..:: K8T Neo2-FIR Packaging ::..

     

     I’ve always had positive experiences with MSI when it comes to their product packaging. I can’t say that I’ve ever come across a product from MSI where I felt they had totally dropped the ball when it came to including hardware and software that the consumer would need. In my mind, MSI is right behind Gigabyte when it comes to the quality of their packages, a feat that is hard to match. Sure, you’ve got your high performance motherboards, but personally, I’d sacrifice two percent performance for getting everything my dollar is worth. Whether or not you agree, well that’s up to you. The only question is, does the K8T Neo2-FIR’s product package hold true to our high expectations?

     When it comes to the product documentation, hands down MSI has included one of the, if not the best user manual’s I’ve come across in quite some time. We’ve seen manufacturers steadily increasing both the quantity and quality of information that they provide in their user manuals, and the K8T Neo2-FIR’s illustrates this fact perfectly. MSI has gone more than the extra mile with the K8T Neo2-FIR’s manual. The hardware installation portion is solid, and the board connection diagrams superb. I can’t remember the last time I saw this amount of detail just covering the various ports on the rear of the I/O panel. There are also guides covering the various jumpers, headers, and MSI’s D-Bracket 2.

     When it comes to covering the BIOS, I’d say that MSI has once again done a solid job of providing the end user with all of the necessary information they’ll need. Normally, we’ll see manufacturers skimp out when it comes to covering the BIOS options, but this can’t be said for the K8T Neo2-FIR. MSI provides coverage of their dynamic overclocking technology, and lays out an explanation of what it is, and when it works. There are also details provided on the various memory and system tweaks that can be adjusted via the BIOS. We also find a large portion of the manual dedicated to covering MSI’s DigiCell software. I’m used to seeing a little coverage on driver installation, and maybe a small one page guide on using a software program that manufacturer x or y has included, but MSI has gone the extra distance to layout several pages on what each options is responsible for, set up instructions and far more.

     Lastly for the user manual, we find another unique aspect to the K8T Neo2-FIR’s manual. With most motherboards featuring third party Serial ATA or IDE RAID controllers, more often than not you’re going to end up with three or four different manuals, even though the RAID manuals might make up all of 10 pages. This can be an annoyance as you need to hunt down the specific guide if you ever encounter a set up or working problem. MSI has addressed this issue with the K8T Neo2-FIR in that these guides have all been implemented into the main user manual. Every last bit of information you’ll need to know can be found in one place. With the competition seen in the motherboard market, little things like this can garner the attention of the consumer, and they certainly have gained ours. As far as hardware goes, the situation didn’t turn out to be so rosy.

     Hardware is one area of motherboard packages where we’ve seen things take a real hit. With the increasing push for user to move to Serial ATA hard disk drives, we’ve seen more and more manufacturers leaving out IDE cables, and throwing in some additional Serial ATA cables instead. This is fine and grand, as it’s the way things work when it comes to getting the world to adopt a new technology. The real pain comes about when you’ve got little support cable wise for either platform. Granted, most items a consumer will purchase come with cables, but a lot of the high-end customers buy OEM products to save some dough. Simply supplying one IDE cable, and one Serial ATA cable isn’t enough, especially when you’re selling a board that features a RAID setup.

     MSI isn’t the only manufacturer to do this, and certainly won’t be the last. The only item of interest is the D-Bracket 2 which can be used as a debug device should the system freeze during startup. Otherwise, one IDE cable, one Serial ATA cable, a SATA power cable, a Floppy, and a CD certainly aren’t worth much more than a five second breath. This is the first time, in a long time, that I’ve been disappointed with the hardware offered in an MSI package.