MSI had been a pretty late comer to the newer Intel chipset scene. We found the MSI 945P Neo motherboard, based on Intel i945P chipset. The interesting thing about this board, is the ability to have DTS sound. With this, times had changed, and we no longer hear bad sound from motherboard's onboard sound system. Found at DAT Computers, this board goes for $ 345.

The packaging of this MSI 945P Neo.

The label found on the packaging, with a summary of the key features found on the board.

A picture of this board, from top down.

The Intel PC82573V PCIe Gigabit LAN controller, found on this board.

MSI had also adopted such sturdy SATA port design, to prevent broken SATA ports.

A large passive MSI heatsink covers the Intel i945P chipset.

The I/O connectors found on the board.

The sound chip, Realtek ALC882. DTS sound from this?

The VIA VT6410 takes charge of that extra 2 PATA connectors on the board.

5 phase power for this board. Not too shabby at all!