Thursday, March 08, 2001

Introduction

MSI's products have never lacked imagination, or audacity. Whenever a new chipset raises its head, Microstar has never failed to zip out a new product that incorporates it. For proof, you need look no further than the MSI 815EP Pro that we'll be reviewing here. As its name indicates, the MSI Pro makes use of the Intel 815EP chipset, which does away with the integrated video circuitry of its i815 forebearers. What's more, not only does the 815EP Pro include networking capabilities, but also a RAID controller. Since it all sounds so interesting then, let's say we skip on down to the analysis, shall we?

Configuration

Configuration of the 815EP Pro RAID is accomplished almost entirely from within the BIOS, as there is only a single array of jumpers - labeled SW1 - that can be used to force the FSB to operate at 66Mhz, 100Mhz, or 133Mhz.

Much like the K7T Pro-2A which we reviewed previously, the 815EP Pro RAID comes with a full arsenal of Overclocking functions.

As you might expect, there is the option to adjust the FSB frequency to a setting ranging from 66Mhz to 166Mhz in steps of 1Mhz.

The clock multiplier can also be set between 3X and 8X, which - of course - is only of practical use if you own a CPU without a multiplier lock.

Next we have the ability to adjust the Vcore and Vio voltages, according to the table below.

Finally, the memory bus operates independently of the FSB, and can be set to operate at a frequency of 100MHz, 133MHz, or auto - in which case the system determines the proper setting automatically.

Next: Technical details.