Looks familiar too doesn't it? The MSI K7N2G-ILSR shares
the same layout as the K7N2-L but this time we're looking at the heavy weight of
the family. Packing 5.1 audio, 10/100 LAN, Serial ATA, IEEE 1394 and an
integrated GeForce4 MX videocard the K7N2G-ILSR is second only to the AOpen
AK79G Max in terms of features. Oh there's also a TV Out bracket thrown in for
good measure.
We were happy to see that MSI now cools the Northbridge
with an active HSF instead of using a passive heatsink. We like those heatsinks
on the MOSFETs as well. All MSI motherboards are well labelled and the
K7N2G-ILSR is a prime example. Installing the motherboard even for newbies
should be a breeze.
With the MCP-T Southbridge you're guaranteed to get chrisp
Dolby Digital quality sound out of the soundcard. Performance of the K7N2G-ILSR
was very good in the tests however the board is not much of an overclocker.
There's not much to complain about, I guess it would have
been nice to see a blue PCI slot instead of CNR and perhaps have a heatsink on
the Southbridge. The board is a bit on the pricy side at $178 CDN ($131 US) but that's expected
with all the goodies onboard. If you don't need the extra's you can get by on
something that's a bit cheaper. Up next, we hit the benchmarks and separate the
boards by performance!