MSI Pro 266 :: Features

The Pro266 Master has a larger than normal PCB, due to the fact that it has both DDR- and SDR memory slots, as well as the horizontal arrangement of the RAID and standard IDE connectors.

However, it should fit in most ATX cases although some cases, such as with the Enlight 7237 series. Using this case the Bottom two 5 1/4 inch bays will need to be empty or only occupied by short drives because of the boards design.

The layout is superb, save for the horizontal IDE/RAID connectors. Due to the somewhat unorthodox orientation of the clips, potential problems arise such as case airflow being disrupted by the IDE cables.

The ATX connector is mounted horizontally at the top edge of the motherboard, ensuring that the ATX cable does not need to be stretched across any system components before being plugged in.

The Pro 266 features a DDR capable VIA Pro266 chipset. MSI introduces DDR SDRAM to Pentium3/Cyrix3 processor systems with the release of this board. This particular motherboard is capable of handling 3GB of PC2100 DDR-SDRAM or 1GB PC133 SDR-SDRAM.

The Promise RAID controller offers RAID 0, RAID 1, and RAID 0 + 1 support. Due to lack of a second 7200 RPM HD, these features have not been tested. Hardware RAID like this should further improve performance.

For non-RAID hard drives and other IDE device configurations the Pro266 Master utilizes the VIA VT8233 Southbridge chipset to provide 2 UDMA 100 capable IDE channels.

This chipset is also capable of integrated Ethernet (10/100 capable) and integrated AC97 compatible audio, or which the Pro266 Master only provides use of the latter feature.

Finishing the board's main features are somewhat paltry (nowadays) 5 PCI slots, 1 AGP slot and 1 CNR slot. MSI also includes 3 of their proprietary motherboard features: DLED, Fuzzy Logic, and LiveBios.

DLED is a set of 4 diagnostic red/green LEDs that give the user an indication of how the motherboard is doing during the boot process, aiding in the diagnosis of system problems.

While this feature was not extensively tested (a good thing, since this means that problems were not encountered), it does work and is something that is probably great for the beginning computer builder and a good tool for the experienced builder also.

Fuzzy Logic is MSI's extra overclocking feature. It allows for the "Real-time overclocking "(according to MSI). However, this feature was not tested due to the fact that this particular board (hopefully not the entire line) could not overclock at all.

Last, but not least, MSI's own "Live Bios" allows for automatic "web-updating" of their bios via single file downloads. This eases BIOS updates for the end user, and worked flawlessly.

This motherboard ends up being very feature rich, save for having only 5 PCI slots. The addition of RAID is sure to please the enthusiast crowd, and DLED, LiveBios, and Fuzzy Logic are great features for beginners and enthusiasts alike.