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MSI 915P Neo2 Platinum Motherboard Review
MSI 915P Neo2 Platinum Motherboard Review - PCSTATS
The MSI 915P Neo2 Platinum has thee regular 32bit PCI slots, two PCI Express x1 slots, and one PCI Express x16 slot for your videocard. The four dual channel memory slots support DDR-2 533MHz memory.
 84% Rating:   
Filed under: Motherboards Published:  Author: 
External Mfg. Website: MSI Nov 03 2004   C. Sun  
Home > Reviews > Motherboards > MSI 915P Neo2 Platinum

Passive MOSFET Cooling

Power MOSFETs can generate a lot of heat. These electrical components traditionally use the PCB to sink away the heat, but in this case the 915P Neo2 has a small aluminum heatsink. The heatsink is cooled with the air from the processor fan, and helps to keep the MOSFET temperatures down when the board is overclocked.

To help bolster sales, MSI are including a coupon for a free 802.11g wireless PCI card within the package, which can be redeemed with proof of purchase. A nice touch as wireless networking in the home continues to enjoy strong popularity.

No motherboard is ever perfect, but difficult to use sockets, clips, or headers can make things hard for a user trying to adjust components inside a case. On the MSI 915P Neo2, the PCI Express x16 videocard slot lock is a real pain to use.

It's about the most difficult lock I have ever dealt with, and I can't see how anyone would be able to remove the videocard without having to first remove the motherboard from the case. In fact, when we were trying to release the lever I actually broke a pen tip! That's how much force you need to disengage it!

I think MSI should also consider supplying some better quality 'rounded' cables with their motherboards. With the 915P Neo2 Platinum, the cables are simply regular cables crumpled up together and wrapped in plastic. They're even more difficult to manipulate than a standard IDE ribbon cable, and never seem stay in position which is frustrating.

Last but not least on the list of gripes is how the dual channel memory sockets are colour-coded. Usually, identical colours indicate where a set of memory modules should be installed to enable the dual channel controller. In the case of the 915P Neo2 Platinum, the colours indicate which channel is which... so read the manual closely. Once you have couple pairs of DDR-2 RAM installed, you'll be ready for the next section, overlcocking!

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Contents of Article: MSI 915P Neo2 Platinum
 Pg 1.  MSI 915P Neo2 Platinum Motherboard Review
 Pg 2.  — Passive MOSFET Cooling
 Pg 3.  MSI's Installation Tool
 Pg 4.  System Spec's and Benchmarks
 Pg 5.  Benchmarks: Winstone 2004, Winbench 99
 Pg 6.  Benchmarks: SiSoft Sandra 2004, Super Pi
 Pg 7.  Benchmarks: PCMark04, 3DMark2001
 Pg 8.  Benchmarks: AquaMark3, Comanche 4
 Pg 9.  Benchmarks: X2: The Threat. UT2003
 Pg 10.  Benchmarks: UT2004, Doom 3
 Pg 11.  Maximum Motherboard Overclocking and Conclusions

 
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