Intel’s P45 chipset is a progression from the popular P35, and MSI’s P45 Platinum is one of the first boards to come out with this particular chipset. We take a quick look into the changes, improvements and totally new features with both the chipset and the motherboard in this entry.

The first thing one notices of this MSI board is the box art, which although still retaining the typical cool graphic / high tech feel of their previous boards, now uses a new layout and overall better looking visage than before. This coincides with MSI’s new re-focus on their core competencies of motherboards and videocards, and it seems that this motherboard seems a lot more accomplished than their previous efforts – this is just after looking at its packaging mind you. Complementing the new design direction, a couple of new features with its catchwords adorn the box, including “G” Gaming Series, DrMOS – which includes under its umbrella GreenPower, XpressCool and RapidBoost.

Inside, we find MSI’s bundle of goodies, which includes 4 SATA cables, a molex to SATA power converter, a single floppy and IDE cable, and a FireWire rear panel bracket. Two driver CDs were also included for XP and Vista, as well as a set of “M” connectors for for easy connection of various cables and indicators onto the board. The motherboard itself is like a flashback to MSI’s earlier P35 designs, except for one prominent feature -  the now well-known “Circu-Pipe” has been heavily revised and now looks more like a V8 car engine when viewed from the side. In fact, this design looks well thought-out, with the 5 individual heatpipes each having its own collection of cooling fins decorating the ends and forming the artful collection of curves and carvings that congregate over the northbridge. The rest of the board as mentioned is similar to the old P35 boards, which basically means that everything is well placed, with key components such as the memory slots, video slots, and PCU area getting lots of space to work with. Of note re the PCI-X slots which are separated by 2 PCI-E x1 slots, and the angled SATA ports at the edge of the board (totaling 6).

                                             The CPU area is boxed in but still spacious.

Other notable items include the somewhat fiddly on-board power and reset buttons, represented by small red buttons, and the clear CMOS button at the rear. The rear connections include a total of 6 USB slots, a single e-SATA, Firewire, Gigabit, and SPDIF connector, and the 8-channel jacks. Some space is reserved for a part of the heatpipe system, with a couple of fins occupying and venting out heat to the rear spaces of the PC.

                                             Note the small clear CMOS button.Careful not to press it accidentally.

Internally, the P45 supports a full 16GB of DDR2 memory over four dual channel capable memory slots, instead of the P35’s 8GB. Another big improvement is the support for dual 8x mode when in CrossFire configuration, compared to the older chipset’s crippled x4 mode for the second PCI-X slot. It is also important to note that although official FSB support tops out at 1,333MHz, documentation and reps from MSI state clearly that overclocking ceiling are high, backed up by a full-featured BIOS with clock support up to 500MHz to the standard 333MHz. Potential max FSB then would be 2000MHz, which will enable this P45 part to support Intel’s Core 2 Extreme QX9770.

                                             While not strictly a necessary configuration, it does look neat.

Complementing the basic capabilities of the chipset, MSI has included improved MOSFETs and a 2-phase power design on the memory and northbridge, with a comprehensive front end for controlling the power profiles of the board during various modes of operation. These are the GreenPower components, and are joined by XpressCool composed of zero noise, low temperature components like the Circu-Pipe 2, and the RapidBoost subset composed of the over-voltage capabilities of the chips and the aforementioned dual x8 PCI-X capability of the VGA system. These three comprise MSI’s new focused features list for its motherboards, and we are sure to see more of this feature list in future motherboards.

                                             The small reset and power buttons are underlined by multiple USB headers.

The MSI doesn’t bring anything overly radical to the table – but this in itself is a breath of fresh air – this motherboard goes back to the basics yet still retains the most relevant upgrades of recent motherboards, resulting in a motherboard with none of the over-filling bells and whistles of the competition, yet still offering tremendous performance and reliability combined with very reasonable pricing possible only with its smart application of features and quality components. In other words, the P45 Platinum is the perfect enthusiast’s or mainstream board for the buyer who values substance over hype and knows the important features to look for in a motherboard purchase. MSI has latched on to this concept with the well-conceived, modestly-equipped P45 Platinum. More pictures to follow.