The Tomorrow’s Star of Intel Platform- MSI P965 Platinum First Exposure

The last third part of July, 2006 will be another milestone of processors
Intel gives up the Pentium 4 structure which they use for several years,
then back to the low frequency/ high performance/ low temperature
structure with is similar to AMD K8, and release several processors base on
code name Conroe instead of Pentium series.







Base on the new-gen processors
The Supporting chipsets include the high-end 975X ( have to change the circuit design of motherboards)
and the lower price,mainstream segment,which is called 965 chipset.








The board what I get is MSI P965 Platinum
The whole appearance of the board

http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/8819/72381zh2.jpg










The right bottom of the board.
The official spec of P965 for PCI Express is one X16
But MSI add one yellow PCI Express x16 slot runs at X4 speed
The Sound chip is Realtek ALC883, 7.1 channel

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/2193/72382mr5.jpg













The right bottom of the board.
The south bridge is the latest ICH8R, supports 6 SATA2, with AHCI controller and RAID 1, 5, 10
In addition, the JMicron JMB361 storage chip provide 1 IDE and 1 SATA2
So we can connect up to 7 SATA drives

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/4986/72383pj5.jpg














The above part of the board
The component around CPU socket looks good.
The north bridge of P965 is equipped with a sheet of heat sink.
Although the temperature of Intel chipset is not low, but it still lower than NVIDIA nF4/nF500 series,
so I think it is enough to use the heat sink on 975/965 chipset.

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/5757/72384wy8.jpg












The I/O part
It has 4 USB, one 10/100/1000 Mb/s LAN, one S/PDIF output, one IEEE1394,
and 6 mini-jack analogue audio output.

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/5480/72385sz6.jpg















Testing Platform
CPU:INTEL Core 2 Extreme X6800
MB: MSI P965 Platinum
DRAM:Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400C3
VGA:MSI RX1900XTX CrossFire
HD:Seagate 7200.7 80GB
POWER:AcBel 550W
Cooler:Tower112

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/958/72386wr3.jpg
















Let us do some warm-up testing
DDR2-1000 3-4-4-9 2.3V SP2004X2 working stably

http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/2355/m9651000va5.jpg









It looks an attractive Conroe board.
The BIOS introduction and another performance test result, please wait for
windwithme do the complete testing later…

Nice intro, thanks.....

Looking good. Hopefully it can be priced lower than the gigabytes!

nice info. tnx.

965 board with Crossfire...interesting... :)

Would be nice to see the impact of 4x on Crossfire !

I guess we still don't have a price point for it? Performance looks good.

What are you doing? Turn those clocks up! :stick:

looks impossible to fit any wb with all these caps around it.

hehe, crossfire/sli on 965 :toast:

Looks nice, anticipating the OCing results...

As all others I would like to see some max fsb if it's possible? :)
Looks like a nice board indeed!

Max FSB is the important question at hand.

can you please find this out?

thanks

OMG THE BATTERY IS ACTUALLY IN THE RIGHT PLACE!!!
YEAHHHHHH MSI!!!!

looks good.
i sure hope MSI brings back some of their old magic. i sure like MSI they have always been good boards for me, just not the best clockers, i sure hope they open the floodgates with these new boards.

unless i missed something its a really nice layout. very nice.
even using the 8pin ATX and the 4pin onboard molex. nice! which oddly enough.... the P5W DH did not...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lestat

OMG THE BATTERY IS ACTUALLY IN THE RIGHT PLACE!!!
YEAHHHHHH MSI!!!!

looks good.
i sure hope MSI brings back some of their old magic. i sure like MSI they have always been good boards for me, just not the best clockers, i sure hope they open the floodgates with these new boards.

unless i missed something its a really nice layout. very nice.
even using the 8pin ATX and the 4pin onboard molex. nice! which oddly enough.... the P5W DH did not...

---

How do you know what the ideal placement of components is? I'm not questioning your opinion, merely asking about your logic. Having clear access to remove the battery without removing other components from the board?

That would be common sense for a manufacturer wouldn't it? Also what should someone lookout for that's poor placement?

I'd prefer the battery and the pin headers next to it (front panel stuff?) to switch places with the JMicron chip and it's PATA and SATA connectors. But overall, not too bad.

If you have a case that mounts the mobo upside down, though, this layout should own.

Well, as long as the caps don't cause a problem, anyway.

Thanx for the preview and pix of the board. Looks good.

nice board layout. sadly my cooler wouldn't fit on it, but I like the layout.

Looking good! thanks for the preview, can't wait to see the bios

Why does MSI makes great boards and then always place the Dual Channel slots directly next to eachother... :stick:
My cooling doesnt fit on that.

Hope my TT120 fits :)

As you can see on the pic they are not next to eachother? Channel A = Green, Channel B = Orange.

Looks good. You should get that bus to 1337 if you can though, that would be awesome!

looks like i found my new board :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by elmor

As you can see on the pic they are not next to eachother? Channel A = Green, Channel B = Orange.

---

That is what he is saying, most companies alternate it so it goes
Chan 1
Chan 2

Chan 1
Chan 2

MSI goes with
Chan 1
Chan 1

Chan 2
Chan 2

Doesn't effect me, but it messes up some peoples ram cooling.

Using hacked or regular video drivers?

Thought Crossfire on 965 was a no-go...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by elmor

As you can see on the pic they are not next to eachother? Channel A = Green, Channel B = Orange.

---

So green is not next to green?
And orange is not next to orange?

See the difference:
http://image2.sina.com.cn/IT/cr/2006...4130751444.jpg
Channel A
Channel B
Channel A
Channel B

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/5757/72384wy8.jpg
Channel A
Channel A
Channel B
Channel B

MSI is making these babies perfom less. MSI is probably the only manufacturer doing that, and I just don't understand why...


And doesnt 955X provide the same "crossfire support" as P965?

You WANT your sticks in different channels... Which would mean in different colors here. Unless that printing on the motherboard is wrong.

Thats why MSI is tricky.

Here's an example:

An asus board with yellow and black slots then channel A would be the first yellow and black slots, channel B would be the second yellow and black slots:

Yellow - Channel A
Black - Channel A
Yellow - Channel B
Black - Channel B

If an MSI board would use same colors the yellow slots would be Channel A and black slots Channel B:

Yellow - Channel A
Yellow - Channel A
Black - Channel B
Black - Channel B

You get dualchannel when you use two sticks of memory, each one running on a different channel. That means that stick one would run on Channel A and that the other stick would run un Channel B.

Oohhh...
didn't know that.

So I shouldn't worry about the channels?
With this MSI a ram module should be placed in a green slot and another ram module in a orange slot, in order to have dual channel.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SMa

Oohhh...
didn't know that.

So I shouldn't worry about the channels?
With this MSI a ram module should be placed in a green slot and another ram module in a orange slot, in order to have dual channel.

---

No. For dual channel place them both in the same coloured slots :stick:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by K.I.T.T.

No. For dual channel place them both in the same coloured slots :stick:

---

That's not what elmor is saying.

I hope TS will try :p:

The 975X 2.0 version (the Powerup Edition) has the same color coding and this is from the manual online: (can see get the link here)

Quote:

---

Install at least one DIMM module on the slots. Each DIMM slot supports up to a maximum size of 2GB. Users can install either single- or double-sided modules to meet their own needs. Please note that each DIMM can work respectively for single-channel DDR, while both channels (in different color) populated with same amount of memory size will work as dual-channel DDR.

---

I had that manual saved or I'd look to verify the 965 board also. =p

edit: 965 Platinum doesn't have the manual up, but the 965 Neo (again, same color coding, as always) does the same as above. MSI just does their coloring different.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ssnseawolf

I guess we still don't have a price point for it? Performance looks good.

---

I think in Sweden they are listed for about 150 dollars, but I'll have to see...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by majestik

looks impossible to fit any wb with all these caps around it.

---

A Swiftech Storm waterblock will fit. So most others will probably too. There will even be a bit of clearance for the caps - a perfect fit :)

-k0nsl

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SMa

That's not what elmor is saying.

I hope TS will try :p:

---

K.I.T.T. is right I think

My MSI K8N Diamond (s939 board) works that way. Memory in the same colored dimmslots makes dual-channel. The slots are placed the same way on my AMD board as on the i965 board where this thread is about.

So you're watercooling won't fit unless MSI changed their way of designing motherboards.

The board clearly states channel A = green slot, and channel B = Orangle slot. Do your really think Windwithme would put his sticks in the wrong slots lol? I think every good board maker now realizes that enthusiast boards should have good spacing between memory slots.

ah right my bad...

If you see the CPU-z screenie, it says dual channel...

but 'tis a bit confusing...first they call adjacent slots channel A & B and also colour them the same...

What's all that about? :shrug:

Go MSI! :woot: This is going to be MY conroe board if I go conroe :D. It looks so awesome, and as it stands now seems to be a great clocker. :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NickS

Go MSI! :woot: This is going to be MY conroe board if I go conroe :D. It looks so awesome, and as it stands now seems to be a great clocker. :D

---

Why so confident? We haven't seen any real OC'ing yet on this board and don't know what the FSB limit is. Gigabyte DS3 looks like the best performance/value board to me right now

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Vric

Would be nice to see the impact of 4x on Crossfire !

---

Absolutely. In fact once SLI/crossfire shows are clear benefit that couldn't be duplicated by a single more expensive card I'm going to get that next.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BottomsUp

Why so confident? We haven't seen any real OC'ing yet on this board and don't know what the FSB limit is. Gigabyte DS3 looks like the best performance/value board to me right now

---

DDR1000 is cool, and 3Ghz is nice :). Doesn't seem to bad so far.

if this board can hit 400FSB, i'm sold. i've had a lot of good experiances with MSI boards (though all were of the AMD kind :D) and i hope this will not be one of the bad ones i sometimes read about here and there.

When will this motherboard be available and how much will it cost?

When may we expect an update?


And could you confirm about Dual Channel?

Dual channel is slots 1 & 2, or 3 & 4, or all of them. Single channel is 1&3 or 2&4.

did i miss something? x6800 and it says (6-9x)??

Hmm, guess i remembered wrong then :p:

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...uctCode=249622

woot this board is now listed on zzf, can't wait to see some results. It will probably be in stock soon.

$159, finally a somewhat reasonably priced, feature-rich board!

Hi Wind,

what the lowest v-core you can set ob this board?

Can't wait for more results with this board :toast:

woot! its listed on zzf! but out of stock :(

now for some oc results plz :D

MSI P965 Platinum BIOS Introduction

New boot-up screen
(the boot-up time is too short to take a good pic)

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/7071/7238b1dl7.jpg












Main page of adjustment options

http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/2636/7238b2wl1.jpg


















The CPU external frequency adjustment from 200 to 500MHz

http://img60.imageshack.us/img60/2535/7238b3dk4.jpg















The CPU over voltage adjustment
The segment is 0.0125V
Up to 0.7875V

http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/730/7238b4na4.jpg















DRAM adjustment at DDR2-533/667/800/1066
The default setting DDR2-1000 can not work at this moment.

http://img60.imageshack.us/img60/7940/7238b5iq1.jpg














The voltage adjustment of DDR2 from 1.85V to 2.45V

http://img60.imageshack.us/img60/6888/7238b6bq1.jpg













The detail adjustment page of DRAM

http://img60.imageshack.us/img60/1821/7238b7xr6.jpg















Testing Platform
CPU:INTEL Core 2 Extreme X6800
MB: MSI P965 Platinum
DRAM:Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400C3
VGA:MSI RX1900XTX
HD:Seagate 7200.7 80GB
POWER:AcBel 550W
Cooler:Sonic Tower

http://img58.imageshack.us/img58/39/72387vo4.jpg



















2GB DDRII1000 CL3-4-4-9 Everest Memory Write-In testing

http://img60.imageshack.us/img60/3102/m96510002qw5.jpg












X6800 OC 334X10=>3334Mhz
X1900XTX default 650/1550MHz testing



3DMARK2003

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/4407/xtx2003uf7.png













3DMARK2005

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/8199/xtx2005hn1.png












3DMARK2006

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/8616/xtx2006bi4.png













Let’s make a simple summary of P965 Platinum

Pros
1.The retail price is about 135USD, extra value
2.the frequency and voltage adjustment options in BIOS are rich
3.ICH8R and JMicron storage chip provide 7 SATA2 and one IDE connections.
4.additional PCI Express x4
5.the overclock of DDR2 can reach pretty well level





Cons
1.The external frequency can achieved is about 330~340MHz
2.when I put CL4 in BIOS, the CPU-Z in OS shows CL3


If MSI can improve these 2 defects, together with the 130USD retail price, above average functions and performance,
I believe P965 Platinum will be a high C/P rate choice:)

Nice!

I hope I'll be able to pick one up for less than $150 early Aug.

thanks can you push the FSB up and see how much you get squeeze out of it?

If it can't go past 340fsb or get near 400fsb then gigabyte board looks better

only 340fsb? i was expecting a little high =\

but good results at all

Wow 2.0375 vcore is crazy! More vcore on this than MSIs 975X?

I will probably buy one if they can get the FSB over 40

I'm expecting to have a board that can do at least 375 FSB

That will make a E6400 run @ 3GHz

looking good ! nothing a bios update can't fix

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Wonkers

How do you know what the ideal placement of components is? I'm not questioning your opinion, merely asking about your logic. Having clear access to remove the battery without removing other components from the board?

That would be common sense for a manufacturer wouldn't it? Also what should someone lookout for that's poor placement?

---

Many of us know what Lestat is talking about... :p:

Take a closer look at Asus P5W DH board and you get the trick :D

so it seems to be a little presumptous to call the MSI the new star on Intel....

....still on the wait for a satisfying 965 board ....

yes....and disappointing results für the asus 965 de luxe @ hardware.fr. as well

CAn you drop the multi to 6x and find the max FSB which is stable?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mine

so it seems to be a little presumptous to call the MSI the new star on Intel....

....still on the wait for a satisfying 965 board ....

---

DS3 ?

may be we finally wait for the Albatron and Foxconn incarnations

so far only the Abit 9 pro (965) seems to have some minor advantages in real world applications ( see Anand test)

or we have to wait for better 965 chips and biosses ...nothing overwhelming yet i.m.h.o......hmmmmm
and what about the bold Intel statements of better 965 performance.....

Can you drop Multi to 7X or 6X and find max fsb?? Overall Board looks very promising.

What would be interesting is to try a Allendale and see if they can push further

I would be very surprised to see this board a $130. Seeing the option that the board have (firewire, 2 pci-x) it would be more around $200 when it will be released.

Very nice board with near perfect layout. Btw, how is the Crossfire with this board ? (does it even work ?)

like most i am dying to know if crossfire works on this
and if this board can run with the p5w dh that even at $200 its a decent price comparatively

Been lurking for a while but this got my attention, can we have a super PI 32m test ? Thanks in advance.

come on MSI your breaking my heart here! 340 fsb !! man wtf....

Is a nice and clean mobo. But i need defently a mobo that can run 400FSB +.

Price is also very good :)

£106 ain't too shabby.

But the 975X is only a few bucks more...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sumanji

£106 ain't too shabby.

But the 975X is only a few bucks more...

---

Yes, but that 975X board don't support conroe. Only the Rev2.0 or the PowerUP edition.

Oh I didn't know about the PowerUP edition boards... I guess they will have a price premium attached :(

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by lawrywild

did i miss something? x6800 and it says (6-9x)??

---

because CPU is es:p:

windwithme: I am really tempted by this board... £106 (roughly 200USD) and it has everything I need onboard. But I heard MSI BIOS have been bad lately... should I still get this board?

I have 2Gb OCZ Platinum PC2-6400, are there any known issues with OCZ RAM?

Thanks,

Suman

Here in DK the PowerUP board is ~100$ more than the P965 (300$ compared to 200$), so there's definitely a premium attached... I really hope MSI gets the FSB crancked up on this baby, as I've ordered one (out of stock though) with an E6600.. Even though I'm not going for anything over 3.3-3.6, I still want to get to at least 3.3GHz... It would be typical of the manufacturers to put limits on their cheaper boards :rolleyes:... Though I hope I'm wrong :)

[EDIT] Also, I don't see any MCH-volt adjustment in the pics?? Is that just me, or there simply is no way to change that?? [/EDIT]

Best Regards :toast:

PS. Sorry for bringing this thread back from the grave, didn't want to spam with yet another, and besides, some great info here :)

yeah this board looks nice but it would be nice to see some 450+ FSB action :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dinos22

yeah this board looks nice but it would be nice to see some 450+ FSB action :)

---

may be it will hit 400+ FSB with a better bios.

Is it just me or is XS just becoming a place for just a few ppl/shills to say how great every new board they get given is even when most are just POS :slapass:

wow that's hot

No more info on this board...? Surely it can't top out at 333MHz :(

If this board isn't fussy about ram I'll probably get it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by alpha0ne

Is it just me or is XS just becoming a place for just a few ppl/shills to say how great every new board they get given is even when most are just POS :slapass:

---

there are getting to be WAY" WAY too many threads with titles like "The new BEST" or something similar when people havent even tested the god dang baords.
a great example is the new DFI 590 board. its a piece of crap yet the titles clearly says its a winner.

same with this baord, the msi 975 and a few others.

you guys who are testing these boards need to get a clue.
as much as I and everyone else respects you and is greatful for your testing.
your thread titles are getting to be a joke.

its almost like the titles is a sarcastic joke to the reality of the true nature of the board.

sorry for being so critical but i dont see the pointin calling a board a great board when its a pile of crap and needs to be instantly stuck in the bargain bin.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lestat

there are getting to be WAY" WAY too many threads with titles like "The new BEST" or something similar when people havent even tested the god dang baords.
a great example is the new DFI 590 board. its a piece of crap yet the titles clearly says its a winner.

same with this baord, the msi 975 and a few others.

you guys who are testing these boards need to get a clue.
as much as I and everyone else respects you and is greatful for your testing.
your thread titles are getting to be a joke.

its almost like the titles is a sarcastic joke to the reality of the true nature of the board.

sorry for being so critical but i dont see the pointin calling a board a great board when its a pile of crap and needs to be instantly stuck in the bargain bin.

---

QFT

Hey come on...MSI the Star of Intel platform? Sure... :rolleyes:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lestat

there are getting to be WAY" WAY too many threads with titles like "The new BEST" or something similar when people havent even tested the god dang baords.
a great example is the new DFI 590 board. its a piece of crap yet the titles clearly says its a winner.

same with this baord, the msi 975 and a few others.

you guys who are testing these boards need to get a clue.
as much as I and everyone else respects you and is greatful for your testing.
your thread titles are getting to be a joke.

its almost like the titles is a sarcastic joke to the reality of the true nature of the board.

sorry for being so critical but i dont see the pointin calling a board a great board when its a pile of crap and needs to be instantly stuck in the bargain bin.

---

Indeed
It is really a pain to not be able to trust anyone lately, man, I don't understand why they do this.
The nvidia 590 and this one are just two little examples, man, we cannot trust any "star" anymore without results, and even then, we will be the ones telling or getting conclusions, Am I wrong?
This all looks like advertisements

http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=6702&page=1

P965 diamond review by Hexus

voltages options are in plenty, they mention fsb overclock with an X6800 of 410Mhz

they criticize the layout, but it seems better than that of the AB9 with the trivial ata connector in the middle for example.