MSI P45 Platinum Motherboard

[Conciente]

Hello,

I've been thinking about buying the MSI P45 Platinum MB. Is it a good idea? Also, it says it supports DDR2 1200/1066/800... how do I check what speed is my RAM?

Thanks!

[gwai lo]

Do you have components? Or are you buying everything new?

If the former, what are your specs? why are you buying a new board? What's your budget for this board?

If the latter, what else are you buying? What's your budget? What are you doing with this computer? What resolution do you run?

It sounds more like you're buying a board for your current computer, but I figure I'll ask everything at once. You can check your RAM speed via CPU-Z.

[Conciente]

I want to buy this motherboard because my current one doesn't support all of my 4GB ram.(it's a crappy Foxconn). My DDR2 RAM runs at 667MHZ, I have a core2duo E6550 running at 2.3GHZ and a nvidia 8800 GT at 1400 x 900 res. This computer is mainly used for games and music.

Will my 667 DDR2 RAM run with the P45 Platinum, even though it only supports 800+?

[gwai lo]

Yes, the support is bogus once it's >=DDR2-667, it's marketing. If the board didn't, then it would also not support all but the Extreme Edition who's stock FSB is 400 Mhz, which would be stupid.

[Conciente]

Your wording confused me. :( Will it or not support my DDR2 667 MHZ ? xD

Also, I'd like to hear some opinions on this MB please.

[-T- Member]

Yeah the board will support your RAM, however I'd probably stray away from MSI, not had a great run with the p35 board i have now. I actually thought of upgradimg to the Asus P5Q which i believe is P45 also

[Boeing 787]

Your wording confused me. :( Will it or not support my DDR2 667 MHZ ? xD

Also, I'd like to hear some opinions on this MB please.

I see no mention of 667mhz in the manual. It should support memory at that speed but it's possible that it might force your 667mhz memory to run at 800mhz instead.

I like the Asus P5Q Pro or the Asus P5Q-E (which both state they will work with 667mhz memory).

[Boeing 787]

I want to buy this motherboard because my current one doesn't support all of my 4GB ram.(it's a crappy Foxconn). My DDR2 RAM runs at 667MHZ, I have a core2duo E6550 running at 2.3GHZ and a nvidia 8800 GT at 1400 x 900 res. This computer is mainly used for games and music.

Will my 667 DDR2 RAM run with the P45 Platinum, even though it only supports 800+?

Are you using a 32bit OS or a 64bit operating system?

What Foxconn model is it?

[Conciente]

I see no mention of 667mhz in the manual. It should support memory at that speed but it's possible that it might force your 667mhz memory to run at 800mhz instead.

I like the Asus P5Q Pro or the Asus P5Q-E (which both state they will work with 667mhz memory).

Would that cause any problems?

Are you using a 32bit OS or a 64bit operating system?

What Foxconn model is it?

Vista x64. Foxconn 45CMX.

[gwai lo]

Your stock front side bus is 333 MHz or quad pumped to be 1333 MHz. 333 MHz is double pumped on DDR2 for an effective frequency of 667 MHz, hence the DDR2-667.

Anyway, running the RAM slower than DDR2-800 won't cause any problems nor really any losses in performance.

[Boeing 787]

Would that cause any problems?

Vista x64. Foxconn 45CMX.

If the memory were forced to run at 800mhz and it couldn't handle it you would get a lot of errors and crashes.

Whose make of memory is it?

[Conciente]

If the memory were forced to run at 800mhz and it couldn't handle it you would get a lot of errors and crashes.

Whose make of memory is it?

Crucial.

So... do I need to get 800mhz DDR2 or not? :(

[Boeing 787]

Crucial.

So... do I need to get 800mhz DDR2 or not? :(

Is there any reason why you have selected the MSI board?

If you are determined to only buy the MSI platnium and the DDR-667mhz doesn't run properly on it then you would need to upgrade the memory.

Crucial is pretty good memory and may run ok at 800mhz unless it's the value line which does not overclock well.

[Conciente]

Is there any reason why you have selected the MSI board?

If you are determined to only buy the MSI platnium and the DDR-667mhz doesn't run properly on it then you would need to upgrade the memory.

Crucial is pretty good memory and may run ok at 800mhz unless it's the value line which does not overclock well.

I live in a 3rd World Country... unfortunately this is the best MB available to us.

[Lasker]

Does anyone know if this is the motherboard with EFI integrated? I read a long time ago that new MSI mobos will have a new BIOS based in EFI.

[Boeing 787]

I live in a 3rd World Country... unfortunately this is the best MB available to us.

What country ?

What other brands can you buy there?

If you need a favor getting a Asus board let me know and maybe I could ship you one.

[Conciente]

What country ?

What other brands can you buy there?

If you need a favor getting a Asus board let me know and maybe I could ship you one.

Dominican Republic. The other -good- MB is the ASUS P5W DH but I think it's too old to be better than the P45 Platinum.

I'm now undecided on whether to get the MSI or not... only because of the RAM I have. :(

[RAID 0]

Dominican Republic. The other -good- MB is the ASUS P5W DH but I think it's too old to be better than the P45 Platinum.

I'm now undecided on whether to get the MSI or not... only because of the RAM I have. :(

I have a MSI P35 platinum combo, and two friends have the MSI P35 Platinum. All three are great MBs and have given me no problems. I'd recommend MSI any day over ASUS because of the bad luck I've had with them; video cards and MBs.

Your RAM should be fine, you could always post on their forum or call.

[Boeing 787]

Dominican Republic. The other -good- MB is the ASUS P5W DH but I think it's too old to be better than the P45 Platinum.

I'm now undecided on whether to get the MSI or not... only because of the RAM I have. :(

I just emailed MSI to get confirmation on what will happen if you attempt to use DDR2 667 MHz.

[RAID 0]

I just emailed MSI to get confirmation on what will happen if you attempt to use DDR2 667 MHz.

Cool. Hope they respond quickly. I'm sure you told them you're thinking about buying from them... right? ;)

[Conciente]

Here's what they answered in the MSI forums. Apparently, I can use my RAM.

Hello,

the Intel P45 Chipset natively supports DDR2-667 and DDR2-800 modules, so it should not be a problem. The official memory test report for this board lists a whole range of different DDR2-667 sticks:

http://global.msi.eu/uploads/test_report/TR10_1479.pdf

However, if you are planning to overclock an FSB-333-MHz-processor on this board using DDR2-667 modules, you will not get very far as you will be forced to overclock your memory as well (an FSB/Memory Ratio of 1:1 is the lowest possible value).

[RAID 0]

Here's what they answered in the MSI forums. Apparently, I can use my RAM.

Cool stuff. Keep us up to date if/when you buy a MB.

[Conciente]

Okay, I bought it.

Is it necessary to reinstall the OS after setting up the MB? Or can I just replace the old MB and install new drivers?

Also... any video that tells me how to assemble the MB? <_<

[RAID 0]

Okay, I bought it.

Is it necessary to reinstall the OS after setting up the MB? Or can I just replace the old MB and install new drivers?

Also... any video that tells me how to assemble the MB? <_<

For sure wipe out the old OS and reinstall. You'll get better results.

As far as building the computer.... I'm sure there's videos on

you can watch that will help. Just make sure you wear shoes and touch the unpainted metal part of your case to get any static electrity out of your body that could damage your parts.

I'd also recommend using Dust off to clean the case and power supply along with the parts as you're building.

[Conciente]

Alright, a couple of things I've noticed since assembling the MB and reinstalling Vista x64:

1) I can't run the RAM in Dual Channel because it wouldn't boot. :(

2) It's running slower than before.

3) It blew up my old PSU. lol!