Layout and features
You might be having a case of deja vu. This motherboard is a little different in design and layout than its Canterwood sibling, though. It's always surprising why motherboard manufacturers go for a revised layout on a very similar chipset. The ZIFF socket has been rotated around to the more conventional position. However, this time the Northbridge's cooler is a lot closer to the retention bracket than we would like. There's actually very little need for it to sit in such close proximity, so its location is a little puzzling and annoying.
MSI use the same basic heatsink and fan combination that's found on the Canterwood model. A rather novel feature, and one that's probably aimed towards enthusiasts, is the blinking LEDs contained within the fan's surroundings. Not much use if your PC case is sans window. The auxillary 4-pin power connector is located near the NB again. Why not group it with the standard 20-pin power connector ?. The 8x AGP slot has been effectively moved down the board as there's no gap between the AGP slot and the first of the 5 32-bit 33MHz PCI slots. The extra space open to the NB's cooler should have been exploited better, we feel.
MSI use confusingly coded banks to highlight dual channel operation. A dual channel configuration can either be made up from a single green and blue channel or by filling all four DIMM slots, preferably with memory of equal size and density. The main IDE ports and 20-pin power connector are handily located at the side of the board.
The Springdale version is the recipient of the all-new Intel ICH5/R (I/O Controller Hub version 5). The ICH5/R mixes storage abilities from both the P-ATA and S-ATA worlds. 2 x ATA100 IDE ports and 2 x S-ATA 150 ports, shown above, give one decent flexibility in managing the type and format of their storage. Additionally, the 5/R supports native RAID0 operation. Intel further try to make life easier by allowing you to add a second RAID0-forming drive at a later date. You do need to take into account a number of steps before installing an OS on the primary drive if you're looking to take advantage of this feature. The BIOS features a number of options with respect to just how you want to define the roles of both formats. Using the native mode, you can use all six channels (4-PATA + 2 S-ATA), including S-ATA RAID
Wait, there's more. Not content with just inherent S-ATA RAID, the MSI 865PE also supports the new Promise PDC20378 hybrid controller. Why hybrid ?. Simply because it supports both standard IDE RAID and S-ATA RAID. A single ATA133 IDE port can take up to two drives (Master / Slave). The S-ATA ports, coloured ginger much like the ICH5/R's, can accommodate a single drive on each port. You can further combine the ports to provide differing levels of RAID.
Assuming that you didn't need to install optical drives, you could, in theory, connect 6 P-ATA and 4 S-ATA drives. Running a possible 1TB (Terabyte) array has never been so easy. The stickered controller, the VIA VT6306 gives us 3 IEEE1394a ports. The 3 green ports at the bottom provide the necessary pin headers, and the accompanying bracket completes the line from controller to port. This is actually a minor comment but we do like the way that MSI have coloured the various case pins. It's often difficult to know exactly which pins correlate to which functions, especially if you're fiddling about in the confines of a small case..
The features tour continues with two useful additions. We've often waxed lyrical about just how good CMI's range of software-based sound CODECs are. Here is the newer 9739A, which is capable of outputting 6-channel sound and S/PDIF digital out. This is an inexpensive method for motherboard manufacturers to add perceived value to their boards. We doubt that CMI charge MSI more than a couple of pounds for the entire solution, yet it's a reasonable selling tool.
To the right we have Intel's own fifth-generation Gigabit LOM (LAN On Motherboard). MSI stick faithfully with Intel's designs for both the Canterwood and Springdale motherboards. The controller connects directly to the i865PE's Northbridge via a dedicated 266MB/s link that all comes under the umbrella term of Communication Streaming Architecture. Massive storage potential, lots of RAM potential, and a dedicated full-duplex Gigabit Ethernet ensure that the MSI 865PE is equally at home opening Word or in a basic workstation or server environment.
6 integrated USB2.0 ports are a nice addition to this irregular back panel. The other two supported by the ICH5/R are provided with the D-Bracket 2. Generally well laid out, bursting with useful features, and reasonable component location make this an impressive-looking motherboard.
