BIOS and overclocking
AMI BIOS v3.31a once again take BIOS duty for the 845E Max2 BLR. I like it due to its simplicity and ease of navigation. The main configuration screen is as follows:
SDRAM frequency can be either set to run synchronously to FSB (200MHz) or asynchronously with at 1.33x FSB (266MHz). Unlike the MSI I845D motherboard, asynchronous memory settings work irrespective of FSB, you just have to ensure that your memory can handle it. CPU FSB Clock can be adjusted in one MHz increments from 100 - 200MHz respectively. Vcore ranges from the default 1.5v to 1.8v in 0.025v increments. Unlike other motherboards, you cannot set a voltage lower than the default 1.5v.
DDR voltage ranges from the standard 2.5v to a reasonable, if not burning, 2.8v, and AGP voltage goes from 1.5v (default) to 1.8v, presumbaly to stabilise shaky AGP cards.
Memory timings can be either configured by SPD (Serial Presence Detect) of manually. The options are reasonably limited with only four adaptable criteria. What I've shown above are the most aggressive timings that I used to benchmark the motherboard.
The integrated peripheral screen is rather basic. You are given the choice of enabling / disabling certain USB ports, enabling or disabling the on-board RAID, audio and modem connections. You cannot, however, turn off the on-board LAN within BIOS.
The usual other options are present. The overall voltage manipulation available is reasonably good, definitely higher than some other MSI 'boards. BIOS is easy to navigate and intuitively easy to use.
Stability and overclocking
Stability has slowly been getting better across the board, largely lead by the first-tier manufacturers. The 845E Max2 BLR exhibited MSI's usual tendencies of being unflappable under varying degrees of load. Running our gamut of stress tests overnight didn't phase it. I have no adverse comments to make on this front after 3 days of testing. It was every bit as reliable as the ABIT IT7 it replaced in the test system.
Compatibility was good too. I gathered all my various PCI cards and inserted them in varying slots without issue. Everything installed without causing concern, either. I tried three different brands of DDR memory without problems and was able to overclock to a reasonable degree with all three DIMMS populated (two had to be single-sided).
We already know that the motherboard is validated for use at 133FSB. I, being the eager overclocker, wanted to know exactly how far it would go. With an extremely overclocking-friendly 1.6 Northwood P4, 1.8v Vcore, and automatic dividers keeping bus speeds in check, I raised the FSB 10MHz at a time. I know that the CPU is capable of 170+ FSB @ 1.8v so that wouldn't be a bottleneck until then.
I was pleasantly surprised that I could manage decent stability at 174FSB (2784MHz) with 1.8v set in BIOS, this equated to around 1.74v under load. I could complete all of my benchmarks, my only concern was temperatures as I had quiet air-cooling installed. Impressive on the overclocking front, equal to the ABIT IT7.