Written By:
Date Posted: October 12, 2002

This isn't going to be a long, drawn out review, as the Ultra2 is very similar to the Ultra we've reviewed earlier. If you want more information on the KT333, and its features, I encourage you to refer to that article. Like most MSI boards we've looked at, the Ultra2 comes in its patented red PCB. Personally, I love the PCB, but if you've spray painted your case interior blue, this mobo won't really match.

Click to enlarge

For Alpha and Swiftech owners, you'll be relieved to see the 4 mounting holes around the CPU socket. Keep in mind that most newer boards, particularly the KT400s, seem to be lacking this. You should keep this in mind if you're shopping for a new cooler though, as I believe AMD is pushing manufacturers to lose the mounting holes in future motherboards. The socket lacks a thermal probe, but rather, the temperatures are read from within the socket itself. Though this isn't as accurate as the internal XP diode, it should provide more accurate temperature readings than a socket probe.

The power connection is located in between the back panel and the CPU socket. This isn't our favorite location, as the power cable may interfere with the CPU heatsink/fan by either restricting airflow, or even worse, getting damaged by the fan blades should a loose wire stray. Nothing some zip-ties can't handle though.

Click to enlarge

Keeping the northbridge cool is a nice silver active heatsink. Enthusiasts will be happy that the cooler uses thermal paste, rather than a TIM to bond the two surfaces. For anyone who wishes to reapply the thermal material with something else, removing the northbridge fan is no harder than popping a couple of retaining pins.

Click to enlarge

There are a total of 5 PCI slots available for expansion. There's built in sound and RAID, so if you choose to use what's integrated, you can save a couple PCI slots by going that route. The AGP slot includes a video card clip, which may be a handy feature for those who transport their PC a lot and are concerned about the video card being jarred loose. The clip may pose a problem as it's located very close to the 3 DIMM slots for the ram. Removing, or exchanging ram while a video card is installed may prove to be difficult, as illustrated in the last image.

Click to enlarge

Rounding out the connections are the IDE connectors. Both the primary and secondary IDE are located where they should be, with the floppy connection nearby. Due to the integrated features, both RAID IDE connections are located away from this area. One nice feature about these connections is the "openings" on either side of the connection. I've snapped the edges on one of my other motherboards previously while removing an IDE cable, and I suppose this addresses the issue.

Click to enlarge

The back panel has everything you'd expect it should, though sadly, no LAN connection is provided. Although the motherboard supports 6 channel sound and 4 USB ports, you'll need to setup the included D-Brackets to gain access to those features. The USB bracket also includes some diagnostic LEDs to help troubleshoot your system should you have any problems.

Not pictured are the motherboard connections for the onboard sound. Although they've been present on other MSI boards, you only have a connection for CD-In. There are no TAD or AUX connections which I thought was a bit of an annoyance. The reason why I felt these should be included (apparently, they are options) is some video cards, notably TV tuners, require an internal connection to the AUX connection. This is a moot point if you use an addon soundcard, but I thought it was worth mentioning nevertheless.

Previous Page - Introduction

Next Page - More Goodness