Rock Solid - even being refurbished
Written: Nov 21 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Still overclockable, but limited. Cheap, works, built-in everything for OEM
Cons: Not good for enthusiests, but for building OEM PCs.
The Bottom Line: Cheap board that works, easy to find drivers, manuals, and technical info for. But it at your local flea market!
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| nad_masters's Full Review: MSI MS-6378X-L Motherboard |
Bought refurbished from Newegg, I didn't know what to expect out of this low-cost motherboard. Though Newegg is selling it for $51 brand new with free shipping, the refurbished model was only $28. They warned me that it may or may not come with cables, CDs, or manuals - sure diddy, they didn't. When the darn thing arrived at my door, it was just in a anti static bag with nothing else.
Confident of Newegg's ability to satisfy customers, even with refurbished and/or OEM products, I installed the MSI MS-6378X mobo in a RaidMax case and booted her up. I was relieved to see the motherboard POSTed and was looking for a bootable device!
I decided to go ahead and install Windows XP and to throughly test it to ensure I was not buying junk, and the MSI kicked every test square in the pants.
Features
It's a cheap board picked up to replace an old PC for a client of mine, so features was not top of the list. It had to be highly integrated so I didn't have to spend money on other stuff such as sound, video, and LAN. A CNR modem was not included, however, which is no biggie at this reduced price. I picked up a very annoying Encore PCI NotoDragon v.92 56k soft modem instead.
The video is provided by SiS, and works very well with just 2D applications. Supposedly it runs old 3D games well, as appearent from my last experiences with it. It gobbles up 8 MB of your main memory (shared memory) for itself. Keep this in mind when you are low-balling memory for this system. A 128 MB of RAM will only really net you 120 MB. WIth a 256 MB stick, the reduced amount was negligible.
Speaking of RAM, it only takes SDRAM. No DDR lovin' here. But rightfully so, as it is based on the bastardized KT133 chipset, known as the KLE133. This chipset has the integrated SiS video. Bad news for AGP lovers - 3 PCIs only, and 1 CNR. It certainly have a built-in AC97 sound that is good enough for most users. And the LAN is provided by ADMTEK's chipset. All the drivers for the built-in devices, along with the 4-in-1 drivers for the chipset is available at MSI's web page (www.msi.com.tw).
With a supported bus of only 100 and 133 MHz, I paired it up with a lowly Duron 1.4 GHz. Strangely enough, the board reported as a "Unknown CPU" with a speed of 1600+. Perhaps it is because the newer Durons are now having the new Thorton core that is based on a Barton, or perhaps it is a Tbred core. Either way, when I checked the die on the CPU, it did not look like any ordinary Duron die. It looks much more smaller, and much more like a modern Athlon XP die.
It supports only 2 SDRAM sticks as per the slots, giving you a maximum of only 1 GB. Just keep saying to yourself... "budget board, budget board, budget board..." :)
Just like all modern boards (cheap or not), it comes with 2 USBs (1.1), and two more internally for front-panel access. A VGA connector, PS/2 connectors, one RS232 (serial), a parallel port, a game/midi port, and the 3 "sound holes" for the speakers, line in, and mic. Ohhh....ahhhh...
Performance is acceptable in my informal tests. Installation of the heatsink was easy, as it provides enough room for the OEM HSF assembly. If you are looking for something bigger, such as Thermalright's SK7, this is not the mobo for you. Besides, if you are looking to overclock, the board is limited. I am glad you still can, however. With a 100 MHz FSB, it can go as high as 121 MHz. With a 133 MHz FSB, it can go as high as 151 MHz. Of course, it also shows the PCI bus speed as well, which is helpful in letting you judge how fast you want to push the PCI relative to the FSB.
But no serious pushing or testing here. Just a board for a client, and just wanted to make sure it works rock solid. For that test, I ran Prime 95 all day and all night before delivery, and it went without a hitch. The Duron CPU is surprising me, and making me wonder if it really IS a more modern Athlon XP core, since even under pressure, it only mustered 32*C! It sits pretty at 23*C idle. It could be a serious overclocker! But unfortunately, no way I am going to push hardware that isn't going to be mine. Plus, I had time contraints. >:)
I am happy with MSI's website, being that I recieved nothing with the mobo, I was able to easily get access to the PDF manual, the drivers, and better technical info on the board.
A thumbs up for a cheapo board that does what it is suppose to, with a little OCing spice on the side.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 28
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