Layout and features
Just like previous MSI SiS-based motherboards, this one is quite narrow at around 22cm in width. MSI's trademark red PCB colour makes its way on to the 648 MAX. I like the positioning of the 4-pin 12v and main 20-pin ATX power connectors. Their locations don't hinder airflow any more than is absolutely necessary.
The main CPU socket area is large enough to mount aftermarket coolers should you so wish to. Starting from the 645DX, MSI have placed a passive heatsink on the important voltage chips to the left of the socket area; a good move in our eyes. 3 DIMM slots, capable of housing up to 3GB of system RAM, are positioned well. The narrow nature of this motherboard doesn't give one much to work with in real estate terms.
The SiS648 Northbridge officially supports DDR333 (PC2700) memory and, as you can see, has 8x AGP support. The current 4x standard is more than enough for today's games but the 8x standard may prove its worth a little down the track as more powerful cards are released. Currently, ATi's Radeon 9700 and SiS' very own Xabre graphics cards support this new AGP speed. A passive heatsink on the 648 NB is common. Incidentally, I had no problems installing and using a Radeon 9700 with this motherboard.
The impressive, feature-packed 963 Southbridge, amongst other things, supports 6 USB2.0 ports, 3 1394a (Firewire) ports, on-board LAN, and the ATA133 hard drive standard. Whilst we do have the full complement of USB2.0 implemented (4 on the backplane and a blue-coloured header to the right of the SB providing the other 2), I'm a little disappointed in not seeing Firewire and LAN integrated into the 648 MAX. On an upside, we do have 6-PCI slots on offer.
I personally don't favour the location of the IDE and floppy ports. They're a little too far down the motherboard for my liking, such that connecting optical drives housed at the top of a midi tower becomes difficult with standard IDE cables. The limited 'board space forces MSI's hand, though.
The ALC650 is an 18-bit, full duplex AC'97 2.2 compatible stereo audio CODEC. It natively supports full surround sound 5.1 configuration with a maximum of 6 separate or discrete channels (Left, Right, Center, SL, SR and Sub). It also supports S/PDIF out (which is provided). From basic listening, it appears as if it's more than capable of basic Windows duty. The only downside of on-board sound is that it inevitably takes a toll on absolute performance. I don't like the location of the S/PDIF header. It sits right next to the 5th PCI slot, a rather annoying position.
The backplane is only irregular in its provision for 4 USB2.0 ports powered from the 963 SB. I'd liked to have seen LAN provision on this motherboard.
