ45 LAN jacks
8. 1 x 5 in 1 + Optical SPDIF out Audio Card

BIOS:

1. The mainboard BIOS provides "Plug & Play" BIOS which detects the peripheral devices and expansion cards of the board automatically.
2. The mainboard provides a Desktop Management Interface(DMI) function which records your mainboard specifications.

Dimension:

30.5cm(L) x 24.4cm(W) ATX Form Factor

Mounting:

9 mounting holes.

[Mastermind]

Motherboard:

The motherboard is completely in black color and it looks of business class. The copper heatpipes are available on the motherboard and are attached with the heatsinks which are of moderate size, also to be assume that the X58 chip, VRM's and Southbridge will not be raising too much off heat.

The new Socket 1366 is also mounted which provide a tough look with its four corner hold down screws on the motherboard.
The motherboard also has Solid state caps bounded around itself.

MSI as a motherboard manufacturer provides six DIMM slots which can help you to seat 12GB of memory eassily into this monster motherboard.

The Ellispse SLI motherboard consists of ten SATA2 ports and an IDE connector.

A COMM port header is also available.
There is also a TPM module header provided by MSI.

The power, reset and d-led buttons are eye catching.
The overclocking dip switch may not work efficiently. It will be better if you set the B clock in the BIOS.

There are in all three GPU, two PCI and two PCIe 1x slots which are very much as compared to other newly launched motherboards.

The back panel is of very high functionalability. It consists of eight USB 2.0, one FireWire, two PS/2, two eSATA, two Gigabit LAN, and Cmos-clear available on back port. Also a heavy plate for the socket is mounted.

There are GreenPower Genie, Xtreme Audio, and D-LED2 for watching pleasure.

[Mastermind]

Technical Specification:

• Socket: 1366
• CPU (Max Support): i7
• AM3 CPU Ready: N/A
• FSB / Hyper Transport Bus: 6.4GT/s
• Chipset: Intel X58+ICH10R
• DDR2 Memory: N/A
• DDR3 Memory: DDR3 800/1066/1333/1600* (OC)
• Memory Channel: Triple
• DIMM Slots: 6
• Max Memory (GB): 24
• PCI-Ex16: 3
• PCI-E Gen 2.0: Gen2 (2x16, 1x4)
• PCI-Ex1: 2
• PCI: 2
• IDE: 1
• SATA: 10
• RAID: 0/1/5/10/JBOD
• LAN: 10/100/1000*2
• TPM: 1
• USB ports (Rear): 8
• Audio ports (Rear): 5(Creative SB X-Fi Xtreme)
• Serial ports (Rear): N/A
• Parallel ports (Rear): N/A
• 1394 ports (Rear): 1
• eSATA: 2
• VGA: N/A
• DVI: N/A
• HDMI: N/A
• Display Port: N/A
• DirectX: N/A
• VGA Share Memory (MB): N/A
• Form Factor: ATX
• DrMOS: Y
• APS: Y
• Sideport Memory: N/A
• SLI: Y
• 3-way SLI: Y
• Hybrid SLI: N/A
• CrossFire: Y
• Hybrid CrossFire: N/A
• D-LED2: Y
• Green Power Genie: Y

[Mastermind]

CPU Support:

BIOS:

MSI manufaturers selected two BIOS splash screens.

The main menu which is when entered in bios is in a standard format.

The Advance menu provided by MSI people are also similar to other usual bios oprtions which is really good as no confusion or query using this bios.

[Mastermind]

Overclocking:

The MSI Eclipse SLI has shown a wonder performance during overclocking mode.

The LED2 available displays very helpful support while showing as where does usually DDR inside the system hangs during post.

In order to get more stability over overclock mode, 4.095GHz was set.

Set the memory multiplier to "3" (actually 6)
Set memory timing to 7-7-7-20-1T
Fix PCI at 37.3MHz
disable spread spectrum
Enable EIST
disable C-state
Enable "Turbo" boost
set base clock to 195MHz
set QPI to Full-Speed
leave it at 4.8GT
use a Noctua NH-U12P with their new Socket 1366 adapter

No need to change the voltage range as it is not required
The maximum temperature which you will usually recieve under PovRAY is 89 degree Celcius, and the Vcore was set at 1.448V.
The DX58SO provided a pleasing performance and is easy to handle a 174MHz FSB with the same Core i7 920 processor.

[Mastermind]

Power Consumption:

Surprisingly the MSI Eclipse SLI is a power efficient motherboard more than the DX58SO, and that's is been observed without GreenPower Genie.

[Mastermind]

Conclusion:

The MSI Eclipse SLI is a great motherboard.

It overclocks perfectly, also consists of a more SATA and USB ports and to mention more is three PCIe GPU slots which also supports CrossFire, but also SLI.

The memory performance is great, and the LED2 on the motherboard along with the switches for power, reset and LED information is also the best. The dip switches for overclocking are not so useful, but they don't tend to disturb in any case.

Overall to speak this motheboard is worth to buy

[jbx907]

Conclusion:

The MSI Eclipse SLI is a great motherboard.

It overclocks perfectly, also consists of a more SATA and USB ports and to mention more is three PCIe GPU slots which also supports CrossFire, but also SLI.

The memory performance is great, and the LED2 on the motherboard along with the switches for power, reset and LED information is also the best. The dip switches for overclocking are not so useful, but they don't tend to disturb in any case.

Overall to speak this motheboard is worth to buy

hi i have a problem with sata, all my drives are running DMA 5 no dma 6 really annoying, have you check what dma you run on!

[SmirnOFF]

hi i have a problem with sata, all my drives are running DMA 5 no dma 6 really annoying, have you check what dma you run on!

Don't understand your question... Please elaborate...! There is support for DMA 66/100/133 Do you mean UDMA 5 UDMA 6? Yes there is support for UDMA 6 mode you need to configure it from the BIOS and your hard disk must support it...!

[Joshua]

Hello , Many chipsets don't report the UDMA mode properly for SATA drives. There are only two speeds that SATA can possibly run at, that's 1.5Gb/sec and 3.0Gb/sec. Even though your chipset might report UDMA5, the drive is definitely running at 1.5Gb/sec. There is no other speed option.

[jbx907]

Hello , Many chipsets don't report the UDMA mode properly for SATA drives. There are only two speeds that SATA can possibly run at, that's 1.5Gb/sec and 3.0Gb/sec. Even though your chipset might report UDMA5, the drive is definitely running at 1.5Gb/sec. There is no other speed option.

ok msi customer care gave me a beta bios update, but i still got DMA 5, my k9a2 with is atichipset gave me DMA 6, my striker II formula nvidia chipset gave me DMA 6, this eclipse gives me DMA 5, i can notice the diffrence.
i know because i had an ati chipset connected to sata 2 drive, one day i notice slow down, i saw it was running PIO, one way to bring it back to dma6 was to uninstall it in the device manager, on reboot all will install and get back DMA6, its must have drivers crash,
here in my new platform, i feel the delay.. msi customer service would reply bios update if it was normal..
most user are always concern on OC , tweaking when the smallest problem wasnt seen.

[jbx907]

Don't understand your question... Please elaborate...! There is support for DMA 66/100/133 Do you mean UDMA 5 UDMA 6? Yes there is support for UDMA 6 mode you need to configure it from the BIOS and your hard disk must support it...!

yes DMA in the device manager ide ata controller/ primaryor secondary/ advance setting.. all my drives support dma 6 thought its sata 2, it will register DMA but DMA 5 not 6, is this a bug, or drivers fault.. i can feel my phenom platform opens faster with sata 2 on DMA 6.. the delay is kinda annoying, when im used to other platforms speed.

[jbx907]

sir can you find what dma or udma your eclipse runs sata 2 on your board? i need to know if its just my board, 1.5Gb/s 3Gb/s are transfer rates but surely the mode you run on will affect this.. anyway msi assited me on bios updateds but still doest change the mode.. thanks