MSI 648 Max-F: SiS 648 Goes Mainstream

Final Words

The MSI 648 Max-F motherboard is an impressive piece of silicon for the most part. DDR333 performance and stability were fairly good, despite the performance issues with running memory in "Fast" mode. We were happy to see that DDR400 memory helped to increase scores a little bit over its DDR333 performance numbers. Even though DDR400 stability was only mediocre, it's not too bad for a board that's not intended to run this type of memory.

MSI also tells us that their next generation SiS 648 Pentium 4 motherboard (SiS 648DX) will be able to run DDR400 memory without issue. In fact, MSI claims that by the time they release their 648DX motherboard, JEDEC will have ratified a DDR400 specification. This is certainly exciting, as DDR400 performance and stability should improve quite significantly.

The debut price for the MSI 648 Max-F is supposed to hover between $95-100. This is a very good price, as the 648 Max-F brings lots of good features in addition to solid performance and stability. The inclusion of Gigabit Ethernet support in a sub-$100 motherboard is a very interesting feature, especially for corporate markets or in file server situations.

Stay tuned for more SiS 648 coverage in the future, in addition to KT400 and nForce2 reviews very soon.