I have two systems based on this board, they both are rock solid with absolutely no problems. Also, the MSI website updates the rom and other utilities on a regular basis. I run a pair of AMD 2400+ MP with 1GB unregistered DDR266 memory.
One System has an ATI-AIW9000Pro AGP, 1394, IBM-120GB, LG-DVD , Antec 550W PSU and the other has
nVidia 440sx AGP, ATI-TVW 1394/USB2, WD-40GB, LG-DVD and Antec 400W PSU.
I am told this mobo is an overclockers dream. I see the clock/multiplexor options in bios to support that claim. I haven't tried overclocking though.
Overall, it was easy to install with one minor exception; the 1 cpu heat sinks was difficult to position correctly. That means it took a 45 seconds longer to put in than the other one.
I would use this mobo again!

James,

I'm think of making a MythTV box with this motherboard. Are the PCI slots 5V or 3.3V?

Thanks for posting this,
Nate

Supports 3.3V and 5.0V cards. It has two 64bit/66mhz slots, and three 32bit/33mhz slots; along with an 4X AGP.

Which brand of heatsink did you use? What specifically was the heatsink installation issue? I have been researching coolers a little and would like to use a couple ZALMAN CNPS7000A-AlCu. The cooler dimensions are 109 x 109 x 62 mm. I haven't seen the motherboard in person, but the pictures on MSI website show 4 mounting holes around the cpu sockets which is what the zalman requires. How tight are the capacitors around the cpu sockets?

Thanks for the response,
Nate

I ended up using the retail coolers that came with my AMD 2400+MP's, which look like standard-stock coolmasters.

The CPU socket on the left (closest to the i/o ports) call it CPU1, is the one that's challenged. At approx 5 o'clock, or bottom right is a MB device with vertical fins - those fins make inserting the cooler a little tight - there is only 1/16th clearance when the cooler is correctly seated. CPU0 had no issues ate all. And yes, there are 4 holes, in the clear surrounding each cpu.

I have two systems based on this board; Linux and XP. The linux System (FC2) ipl's at 40/44c and after running at 100% util for xDays is sitting at 55/59c. Folding@home is the workload.

The XP System (XP Pro) ipl's at 55/57c and after xDays at 100% utils is at 65/68c. Folding@home is the workload.

To try and help the XP system, I tried pairs of:
Coolmaster CopperPipe
ThermalTake Volcano 9
.. three more that I didn't keep the names of but whose specs indicated they should make a difference. I was suprised that none were better than the retail cooler that cam with the cpus - not even one degree difference. BTW: I am not over-clocking, but the board does have over-clocking config options.

I've been tempted to swap disks between systems to better understand the OS impact on temps. The only real difference between systems is the power supply; on XP I used Antec TruePower 550, and Linux I used an Antec TruePower 400, both are in Antec SX1030 cases with 5 case fans(2 in front of drive bays, 1 on side, and 2 on the back as exit fans), and the psu have two fans.

I even tried applying the cpu paste (quick Silver) thickly, regular, and thinly - no difference. As you might guess the coolers were off and on a lot while trying these various tests.

Hope this helps.

Looked it over, This one may be worth trying. Let me know if you fits for you. From what I can see you have a 70% chance of it fitting, or being made to fit.

About how much space is there between the CPU fan mounted on your heatsinks or do the fans touch? Are both fans 80x80mm?

Thanks for all the information,
Nate

The fans are 80/80mm and they do not touch; there is at least three or four inches between them.

I think I know what you want - But it will take me a few days to measure the board against the specs of this cooler. A quick pass at it suggests that it is very possible that it would fit.

If you buy the board and cooler from one company, their tech support staff may measure things for you - before purchase. I think I got mine from accupc.com.

That is good news. Don't waste your time measuring the board. I bought the board and it is on the way. I just wanted a data point before I bought 2 swiftech MCX462-V heaksinks and not knowing how tight the sockets were.

I will post info on how my system building goes.

Thanks,
Nate

I had to get a Tyan Tiger MPX instead of the MSI K7D Master-L because it is not being sold anymore. The Swiftech heat sinks fit on the tyan, but only with 80mm fans. one processor is 41C and the of the is 46C after use --- probably somewhere between idle and 100% cpu utilization. What program where you using to get the temps? I was looking at the BIOS measurement after a reboot.

Thanks for your input,
Nate

Yea, I had heard they where hard to locate. I got mine from either newegg.com or accupc.com.

I use Gkrellm2 as my system monitor, and Stanford's Folding@Home project to produce a compute bound workload. At 100% utilz for 6 hours+, mine average 56.C

So far rock solid (6 months). Everything works as it should.

2x Ahtlon XP 1700+ (JIUHB) @ 1875MHz (150x12.5) modded to MP's, Gainward ti4200 Golden Sample AGP 8x (290/600), Hitachi 40GB 7200rpm 2MB cache, 2x256MB ADATA BH-5 running on a 350W FSP Power supply.

Well I have about 18 months into ownership and I had to replace the 60mm fan on the south-bridge. I could hear it winning during powerup until it came up to speed. Other than that I have had no problems at all.

James,