In 2011, Intel introduced a new platform code
named Sandy Bridge, a completely new 60
series chipset and core processor platform. MSI
takes advantage of this opportunity to release
its newest generation of Intel mainboard. After
releasing the rst wave of P67 mainboards,
MSI is now ready to release its most high-end
product yet, the BIG BANG MARSHAL (B3).
Its sophisticated designs and powerful features
will surely provide the denitive overclocking
experience.
Contents
OVERVIEW
SOME OC INFO ABOUT NEW P67 PLATFORM
MILITARY CLASS MATERIALS
MULTI-GRAPHICS CARDS GAMING DESIGN
PCI-E CEASEFIRE
NEXT GENERATION - OC GENIE II
OC NOTICE:COOLER CONFIGURATION
MANUAL OC OVERVIEW
OC ABILITY REFERENCE
BIG BANG MARSHSL OC SETTING REFERENCE TABLE
MORE POWER CONNECTOR DESIGN
BUILD UP HIGHER BANDWIDTH WITH SATA 6GB/S
POWER SUPER SPEED USB
OTHER FEATURES ON BIG BANG MARSHAL (B3)
CONCLUSION
NOTE
The function, specification, data and pictures provided by this guidebook is only for reference. Please refer to the actual content through the official launched product.
BIG BANG - MARSHAL (B3) Overclocking Guide 1
2 BIG BANG - MARSHAL (B3) Overclocking Guide
BIG BANG - MARSHAL (B3) Overclocking Guide 3
OVERVIEW
The Flagship
of P67
Motherboard
In 2009 MSI established the BIG BANG series as MSI’s high-end
platform. Today, MSI spared no effort to keep up with our
previous standards by releasing the BIG BANG MARSHAL (B3);
the newest high-end MSI mainboard. Military Class design,
more SATA 6Gbps ports, more USB 3.0 ports, 24-phase power
design, and SuperPipe 8mm heatpipe are all features that
maintain the BIG BANG series’ high quality standard.
4 BIG BANG - MARSHAL (B3) Overclocking Guide
BIG BANG - MARSHAL (B3) Overclocking Guide 5
Some OC Info About New
P67 Platform
Despite design and architectural similarities between the Intel Series 60
chipsets for the brand new LGA1155 processors and the previous Series 50
chipsets for LGA1156 processors, none of them are compatible. In addition to
the integrated GPU, the Sandy Bridge is equipped with more demanding OC
restrictions. That is to say, it is less flexible than any LGA1156 processors.
OC ? You need K SKU CPU
First, Intel has restricted base clock OC of
Sandy Bridge processors, and the average
BCLK OC range is about 10%. Given that the
default BCLK of the Sandy Bridge is 100MHz,
the OC range will fall within 110MHz. When
compared with the processors of previous
versions, the range is far less. In other words,
we can only adjust the CPU ratio (multiplier)
to run OC on the Sandy Bridge processors,
and the K series processors without ratio
block will surely be the primary choice for OC
power users.
Sandy Bridge CPU OC Ability Comparison
K SKU i7 i5 i3
Base Clock
CPU Ratio
GPU Clock
=Adjustable at a limited range.
Chipsets OC Limited
Apart from the range limit of processors, the design
of the Series 60 chipsets also differs. Although the
OC features of the P55 and H55 chipsets are similar
(depending on the mainboard design), it is necessary
for consumers to carefully select the Series 60 chipsets in order to run OC on their systems. Despite the
fact that the GPU is integrated with all Sandy Bridge
processors, users are advised to choose the K-series
processors and P67 mainbaords in order to exert the
power of OC. However, when one wants to run OC
on the GPU integrated with the processors, the H67
platforms will be the only choice. Simply speaking, it
is impossible to run GPU OC on the P67 platforms or
CPU OC on the H67 platforms.
Sandy Bridge Platform OC Ability Comparison
P67 H67
Base Clock
CPU Ratio
GPU Clock
= Adjustable at a limited range.
= limited adjustment by HW design.
6 BIG BANG - MARSHAL (B3) Overclocking Guide
BIG BANG - MARSHAL (B3) Overclocking Guide 7
MILITARY CLASS MATERIALS
Continuing the premium-quality material
design tradition, apart from delivering a
longer lifespan, the MSI BIG BANG MAR-
SHAL (B3) mainboard makes OC opera-
tion more stable.
Hi-C CAP
Hi-C CAP, Highly-Conductive Po-
lymerized Capacitor, uses high elec-
tric conduction polymer as internal
electrolyte, featuring the small size and
high capacity, which are commonly used
in many electronic products such as laptop
computers, satellites and so on.
The main reason Hi-C CAP can be applied
in high tech and precise machine is that the
special Core brings low ESR (Equivalent Series
Resistance), low electric leaks (Leakage Current)
and larger adaptation range of ambient temperature
scope. High ESR and Leakage current cause not only
unstable system but also the life cycle reduction of spare
part. The Hi-C CAP performance in
ESR and Leakage current both surpass the present mainstream Solid CAP,
not to say the obsolete EL CAP. Being as for the whole, Hi-C CAP stables the
motherboard power output, enhances the power transference efficiency
and has the adjustment function when Inrush Current (burst electric current)
occurs. Naturally, the power loss is extremely low, brings the greatest superiority either in overclocking operation or life cycle.
ESR Comparison
Hi-c Cap
< 5 mΩ
Solid Cap
5 mΩ
EL Cap
>20 mΩ
ESR (mΩ)
Lower is better
SFC
To reach the lower power consumption, MARSHAL (B3)’s PWM adopt Green
Choke design, SFC (Super Ferrite Choke), utilizing the latest material technology - iron core. The material’s exclusive physical character allows SFC
automatically to adjust the inductance value for optimal power efficiency
based on the system’s loading. During light loading such as surfing the net
or running 2D operations, SFC can help provide up to a 20% improvement
in power efficiency compared to a normal ferrite choke. For heavier loading
such as playing 3D games, SFC’s ultra-low impedance still helps to maintain a
low operating temperature. Even when overclocking to the max, Super Ferrite Choke offers an incredibly stable supply of power. Clearly, SFC can satisfy
every possible power demand and usage scenario.
Incredible lifetime
Gaming +
85oC
Bad condition
Office
65oC
Temperature
112,000 hours
12.8 years
Lifetime
449,000 hours!!
>50 years
Less Leakage
Hi-c CAP
82.5 µA
Solid Cap
Leakage Current
15x Less Leakage
More stable power output
Higher power efficiency
Higher is better
1250 µA
Lower is better
SFC provides over 20% power efficiency improvement during
light loading. Ultra-low impedance ensures low operating
temperature and stable power supply when overclocking.
8 BIG BANG - MARSHAL (B3) Overclocking Guide
BIG BANG - MARSHAL (B3) Overclocking Guide 9
MULTI-GRAPHICS CARDS GAMING DESIGN
With BIG BANG MARSHAL (B3)’s eight PCI-E x16 slots and Intel P67 PCH chip,
it can support 2-way Nvidia SLI as well as 4-way ATI CrossFireX. Aside from
SLI and CrossFireX, the embedded Lucid chip also allows for more lanes to
be allocated for PCI-E, raising the number of possible Nvidia GPUs that can
be run in parallel to three. These features give users the most flexibility in
customizing their machine.
BIG BANG MARSHAL (B3) PCI-E x16 Slots Configuration
Slot 2 way 3 way 4 way
PCI_E1 x16 x8 x8
PCI_E2 x1 x1 x1
PCI_E3 x0 x8 x8
PCI_E4 x1 x1 x1
PCI_E5 x16 x16 x8
PCI_E6 x1 x1 x1
PCI_E7 x0 x0 x8
PCI_E8 x1 x1 x1
3D Performance Comparison
Multi-VGA cards system configuration
Mainboard BIG BANG MARSHAL (B3)
CPU Core i7 2600K D2 / Core i5 2500K D2
RAM Kingston KHX2000C9AD3T1K3/6GX
OS Windows 7 64-bit
ATI driver Version 10.12
NVIDIA driver Version 260.99
Graphics Card
Nvidia GeForce GTX470/ ATI Radeon HD6950/
Nvidia GeForce GTX480/ ATI Radeon HD6870
HDD Crucial RealSSD C300 128GB
PSU ANTEC TPQ-1200 1200W
Lucid driver Version 1.7.104a
1-way N470GTX
2-way SLI (N470GTX)
3-way N-mode (N470GTX)
GPU Score
7415
14653
20325
3D Mark Vantage Extreme(w/PhysX)
X7753
X15220
X21000
1-way HD6890
2-way HD6890
GPU Score
3D Mark Vantage Extreme
3-way HD6890
4-way HD6890
8735
16513
22977
26605
X8960
X16561
X22617
X25915
1-way N480GTX
1-way HD6870
X-Mode(N480GTX+HD6870)
3D Mark11
X1628
X1422
X2546
3D Mark Vantage
Extreme
X9805
X7674
X11729
GPU Score
9393
7453
11557
NVIDIA SLI & Lucid N-mode(HydraLogix) Benchmark Comparison
ATI CrossFireX (4-way ATI graphic cards) Benchmark Comparison
Lucid X-Mode (2-way hybrid graphic cards) Benchmark Comparison
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