As Intel makes the transition from the Slot 1 to the socket 370 motherboard, combined with the disappointment with the whole costly RAMBUS issue and the flaws of the I820 chipset when combined with conventional SDRAM, computer users are looking for other alternatives to the Intel Solution. MSI, while enjoying the rave reviews on the BX Master motherboard, has presented us with another quality product. MSI has teamed up with VIA Technologies in hopes of catching some of the disappointed Intel enthusiasts. The 64$ question has to be “did VIA Tech match Intel’s 4x AGP technology, exceed the 100MHz FSB, and do it successfully”?

For those of you who are paying attention, as well as the readers who skip over the specs and just want the facts, here is VIAs one-two punch. First was the KX-133 chipset that utilizes a two-chip setup consisting of the VT8371 North Bridge and VT82C686A “Super” South Bridge which is used for the AMD Athlon Processor as well (We’ll be doing these soon). The MS-6309 incorporates an AMR slot that will allow for the purchase of a low cost modem and audio solution. In addition, the AMR slot is placed in between the AGP and the first PCI slot, as opposed to conventional placement at the bottom of the PCI slots. A more flexible choice when since most motherboards you’ll find the AMR as the first slot next to the CPU, or down where ISA used to be (coincidence??). Well, we found the placement interesting. It left us the freedom to use a large heat sink and fan for any graphic card we chose to use. The extra slot space is very useful for adding extra cooling to your graphics card, without sacrificing any PCI slots. The MS-6309 only has two jumpers on it as it is equipped with a “soft” BIOS that allows you to completely tweak out all CPU and board settings thru its interface. With such a wide variety of frequencies available, it should be possible to exceed the 133Mhz FSB.

The MS-6309 features the D-LED that helps users troubleshoot their ailing motherboard. This is a good feature for those with little diagnostic experience, we thought it would have been better if the lights were on the outside (like the newer Intel boards). It seemed somewhat backwards to have to open the case to utilize the visual light-cues to interpret the flashing lights in the trouble-shooting guide. The Intel retail i8xx motherboards have their diagnostic LED’s pointed towards the back of the case. For now however, until, MSI incorporates the much rumored S(speaking) D-LED which speaks to you the potential problem, we and you (the reader) will have to work around this flaw.

For the ultra fussy, or those who dislike AMI BIOS’s, MSI provides a BIOS flash utility to switch from AWARD to AMI and vice versa.

From an overclocker’s standpoint, the amount of available front side bus (FSB) frequencies available for selection, you should be delighted. Why not take full advantage of the overclockable FC-PGA Coppermines. Voltage tweaking is also available in the BIOS, which has become almost standard feature in every motherboard you find nowadays. Even though performance is improving for the Apollo chipset thru new driver releases and Motherboard BIOS updates, you may or may not be able to implement all the “tweaks” possible. We found a useful page on more “Tweaks” and utilities at: http://viahardware.com. On that site there is a link to a really useful utility called WPCREDIT. That program can be downloaded from: http://www.h-oda.com . This program allow you to fully Tweak the Memory timing, but be warned, the programs aren’t for the “newbies” and there is no help. Other than that, you’ll find standard features like hardware monitoring and an AC97 built-in audio CODEC. However, do note that some versions of the MS-6309 features a built-in Creative CT5880 hardware audio, instead of the low cost AC97 (moot point, we and you, will be running Creative, Aureal, and Forte Media[the new Montego II ] anyway.