Any issues with MSI K8T-NEO-FIS2R?

[Robert Goshko]

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In a message prior to this message, Ashley Gittins wrote:
> I'm looking at getting the MSI K8T-NEO-FIS2R motherboard, as it seems to
> be a
> decent performer, and is capable of driving most ram configs at DDR400. I
> expect I will have driver issues with the Lan interface, and possibly the
> audio, but I plan to use an existing SBLive and e100pro nic, so I'm not
> going to be too concerned if that's the case.

I have the MSI K8T board (purchased 1 month ago) and the only issue
I have is the on-board audio, the Linux driver is a little flaky
(get static some times) but I knew this going in.  I have no trouble
with the on-board networking, USB2 or 1394.

> Are there any specific issues with the SATA interface on these mainboards,
> or
> anything else I should look out for which might affect my purchasing
> decision? I'm planning on booting my main system from SATA, with secondary
> storage on PATA.

I installed Mandrake 9.2 (x86) with 0 problems, it picked up the
S-ATA drive and all of the other on-board components no problem.
I also have an IDE DVD-RW drive that works great via SCSI emulation
for burning.

> I'm planning on getting 2 x 512MB Corsair XMS3200LL (low latency) sticks,
> under the assumption that I'll be able to run tighter memory timings with
> these units.

I have the Corsair 2x512 matched pair CL2 chips and they work great.

> I've trawled the archives a bit and seen some reports of ide problems with
> the
> msi board, but with conflicting accounts from some. Has anyone here had
> experience with this model board?

I looked at the Asus and MSI, and from all of the reviews I read,
the MSI came out slightly more ahead of the ASUS board.  I have
heard stories from both sides.

> If there are good reasons why I should look at another board, or another
> chipset altogether, I'd love to hear them. I'll be using Fedora for my
> day-to-day work (general desktop stuff, some devel, graphics) and will be
> dual-booting with XP purely for games.

I have mine dual boot with 2000 and it was more of a pain to
install than Linux.  XP may be a little better, but you will
still need the S-ATA driver on a floppy to install.

Soon I'll have a tri-boot with Mandrake 9.2 (x86-64) that will be
finished download in another 27 hours.... ;)

> I don't expect a completely smoth ride on AMD64, but I wouldn't mind being
> able to start out with something proven, and sit back on the bit where the
> bleeding edge has just started to congeal :-)

- From the Linux side, I only have issues with my graphics card (ATI
Radeon 9600XT) for full 64 bit compatiplity as the drivers are
closed sourced, but other than that, the MSI board has been very
stable.

- From the Windows side, what 64 bit comparability, the tech at the
shop where I got mine said they had a beta of Win64 and it was no
where near read for prime time, said it was closer to an alpha
release.

- --
...Rob

- -- "Never under estimate the power of the schwartz."  -- Yogurt
    (Spaceballs)

====================================================================
Robert Goshko                 Axis Computer Consulting Services, Inc
President                             Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada
http://www.axis-dev.ca/      Supporting the Revolution In Your World
====================================================================
Registered Linux User #260513  GNU/Linux i686 2.4.22-26mdkenterprise
Mandrake Linux 9.2                 AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3200+

09:37:03 up 1 day, 16:11,  3 users,  load average: 1.02, 1.01, 1.00

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