Motherboard msi p35 neo what RAM is installed. MSI P35 Neo and MSI P35 Neo Combo are motherboards based on the Intel P35 chipset. Ports, connectors and connectors on the surface of the board
In this article, we suggest taking a look at another more budget-friendly option, designed for lovers of overclocking and performance systems with modern processors - the MSI P35 NEO motherboard.
Note that when a FireWire controller is installed on this board, the index F is added to the model name, and its name looks like MSI P35 NEO-F.
MSI P35 NEO Motherboard Specification:
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Manufacturer |
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North Bridge |
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South Bridge |
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CPU socket |
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Supported processors |
Intel Core 2 Quad-Core / Core 2 Duo / Pentium / Celeron Intel Yorkfield, Wolfdale |
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System bus, MHz |
1333/1066/800 MHz |
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Memory used |
DDR2 800/667 MHz |
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Memory support |
4 x 1.8 V DDR2 DIMM dual channel architecture up to 8GB |
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Expansion slots |
1 x PCI-E x16 |
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Disk subsystem |
Southbridge ICH9 supports: Additional controller Marvell 88SE6111 supports: |
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Sound subsystem |
Realtek ALC888 8-channel audio codec |
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LAN support |
Network controller RTL 8111B (10/100/1000 Mbit) |
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24-pin ATX power connector |
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Cooling |
Aluminum radiators on the north and south bridge |
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Fan connectors |
1 x CPU |
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External I/O ports |
2 x PS/2 ports for connecting keyboard and mouse |
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Internal I/O ports |
8 x USB |
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Overclocking options |
Frequency change: FSB, PCI-Express, memory. |
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Equipment |
1 x SATA cable |
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Form factor Dimensions, mm |
ATX |
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Products webpage |
The new BIOS version for MSI P35 NEO2-FR/FIR can be downloaded from the official page. |
The MSI P35 NEO motherboard is packaged in a small cardboard box designed in the MSI style. The packaging notes the presence of support for a 1333 MHz system bus and 45 nm processors.
MSI P35 NEO motherboard package includes:
- two CDs with drivers for Windows Vista and Windows XP;
- user manual and installation instructions,
- cable UltraDMA 133/100/66;
- Serial ATA cable;
- I/O panel blank;
- SATA power adapter.
MSI P35 NEO motherboards have a fairly good layout - power connectors and ports are located mainly along the edge of the PCB. Although there are some drawbacks - in a not very favorable position, under the PCI slots, there is an FDD connector, as well as opening the latches of the green slots random access memory the inserted video card will interfere. When upgrading a computer, perhaps many users would like to have three PCI slots instead of the existing two, so we will also note this fact as a small drawback of the MSI P35 NEO. I was also not pleased with the lack of currently quite “fashionable” polymer capacitors. It is worth noting that on a similar PCB, MSI releases the MSI P35 Neo Combo, which supports both types of DDR2 and DDR3 memory, and the MSI G33 Neo with integrated graphics.
To cool the northbridge, a relatively large but not very tall aluminum radiator is used. The cooler on the south bridge is much smaller.
Since several sets of logic can be used to fill the PCB of the MSI P35 NEO motherboard, empty spaces are visible on it for two more SATA connectors, which are installed when using the Intel ICH9R south bridge, and there is also a place reserved for the FireWire controller. In our case, the MSI P35 NEO uses an Intel ICH9 chip, which supports four SATA II ports without the ability to create RAID arrays. To ensure the operation of the IDE port and another SATA port, an additional Marvell 88SE6111 controller is used.
For ease of connection, the eight internal USB ports and the system panel connector are color-coded.
The MSI P35 NEO motherboard only has two PCI slots, three PCIE x1 and one PCIE x16 slot. Of the controllers integrated on the board, one can note the gigabit network card on RTL 8111B, eight-channel audio codec Realtek ALC888, the front panel connector of which supports connections in HDA and AC`97 formats.
The processor power regulator on the MSI P35 NEO motherboard is only three-channel, but for a board of this class this fact is not surprising.
The following ports are located on the rear panel: two PS/2 for keyboard and mouse, four USB connectors, COM and LPT ports, RJ45 connector for network connections and connectors for 8-channel audio.
The MSI P35 NEO motherboard has three fan headers, one of which is 4-pin for the CPU cooler, and the rest, intended for connecting case fans, are 3-pin. All connectors are located in different parts of the board, which simplifies the choice of connection location.
The MSI P35 NEO motherboard uses an AMI code BIOS with a lot of settings. Almost all settings related to overclocking are located in a separate section of the Cell Menu.
Settings required for overclocking:
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Parameter |
Menu name |
Range |
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Processor technologies |
EIST, CPUID MaxVal, Execute Bit |
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Proprietary intelligent overclocking technology |
1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 15 % |
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CPU multiplier |
Adjust CPU Ratio |
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System bus frequency |
Adjust CPU FSB Frequency |
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Frequency PCI buses Express |
Adjust PCI-E Frequency |
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Memory dividers |
FSB/Memory Frequency |
1:1.25; 1:1.5; 1:1.67; 1:1.2; 1:1; 1:1.2; 1:1.6; |
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Memory timings |
CAS, RAS to CAS, RAS Precharge, RAS Act to Prechar, tRFC, tWR, TWTR, TRRD, tRTP |
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CPU voltage |
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Memory module voltage |
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FSB bus voltage |
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Northbridge voltage |
1.25 – 1.65 V |
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I/O controller voltage |
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Southbridge voltage |
In the BIOS it is possible to activate the proprietary automatic overclocking technology D.O.T. (Dynamic Overclocking Technology), with which you can overclock the processor from 1% to 15%.
To set the memory frequency, there are seven dividers that can be used to optimally set the frequency during overclocking.
As usual, it is possible to configure RAM timings and sub-timings, but you will notice the absence of the 1T/2T Memory Timing setting, which changes the command decoding time.
Wide ranges of voltage settings will improve system stability during overclocking. In addition, the levels of critical values are very conveniently shown, which will help less experienced users navigate.
In the Hardware Monitor window you can monitor:
- temperature of the processor and motherboard;
- rotation speed of the processor cooler and two case fans;
- voltage on the power lines 3.3V, 5V, 12V, 5V SB and the processor core.
In the “CPU Smart FAN Target” item, you can enable the function of automatically controlling the rotation speed of the processor cooler.
The MSI P35 NEO motherboard was able to run at a system bus frequency of 530 MHz. Considering the large range of settings in the BIOS, we can assume very good possibilities for overclocking processors with its help.
Testing the audio path based on the Realtek ALC888 codec
Overall results (RightMark Audio Analyzer)
Performance testing
To check the capabilities motherboards The following equipment was used.
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CPU |
Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 (LGA775, 1.86 GHz, L2 2 MB) |
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Thermaltake Sonic Tower (CL-P0071) + Akasa AK-183-L2B 120 mm |
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RAM |
2x DDR2-800 1024 MB PQI PC6400 |
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Video card |
EVGA GeForce 8600GTS 256 MB DDR3 PCI-E |
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HDD |
Samsung HD080HJ, 80 GB, SATA-300 |
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Optical drive |
ASUS DRW-1814BLT SATA |
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power unit |
Chieftec CFT-500-A12S 500W, 120 mm fan |
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CODEGEN M603 MidiTower, 2x 120 mm in/out fans |
MSI P35 NEO shows an excellent level of performance for a board in its class.
conclusions
The MSI P35 NEO motherboard is a relatively inexpensive solution with good functionality and good overclocking potential, which, in a sense, managed to exceed our expectations. Although overclocking enthusiasts should take into account the far from the most powerful processor power regulator. The cost of the MSI P35 NEO is one of the lowest among offerings based on the Intel P35 chipset, and it has almost no obvious disadvantages. Perhaps some future owners would like to see more PCI slots, instead of the same PCI-E x1.
Advantages:
- support Intel processors Penryn, made using 45 nm technology;
- a large number of BIOS settings required for overclocking;
- tested bus capability at 530 MHz;
- 8-channel High Definition Audio;
- low cost for its class.
Flaws:
- absence official support DDR2-1066;
- very modest equipment;
- only two PCI slots;
- no external S/PDIF;
- There is no FireWire controller.
We would like to express our gratitude to PF Service LLC (Dnepropetrovsk) for the motherboards provided for testing.
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Published back on PS, we began to explore motherboards in the lower price range, which are not perceived by most users as “overclocking” products. Compared to a similar priced product called Biostar TP45 HP, the MSI P45 Neo-F motherboard has only one significant advantage - widespread availability. When looking for the next candidate for review, it was decided to find a board that combines the same popularity as the MSI P45 Neo-F, but is neither a direct nor indirect competitor in price terms to the Biostar TP45 HP. After a short search, such a board was found - MSI P35 Neo.
INTRODUCING THE MOTHERBOARD
Launched on the market over a year ago, the MSI P35 Neo motherboard comes in a small blue box.
advertising
The front side provides information about compatibility with processors and the supported system bus frequency. WITH reverse side provides information about the main technologies and capabilities:
On the side there is a sticker with the main characteristics:
The delivery set is typical for all MSI motherboards in the lower price category and includes:
The game Doom 3 equalizes both boards. The MSI P35 Neo3 wins one frame in low resolution, but at 120 frames this is not significant. As the resolution increases, the results level out. This shows that in real applications we will not see a difference between the compared boards due to the fact that they are made on the same system logic. But it’s still worth saying thanks to the MSI engineers, who were able to “squeeze” a little more out of their brainchild than the competitors. Perhaps this is achieved due to reduced latencies of the memory controller, or perhaps the difference is explained by different secondary memory timings that the boards set themselves.
Conclusion
The MSI P35 Neo3 model can be called a worthy representative of the mid-price segment in the motherboard market. High-quality performance using long-lasting capacitors guarantees stable operation of this model in normal conditions. system unit at home or in the office. The board is also a good option for those who are aiming for an upgrade and are faced with choosing a new product, but at the same time want to connect all the remaining devices with PCI interface. If desired, it is possible to install one expansion card with a PCI-Express x1 interface. Support for basic RAID modes will allow you to create simple arrays from hard drives to increase the performance of the disk subsystem. The lack of external digital audio interfaces and FireWire 1394 in this model is a little disappointing, but it is fully justified by the price. By connection options peripheral devices MSI P35 Neo3 is indeed a little inferior to some other representatives on Intel based P35, but, as we have seen, in performance it is even slightly ahead of the more expensive models of its competitors. For the average user, this board, given its initial performance, will be a good buy.
But for the enthusiast and overclocker category, the MSI P35 Neo3 does not have anything outstanding to offer. No cooling on power elements processor power system and 8-pin additional power connector. There are few overclocking options in the BIOS, but all the basic functions are present. A small radiator on the chipset is only enough to cool the P35 at standard frequencies. Therefore, it is not recommended to get carried away with excessive overclocking on this board without additional cooling of the components, although the model has potential.
MSI P35 Neo and MSI P35 Neo Combo - motherboards on the base Intel chipset P35
- Intel P35 chipset (P35 north bridge and ICH9 south bridge are used (ICH9R can be used))
MSI P35 Neo Combo
When releasing boards based on new chipsets, the greatest interest of the reading public is not even so much the features specific models, how many general trends appear in the new generation. This is understandable: it’s hard to study reviews of all motherboards in a row, but you need to get an impression of how interesting the new products are and worthy of timely (or even immediate) purchase. Well, in anticipation of these first reviews, we can note a few differences. The main thing we would say is the significantly reduced heat dissipation of the P35/G33, which leads to a very comfortable thermal regime while maintaining the same chipset heatsinks (this issue is discussed in more detail in the review of the new line of chipsets). Of course, some new products will have slots for DDR3 memory, but this change is quite obvious and expected. Otherwise, these are all the same Intel chipsets (you can just install new board instead of a model based on i915, and Windows XP will boot without problems), we did not find any unpleasant or unexpected issues.
Speaking now about specific boards, it is clear that the first one we chose for consideration was the combo model from those provided to us by MSI. Generally speaking, boards that support two types of memory at once seem to us to be an unnecessary thing in everyday life, and if you do not have a purely research interest, we cannot recommend such a purchase. (We’ll leave the idea of a “step-by-step upgrade” to the conscience of forum dreamers, since DDR2 and DDR3 modules will not work simultaneously.) However, MSI offers two almost identical mid-level models, differing only in DDR3 support in one of them, so we, in fact, In fact, today we’ll look at two boards at once.
The appearance of the board is quite familiar; only the memory slots attract attention. Firstly, because two of them are designed for installing DDR3 modules and have a different key location in the connector. Secondly, their unusual relative arrangement is noteworthy: pairs of slots are offset relative to each other, and in the second pair the slots themselves are offset (literally by half a contact, which suggests that the reason for this decision is the desire to more conveniently distribute a wide loop of tracks across the board ). As for the general convenience of wiring, there are no serious complaints about the board, except that the only IDE connector should be placed in another place, since in this design option, access to it will be blocked by a trail of wires from the power connector. Among the shortcomings, not the wiring, but the design, we note the presence of only two PCI slots (with three PCIEx1) - it is possible, however, that this should already be taken as the norm, since the range of expansion cards with the PCI Express interface is constantly expanding and even includes modern sound cards from Creative. (However, more unusual models based on the P35 will soon be available - for example, without IDE support.)
There are 2 SATA connectors located on the PCB of our board, but not soldered (they are used in the version of the board with the ICH9R south bridge). In addition to the two models reviewed today, MSI produces another exactly the same one based on the G33 (G33 Neo with support for DDR2 only), as well as a number of boards based on the P35 and G33 in the Platinum and Diamond series - these are based on a different PCB design (in particular, providing two PCIEx16 slot for CrossFire graphics) and use a complex design with heat pipes to cool the chipset and field-effect transistors. It’s interesting that another board, the P35 Neo2, is based on the PCB design of the Platinum models, which simply lacks a heatpipe cooler - the functionality of all Neo models is extremely similar. Access to the only available jumper (clearing CMOS) is a little difficult due to its proximity to the expansion slots; a description of its functionality is provided on the PCB. The size of the board is 305x225 mm (slightly narrowed ATX), fastened to the case with six screws, the near edge of the board sags and causes some inconvenience when using the connectors located on it.
In three-channel pulse stabilizer CPU supply voltage applied 4 times field effect transistor per channel, which is quite a sufficient value not to worry about overheating of these transistors even despite the absence of additional cooling using radiators. In addition, in the new line of motherboards, MSI uses chokes not with iron, but with ferrite cores, which has a beneficial effect on power consumption. The set of capacitors in the key power circuits can be assessed as good, although not the best (when, as in the top boards of most major manufacturers, only polymer capacitors are used throughout the board): for the processor, 8 polymer capacitors of 680 μF each are used (from an unknown manufacturer), 4 1000 µF and 1 3300 µF from United Chemi-Con, and the memory voltage regulator (reinforced by the use of inductive elements) includes 10 1000 µF capacitors from United Chemi-Con.
System monitoring (Fintek F71882FG, according to BIOS Setup)
- CPU voltage, +3.3, +5 and +12 V, +5 V Standby;
- Rotation speed of 3 fans;
- Temperature of the processor (built-in processor sensor) and board (built-in board sensor);
- Technology for automatically adjusting the rotation of the processor fan depending on the temperature (the temperature limit and cooler rotation speed are set if this limit is not exceeded).
Ports, connectors and connectors on the surface of the board
- Processor socket (Socket 775, declared support for all modern Core 2, Pentium Dual Core and Celeron processors (with Core microarchitecture) for this socket, including latest processors with FSB frequency 1333 MHz; of models with Netburst microarchitecture, only those with a bus frequency of 800 MHz and higher are supported);
- 2 slots for DDR2 SDRAM DIMM (up to 4 GB DDR2-533/667/800; dual-channel operating mode supported when both channel slots are full) and 2 slots for DDR3 SDRAM DIMM (up to 4 GB DDR3-800/1066; dual-channel operating mode supported when filling the slots of both channels); simultaneous operation of DDR2 and DDR3 is impossible; later a list of certified modules should appear on the website;
- PCIEx16 slot for video accelerators;
- 3 PCIEx1 slots;
- 2 PCI slots;
- Power connectors: standard ATX 2.2 (24 pins, you can connect a regular 20-pin connector, but it is not recommended to use powerful video accelerators that do not have their own power connector) and 4-pin ATX12V to power the processor;
- FDD connector;
- IDE (Parallel ATA) connector, powered by an additional Marvell controller, for 2 ATA133 devices;
- 5 SATA-II (Serial ATA II) connectors for 5 SATA300 devices, 1 of which operates through an additional Marvell controller and 4 “chipset” drives, connected to the latter drives can be combined into a RAID array of levels 0, 1, 0+1, 5 and Matrix RAID if the south bridge board uses the ICH9R chipset;
- 4 connectors for connecting brackets for 8 additional USB ports;
- Connector for connecting a bracket for 1 additional FireWire port;
- Output connector sound signal from a CD/DVD drive;
- Block of connectors for connecting analog inputs and audio outputs on the front panel of the computer;
- Connector for digital audio output S/PDIF-Out on the bracket;
- Undocumented SPI connector;
- Connector for connecting the chassis intrusion sensor (Chassis Intrusion);
- 3 connectors for connecting fans (all with the ability to control the number of revolutions), the 4-pin processor has an automatic speed control function.
Rear panel of the board (from left to right, by block)
- PS/2 connectors for connecting a mouse and keyboard;
- 1 LPT and 1 COM port;
- 2 USB port and 1 FireWire;
- 2 USB ports and 1 RJ-45 (Gigabit Ethernet);
- 6 analog audio jacks (Line-In, Front, Mic-In, Rear, Center/Sub, Side).
The free space in the row with the COM port is obviously reserved for the video output (D-Sub) on the G33 Neo Combo board with integrated graphics.
Contents of delivery
For the release of motherboards based on the new chipsets, MSI updated the design of the box, making it quite impressive. (In this case, we show a photo of the P35 Neo model box.) We describe the package contents with reference to MSI data, since the set of our pre-production samples was incomplete. It seems that this is the first time that the box (as standard) does not have a cable for connecting a floppy drive.
- Packing: regular size box;
- Documentation: user manual in English;
- Cables: 1 SATA (with power adapter for one device) and 1 ATA66;
- Plank on back panel computer with 2 additional USB connectors;
- A bracket for the rear panel of a computer with an additional FireWire connector;
- A plug on the rear panel of the board for the corresponding connectors;
- CDs with the necessary drivers and proprietary utilities, including Dual Core Center and DOT Express (for monitoring, controlling fan speed, overclocking, etc.) and Live Update (for searching and updating drivers, utilities and BIOS firmware via the Internet).
Integrated Controllers
- Audio, based on the 10-channel (7.1+2) HDA codec Realtek ALC888, with the ability to connect 7.1 audio systems, a connector for connecting front audio inputs/outputs and a connector for connecting optical output S/PDIF-Out;
- Network, supporting speeds of 10/100/1000 Mbit/s (Gigabit Ethernet), based on the Realtek RTL8111B chip (PCIEx1 interface);
- IDE/SATA-II, based on the Marvell 88SE6111 chip, supporting 2 devices on the ATA133 channel and 1 SATA300 device (PCIEx1 interface);
- FireWire, based on the VIA 6308P chip, supporting 2 ports.
Quality integrated sound solution we evaluated in 16-bit, 44 kHz mode using test program RightMark Audio Analyzer 5.5 and sound card Terratec DMX 6fire:
Overall rating: Very good(). In this case, a high-quality, but “simple” 10-channel audio codec ALC888 is used, which does not have “additional” functions interesting to the home user (such as a set of DTS technologies implemented in drivers and on-the-fly encoding of the audio stream in AC-3 for output via the S/ interface PDIF). But the quality of the analog output is at a very good level, corresponding to the best representatives of integrated sound.
It is curious that since the release of the Intel 965 chipsets, almost all motherboard manufacturers began to use JMicron controllers to implement (now absent in the chipset) support for IDE (PATA) devices. MSI is one of the few companies that is not satisfied with standard solutions like JMB363 and JMB361 (which indeed have some drawbacks), and is constantly looking for alternatives. In the case of boards based on the P35 and G33, MSI uses a solution from Marvell, and we must say that the first acquaintance made a favorable impression on us: the board easily booted from a CD drive with an IDE interface, allowed you to install the OS from a CD/DVD, and did not require updating specific managers for working with disk images and drivers in Windows XP. However, only after some time, having collected statistics from different users, will it be possible to draw a conclusion about the presence or absence of problems with the implementation from Marvell. Well, for those who don’t want to wait or take risks, we strongly recommend purchasing a drive with a SATA interface.
Settings
| Using jumpers and switches | Jumper to clear CMOS contents | ||
| From BIOS based on version 2.61 from AMI | Ability to disable specific processor functions | + | Hyper-Threading, Execute Disable Bit, Enhanced SpeedStep, Virtualization Technology |
| Memory timing settings | + | By SPD, CAS# Latency, RAS# to CAS# Delay, RAS# Precharge, RAS# Activate to Precharge, tRFC, tWR, tWTR, tRRD, tRTP | |
| Selecting memory frequency | + | Auto or set the multiplier relative to the FSB frequency: 1:1, 1:1.2, 1:1.25, 1:1.5, 1:1.67, 1:2 | |
| Ability to set frequency for peripheral buses | + | PCI-E: 100-200 MHz in 1 MHz steps | |
| Manual assignment of interrupts to slots | + | ||
| Changing the FSB frequency | + | from nominal to 500 MHz in 1 MHz steps; There is a function for dynamic processor overclocking | |
| Changing the processor multiplier | + | ||
| Changing CPU Core Voltage | + | up to +0.7875 V in steps of 0.0125 V | |
| Changing Memory Voltage | + | 1.80-3.30 V in 0.05 V steps up to 2.1 V and 0.1 V steps above | |
| Changing chipset voltage | + | 1.25-1.65 V in 0.05 V steps for the north bridge; 1.05 and 1.15 V for the south bridge; 1.5-1.8 V in 0.1 V steps for southbridge I/O |
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| FSB voltage change | + | 1.2-1.6 V in 0.1 V steps | |
We used BIOS version 1.0B10 (one of the beta versions of the first firmware), as the latest available at the time of testing. The listed BIOS features are available in the specified firmware; the functionality of non-standard settings has not been tested. The board allows you to call up a menu for selecting a boot device by pressing a certain key during the POST procedure, which makes it possible to conveniently perform a one-time boot, for example, from a CD drive, without making corresponding changes in the BIOS Setup.
It should be noted that during testing we used one of the early beta BIOS versions, which did not even provide for the implementation of DDR3 memory features (which we will talk about below). In this regard, it is worth considering all data on the ranges of permissible voltages and frequencies, etc. as preliminary, and before purchasing, it is advisable to clarify them with the owners of the board in Internet conferences, if this issue is important to you.
MSI P35 Neo
So, as we have already said, the MSI P35 Neo variant with support only for DDR2 is functionally and externally fully consistent with the combo model (with the understandable exception of DDR3 support). It is curious that this board also has memory slots arranged in more than one column, but, however, here their arrangement is less exotic - “only” pairs of slots are shifted relative to each other. Another interesting detail is the size of the board: it is 305x220 mm, that is, 5 mm at the same as that of the combo board, and without any visible changes in the wiring.
Obviously, everything said above about the MSI P35 Neo Combo fully applies to this model; even the variations of these boards that came to us for testing were the same: with an ICH9 south bridge (ICH9R is possible) and with a FireWire controller (it may be absent). As for the BIOS firmware, these boards also had the same ones (at the time of our testing), so we have nothing to add on this point either. Thus, we will consider the issue of the performance of MSI P35 Neo boards in one section, and then we will summarize the results for both models at once.
Performance
Test bench configuration:
- Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 (2.4 GHz)
- Memory:
- 2 modules of 1 GB Corsair CM2X1024-9136C5D (DDR2-1142)
- 2 modules of 1 GB Corsair XMS3-1066C7 (DDR3-1066)
- Video card: ATI Radeon X1900 XTX 512 MB
- Hard drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 (SATA, 7200 rpm)
- PSU: HiPro W460GC31
- OS: Windows XP SP2
Note that the version available at the time of testing Board BIOS The P35 Neo Combo did not provide the ability to set normal (for DDR3) supply voltage (1.5 V) and timings (they were limited by the standard DDR2 circuit, so it was impossible to set values greater than 6 for the main timings). As a result, our options for using DDR3 memory were severely limited. For details of test bench setups and performance comparison results, we refer you to the presentation of Intel 3x chipsets; here we will also present the performance of the new boards in the standard configuration (DDR2-800@4-4-4) and with DDR3-1066 at timings 7-7-7 .
| Test | MSI P35 Neo Combo, DDR3-1066@7-7-7 | MSI P35 Neo Combo, DDR2-800@4-4-4 | MSI P35 Neo, DDR2-800@4-4-4 | Gigabyte 965P-DQ6 (Intel P965), DDR2-800@4-4-4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archiving in 7-Zip, min:sec | 4:17 | 4:17 | 4:17 | 4:10 |
| MPEG4 encoding (XviD), min:sec | 3:37 | 3:37 | 3:37 | 3:37 |
| FarCry (Low@640×480), fps | 354 | 352 | 353 | 359 |
| FarCry (Highest@1600×1200), fps | 151 | 152 | 152 | 151 |
| Doom 3 (Low@640×480), fps | 218 | 215 | 215 | 218 |
| Doom 3 (Highest@1600×1200), fps | 121 | 121 | 121 | 123 |
We repeat that we made more detailed conclusions in the above article, but here we will only note the absolute equality in performance of the MSI P35 Neo and MSI P35 Neo Combo, as well as the fact that the new boards, at least with the current BIOS firmware, are a little slower representatives of older chipsets, and DDR3 does not help them get ahead in speed, even at 1066 MHz.
Bottom line
So, P35 boards are not a revelation; they are quite suitable for purchase by almost anyone (although we have not yet seen full implementation of DDR3 support). As for the two specific MSI motherboards reviewed, these are high-quality mid-level models, without “frills” both in terms of configuration and proprietary features. But only computer enthusiasts can make complaints about their functionality; the convenience of wiring and the design of the power unit also deserve praise. At home, we really liked these models, especially the chipset cooling, and we see no reason why MSI P35 Neo boards should be avoided.
The boards were provided for testing by the manufacturer
