Introduction
MSI 845PE MAX2 FIR (6704) MOTHERBOARD REVIEW
Intel's i845PE chipset is proving to be pretty popular with motherboard manufacturers. That's hardly surprising, though, as it features inherent support for DDR333 memory and Hyperthreading technology.
The i845E platform, whilst being a paradigm of stability, was limited in the performance stakes. Being run at its supported DDR266 memory speeds, it fell comfortably behind the pace set by Intel's very own RAMBUS solutions (i850E / PC1066, in particular), and, perhaps more importantly, it gave SiS' 648 chipset a performance and price advantage.
MSI had a successful i845E design in their 845Max / Max2 range of motherboards. Quite expectedly, with an Intel chipset revision, a first-tier manufacturer like MSI were sure to produce a revised motherboard taking in all the important changes.
It's of no surprise that MSI have duly launched a revised motherboard. The 845PE MAX2 FIR largely carries on from the 845MAX2, but it adds a couple of new and useful features of its own. Let's find out exactly what on the following pages, as we look at this motherboard in a little greater detail.
