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MSI PT880 Neo-FISR

VIA's PT880 shows up in a value oriented form but will it lend itself to amazing the enthusiast and keeping up with the likes of i875 boards? This may be one inexpensive upgrade you do not want to miss.

Introduction

Micro-Star International, also known as MSI, has become a name among enthusiasts for products that push the envelope in terms of speed and technology. Today we look at a motherboard that is selling for around $60 and what it has to offer.

The PT880 Neo-FISR is MSI’s unveiling of the VIA based PT880 chipset to the world. The VIA PT880 chipset gives full support for all Intel socket 478 form factor processors, as well as PC3200 DDR RAM operating in Dual Channel mode. The PT880 Neo is a feature complete solution, meaning that it requires the minimum of components to operate such as processor, RAM, video card, and drives. The following components are integrated onto the MSI PT880 Neo motherboard itself: 2 IDE ATA-133 ports; 2 SATA-150 ports; 8 USB 2.0 capable ports (4 in rear panel, and 2 onboard headers supporting 2 ports each); 2 IEEE 1394a capable ports in rear panel; Realtek Gigabit Ethernet; Realtek 6 channel audio codec featuring S/PDIF output ports; on-board support for the D-Bracket2 diagnostic LED display; and serial, parallel, and PS/2 port support.

Main Specifications Overview:

Detailed Mainboard Specification List:

Packaging

MSI went with a simple box art design, prominently displaying the name of the board, the chipset upon which the board is designed, and the CPU type that the board supports. The PT880 Neo comes standard with the following assortment of items: ATA 133 and floppy rounded cables, SATA 150 cables, a dual ended SATA power plug, the rear shield, the normal complement of driver CDs and manuals, and the D-Bracket2 upright. D-Bracket2 has in-built support for 2 additional USB 2.0 ports as well as a series of 4 diagnostic LEDs, helpful in troubleshooting system problems.

Board Layout

MSI definitely did their homework in designing the PT880 Neo’s layout. There are no overly close or crowded areas. However, there are a few minor details to take note of with this board, including the CMOS jumper location and the passively cooled Northbridge chipset. As you can see, the motherboard tested was a version 1 board. Note that MSI chose to use capacitors manufactured by the following companies for the PT880 Neo: Teapo (Taiwan, China); and United Chemi-Con (USA, Japan) marked as KZG. The capacitors marked as CFJ come from an unknown manufacturer.

The area directly surrounding the CPU socket is clear of obstructions, with enough space provided for mounting even the largest HSF or water block units. The board uses the standard P4 mounting bracket following the Intel specifications for HSF mounting methodology. The Northbridge chipset is located just to the right of the CPU socket. It is passively cooled by a good sized aluminum heat sink. The Northbridge heat sink is mounted via two pushpins that go through the board on opposite sides of the chipset. Either replacing this unit with an active cooling solution or adding a fan is a good upgrade path, especially for overclocking. The ATX12V connector is just above the Northbridge, while the CPUFAN1 header is directly below the line of capacitors to the right of the CPU socket area.

The PT880 Neo comes standard with 4 DIMM slots, arranged in a 2 sets of 2 configuration. The color scheme could be a bit confusing , in that each set is colored rather than a color coding scheme between sets. The DIMM slots themselves are situated so that there is no interference between them and the AGP slot with both memory and an AGP card seated in the board. To the left of the lower set of DIMM slots is the CoreCell chipset. CoreCell allows for user configurable dynamic overclocking of the board. However, the maximum configurable dynamic overclock is limited to 115% of the rated CPU FSB. Just below the DIMM slots are the primary and secondary ATA-133 IDE ports, the floppy port, and the ATX connector.

The VT8237 Southbridge chipset is located just below and to the left of the AGP slot, with its 2 RAID capable SATA 150 ports sandwiched between the chipset itself and the board’s lower edge. The CMOS reset jumper is located just below the SATA ports, while the CMOS battery is to their right. Both items would have been better placed closer to the left edge of the board, which would have made it a bit easier to get to the battery or CMOS reset jumper when necessary. The unmonitored SYSFAN1 header is located to the left of the CMOS reset jumper, along the board’s edge. The front panel header is located in the lower left corner of the board, with the D-Bracket2 header just above it. The two USB 2.0 headers are located above the D-Bracket2 header, along the board’s left edge.

The PT880 Neo comes standard with 1 AGP slot, and 5 PCI slots. The front panel audio header and the CD_IN port are located in the upper left side of the board. Note that the rear panel audio ports will not function unless pins 5/6 and 9/10 on the front panel audio header are jumpered.

The PT880 Neo has the following ports integrated in to its rear panel assembly: PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports; a serial port; a parallel port; 2 IEEE 1394a ports - 1 full sized, 1 mini; 4 USB 2.0 ports; a Gigabit LAN Ethernet port; 5 audio ports; and RCA and optical based S/PDIF output ports.