Features & Layout

With a closer look we see we were correct in our speculation and in fact this board doesn't disappoint feature wise. The Canterwood Northbridge supplies support for 800/533 FSB, 8 X AGP and 266/333/400 MHz DDR up to 4GB. On the 8 ICH5/ICH5R Southbridge, the Neo uses many of the the available features, including all 8 of the USB 2.0 ports allowed, 2 SATA /150 ports, 2 channel Ultra ATA 100 Bus Master IDE controller and Serial ATA RAID 0. Aside from the North and South bridge features, additional RAID support comes from the Promise 20378 which allows you to connect up to 2 Serial ATA devices and 2 Ultra ATA 133 devices. 6 channel audio comes courtesy of the ADI S/W Codec and a SPDIF standoff is included. Onboard LAN is included using Intel's 82547EI (CSA interface) which allows for 10/100/1000 MB throughput. Firewire is supported through three pin-out headers on the board. Here we can see some of the Neo's integrated features seen though the I/O panel. Note the 6 USB ports!

Extra Features

As I mentioned earlier MSI™ has something called CoreCell Technology. CoreCell is MSI™'s step forward in system monitoring hardware. Most of us are familiar with the way system monitoring hardware works; onboard systems such as Winbond and onboard or on die heat sensors and such, report system vitals back to you and then leaves the adjustments, if any, in your hands. If you indulge me and we were to consider this process as "passive", we could then call what MSI™ incorporates in the CoreCell chip, "active" because CoreCell measures the vitals of the system and then begins to adjust them accordingly. So when the system gets hot for instance the CoreCell kicks in and increases the fan speeds and decreases the power consumption. Conversely, when the system is cool the fan speeds are decreased and the power consumption is maintained. This can add peace of mind when overclocking or even running your system in a hot environment. "But wait, maybe I don't want to always give up that control!" Not to worry, MSI™ includes a nice software package called CoreCenter. At a quick glance CoreCenter might look like nothing more than an HM (Hardware Monitor) program much like we've all seen before. However, when we look closer you'll see an auto and user mode for the Core Cell, allowing you freedom of choice. To the left side of the program we see some interesting settings; Vcore, Vdimm, AGP and the FSB are all adjustable from Windows, very nice. On the right side all the typical read outs are present and one or two not so typical; there is a Northbridge temperature read out and Northbridge fan RPM, very nice additions indeed.

An additonal feature on the Neo is a series of blinking LEDs on the Northbridge that change pattern. While this is not anything more than window dressing, we are seeing it on more boards and can assume that it's popular with people with window cases and some Moders.

Summary

With the MSI 875P Neo, MSI™ embarks on a path toward serious overclocking. On most boards we see the sole focus on overclocking in the BIOS, with the Neo MSI™ adds the CoreCell chip and passive cooling on the mosfets. These "outside the BIOS" additions add a lot to the stability of the board when overclocking, something you will likely need when you have a BIOS with a lot of head room like you do on the Neo.

But even for those not interested in overclocking this board is solid and stable and has decent onboard sound. Anyone looking to build a top quality P4 system should be pleased with this quality product.

Pros: