MSI P35 Neo2-FR: Platinum performance for under $100
by Gary Key on December 5, 2007 11:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Test Setup
| MSI
P35 Neo2-FR Overclocking/Benchmark Testbed |
|
| Processor | Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (Quad-core, 2.4GHz, 2x4MB Cache, 9x Multiplier, 1066FSB) |
| CPU Voltage | 1.200V ~ 1.450V |
| Cooling | Thermalright 120 Extreme |
| Power Supply | OCZ 1000W |
| Memory | Corsair Twin2x2048-10000C5DF (2GB/4GB) OCZ PC2-6400 Reaper X (4GB/8GB) |
| Memory Settings | 4-4-4-12 (DDR2-1066) - Corsair 4-4-3-12 (DDR2-800) - OCZ |
| Video Cards | MSI HD X2900 XT 512MB |
| Video Drivers | ATI Catalyst 7.10 |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital 7200RPM 750GB SATA 3/Gbps 16MB Buffer |
| Optical Drives | Plextor PX-B900A, Toshiba SD-H802A |
| Case | Cooler Master Stacker 830 Evo |
| BIOS | v1.6 |
| Operating System | Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit |
| . | |
We maintained the same test conditions, as much as possible, over the platforms tested. The game tests are at settings of 1280x1024 HQ to ensure our MSI HD 2900XT is not the bottleneck during testing. We color-code all scores for easier identification of results. We selected the Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 as our processor of choice since it represents one of the better price to performance values in the midrange processor market and is the CPU we will concentrate on in future reviews.
We are utilizing Microsoft Vista Home Premium 32-bit as our operating system along with a 4GB memory configuration. Even though Vista 32-bit cannot take advantage of the entire 4GB of memory address space, we find the additional 1.278GB of memory provides improved performance during multitasking events and gaming. We do not recommend anything less than 2GB for Vista Home Premium. We will be moving back to Vista 64-bit shortly along with a new test suite for 2008. We will also conduct our overclocking tests under Vista 64-bit for this article to show the 2x2GB and 4x2GB results properly.
We utilize new drive images on each board in order to minimize any potential driver conflicts. The 3DMark tests utilize the standard benchmark resolution for each program. We run each benchmark five times, throw out the two low and high scores, and report the remaining score. All results at stock speeds for this article are with memory timings of 5-4-4-12 (DDR2-1066) for the MSI Neo2-FR and 4-4-4-12 (DDR2-1066) for the other boards. Where possible, memory sub-timings are set the same to ensure consistency between the boards.
To be honest, except for the memory and overclocking tests, this board scores the same as any other P35 based board we have tested. Any differences in our benchmark results are minute at best. Therefore, we base our review primarily on cost, support, service, and features, with performance being a secondary consideration. It is in these areas where the MSI P35 Neo2-FR has a few advantages over other boards in its price range.
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drebo - Friday, December 7, 2007 - link
I'll forgive your ignorant comment since you obviously do not work in retail computer sales. People aren't interested in buying adapters and add-on cards that they don't feel they should need because "their old computer had it." In a managed IT environment, yes, you can just give everyone converters and it works fine, but your average joe who walks into a computer shop with a 10-year-old dead computer and an ancient Epson parallel printer isn't ever going to understand why his old connections are going by the way-side.So, yes, legacy support in the retail market is important, even for most small business users. Not a day doesn't go by when I get a call or someone comes in needing a parallel card or serial card because the off-the-shelf computer they bought doesn't come with one. Most people don't need 16 USB ports, but I'll bet a good number do need a parallel port.
AssBall - Saturday, December 8, 2007 - link
"I'll forgive your ignorant comment since you obviously do not work in retail computer sales."Right... because a good retail computer salesperson would sell someone who is inexperienced enough to not RTFM a 10$ adapter instead of reccomending a better and higher profit margin 10 year newer replacement product for 150$ with built in factory support$
Salesman indeed...
kmmatney - Thursday, December 6, 2007 - link
Serial mice? Come-on! I used serial mice back in the day, but there is absolutely no need to get a USB mouse - I just bought a spare optical mouse for $3 at Microcenter - works great. You can get a USB-RS232 adapter for around $15 as well. Or you can buy a PCI add-on card, with RS232 and Parallel ports, for around the same price. I'd way rather have the extra USB and e-Sata ports instead of the legacy crap.I do a lot of RS-232 and RS-485 programming, and my main computer is a laptop, so I've been using USB-Serial converters for some time now.
theslug - Thursday, December 6, 2007 - link
They sell these:http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Sub...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi...iption=u...
OndrejSc - Thursday, December 6, 2007 - link
Cheer up! It does exist. :-)http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?func=proddesc&a...">http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?func...=1342&am...
drebo - Thursday, December 6, 2007 - link
Hmmm, good news. I wonder when we'll have availability and what the pricing will be like.LoneWolf15 - Thursday, December 6, 2007 - link
"MSI also offers the Creative Lab's X-Fi audio codecs on their high-end boards as a nod to the gaming community."No...MSI puts the X-Fi XtremeAudio chip on the boards, which is a tweaked Audigy SE chip (note: the Audigy SE isn't even a true Audigy chip), not a true X-Fi. No hardware EAX or DirectSound3D acceleration, and the drivers, like the X-Fi XtremeAudio card, are completely different than the rest of the X-Fi line. So, serious gamers STILL need to buy a sound card.
I really like MSI and use their boards a lot, but this audio solution is really only slightly better than what is used on other boards --and those who don't like Creative might argue that the drivers actually make it worse. If MSI had used the real X-Fi chip, I'd be very impressed.
ultimatex - Thursday, December 6, 2007 - link
are u retarted ? serious gamers need to buy a seperate sound card? A real serious games would not be worrying about some sound options but more about performace of the board. I smell some Asus Gybabyte fan boys here on these forums.as long as boards have 5.1 sound U dont need no special features that dont do anything specialy for games. Serious games wear headphones.
these NERDS here are sounding like if a serious gamer has to have a sound card . Well ill tell u from a X-Cal P Css Player here. A videocard and Fps is the most important thing for a Hardcore gamer..
Etern205 - Friday, December 7, 2007 - link
Your the retarded one.If he's right and that the onboard X-FI does not have hardware accelerated audio, what it means it it uses the cpu to process the audio singal which leads to reduce FPS. Gamers needs to know where their enemies are and that's where the EAX comes in. Onboard will have EAX as well as mutli-channel speaker support (ie 5.1 surround sound) but without a higher version of EAX (ie EAX 5.0) all your hearing are just sounds coming at you with no sense of direction.
So if you got a 5.1 speaker setup but with a crappy onboard Audio or onboard X-FI with crappy EAX support then it won't help you as much as a dedicated sound card.
dazy - Tuesday, December 11, 2007 - link
Thanks for pointing out his utter ignorance before I had to, lol.[quote=ultimatex]serious gamers need to buy a seperate sound card?
as long as boards have 5.1 sound U dont need no special features that dont do anything specialy for games. Serious games wear headphones.
A videocard and Fps is the most important thing for a Hardcore gamer..[/quote]
The sheer number of stupid statements for a "gamer" in his post is outstanding. Maybe he thinks we are talking about his XBOX360? ;-)