Sound Tests - Subjective Listening
The 8-channel Realtek CODEC is on par with our previous experiences
with the same chip. We found the CODEC acceptable for DVD and
gameplay and with the more popular games using their own sound
engine, it should not be a factor in most cases.
Sound Tests - Performance in Gaming
We fired up UT2003 and ran through the Inferno demo and collected
numbers at 640x480 (Min detail) and 1280x1024 (Max detail).
At the lowest resolution, we see the CPU take the
hardest hit, losing over 24 frames per second with the onboard
sound enabled. A loss of 0.80 frames occurs at 1280x1024, which
isn't too bad at all and in line with our experiences with the
Realtek CODEC.
Overclocking
Like we covered in the BIOS section of the review,
you won't find any results here.
Final Words
If you were to build a solid and reliable system
for either entertainment PC or productivity purposes, the MSI
mPC 915 would certainly be worth a look. It's clean lines and
non-aggressive design makes for a classy box comfortable sitting
in the middle of an A/V rack (next to the XBOX 360) or on your
desk. Traveling gaming enthusiasts may even be interested given
that it's compact and can be configured with a large number of
high-end components. Granted, DDR2 and Dual Core is restricted
to the mPC 945, but
it costs $40 more.
That said, there are some obvious shortcomings for
performance minded users other than the CPU and memory just mentioned
(Editor's note: Those aren't truly shortcomings as they are limitations
of the chipset design, or at least, MSI's configuration). The
BIOS does not provide any options worthwhile for tweakers to squeeze
every ounce out of their setup. The form factor naturally has
drawbacks as not every video card will work with the system, considering
the PSU is only 260W. Network performance is fine for most users,
but power users will be griping at the non-appearance of Gigabit
networking.
My only previous experience with SFFs are two different
models from Shuttle and a brief weekend with the QBic, and I will
say that the mPC is by far the easiest of the four to work with.
The screwdriver was only needed to install the heatsink and with
the help of the manual, I slapped the review system together in
less than 15 minutes. MSI really did a great job designing the
mPC for ease of use.
Performance-wise, the mPC performed nicely, on par
with the Soltek SFF. Reliability was never an issue and still
is not as it had graduated from test PC to my main day-to-day
workstation. Cooling is decent, with the CPU hovering at 63°C.
Sure, it's still warm, but not as hot as one may think considering
the X800 sitting right next to it. The system is quiet when doing
mild mannered chores such as typing or surfing, but the fans do
spin up considerably under load.
A SFF is not something for everyone. The main issues
we've experienced with the mPC is present in almost every other
SFF on the market. It is one of the cheaper
915G based SFFs, and if you do not need excessive tweak options,
and are fine with a Prescott CPU, the mPC 915 is something to
keep in mind when shopping.
If
you have any comments, be sure to hit us up in our forums.
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