MSI 694D Pro Dual Socket-370 Apollo Pro133A ATX

More Space for the Monster

The 694D Pro, like most dual processor motherboard, use quite a large PCB, simply because of the space needed for the second CPU socket and the associated circuitry.  With a PCB of 12 by 10 inches, you will need to make sure the board can fit into your case. 

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One of the CPU sockets is located behind the 694X North Bridge, while the other is to the right of the North Bridge.  Although the two sockets are quite close to each other, there should still be enough space for you to install larger HSF units.  However, watch out for the capacitors, as some of them are located quite close to the CPU sockets and might potentially block them. 

The two CPU sockets are quite close to each other…

…as are some of the capacitors

The power supply connector is located on the right edge of the motherboard; therefore if you carefully tie up your power cables, they should not have to run over the CPUs.  However the connector is also quite close to one of the CPU sockets, so installing or removing that CPU could be difficult without first removing the power cable (which isn’t a bad precaution in the first place).

The four DIMM slots are placed in front of the 694X North Bridge such that the clips at the left end of the DIMM slots are not block by an AGP card in its slot, avoiding a problem we have encountered all too often with other boards.       

The two IDE ports supported by the Promise controller are in front of the DIMM slots and close to the front edge of the motherboard, potentially allowing them to be blocked by a drive bay in cases that are not deep enough. 

Unfortunately, the other two IDE ports and the floppy connectors are located horizontally in front of the AGP and first two PCI slots. This poses a potential problem for installing longer cards, such as the 3dfx Voodoo5 5500, in these slots. Further, the front panel connectors and the secondary USB header also potentially block the use of full length cards in the fourth and fifth PCI slotsThat leaves only the third PCI slot capable of accepting a full-length card.  Although full-length cards are not as common nowadays, their use in servers is not uncommon.