Challenging The Challenger: MSI 694D Pro
If you thought the two formerly evaluated motherboards are equipped well you should take a close look at MSI's new dual processor flagship. It's not a classic flagship, because the price will likely stay below $250.
Besides excellent stability and slightly better performance than the competitor from Tyan, the 694D Pro offers lots of great features: Four DIMM sockets, five PCI slots, CNR slot, overclocking options for each of the two CPUs including settings to raise the CPU core voltage, AC97 sound system using a Winbond codec chip, two 1394 Firewire ports (an adapter cable is provided by default), 2+2 USB ports, MSI's D-LED debug feature and an UltraATA/100 controller chip from Promise (PDC20265).
Everything you could want is present - except a network adapter. Still I am missing additional fan headers. MSI only provides the two processor fan ports and a spare one.
The benchmark results attest better system performance than the Tyan board. Last but not least the system stability was excellent as well.
MSI has a more comprehensive manual than the Tyan and includes all required cables except the USB adapter.
