The Test System and Comments -
Our test system is built on an open bench. This has two effects on testing. First it allows us to see everything and also to setup and disassemble the test rigs quickly. Second it means that we cannot gauge the potential air flow found in a normal case. The air is pretty stagnant; some may say this is a great neutral testing method and it can be. However, it does mean that the temperature reading taken off of the components are not accurate to what an average consumer would see. This means that your thermal performance will vary from what we see here.

Building and configuring the MSI Big Bang Marshal was a snap. We did not have any issues with the install of Windows 7 and the driver/utilities DVD also made things simple. For drivers there is a “Total Installer” which manages to get all of the drivers that you need on the system without the need to reboot (for the most part).  There is also a Total installer for the utilities, but I would not recommend running it as you will end up getting more than most people would want or need. You get things like the Audio Genie (THX software), Teaming Genie, Video Genie, and a bunch of other genies.

Again some of these are nice, but I wonder where they fit into an enthusiast/overclocker’s motherboard.