11-Way P45 Motherboard Shootout

P45 Platinum Onboard Devices

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.

Image 1 of 2

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.