Cell Menu section that contains all overclocking friendly features MSI X48 Platinum mainboard has to offer gives MSI every reason to be proud. Let’s walk briefly through the options available there one by one.

D.O.T. Control parameter, which we have discussed in detail in our MSI P35 Platinum Combo review, can no longer overclock graphics cards. Maybe the complexity of simultaneous overclocking of four graphics cards that can be installed into MSI X48 Platinum was the reason for removing this feature. However, it still allows three-stage processor overclocking by up to 20% above the frequency set in the BIOS.

To change the processor clock frequency multiplier we have to disable Intel EIST technology, i.e. the board can no longer reduce the multiplier and processor Vcore in case of low workload at a given moment of time. This technology works perfectly fine when the CPU is running at its nominal speeds or is overclocked by raising the FSB bus frequency without changing the clock multiplier. I believe I should clarify this situation a little bit more.

Most mainboards support Intel’s power-saving technologies not only in nominal mode but also during overclocking. For Conroe processors it shows in lowering of the processor frequency by reducing the clock multiplier to the minimal possible value of x6 and simultaneous lowering of the processor Vcore to 1.1-1.15V. However, it turned out that ASUS mainboards stick to other working principles. Their clock frequency multiplier will get lower in idle mode even if it has been previously changed in the mainboard BIOS. This is, certainly, cool, because lower frequency allows reducing the heat dissipation and slowing down the fans. However, processor voltage still plays the most important role for the heat dissipation parameter, although there is an unpleasant surprise ASUS mainboards have up their sleeve for us here. It turned out that these mainboards will lower the processor Vcore in idle mode only if it remained unchanged in the BIOS. And even the fact that you overclock your processor without increasing its Vcore will not help you. By default, Vcore is set to Auto, and if the FSB has been set relatively high, “smart” ASUS mainboards will increase the processor voltage on their own thus depriving you of Intel EIST technology.  You will end up with high power consumption, high temperature and high level of noise generated by the fans rotating at their maximum speed.

We discovered this phenomenon not so long ago that is why we couldn’t help sharing this news in our review of pretty good ASUS Maximus Extreme mainboard. However, although we believe this is unacceptable behavior for ASUS mainboards, there are some users out there who approve of it. They assume that a well-overclocked CPU will not be able to work stably with Vcore at 1.1V that is why it makes perfect sense to give up Vcore lowering possibility. What they do not realize, is that the core voltage will be reduced not to 1.1V, but proportionally to the nominal Vcore or the settings in the BIOS. The higher is the initial Vcore setting, the higher will be the lowered Vcore in idle mode that is why it will not affect the processor operational stability. I have been overclocking processing for quite some time now, and during all those years I have never encountered any negative effect from Intel EIST or AMD Cool’n’Quiet technology with the same functionality. If the CPU reports errors, it happens under heavy workloads and not in the absence of it.

So, non-operational Intel EIST technology during CPU overclocking with Vcore increase on ASUS mainboards is a significant drawback from the consumer standpoint for many users out there, although this problem has definitely become less acute once Intel launched their 45nm Penryn processors. These CPUs have low nominal core voltage, there is little difference between the nominal and reduce Vcore in default mode as well as during overclocking. That is why you no longer see the dramatic difference in heat dissipation and power consumption between different Intel EIST modes, unlike the situation with 65nm Conroe family.

But let’s get back to the Cell Menu options available in the BIOS of MSI X48 Platinum mainboard. FSB frequency may be adjusted from the nominal value to 800MHz with 1MHz increment. The board supports “halved” clock frequency multipliers that first appeared in Penryn processors. The resulting CPU frequency will be immediately displayed in the Adjusted CPU Frequency field. Although if you take a closer look at the previous screenshot, you will see that the board has some problems with arithmetic calculations, when fractional multipliers are used. For example, 540 x 7.5 = 4050 and not 3780MHz, as MSI X48 Platinum mainboard claims.

Memory timings can be set on a separate page. There is no Auto setting for each individual parameter.

The memory frequency is set with Mem:FSB dividers and the resulting value will be immediately displayed in the Adjusted DRAM Frequency field. PCI-E frequency may vary from 100 to 200MHz with 1MHz increment, while PCI bus frequency may be set at 33.3, 33.6, 37.3 or 42MHz.

All voltages except CPU Voltage can be adjusted with a variable increment of 0.02V-0.05V:

• CPU Voltage: +0.7875V above the nominal with 0.0125V increment;
• Memory Voltage: from 1.5V to 2.75V;
• FSB Terminator Voltage: from 1.2V to 1.44V;
• NB Voltage: from 1.25V to 1.83V;
• SB Voltage: from 1.5V to 1.8V;
• CPU Reference Voltage: from 0.74V or 1.07V;
• Memory Reference Voltage: from 0.75V to 1.38V.

All in all, the above discussed options show that MSI X48 Platinum mainboard has everything one might need for successful overclocking. Now let’s check out how well they work in practical experiments.