SATA Controller
Above we see that MSI have used ASMEDIA ASM1061 SATA controller which natively supports 6GB/s devices.
16 to 8channel multiplexer/demultiplexer switch ASM1480
The switching chip with HiZ outputs is also courtesy of ASMEDIA and is certified to be PCIe 3.0 compliant.
GPU temp sensor
Here we see the Fintek temperature sensor diode, the same version found on the Big Bang Fuzion. Sensors such as these are interpreted by monitoring programs such as Speedfan and Everest.
Four Output differential buffer for PCI-e Gen 3
The 9DB433 zero-delay buffer supports PCIe Gen3 requirements, while being backwards compatible to PCIe Gen2 and Gen1.
SMBus GPIO Controller
The Winbond W83L604G IC is a general purpose input/output IC with SMBus providing SMBus address setting pins to set the address during power on reset or from external resets.
Intel Ethernet
Above we see that the MSI's two ethernet ports come courtesy of Intel 82574L and 82579V controllers. A first for an X79 motherboard!
Phase Buck controller
The MSI motherboard makes use of a uP1618 6+2 Phase buck controller to reduce input/output filter ripple.
Hardware monitoring
The Fintek F71889AD chip allows for voltage monitoring, controlling fan speeds along with temperature monitoring.
