Our coverage of the Intel Lynnfield processor release this fall has been pretty convincing: it is likely the best choice for a new gaming or enthusiast PC (see the Core i7-870 and Core i5-750 review as well as the Core i7-860 review).  The only chipset that can be paired with the Lynnfield CPU is Intel's very own P55 offering which is available in a WIDE assortment of motherboard on the market today.  Today we are going to be taking a look at one of my personal favorites in the motherboard battle, the MSI P55-GD65, that offers both performance, overclocking support and easy-to-use features like OC Genie all while coming in at a very modest price point.

Specifications (from MSIComputer.com)

Let's take a quick look at the specifications list courtesy of MSI's own website before we dive into our own analysis.

We really like the MSI website for not only creating such a concise features list of what the P55-GD65 does have but also for MSI telling us what it does NOT have.  Knowing that the motherboard does not support 3-way SLI or Hybrid SLI might be common knowledge for us and most of our readers, but first time PC builders will likely not and by being honest up front MSI will surely gain some community brownie points.