Round Up - Integrated 3D Graphics Motherboard Shootout
Review by Edward Chang, call sign: Big_E
September 22, 2002
MSI nForce K7N420 Pro
The Board:
MSI K7N420 Pro (Click image to view larger picture)
MSI tries to distinguish their motherboards from other manufacturers' by being first to use a red printed circuit board. This motherboard also features Nvidia's first motherboard chipset: the nForce. The Northbridge integrates a GeForce2 MX video card. This is also one of those motherboards that use a passive heatsink and has onboard LAN support.
Kudos to MSI for including an abundance of extras. The box contains fold-out calendars and toys, extra USB ports, a additional sound card for extra sound features, and an MSI case sticker. An optional video encoder card using a Conexant chipset can be purchased for TV-out support and includes the s-video cable.
MSI K7N420 Pro Features:
Nvidia nForce Block Diagram
CPU:
Socket A for AMD Athlon / Athlon XP / Duron™ Processor.
AMD Athlon XP (Palomino, Socket A) 1800+
AMD Athlon (Thunderbird, Socket A) 1.4GHz
AMD Duron ( Socket A) 950MHz
Special Features:
Audio riser card included
Live BIOS
Live Driver
PC 2001 Compliance
Integrated 10/100 BaseT Ethernet/Fast Ethernet]
Optional TV-Out card (MS-6952) - In the North Bridge Chipset of K7N420 Pro, there's a TV Encoder onboard which supports TV-Out. Just plug MS-6952 TV-Out card onto the AGP slot on MB and no driver is needed, the signal will be transmitted to TV. The output interface includes S port and AV port.
Chipset:
nForce 420D Chipset
Support 200/266MHz FSB.
Twinbank Memory Architecture / 128-bit DDR memory controller.
Integrated GeForceMX-class advanced GPU (Graphics Processing Unit).
AGP 4X (1.5v).
Hyper Transport interface to MCP (800MB/sec max).
MCP-D (Media Communications Processor)
Dual ATA/100 controller.
USB UHCI 1.0a, up to 6 USB ports.
IEEE 802.3 compatible MAC (MII).
Integrated Audio Processor Unit.
Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound by MCP-D
Multiplex DVI/TV Interface with AGP slot. (optional)
S/PDIF output function.
Main Memory:
3 DDR DIMMs.
Maximum memory size of 1.5GB.
Support 128-bit system memory.
Slots:
One CNR Slot (Communication Network Riser).
One AGP Slot. Note: AGP 2.0 2x/4x (1.5V only)
Five PCI (v2.2) 32 bit Master PCI bus slots.
Onboard IDE:
An IDE controller on the MCP chipset provides IDE HDD/CD-ROM with PIO, Bus Master and Ultra DMA 100 operation modes.
Can connect to 4 IDE devices.
Video
:Shared with External Memory up to 32MB.
256-bit 2D/3D graphics accelerator.
2nd generation T&L engine, NVIDIA Shading Rasterizer (NSR).
Multiplex DVI /TV interface with the AGP slot. (optional)
PC 2001 compliant SMA and operates with 128-bit system memory installed.
Network:
Chip integrated 10/100 BaseT Ethernet/Fast Ethernet.
Audio:
APU (Audio Processing Unit) integrated in MCP
Support up to 256 hardware-processed voices or 64 hardware voices in 3D.
Support multi-speaker 3D audio.
S/PDIF out through external bracket.
Onboard peripherals:
1 Floppy port supports 2 FDD with 360K, 720K, 1.2M, 1.44M and 2.88Mbytes.
2 Serial ports (COM A + COM B)
6 USB ports (2 rear connectors and 2 USB front pin header to support four ports)
1 Parallel port supports SPP/EPP/ECP mode.
1 VGA connector.
1 IrDA connector.
1 Audio/Game port.
1 RJ-45 port.
BIOS:
The mainboard BIOS provides AMI "Plug & Play" Flash BIOS which detects the peripheral devices and expansion cards of the board automatically.
The mainboard provides a Desktop Management Interface(DMI) function which records your mainboard specifications.
Dimension:
ATX Form Factor.
Mounting:
6 mounting holes.
Overclocking:
This motherboard supports the following overclocking features:
Multiplier Adjust (5 ~ 12.5X)
CPU Vcore Adjust (+/- .02, .05, .1 volt)
Host Frequency Adjust (100, 105, 106, 111, 114, 133, 137, 140, 145, 147, 154, and 157 MHz)
Using the BIOS, this board was able to attain a 147 MHz front-side bus.