Next generation of MSI products

[bizzybody]

Since it's possible for a higher x PCIe card to operate on a lower number of channels (see those external ExpressCard to PCIe boxes with the "x16" slot that isn't) how about making PCIe slots with an open end? That end could have its sides supported by buttresses down to the motherboard.

While on the subject of ExpressCard, how about an SD card reader that will fit entirely within the slot? All of them currently available are not using spring-catch slots (like any PDA with an SD slot) so they have this big lump sticking out and can't be left in when the laptop is put in a bag.

[Aaron]

I would like to see a workstation board, with dual Xeon sockets, and 8 x FB-DIMM slots. I would also like it to have good onboard sound, dual gigabit, and all the other goodies.

I think it's high time that we see a serious PC land competitor to the 8-core Mac Pro workstations.

That's the idea of Intel's Skulltrail...



Lots of good suggestions here, but I'm 100% sure there will be no open sourced BIOS.  That just won't happen.



I believe MSI should keep going through the paces they are, only improve on what they have.  Anyone remember the P965 Platinum and i975X Platinum?  Great boards, only with poor BIOS configurations; which led to their failure in the enthusiast's mind.  So, on the mainboard side, basically improve the BIOS itself and MSI should have a winner.  I've bought many, many boards over time, but the MSI boards always last the longest - a quality that should never disappear.  Built-in Wi-Fi has already been mentioned, but I'm a +1 for that.

As for the graphics card side of things:  MSI need to get better binned chips and higher spec. memory.  I find with the enthusiast cards, the competitions always overclock better.

Warranty from purchase date and not shipping date would be damn great, too!  (RIP my X1950XTX )

Maybe more promotion as well?  I don't quite see as many advertisements as I use to.

[workknot]

Clearly defined BIOS features that are fully explained in simple terms. Also Motherboard updates that really work without issues. I have been building and using MSI exclusivly for about 6 years and am very satisfied with the workmanship.
Pop's

[LostinSpacetime]

1. Better Linux support.. PLEAAAAAAASE!!!
2. Barebones for every desktop, laptop ...  I understand the need of a preinstalled OS, but it's actually unbelievable (if one takes the time to think) that for most products one simply has no choice, but to pay for an OS one doesn't want.

[Meta]

Improve Bios Support , Improve sound card performance on low end boards , better memory performance.

[Carel]

1.) I'd definitly want to see "less lack of quality" in MSI's future products. In the past, MSI was quite a bit careless about quality & only cared whether the board works or not, they didn't even arrange options in the BIOS in numeric order (unprofessional), the options were like scrambled eggs, eg. 1, 3, 2, 4, 6, 5  --> 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

2.) I would really like to see MSI improving their BIOS engineering, in terms of quality & performance & NOT just performance. All MSI product perform well (After editing the BIOS manually). I'd like the MSI BIOSes to provide options for 1.) Amatures 2.) Professionals 3.) Experimental, options for all users etc.

3.) Then, the layout of their mobos. There are several problems with the SATA connectors getting in the way of the graphics cards. I would like it if MSI can change the layout of their SATA ports a bit, or perhaps moving it out of the PCI-E slot's way.

4.) The layout of the back, it's been difficult to find a backplate for MSI's motherboards, since their motherboard's layout are totally different from others. Thus, if you lose the backplate, you'll have a massive problem.

5.) In terms of quality, i'd like to see MSI add more self-protection circuits for their motherboards / graphics cards, etc. For example, if the mainboard overheats, i'd like the mobo to start beeping & shutdown by itself. But then also, remember to include an option in the BIOS for this as this can irritate some users. If more self-protection circuitry is added, less MSI product would fail.

[wywywywy]

I would like more MoDT products please.

I currently use an MSI 945GT Speedster, but due to the lack of a predecessor to this board, I have no upgrade path...
(Yes I know there are a few industrial MoDT boards, but they are extremely expensive.)

[brianstretch]

Everything Linux compatible, preferably supported by the latest kernel (no need to hunt down drivers and reinstall them after every kernel upgrade).

High-end microATX motherboards, such as an AMD790GX chipset board with DDR3 sideport memory.  Or use the DTX standard?  Full size is a waste of materials for most of the population.

I would say to make motherboards watercooling-ready, with heatsinks that have tubing connectors, but these days I'm more focused on power-efficient components that don't need water.  AMD has the right idea with their newer chipsets.  Video cards, OTOH...

HDMI with audio standard on all integrated GPU motherboards and all notebooks.  It makes cabling so much easier.  ATI rocks here.

802.11n, Bluetooth, gigabit Ethernet standard on all notebooks.  Use/design the absolute best antennas available.  (Might already be here?)

I like the idea of GPS on notebooks.  Make it work with Google's stuff.  Talk with Google.

I'm just not a fan of wireless anything on desktops, except maybe Bluetooth.  Why pollute the wireless spectrum unnecessarily?  Nothing beats the speed and reliability of hardline.  But anything you can do to simplify cabling (HDMI!) is good.

Maybe offer an optional breakout box (or dummy PCI/PCIe card?) that plugs into a compact header on the mb to provide serial, parallel, IDE, floppy, and any other legacy ports you can think of?  Make it an open standard?  It'd save board space, lower board production costs, and replace a mess of hard-to-find cables with one profitable part.  Not sure it can be done though.  Probably better just to ditch the legacy ports and not worry about it, except for all that industrial gear that still uses serial ports...

Power efficiency!  Highest efficiency power supplies, etc.

Detailed manuals.  Doesn't have to be printed, .pdf is fine.

[Hazzo]

I expect the same reliability, stability and performance which this motherboard has provided over the last four years, best upgrade I've had or even needed and still as good as day 1. Hazzo

[Source]

Motherboard:

- Leave the onboard soundcard off, on the higher-end motherboards.
Or make a nice PCIe version with Auzentech.  

- Possibility to attach a fan (40mm, like Scythe Mini Kaze) to the Heatsink.
My P35 Platinum gets hawt now i have Watercooling.
Had to attach the little fan with tie-wraps which is fuggly as hell  

- Reset CMOS button on I/O part.

- Better placing of the 4/8PIN ATX connector, right between the Heatpipe isn't very handy.

[amiel]

i reviews a lot of products over the world of the best companys ever i will glad to try your new produts..

i preffer to see you make more MBs and VGAs.

good luck.

[Ryu_Tenchi]

Better Linux support.
GOOD FOSS drivers for everything possible.
touchscreen version of the wind
maybe one of the 15w combos from AMD in the next gen winds. (Love Intel for there support of linux but AMD/ATI just has better hardware)
Better battery life
I use Linux exclusively so the linux support is pretty important... not having to replace the wireless card in every wind I get because it works like crap in linux would be nice.
As for the linux distribution you sell on the laptops, I suggest Mint since it is a more proprietary friendly version of Ubuntu and there for has a lot of community support and ease of use.

[Shabranigdu]

My thoughts.
VGA cards: The main obstacle to MSI VGAs is their COOLING solution. You need to get some more-efficient Cooling versions available. I don't mean WaterCooling, PhaseChange or strange/special/expensive stuff, I mean standard air-cooled solutions. DO: offer [+ u$d20 - 30] version of some good selling cards. Make them more silent, more cooler and convenient. DO NOT: save cents on PBCs using 2 wire FAN connectors (fan at 100% always. This is BAD). MSI VGA cards are GOOD. They work fine like they should and they come nicely bundled. If I'm willing to spend in a high end card, I will be considering the most silent and cooler card once I choosed the GPU.

Motherboards: More BIOS releases? In general, MSI boards are super. Only two recommendations I would give. First: sometimes you should try modifying the reference designs a bit more. Some boards may have better connectors placement layouts, check for compatibility with large VGA cards, etc. Second: PLEASE avoid soldered BIOS. There is nothing more convincing, enjoying and fun than being able to upgrade BIOSes whenever people want without worries! I like Tyan advice to visit "Biosman" site and encourage users to update their BIOSes. Maybe you should combine more BIOS releases with new fixes and features, with the safety of having a spare BIOS as a backup (name it Dual Bios or whatever. At least do not solder ANY bios from ANY model please). Anyways, MSI boards are good and I will keep recommending them, buying them and integrating systems with them.

[anDrasch]

More EFI (Click Bios) supported Motherboards.

[mikeraut]

More security to protect the data! I have had 2 x 510C laptops stolen in 4 years. Maybe MSI can invent a recovery facility that is activated by the original user to disable the laptop if it ever liks to the web and is not authorised to do so.

[mikeraut]

Motherboards. Please have a middle - high end board that has at least 3-4 PCi slots. PCs are used for many applications such as voice servers that require PCi slots to function. MSI boards used to support 3-4 slots. Do a survey on slots - see if there are more users out there that would like the same.

[jtinch]

MB - built in bluetooth and WiFi. Setting up multiple computers in a home, especially for the kids, really bites when you have to purchase those WiFi cards separately and since all they're doing is surfing the web nothing spectacular is needed.

Another idea would be some type of memory that would enable "instant boot up" integrated into the motherboard. OS's keep getting larger and more inflated, faster CPUs, RAM and HDDs can only do so much. Perhaps this memory could store those files needed for boot up and would only be dedicated to that. This memory would act much like a RAM drive from the old DOS days only dedicated solely to that purpose and separate from whatever system memory the user has chosen to install.

[wildfyr3]

a nicer looking 15.1" notebook with ok ratings, say 2gb DDR, 1.6dual (AMD or Intel), and 8400gs or above for under $800

[tihimasmo]

I recently bought a NX8600GT-MTD256E for my slimline desktop pc and some minor issues came up:
-Better description of requirements before buying the product, like measures of height, so that you can measure your comp to see if it will fit. Also I would have liked to know if I needed to connect a power source. As it was I bought it on chance and was lucky.
I recommend this information for homepage and package. Print it on a sticker and paste it on the bulk so that you can measure before you rip up bulk.

[janman_dk]

Still enjoying my K8N Diamond which are still going strong X2, 4 GB, XP-64. The only hitch was the northbridge fan which didn't last long However MSI Europe sent me a new fan thumps up.

Anyway I am currently considering building 2 things for my personal use:

1. NAS; low power, wake on lan, RAID 5/10/50 to store all my multimedia (CD/DVD/HD-DVD/Blu-ray) and run Squeezecenter
2. HTPC; put everything on board; the chipsets from AMD/NVidia/Intel offers most options except WLAN, HDMI with integrated sound is mandatory

Common whishes for motherboard features are mATX/mini-ITX, good control over powerusage + FANs and the option to disable (power off) features not in use


BIOS options: document them. More than just screenshots and "option xxxx values on, Off" Write 2-3 lines about what it does.... PDF's cost nothing.

Graphics cards: granted time to market is important and you have to ude the standard design, but keep making thoose additional cards with custom cooling => which equals better cooling and lower noise.

[freeAgent]

I would like to see a focus more on energy efficient, low/no-noise designs geared toward machines that will be used as always-on entertainment-centric PC's.

[silverydragon]

Id personally like to see:
Notebooks:
*changeable graphic cards so it is possible to upgrade them

Motherboards:
* Boards with only 2 pci-express slots 2.0 both able to run at 16x in crossfire (so you dont need to get a 4 card board to do it)
* More boards with MSI-M Connetors
* Some more boards using AMD Chipsets that have two gigabyte lan nics

Video Cards:
* Cooler Running Video Cards
* VGA Bios Updates

[tunla]

  1)  Please try to standardise  the  MAC  & PHY  layers  of the  network connections.   Now it looks like every new motherboard has an new setup with
       Different MAC and PHY  chips and only a Windows xp/vista   driver.   Recently I have had to  Buy INTEL  PRO1000  cards with new  Taiwan  motherboards
       to get the MB's  working with  Linux  and  UNIX .  The  onboard NICS  you produce are  worthless  outside the windows market.

  2) Place  Dimm sockets  horizontally  so that they dont block  Airflow  though  the Chassie.

  3) Documentation  of the  BIOS settings are  not  good.   Please  invest in  writing a manual  of the BIOS  that  explains the features  and describes the options.

  

[theory240]

For motherboards...

Less on-board stuff...  More slots!

USB ports on-board are good.
NIC on-board is ok.
Firewire on-board is ok.
Keep one PATA port for legacy gear.

Don't bother with RAID unless you have 4 or more SATA ports.
Kill the floppy controller.  No real use any more.
Kill on-board video.  No matter how hard you try, it will always be out-dated by the time the motherboard comes to market...  If you have to have it, at least give it separate memory.

[banger696]

1.More Intel Based boards less Nvidia, VIA or SIS as support is poor for those chips.

2. M-Flash implemented on old BIOS eg. P35 Neo

3. Careful placement of Sata Ports as some have been fouled in the past by Video Cards.

Keep up the good work. 

[gvguy39]

BIOS documentation

[james1701]

I would also like to see, that if MSI is going to offer Creative sound cards with their mobo's, at least make them an X-Fi Extreme Gamer editions, and not X-Fi Audio.  The Audio is not really an X-Fi, just an older Audigy SE rebadged.

[Sm3K3R]

I want quality for AMD motherboards and full support for high TDP processors on any model low,middle and/or highend.MSI should make quality mobos on any market level as it once did.I m not satisfied with my K9A2 Platinum v2,a lot of strange issues that show insuficient pre-release testing.
Quality,Compatibility,Quality,Compatibility ... 

[DanielTBrown]

My requests for motherboards:

More diagnostics in the BIOS. Some Linux distributions (eg. OpenSUSE) include a memory diagnostic. These diagnostics are helpful when bringing up a new system to confirm that everything is working well before installing the software.

Use Intel network interfaces. People kept telling me that the Intel network interfaces were the only ones that achieved high throughput with Gigabit Ethernet. The tests I have done are consistent with that, the on-board NICs MSI uses provided only about 1/10 the throughput of the Intel NICs under Microsoft Windows. It is irritating to have to spend an extra $30 to $40 on most systems, and occupy a PCI Express slot, to install an Intel NIC.

Do something about the connectors for front-panel USB interfaces. They don't work reliably at USB 2.0 high speed (480M bits/s) - the 0.1" dual-row headers are hardly designed for 480MHz signals. No end of explaining to a user that you're very lucky when it works at all seems to stop people from plugging USB 2.0 flash drives into a front-panel connector, then complaining when something goes wrong. I would prefer to see some motherboard connectors that can really handle USB 2.0 high speed, and a front panel unit with built-in powered USB hub that mounts in a 3.5" or 5.25" drive bay.

Add a motherboard socket for USB 2.0 flash drive or better an SDHC connector. This allows flash-based diskless workstations, supported by some Linux distributions. Systems without hard drives are less expensive, more rugged, and better for public computers (eg. schools), because nobody can leave anything on the hard drive. See http://reconstructor.aperantis.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=37 for an example of a software package that allows building a custom software system for read-only media. Reconstructor builds a target CD, but I'm certain it won't be long before it or similar tools are available for USB flash and/or SDHC. I personally prefer SDHC, because booting from USB flash can leave the system open to someone inserting a USB flash drive into another USB interface, and getting the system to boot that USB flash. SDHC eliminates that problem. Note that tools such as Reconstructor build 'Live CD' distributions, the boot media is not modified. This is wonderful not only for public systems, but also for computers in regulated environments, because it is possible to verify that the software on the system has not been modified.

Decrease the startup time. Years ago we had one computer per person, and that computer was left on all day. Now it seems like each piece of equipment has an associated computer, and people turn a computer on when they need the associated equipment. The long boot time is very irritating. Microsoft operating system boot times keep getting worse, but some new Linux distributions are getting much faster, and the BIOS startup time is getting to be a significant fraction of the system startup time.


My requests for notebooks:

We need more simple, lightweight notebooks that are easy to travel with. Unfortunately, we also need good graphics support, because the machines are used for demonstrations or similar purposes. Apple has a wonderful combination in the new MacBook units, because even the units with 13.3" display have good graphics support and dual-link DVI output. You won't go wrong by taking a look at what Apple provides.

[jcmc2002]

Better BIOS update like INTEL does....
a better place for conectors in Mainboards because they block between them
and you have to make a huge improvement in the Tech Support deparment.. Is the worst I have ever seen.

[budinero]

Only one chip. It's possible.

[bjterry62]

How about notebooks that actually find their way into the channel instead of existing only on MSI websites.  IE: PR211, PX210, PX211, VR630, etc...  

These and others were launched as far back as May and have yet to be seen in the wild.

BT

[wiesel201]

For mainboards: Give us the possibility for manual undervolting the CPU!

[cowboy2199]

I want to see a better Nvidia SLI board. I feel the one they made looked CRAMPED and cheap. Lets be a bit more realistic in locating FP connectors, and SATA connectors. Also, IDE, get rid of it. Anyone can get a SATA drive for around $50. IDE is just too slow.

Just my 2 cents.

[bagels]

Better UNIX/Linux support.
Better live update or a fail safe BIOS so it's easier to recover from bad flashes.
Don't go crazy on colors keep them to 1-2(not counting heatsinks) keep high end mainboards aesthetically pleasing.

Besides that keep the MSI Wind design, it's great. Just hardware updates as time goes one.

[banger696]

I don't agree, keep legacy IDE 1 port as it serves a useful function. 

[quartz-1]

Herewith my wants

mini-ITX
Support for Intel Quad Core. Standard sockets for the heatsink, please.
Support for 8 GB or more (2x 4+ GB DIMMs).
Lots of USB ports -12-16 should do, 8 on the back plate, headers for 4-8 more.
4x internal SATA, 2x eSATA.
1x PCIe 16x 2.0.
1x PCIe 1x 2.0 - to the left of the above as viewed from the back so it doesn't get blocked by a dual-width graphics card. A 4x slot would be better. In either case, the slot should not be blocked by anything in line with it.
Onboard sound - proper 5:1 with additional microphone and headphone sockets.
1x 10 / 100 / 1000 NIC. A second would be nice but is not necessary.
Two DVI ports - or 1x DVI and 1x HDMI - would be nice but optional as I'd prefer to simply put in a (possibly low-profile) video card.

I'm not interested in legacy serial ports, nor a parallel port, nor PATA nor FDD headers, nor keyboard nor mouse ports.

My interest in this product would be to build a SFF workstation or home server.

[SnowmanDK]

Best SILENT cooling
Either onboard Bluetooth OR internal usb ports so you can mount your dongles internally.
Take even the biggest cpu and memory coolers space requirements into consideration, when placing components.
Make sure there is room to take off/mount the cpu cooler with the motherboard mounted in the cabinet (descent space in a miditower between the cpu cooler and the psu).

How about powerrails at the edge of the motherboard?
So you can plug in the powercords from the psu at the top of the board and draw out he power for your harddisks/gfx-cards etc where it's needed.
Will save a lot of wires all over the cabinet.

[jimbo4822]

I would like to see more midrange choices in motherboards, ie the best chipsets but maybe less bells and whistles. How many actually use quad crossfire for example. Something along the lines of the ka790gx but in an fx format. Good voltage regulation good quality but streamlined, Kind of like an old muscle car, alot under the hood but no creature comforts and a reasonable mid range price.

Also good bios and driver support with regular updates and changes to keep up with the fast pace of components, for good longevity. There are many good ideas in this thread.

[zixaq]

Stability>Performance>>Features in general of course, but since you're asking about features . . .

1.  More overclocking/setup friendly options on the enthusiast motherboards. Boot diagnostic LEDs, power/reset buttons and cmos reset buttons are all very, very nice to have on the motherboard.

2.  Layout. Large video cards and coolers need to be able to work with any high-end motherboard. Northbridges and SATA ports seem to interfere with the graphics card a lot, which is a huge pain in my a**.

3.  I don't know about others, but I think the next generation still needs to have FDD and IDE ports. If not, a riser card with those ports maybe?

4.  RAM placement so airflow would cool the chips better would rock. Probably not possible, but can't hurt to ask.

5.  A backup or replaceable BIOS in case of failures is nice.

6.  No super-annoying noisy northbridge fans.