Micro-Star utilizes the new Intel 815E chipset with their aptly named 815E Pro motherboard. The i815E chipset offers the potential to provide Intel stability and compatibility in a more feature-rich motherboard. The overclocked Intel BX is certainly the performance leader, but day by day, its aging feature set makes a worthy Intel successor almost a requirement. When it comes to Intel motherboard chipsets, all that most buyers would like is the performance of the Intel BX, along with a newer features set including true PC133 functionality, ATA-66/100 data transfers, SDRAM support, and AGP 4X.

The Intel 815E attempts to be just that, and certainly has all the features we have been asking for. The chipset supports standard AGP and PCI speeds at the 66, 100 and 133MHz front-side bus (FSB) speeds, as well as offering ATA 33, 66 and 100 support. Add in the dedicated AGP 4X slot and quad USB ports, and it looks like Intel has finally melded a powerful chipset with an upgradeable platform. The Intel 815 and 815E are both FC-PGA solutions, so do not waste time searching for a Slot 1 motherboard with these chipsets. The chipset also supports AGP, PCI, CNR and most surprising of all, ISA slots via an external PCI-ISA bridge. The chipsets also offer the option of asynchronous memory operation (100MHz FSB, 133MHz memory speed), but including this feature is up to the motherboard manufacturer.

While this looks good on paper, Intel has also included some features that may not sit as well with the performance crowd. In order for the i815E to fill both the performance and value markets, Intel has designed the chipset to support many functions related to the business and value PC segments. The most obvious feature is the integrated 2D/3D graphics, thereby saving money by not having to purchase a dedicated video card. While the on-board video can be disabled and replaced with a standard AGP card, it can still cause some installation headaches, and the VGA-out connector replaces serial port two on the ATX back-panel.

The graphics component of the i815E can be outfitted with an optional 4MB of display cache, which can really speed up video performance. The i815E also supports the CNR (Communications and Networking Riser) standard, which again is a method of lowering the system cost of a PC. CNR cards allow LAN, modem, USB and audio functionality through much the same format as the previous AMR (audio modem riser), but adds LAN and PnP functionality.