The Packaging
It’s like Christmas when I opened the box and packaging for the MSI Big Bang Marshal. It’s got everything I could possible need to get started right away. There’s a SLI/Crossfire interconnect cable which is included, as well as loads of SATA data cables, USB/eSATA backplates and MSI’s OCDashboard.
The Motherboard
The MSI Big Bang Marshal comes in a XL-ATX Form Factor measuring 34.5cm(L) x 26.4cm(W). It’s slightly bigger than your average ATX motheboard. So one word of advice … make sure your case can support this XL-ATX Form Factor.
The motherboard uses “Military Class II” components and APS (Active Phase Switching). Just take a look at the power phases near the processor socket and underneath the motherboard! There’s a total of 8 PCI-E slots (2×16, 2×8, 4×1). It’s the most we’ve ever seen on a motherboard. The 4 x DDR3 DIMM slots can support upto 32Gb of ram. The MSI Big Bang Marshal is truely a beast!
A Closer Look
For connectivity, the motherboard includes the support for 8 x USB3.0, 2 x USB2.0, 1 x Firewire, 4 x SATA 3Gb/s, 4 x SATA 6Gb/s and 2 x eSATA. You’ll also find the usual PS/2 keyboard or mouse connector, coaxial and optical SPDIF, 2 x gigabit ethernet and an array of audio connectors. It’s definitely more than enough, even for the most extreme of enthusiasts.
Located near the bottom right of the motherboard, you’ll find onboard switches for on-the-fly overclocking … including power-on, reset and the OC Genie II switches. There are also four PEG switches, which you can use to manually disable the corresponding PCIe slot … ideal for overclockers.
