Introduction

Even though MSI has already announced their new line of Socket 939 motherboards, they are still maintaining both of their nForce3 and K8T800 Pro series. Considering that these boards still make up the bulk of the current retail market, this is a smart move by MSI. As we continue our Socket 939 VIA K8T800 Pro roundup, we take a look at MSI's top end board in their K8T Neo2 series, the K8T Neo2-FIR. The board comes fully featured with a decent choice of components. Featuring MSI's CoreCell technology, we also received some surprising overclocking results. However, let us go through the technical specifications of the K8T Neo2-FIR first.

The MSI K8T Neo2-FIR motherboard.

The MSI K8T Neo2-FIR includes the following bundle:-

2 x SATA data cables

1 x Ultra ATA rounded data cable

1 x Floppy drive rounded data cable

1 x SATA power converter cables (dual plugs)

USB 2.0 bracket (2 ports) with D-Bracket 2

I/O shield

Driver CD

Motherboard user's manual

MSI K8T Neo2-FIR Technical Specifications

Cpu Support	Supports AMD socket 939 Athlon 64 CPU Supports AMD socket 939 Athlon 64 FX CPU Supports AMD Cool 'n' Quiet Technology
Chipset	Northbridge: VIA K8T800 Pro 1GHz HyperTransport interface 16-bit full duplex Asynchronous bus architechture Southbridge: VIA VT8237 16-bit "Ultra V-Link" host controller 1066MB/sec. Ultra V-Link interface
Memory	Dual channel memory architecture integrated into processor Four 184-pin DDR DIMM sockets Supports up to 4GB using PC1600 (DDR200), PC2100 (DDR266), PC2700 (DDR333) and PC3200 (DDR400) unbuffered DDR SDRAM DIMM
Storage	VIA VT8237 Southbridge 2 x Ultra ATA 33/66/100/133 (data transfer rate up to 133MB/sec.) 2 x SATA (Serial ATA 1.5Gbps interface) VIA V-RAID SATA controller, Supports RAID 0, RAID 1, JBOD Promise PCD20579 RAID controller 2 x SATA (Serial ATA 1.5Gbps interface) 1 x Ultra ATA 66/100/133 (data transfer rate up to 133MB/sec.) Supports RAID 0, RAID 1 and RAID 0+1
Audio	Realtek ALC850 8-channel audio CODEC Optical/Coaxial S/PDIF Out
LAN	Realtek RTL8110S-32 Gigabit Ethernet
IEEE 1394 (FireWire)	VIA Fire II VT6306 Host Controller 3 x IEEE 1394a ports @ 400 Mbps speed
I/O Interface	1 x Floppy connector 3 x Ultra ATA IDE connectors 4 x SATA connectors 8 x USB 2.0 ports (4 x rear, 2 x bracket, 2 x header) 3 x IEEE 1394a ports (2 x rear, 1 x header) 1 x RJ45 LAN port 1 x Optical S/PDIF Output 1 x Coaxial S/PDIF Output 8-Channel Audio I/O ports 1 x CD-IN 1 x 9-pin serial port 1 x parallel port (SPP/EPP/ECP) 1 x mini-DIN-6 PS/2 mouse port 1 x mini-DIN-6 PS/2 keyboard port
Expansion Slots	1 x AGP 8x slot 5 x PCI slots
Special Features	CoreCell DigiCell Live Update 3 CoreCenter D.O.T (Dynamic Overclocking Technology)
PCB	ATX form factor 305 x 244 mm