P45 Platinum Onboard Devices
| Northbridge | Intel P45 Express |
| Southbridge | Intel ICH10R |
| Voltage Regulator | Six Phases |
| BIOS | V25.B16 (07/18/2008) |
| 333.3 MHz (FSB1333) | 334.2 MHz (+0.26%) |
| Clock Generator | ICS 9LPRS113AKLF |
| Connectors and Interfaces | Row 6 - Cell 1 |
| Onboard | 2x PCIe 2.0 x16 (Modes : One x16 or Two x8) |
| Row 8 - Cell 0 | 2x PCIe x1 |
| Row 9 - Cell 0 | 2x PCI |
| Row 10 - Cell 0 | 3x USB 2.0 (2 ports per connector) |
| Row 11 - Cell 0 | 1x IEEE-1394 FireWire |
| Row 12 - Cell 0 | 1x Serial Port header |
| Row 13 - Cell 0 | 1x Floppy |
| Row 14 - Cell 0 | 1x Ultra ATA (2 drives) |
| Row 15 - Cell 0 | 8x Serial ATA 3.0Gb/s |
| Row 16 - Cell 0 | 1x Front Panel Audio |
| Row 17 - Cell 0 | 1x CD-Audio In |
| Row 18 - Cell 0 | 1x S/P-DIF Out |
| Row 19 - Cell 0 | 1x Internal Power Button |
| Row 20 - Cell 0 | 1x Internal Reset Button |
| Row 21 - Cell 0 | 1x Fan 4 pins (CPU/Chassis) |
| Row 22 - Cell 0 | 4x Fan 3 pins (Chassis/Chipset) |
| IO panel | 2x PS2 (keyboard + mouse ) |
| Row 24 - Cell 0 | 6x USB 2.0 |
| Row 25 - Cell 0 | 1x IEEE-1394 FireWire |
| Row 26 - Cell 0 | 1x Digital Audio Out (S/P-DIF Optical) |
| Row 27 - Cell 0 | 1x External SATA |
| Row 28 - Cell 0 | 1x RJ-45 Network |
| Row 29 - Cell 0 | 6x Analog Audio Jacks (8-ch out, Mic+Line In) |
| Mass Storage Controllers | Row 30 - Cell 1 |
| Intel ICH10R | 6x SATA 3.0Gb/s (RAID 0,1,5,10) |
| JMicron JMB363 PCI-E | 1x Ultra ATA-133 (2-drives) |
| Row 33 - Cell 0 | 2x SATA 3.0Gb/s |
| JMicron JMB362 PCI-E | 1x External SATA 3.0Gb/s |
| Network | Row 35 - Cell 1 |
| Realtek RTL8111C PCI-E | Gigabit LAN Connection |
| Audio | Row 37 - Cell 1 |
| Realtek ALC888 | 7.1 + 2 channel Multi-Streaming Output |
| FireWire | Row 39 - Cell 1 |
| Jmicron JMB381 PCI-E | 2x IEEE-1394a (400 Mbit/s) |
The P45 Platinum uses all six ICH10R PCI Express pathways to support two x1 slots and four onboard devices. Notice that MSI uses twice as many third-party ATA controllers as its competitors, and that even the IEEE-1394 FireWire controller uses PCI Express.
MSI has an adequate selection of port types, but we have to wonder why the company chose a single-port eSATA controller when there’s obvious room for two ports ? That eSATA controller is located next to the rear-panel CLR_CMOS button.
Also unlike the more costly competitors, the P45 Platinum supports only one Gigabit Ethernet connector. One port is all most users will ever need, but this small difference still designates the P45 Platinum as a lower-cost part.
We couldn’t photograph the JMicron JMB362 eSATA controller without removing the entire heat-pipe assembly, but here’s a photo of the other controller. The JMB363 adds two internal SATA ports and one Ultra ATA 133 header, and both controllers use PCI Express to enhance data throughput.
MSI is beginning to look like JMicron’s best-friend, using the rarely-seen JMB381 to add two IEEE-1394 FireWire ports. FireWire 400 doesn’t require the speed of PCI Express, but it was probably used to simplify trace routing.
Realtek’s RTL8111C also uses PCI Express for optimal bi-directional transfers.
MSI uses the same Realtek ALC888 codec as Jetway and Biostar, a part rated at 97db signal-to-noise ratio for its eight main speaker channels. The codec also supports a separate sound stream for stereo headphones, allowing audio multi-tasking.
