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MSI RS480M2-IL Motherboard Review
MSI RS480M2-IL Motherboard Review - PCSTATS
If you'ret a fan of integrated video, rejoice. The MSI RS480M2-IL also features a full PCI Express x16 slot as well as three PCI slots for expansion.
 75% Rating:   
Filed under: Motherboards Published:  Author: 
External Mfg. Website: MSI Jun 14 2005   C. Sun  
Home > Reviews > Motherboards > MSI RS480M2-IL

Benchmarks: Doom 3, Conclusions

Doom 3

Source: id Software

Doom 3 is the most advanced game to date. it takes advantage of the latest videocard technology and pushes the processing power of the CPU to its absolute limit. At its highest setting, Ultra quality, texture sizes pass the 500MB mark which means even tomorrow's videocards will have a hard time running everything. The frame rates in the game itself are locked at 60 fps so anything above that point is wasted. Each test is run three times with the third run being recorded.

Doom3
LQ 640x480: FPS Ranking
ASRock K8 Combo-Z/ASR (Ali M1689 200/400) 102.7
Soltek SL-K8TPro-939 (K8T800 Pro 200/400) 108.2
Epox 9NDA3+ (NF3 Ultra 200/400) 107.4
Albatron K8X890 Pro II (K8T890 200/400) 115
MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum (NF4 Ultra 200/400) 108.5
Chaintech Zenith VNF4 Ultra (NF4 Ultra 200/400) 120.3
MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum/SLI (NF4 SLI 200/400 X800 XT) 117.5
MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum/SLI (NF4 SLI 200/400 6600GT SLI) 111.4
DFI LANPartyUT NF4 SLI-DR (NF4-SLI 200/400 X800XT) 115.7
DFI LANPartyUT NF4 SLI-DR (NF4-SLI 200/400 6600GT SLI) 108.8
MSI RS480M2-IL (RS480 200/400 Onboard Video) 14.2
MSI RS480M2-IL (RS480 200/400 X800 XT) 108.4

Wrapping things up in Doom 3, the MSI RS480M2-IL motherboard posts a decent score with that X800XT card in the slot. The onboard video is up to the test, but only barely. You wouldn't want to actually play the game with it.

An Entry Level Motherboard

PCSTATS has tested a few ATi based motherboards, and considering these boards are targeted towards the entry level market the general consensus has been positive. For some reason though, we get the impression that ATi doesn't want to wait and let its core logic platforms mature. Instead, the company goes back to the drawing board and tries again and again. This certainly doesn't inspire much confidence in the consumer or the vendor, and perhaps this is why we aren't seeing more ATi-based motherboards on the market. Hopefully the fact that MSI has adopted the R480 chipset is a good sign that things are beginning to settle down.

The MSI RS480M2-IL is a decent entry-level motherboard with a retail price of $107 CDN ($85 US). The board is perfect for HTPC use with its decent integrated video and built-in TV-out. It does not come with much in the way of extras, only 10/100 LAN and 5.1 channel audio, but considering its price we can't expect too much. The motherboard layout is very good as MSI typically designs its motherboards with the end user in mind. We would have liked to see the front panel I/O colour-coordinated.

What separates the RS480M2-IL from other motherboards with integrated video is that the motherboard supports both TV and S-Video output. You don't have to buy a standalone videocard to hook a system with this board up to the TV. Its competition doesn't support this feature and this should give ATi a slight advantage in the ever expanding digital home market.

The RS480 chipset generates quite a bit of heat, so if you're planning to use this motherboard, make sure you have good case cooling! I couldn't keep my finger on the heatsink for more than a second before getting burnt. I'd hate to see how hot the little black heatsink gets in an enclosed chassis.

From the benchmark results, we can see that the ATI RS480 chipset has potential but will ATI give it time to mature? In office benchmarks the RS480M2-IL was able to keep up with the other motherboards but in 3D apps, it started to sag behind. Hopefully new drivers will be able to extract more performance from the chipset - but this isn't always a given.

The MSI RS480M2-IL motherboard would make a good starting point for an inexpensive HTPC/office system/budget games machine. MSI has been experimenting with several different chipsets for its entry-level motherboard products, and this is an encouraging trend. Now let's see if a few other manufacturers take up what ATI has to offer.

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< Previous Page © 2023 PCSTATS.com Motherboards Reviews...»

 

Contents of Article: MSI RS480M2-IL
 Pg 1.  MSI RS480M2-IL Motherboard Review
 Pg 2.  More info on the RS480...
 Pg 3.  MSI RS480M2-IL BIOS
 Pg 4.  Benchmarks: SYSmark2004
 Pg 5.  Benchmarks: Winstone 2004, Winbench 99
 Pg 6.  Benchmarks: SiSoft Sandra, Super Pi
 Pg 7.  Benchmarks: PCMark04, 3DMark2001
 Pg 8.  Benchmarks: 3DMark05, Comanche 4
 Pg 9.  Benchmarks: X2: The Threat, UT2003
 Pg 10.  Benchmarks: UT2004
 Pg 11.  — Benchmarks: Doom 3, Conclusions

 
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