MSI's SFF System For The Socket-A

Back in March 2004, MSI launched two new MEGA PC models that pretty much changed the perception of small form factor systems. Of the two models, we were the first to review the MSI MEGA 865 Deluxe back then, but somehow lack of availability and time constraints pushed our review of the MEGA 180 Deluxe until now.

In many ways, both models had very similar functionality and had similar appearances too. The main difference between the two boiled down to their CPU support. While the MEGA 865 Deluxe utilized an Intel 865G motherboard and obviously supported Pentium 4 processors only, the MEGA 180 Deluxe was outfitted with an nForce2 IGP chipset and was catered to AMD's Socket-A CPUs such as the Athlon XP, Duron and Sempron processors. Even though these systems shared many other similarities, we'll still make a quick run through them before we pass off our final comments.

The visual difference between the MSI MEGA 180 and MEGA 865 lie in their faceplates where the former has a mauve strip and the latter has a burgundy strip.

To start things off, here's what you'll get in the MSI MEGA 180 Deluxe package and below that are the detailed specifications of the SFF:-

MSI MEGA 180 Deluxe barebone SFF system

Power cord

MSI CPU cooler

Quick Installation Guide

Quick Start Guide

Software/Drivers CD

Radio Antenna Loop

Remote Control

Screw kit

MSI MEGA 180 Deluxe Technical Specifications

Case Parameters	MSI custom form factor ATX specification Slots for 2 expansion cards (1x AGP 8x/4x, 1x  PCI) 1 x 5.25-inch drive bays (external) 1 x 3.5-inch drive bays (internal) Internal Mini-PCI Wireless LAN card installed (IEEE802.11b standard) Internal 56K Modem module installed 6-in-1 Card Reader drive Power and Reset buttons for PC LED color display, Power, playback and volume controls for Hi-Fi functions (remote control provided)
Expansion Ports	Front Panel  2 x USB 2.0 ports 1 x Firewire port (6-pin) 1 x miniDV Firewire port (4-pin) 1 x Headphone output (pre-amplified) 1 x Mic-in 1 x SPDIF Optical input Back Panel  2 x VGA output 1 x Parallel port 2 x USB 2.0 ports 1 x RJ45 10/100Mbps LAN port 1 x RJ11 Phone Jack for Modem 1 x Center/Bass speaker output 1 x Front Left / Right speaker output 1 x Rear Left / Right speaker output 1 x SPDIF Optical output PS/2 Keyboard and Mouse S-Video for TV Output Radio Antenna Jack
Motherboard Type and CPU Support	MSI  MS-6796 (MSI Form Factor ATX) Based on NVIDIA nForce2-GT chipset (nForce2 IGCP + MCP-T) Supports Socket-A CPU (200/266/333 FSB) Supports Dual Channel DDR266 / DDR333 memory (DDR400 available if on-board VGA is disabled)
Storage Subsystem	NVIDIA nForce2 MCP-T 2x IDE ATA-100 connectors 1x Floppy conenctor
Graphics Subsystem	Integrated GeForce4 MX GPU
Sound Subsystem	Realtek ALC650 6-Channel sound codec with SPDIF output/input
Case Cooling	MSI custom CPU cooler
Power Supply	FSP Group 250W (with Active PFC)
Dimensions & Weight	Width: 202mm Height: 151mm Depth: 320mm Material : Aluminum Color: Brushed Black