MSI Eclipse: a promising companion for Intel's Core i7

by Parm Mann on 3 November 2008, 09:26

Tags: Core i7, Eclipse SLI, Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), MSI

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qapz2

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Some of that tri-channel goodness

Intel's QPI provides Core i7 users with oodles of memory-to-CPU bandwidth, and the enthusiasts will be eager to put tri-channel DDR3 through its paces. MSI's Eclipse supports six DDR3 modules up to a whopping maximum capacity of 24GB.

Further along the bottom edge you'll find more SATA connectors than you're ever likely to need - 10 in total. The six black angled ports come courtesy of the Intel ICH10R and JMicron JMB322 controllers power the additional four in blue. On top of that, a JMicron JMB363 supplies an angled IDE connector, and two eSATA ports.

Just above the left-most blue SATA ports is a connector for MSI's bundled D-LED 2 display - an attachable display that provides readings for Temperature, CPU Vcore, CPU FSB and Northbridge Vcore. Users can rotate between messages using the on-board D-LED 2 button, and there's an added treat, too. The D-LED 2 comes with a temperature sensor for keeping a tab on heat in a specific area of your system, a nice touch, we thought.