915 Motherboard Roundup: Socket 775 for the Rest of Us

MSI 915P Neo2 Platinum: Features and Layout

MSI 915P Neo2 Platinum Motherboard Specifications
CPU Interface	Socket 775 Pentium 4 (Prescott)
Chipset	Intel 915P/ICH6R
BUS Speeds	100MHz to 400MHz (in 1MHz increments)
DDR2 Speeds	Auto, 400, 533, 600, 667, 700, 710
PCI Speeds	33.3, 36.3, 40.0
Core Voltage	CPU Default to 1.55V in 0.0125V increments
DRAM Voltage	1.80V to 2.4V in 0.05V increments
NB (Northbridge) Voltage	1.50V-2.05V in 0.05V increments
Memory Slots	Four 240-pin DDR2 533 Slots Dual-Channel Unbuffered Memory to 4GB
Expansion Slots	1 PCIe x16 Slot 2 PCIe x1 slot 3 PCI Slots
Onboard SATA/RAID	4 SATA 150 drives by ICH6R Can be combined in RAID 0,1,Intel Matrix
Onboard IDE/RAID	One Standard ATA100/66 (2 drives) Plus 4 drives by VIA VT6410 - Drives can be combined as RAID 0, 1, 0+1
Onboard USB 2.0/IEEE-1394	8 USB 2.0 ports 3 IEEE 1394 FireWire Ports by VIA VT6306
Onboard LAN	Gigabit PCIe Ethernet by Broadcomm BCM5751
Onboard Audio	CMI9880L (HD Audio) 8-Channel with SPDIF in/out
Tested BIOS	1.5 AMI

MSI was surprisingly absent from our earlier roundup of 925X motherboards. This was quite a surprise, since MSI was the only Tier 1 (major) motherboard maker without a product in the 925X roundup. The issue was not that MSI would not make a 925X board, but rather that MSI had many 925X/915 boards in their early production with bad ICH6 family south bridges. MSI decided to hold back shipping any 915/925X products until they could retest and certify products as built with south bridges that performed as they should.

Now, as we are testing for the 915 roundup, MSI has provided their MSI 915P Neo2 Platinum for review. If the name sounds familiar, it is because the MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum is one of the best known and top-performing AMD Socket 939 motherboards. MSI apparently uses the Neo2 Platinum name a lot - to designate their top boards in any given family.

The MSI 915P Neo2 Platinum will be immediately recognizable to owners of other Neo and Neo2 products. Call it the family resemblance because the packaging for all the Neo2 boards is very similar.

Like Asus, MSI puts the right ingredients into the mix for their 915P board. This includes using the ICH6R south bridge to provide Intel Matrix RAIS capabilities, the C-Media High Definition audio, the use of Gigabit LAN that resides on the higher speed PCIe bus, or the excellent addition of 4 more IDE ports to supplement the "just 2" provided by the ICH6R south bridge. When we talk about the right mix of 915 features, it could almost be a specification list for MSI or Asus. In this roundup, we at least agree with what the major players believe is important in a 915 design. That has rarely been the case in the past.

MSI also distinguishes itself with excellent tweak/OC options in their AMI BIOS. Memory voltage can be adjusted to an outstanding 2.4V from the stock 1.8V. Northbridge voltage can be adjusted over a similarly broad range. The CPU voltage adjustment range seems more restricted, but a range to 1.55V with a CPU rated at 1.385V does provide some adjustment range. Water and phase-change cooling advocates will wish for a bit more CPU voltage range though. The CPU FSB range from 200 to 500 is amazingly wide - well beyond what any Prescott can actually use.

One area that was a big surprise in the MSI was the unique range of Memory Speed choices, or memory ratios, available on the 915P Neo2 platinum. No one else really offers options from which to choose: 400, 533, 600, 667, 700, 710 in a DDR2 BIOS for a 800FSB board. This range allows you to get the most from any DDR2 memory for the 915P Neo2. You will also not be surprised to see the trademark Core Cell overclocking on the 915P. This allows even novice overclockers to get some significant improvements in performance with overclocking. The named speeds are a bit too cute for tastes at AnandTech, but Core Cell works to allow most anyone to overclock and improve performance. Fortunately, MSI also allows the user to dial-in their own overclocking options if they choose, which is an important feature for most enthusiasts.

MSI, like Asus, pays close attention to board layout. That is why most will find layout of the 915P Neo2 nearly ideal. IDE, floppy and 20/24-pin power are all allocated at the upper right edge where they belong. Only the 4-pin 12V power connector requires a bit of routing prowess with a location between the north bridge and the IO backplane. SATA, extra IDE connectors and feature headers all are located at board edges where they will interfere least with slots. Northbridge, south bridge, and power transistors are all cooled with large passive heatsinks. It is always interesting that Asus, MSI, and DFI prefer to use passive and silent cooling solutions instead of the active and noiser solutions favored by other manufacturers.

It is also worth mentioning that MSI has provided just enough room for the 4 DIMM slots to completely open and close with a large PCI Express video card mounted. If MSI and Asus can figure out how to do this, we wonder why it is such a mystery to some other manufacturers.

Like the better boards in this roundup, MSI has managed to create a really good layout for the 915P Neo2 Platinum. Most any user will find a lot to like in this board's layout.