MSI announced two more socket AM2+ motherboards based on the AMD 740G chipset. This low powered chipset suits businesses and productivity applications. Paired with the SB710 southbridge, it's featured on the 740GTM-P21 and 740GTM-P25, both nearly identical, but for a minor difference. The latter features 8-channel audio instead of 6-channel on the former. Both in turn, look similar in terms of PCB layout, to the recently announced 785GT-E63.



The AM2+ socket (compatible with most AM3 processors) is powered by a 3+1 phase circuit. It connects to two DDR2 DIMM slots, with support for DDR2-1066 memory. The 740G chipset embeds a Radeon HD 3100 class IGP, which provides output through a single D-Sub connector, instead of the DVI+D-Sub cluster on the 785GT-E63. The lone connector makes room for a DE-9 serial port, with a header for a DB-25 parallel port (perhaps a bracket is provided for the same).



Expansion slots include one each of PCI-Express 2.0 x16, x1, and two PCI slots. Connectivity is care of a gigabit Ethernet controller. While the 740GTM-P21 packs a 6-channel HD audio codec, the 740GTM-P25 gets generous with an 8-channel one. Expect the two to be priced deep inside the sub-$100 segment.







Source: TechConnect Magazine