X-bit labs

Review of MSI 875P Neo-FIS2R Mainboard on i875P Chipset (page 5)

Category: Mainboards

by Ilya Gavrichenkov

[ 06/12/2003 | 01:21 PM ]

IDE RAID: Intel vs. Promise

So, it turns out that Serial ATA drives as well as Parallel ATA drive can be connected to two different controllers on MSI 875P Neo-FIS2R: to the one integrated into ICH5 or to the additional Promise PDC20378. MSI gives us the choice, but what should we choose? We carried out a brief comparison having tested Promise PDC20378 and ICH5R of MSI 875P Neo-FIS2R.

We measured the performance of single Serial ATA drives and Level 0 RAID arrays connected to both controllers, and the performance of Level 1 RAID array created on Promise PDC20378. For this test we used WD Raptor disks and SiSoft Sandra 2003 benchmark. The results are listed below:

As our brief test suggests a single drive would be faster if connected to Promise PDC20378, although not much faster. In the RAID 0 mode, on the contrary, the controller from the South Bridge behaves noticeably better. The reason may lie in the connection type. Promise PDC20378 is connected to the South Bridge via the ordinary PCI bus with 133MB/s bandwidth, which is shared by all PCI devices. The integrated controller from ICH5 works without any PCI, which is gradually becoming a bottleneck of the modern computer system.

PCB Design

We had no difficulties building a system based on MSI 875P Neo-FIS2R. Notwithstanding the numerous controllers and other components, the design of the mainboard is good. Everything is in its right place.

The FDD and Parallel ATA connectors as well as the ATX power supply connector are placed in front of the DIMM slots. The 12V ATX connector is located at the back part of the PCB, between the chipset and AGP slot.

Note the unusual coloring of the memory slots. While most other manufacturers paint the same color symmetrical pairs of slots belonging to different channels, in MSI 875P Neo-FIS2R slots belonging to one channel are colored green, to the other – purple.

MSI engineers did a good job placing connectors for the additional USB and IEEE1394 ports and D-Bracket diagnostics system on the left side of the PCB, behind the last PCI slot. Their cables won’t interfere with other system components.

An installed graphics card doesn’t block the DIMM slots clips. That’s nice, although this design advantage is achieved due to the use of only five, not six, PCI slots.

Although the North Bridge of the i875P chipset feels all right with a passive cooling, MSI chose to mount an active cooler on it. Probably, this is a move for those people who have a transparent case: the chipset cooler carries six cheerful LEDs that blink when the fan is working. The cooler itself is hidden beneath a nice tracery lattice. On the other hand, the installation of this cooler has a negative side: its 6,000rpm speed makes a lot of noise.

The CPU power supply circuit on MSI 875P Neo-FIS2R includes three phases. The MOSFET transistors used in it have heat-spreaders on. Theoretically, this should help in case of very warm processors.