Features

MSI E350IA-E45 is based on the AMD E-350 CPU and the AMD M1 Hudson Southbridge. It supports up to 8GB of DDR3-800/1066/1333 memory and has 4 internal SATA 6Gbps ports as well as controllers listed below.

• Integrated audio based on the 8-channel Realtek ALC887 HDA codec. Two S/PDIF Out ports are on the back panel, another two can be connected to the front one. There's also a standard front panel with analog audio interfaces.
• USB 3.0 based on NEC D720200F1 (PCIex1 2.0), supporting 2 ports.
• Gigabit Ethernet based on Realtek 8111E (PCIex1).
• System monitoring based on Fintek F71808. The BIOS can automatically manage CPU fan speed, and you can set the desired temperature from 40°C to 70°C. You can also limit the fan speed to 50% or 75% of the maximum.

We tested the integrated audio solution in the 16-bit/44kHz mode using RightMark Audio Analyzer 6.2.3 and an ASUS Xonar DX sound card.

Overall grade: very good. The results are standard for the codec, even though there's no place for higher-quality audio circuitry on the board. Note how the motherboard is suited for digital receivers.

Overclocking

Testbeds:

• CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 810
• RAM: 2 x 2GB Apacer DDR3-1333 CL9 9-9-9-24-1T for Socket AM3 boards; 2 x 2GB GoodRAM PRO DDR2-1066 CL5 5-5-5-15-2T for Socket AM2+ boards
• HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (SATA, 7200rpm)
• Graphics card: ATI RADEON HD4850, 512 MB GDDR3
• PSU: AcBel ATX-550CA-AB8FB
• OS: Windows Vista SP1 64-bit, Catalyst 9.2, latest chipset drivers

Benchmarks:

• 7-Zip 4.65 x64
• WinRAR 3.80
• XviD 1.2.1
• x264 r1129 x64
• FarCry 2 (Ranch Medium)
• Crysis (DX10, HOCbenchmark, VGA test, built-in demo)
• Devil May Cry 4 (built-in benchmark)
• World in Conlict (built-in benchmark)

To assess performance we measure time required to archive a 297MB set of 277 files of various types and convert a 636MB MPEG2 video using XviD and x264. We also measure frames per second in game demos. In FarCry 2 we run tests in 4 modes: low, medium, high and very high quality. The first three modes imply the aforesaid quality level, 1280x720 resolution, DX9 rendering, High Performance. The last mode implies: 1680x1050 resolution, Very High setting for both graphics and system, DX10 rendering. In Crysis we also use 4 modes at 1024x768 and 1280x1024 and run tests at Low and High quality in each mode. In Devil May Cry 4 we run two tests: 1280x720 (High DX9) and 1680x1050 (Super High DX10). In World in Conlict we run test in 4 modes: 1280x720 Low, 1280x720 Medium, 1680x1050 High, 1680x1050 Very High.

It's obvious which modes should be used with integrated graphics and which, with discrete graphics. Note that if a motherboard has no integrated graphics, performance tests are only used to check for serious layout or BIOS flaws and can be reduced to minimum. Vice versa, performance tests are indicative for motherboards with integrated graphics. And if a certain motherboard review lacks certain details, we might add respective test results to make up for it.

To assess capabilities of a motherboard and its BIOS, we overclock test CPUs (which ones depends on board's market segment) to a stable maximum with the help of Zalman CNPS9700 AM2 and Cooler Master Hyper Z600 coolers. At that we use all motherboard features, like CPU core voltage adjustments and, if needed, bus multiplier and clock adjustments (Hyper-Transport, CPU NB, etc.) For RAM we select a clock rate typical for this class of modules by adjusting its multiplier, or clock rate needed to maximize CPU core clock rate. The stability of an overclocked machine is assessed in Windows Vista with the help of AMD OverDrive stability test (all tests are run for 5 minutes). Note that since overclocking potential somewhat varies from one board to another, we are not focused on finding board's exact overclocking potential accurate to 1MHz. We just try to find out if a board hampers in CPU overclocking (due to insufficient voltage stabilizer power, etc.) and see how it performs in atypical modes, including automatic BIOS recovery in cases of overclocking issues (not requiring CMOS reset) and such.

Power consumption is assessed in the light-load mode (with text editor running) and in the heavy-load mode (FarCry 2, high quality, 1280x720). Processor's standard power-saving features are enabled. Also if a board has proprietary power-saving features, we examine their efficiency separately.

BIOS 1.2 was used. The motherboard doesn't allow overclocking the processor. It only lets you adjust memory frequency and timings.

Performance and efficiency

We compared today's motherboard with MSI 880GMA-E45 based on the mid-end chipset AMD 880G, with an AMD Phenom X4 810 processor installed.

Judging by test results, there's no sense in installing a discrete graphics cards, because the processor is the bottleneck. Although it's not that slow. Working at 1.6 GHz (and having that ultracompact die), it's only 2.5 times slower than a mid-end quad-core processor with a full-fledged die working at 2.6 GHz.

Loading Windows and applications doesn't seem slow (subjectively, of course). The hard drive is a more important factor here.

The graphics part is quite decent, offering performance of a last-year's integrated desktop solution. For a netbook platform this is very nice. There are no problems with playing HD videos, although there isn't much of a performance reserve, so frames may drop at higher bitrates. Enabling DXVA provides good backup though. Note that using the external graphics results in higher processor load than using the integrated core does.

Enclosure power consumption

We measured power consumption with the wattmeter built into the PSU.

No difference between enabled and disabled Cool'n'Quiet is suspicious. It may have something to do with the BIOS or the CPU itself. Anyway, the platform is clearly power-efficient, just make sure that the PSU you're going to use with the motherboard is efficient under light load. Otherwise, actual outlet power consumption may be 1.5-2 times higher.

Conclusions

MSI E350IA-E45 has a good set of features. Four SATA 6Gbps ports make it a nice foundation for a home media server or some other kind of shared storage machine. USB 3.0 lets you use the highest-speed external devices today. The legacy COM port allows using the motherboard as an embedded solution or an intelligent controller. The support for HDMI 1.3 and performance high enough for playing HD videos make E350IA-E45 a good choice for a home media center as well.

As for drawbacks, the cooler — or at least fan controls — could be better. Note that removing the decorative panel and installing a custom cooler will void the warranty, because the panel is pressed into the heatsink.

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