BIOS And Overclocking
MSI P35 Neo BIOS is limited to a maximum 500 MHz FSB clock (FSB2000), which is probably close to the board's limit even with a "perfectly overclockable" processor. Crazy maximum voltage levels for the CPU and memory also look like they might be able to push these components to perspective limits, but let's not forget that this low-cost motherboard uses a three-phase voltage regulator.
| BIOS Frequency and Voltage settings (for overclocking) | |
|---|---|
| FSB Frequency | 100 - 500 MHz (1 MHz) |
| Clock Multiplier Adjustment | Yes |
| DRAM Frequency | FSB clock x 1.0, 1.2, 1.25 1.5, 1.66, 2. |
| PCIe Clock | 100 - 200 MHz (1 MHz) |
| CPU Vcore | Default - +0.7875 Volts (0.0125 Volts), 1.550V Max |
| CPU FSB Voltage | 1.20 - 1.60 Volts (0.10 Volts) |
| Northbridge (MCH) | 1.25 - 1.625 Volts (0.025 Volts) |
| Southbridge (ICH) | 1.05/1.15 Volts |
| DRAM Voltage | 1.50 - 2.10 - 3.30 Volts (0.05/0.10 Volts) |
| CAS Latency Range | |
| tCAS: 3-6; tRCD: 3-6; tRP: 3-6; tRAS: 9-24 |
The P35 Neo got our Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 early-stepping engineering sample processor to 3.44 GHz, just shy of its 3.46 GHz limit achieved on a variety of other boards. Dropping the CPU multiplier to 6x only allowed a stable bus speed increase to 369 MHz clock (FSB1476).
Accessories
| Accessories | |
|---|---|
| Documentation & Software | Motherboard ManualMotherboard Driver CD |
| Hardware | 1x 80-conductor Ultra ATA cable1x SATA Data Cable1x Four-Pin to SATA power adapter cable1x I/O Panel Shield |
The P35 Neo includes only the bare necessities for building a low-cost system, with just one SATA and one Ultra ATA cable.
Hardcore value seekers can find the MSI P35 Neo for around $105.
