Target PC :: MSI 845PE Max2 FISR Mainboard

What’s in the box

MSI includes three manuals for the 845PE Max2. One manual covering pretty much every single aspect of the board, a second manual focused on the Serial ATA controller features and options and an informational installation guide providing different tricks and answers for people wanting to get more information on how installing the board in your new system. I was quite satisfied with the included documentation; MSI is one of the few companies that actually did a great a job informing their customers.

A CD including some handy features is included in the package.

Adobe Acrobat Reader
Fuzzy Logic
Live Update
PC Alert
PC Clinin
Useful Website

And at last one IDE cable, one floppy cable and two red Serial ATA cables are bundled.

BIOS Notes

The BIOS features VDIMM options in 0.1V steps and can go up to 2.8V, in addition offers descent VAGP tweaking that gives you the possibility to go up to 1.8V in order to get the maximum out of your video card overclocking. Vcore is adjustable in 0.25V steps and can go up to 1.8V.

A negative comment about its BIOS features is that the lack of the possibility of tweaking the memory dividers; you can only run DDR333 or DDR266 without the possibility of squeezing the maximum out of your memory.

CPU(s)	Intel Pentium 4 2.53GHz CPU
Heatsink & Fan	STOCK
Motherboard(s)	MSI 845PE Max2:
Memory	2 x 256Mb Mushkin PC3200 DDR SDRAM
Hard Drive(s)	IBM 15.3GB 75GXP 7200 RPM
CD-ROM	EPO 50x, Philips 8x CDRW
Sound Card	On board
Video Card	MSI GeForce4 4600 128Mb

Summation

With the first days of use I was very satisfied with our 845PE Max2 FISR sample. With its tons of features the board will probably satisfy and attract a lot of people, but most importantly, the Max2 FISR ended being more than just the typical P4 featured packed board... It proved to be a stable and fast Pentium 4 mainboard. While the board has room for improvement touching its layout and its BIOS features I wouldn’t have a single problem recommending this product for your new Pentium 4 system, especially for its current competitive price. Performance, stability and features would be the best three words to describe the 845PE Max FISR. MSI has done a job well done with their latest P4 flagship.