MSI P6N BIOS--is not MSI BIOS: can I....

By depopulated, do you mean gutted out? or they're not installed by factory?

Look at the model on the board. If it's the same as the bios you want to flash to, you should be fine.

Hey,
thanks for the reply. From what I can tell, it is a P6N Platinum. It has the correct model number (MS-7350) and everything. It just has the OEM BIOS. My gut feeling is that it has EXACTLY the same hardware with the same BIOS EEPROM, so I think that you are right that it is OK to do it. I just wanted a second opinion.

By depopulated, I mean certain modules are not installed at all. it is a typical cost savings trick done by OEM's to do this; the de-spec their requirements, Then ask the supplier (i.e.: MSI) to remove the stuff and pass on the savings. This can save a penny or two per MB for several thousand motherboards. What I noticed missing were the second x16 PCIe, one of the IDE sockets, the external SATA connector and the PS2 ports, along with quite a few decoupling caps. It really runs great though, and the seller did not try to mislead.

It was cheap. I guess you get what you pay for  

Is there a specific CPU that you wanted it to work with? I doubt there is any BIOS improvements for the motherboard, other than CPU reconigtion.

I have an EVGA 650i Ultra and the BIOS dated from 1/28/08 was able to work with a 45nm Wolfdale processor. I plugged in an E8200 and was able to get a modest OC with it.

Hey,
I know where you're going with that. It's already got the one I will be using: Q6700, and it works great. There really is no reason for me to upgrade, I guess. I am just one of those guys that likes to have the latest BIOS installed. I have been thinking it over, and I won't do it until I know for sure it's OK.

Another reason I posted in here was just in case there was someone else here that has had a similar experience; maybe someone else had done it, or would have more information about this OEM knock-off MB.
Thanks,
Carl

Oh, just out of curiosity, what speed were you able to get your Q6700 to with your MSI board?

I have not OC'ed it, so it's currently at 2.66 GHz. It's no biggie to me; I can use it as-is. I will try to do it later and post up in here my results.

Carl, I'm considering buying the same P6N SLI Plat-Bulk board you have. I too don't care about upgrading BIOS as long as it supports RAID-1. Can you tell me what the BIOS looks like from a configurability point of view?

Much thanks,

tim

Oh, and BTW... does the OEM BIOS support any sort of OC?

No there are no OC options at all. I wish I hadn't bought this board. After calling MSI they told me I couldn't flash with that bios. Although, as soon as I mentioned the Fujitsu flash screen they refused to help. They said they didn't provide support for it. I would like to know if anyone's successfully flashed it. I bought an E5200 so I need wolfdale support, it runs at 100mhz without an update. I also bought with the intention of overclocking, because the E5200 is a dog out of the box.

http://cgi.ebay.com/MSI-P6N-SLI-Platinum-nforce-650i-So... This is the Mobo by the way. I got it from that seller. I've asked him which bios to use, and from what model computer it was pulled. I've yet to get a response. Siemens is reluctant to offer support. I called and they were like "what MODEL IS IT?!" I was like "which ones has the 650i?".

And one more thing, if it's the incorrect Bios it won't let you flash it, right? because I know it does that with graphics cards.

just to verify you can flash to the newest msi bios. it boots fine and all, but the OC features aren't that great. tis a pain to OC my E5200.