Well, the board offers quite interesting capabilities together with
the new design of the package which looks better than the former pictures
of futuristic equipment.
Accessories:
- Package: cardboard box laminated with blue shining coating;
- Documentation: user manual, installation manual for IDE RAID, brief
manual for the Bluetooth PC2PC function;
- Cables: 2 ATA66/100/133 and 1 FDD;
- Bracket with two USB ports (USB-Bracket);
- S-Bracket;
-
D-Bracket-2 (2 ports);
Left to right: MSI USB-Bracket (4 ports); MSI S-Bracket;
MSI D-Bracket-2
- Bluetooth PC2PC set;
- Diskette with drivers for IDE RAID;
- CD with software including:
- drivers;
- Adobe Acrobat Reader;
- VNC;
- 3Deep;
- DirectX 8.1;
- PC-Cillin 2000;
- X-setup;
- MSI Fuzzy Logic (processor overclocking with auto control);
- MSI GoodMem (optimization of the memory operation);
- MSI InfoView (viewing information on system devices);
- MSI i-Speeder (optimization of the Internet access and monitoring
of network connections);
- MSI Live Update 2 (auto update of drivers and BIOS);
- MSI LockBox (to forbid access to the computer);
- MSI PCAlert III (system monitoring);
- MSI SecureDoc (file decoding);
- MSI SmartKey (for operation with SmartKey).
The layout has traditional disadvantages: audio-ins are in front of
the PCI slots, IDE RAID connectors are behind them, when a video card
is installed it's difficult to handle the memory modules. It's not difficult
to reach the only jumper on the board even when the board is already
installed. Its function is shown on the textolite.
The 2-channel switching voltage regulator incorporates 9 capacitors
of 2200 uF and 4 of 1500 uF.
The following controllers are integrated: an audio one based on the
chipset's capabilities and AC'97 codec Avance Logic ALC650 with a 5.1
audio systems support, a SPDIF connector and an output for front audio
connectors; a network one based on the chipset's capabilities; IDE RAID
controller based on the Promise PDC20276 chip.
The board incorporates the Bluetooth PC2PC technology: an expansion
card with one of the Bluetooth modules with an external antenna is inserted
into the special connector (which is located next to the PCI slot and
which locks the latter), the second adapter is inserted into the USB
port of another computer - thus, one can make a wireless connection
with the work range of 200 m and a data rate up to 723 Kbit/s. Note
that when the Bluetooth module works, one of the USB ports is locked
(its connector on the USB-Bracket has a tape glued to it with the corresponding
message).
Non-unsoldered connectors: Wake-on-LAN connector, a connector for a
modem's audio-in and some others.
The system monitoring is supported by the Winbond W83627HF-AW chip.
Processor voltage (+/-3.3, +/-5 and +/-12 V), speed of 3 fans
and temperatures of the processor (a built-in sensor) and the board
(a built-in sensor) can be controlled. There are 2 connectors for adjustable
connection of fans and one for non-adjustable connection.
Brief characteristics of the board: memory slots - 3 DDR
SDRAM; expansion slots - AGP/ 6 PCI/ CNR; I/O ports - 1 COM/ LPT/ 2
PS/2/ 6 USB 2.0; dimensions - 305x230 mm.
Adjustment can be carried out with:
| jumpers and switches |
Jumper to clear up the CMOS |
 |
| BIOS based on ver.3.31a from AMI |
Setup of memory timings |
+ |
CAS Latency, RAS Precharge, RAS to CAS Delay,
Precharge Delay |
| Setup of memory frequency |
+ |
Auto, 200 and 266 MHz |
| Setup of AGP bus |
- |
|
| Setup of PCI bus |
- |
 |
| Changeable scaler of AGP and PCI buses |
- |
|
| Manual assignment of interrupts |
+ |
|
| Changeable FSB frequency |
+ |
100-233 MHz in 1 MHz steps |
| Changeable CPU multiplier |
+ |
x8-x50 |
| Changeable core voltage |
+ |
1.5-1.85V in 0.025V steps |
| Changeable memory voltage |
+ |
2.5, 2.6, 2.7 and 2.8 V |
| Changeable chipset voltage |
- |
|
| Changeable AGP bus voltage |
+ |
1.5, 1.6, 1.7 and 1.8 V |
We used the latest available version of the BIOS - 5.0.
This is a very interesting board. Apart from the standard IDE RAID,
network controller and 6-channel sound, it has a unique capability of
establishing a wireless connection with a cell phone, PDA, notebook,
another computer etc. I just hope its price won't be too high.
Test results:
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