Product Listing

HD on a Budget - MSI G41TM-E43 (Intel G41)

By Vincent Chang - 6 Jul 2009

Conclusion

Ideal for a Simple HTPC

Despite its label as a HTPC ready motherboard, the MSI G41TM-E43 falls slightly short of achieving full HD hardware acceleration. That honor has to go to the Intel G45 and the NVIDIA GeForce 9300 mGPU. It doesn't mean that it won't be able to play your Blu-ray or other HD material. It just means that one needs to have a decent processor to ensure that playback remains smooth.

If you ever intend to play any games on a PC built around the G41 Express chipset, then the MSI version here is not the best choice. However, it's pretty nifty for playing HD material, especially with its low power and heat.

Our testing found that certain higher bitrate Blu-ray movies will give the GMA X4500 graphics core on the MSI G41 board a stern test. That however is the slight compromise one makes when opting for the lower SKU of Intel's 4 series chipsets, but fortunately, it still managed our HD video testing well. 3D graphics performance did not appear to be affected though, with the results for the G41 similar to the G45. Again, the Intel boards were unable to come out of NVIDIA's shadow here, with the GeForce 9300 mGPU the superior solution for a little more money.

It was not till the power and temperature testing that one finds the advantage with these Intel chipsets. Lower power consumption was all very nice but it was the much lower chipset temperatures recorded that tilted these boards heavily for Intel. For a HTPC setup where heat and power are very valid concerns, it could be a compelling reason to make do with the less powerful Intel chipsets in order to stay cool and quiet.

Therefore, it boils down to what you're planning to do with your system and also how you're assembling it. A chassis with very good ventilation will alleviate some of the heat issues for the NVIDIA chipset as some users plan to do much more in the background than just watch movies on their systems. With this board, MSI has produced one that's easy to use and filled with the right features. The active phase switching in particular works well though others like the Easy OC Switch is definitely a miss.

At around US$70, the MSI G41TM-E43 is not going to bust your wallet. It however does find quite a lot of competition in this price range, with similar integrated graphics solutions from other vendors. If a fuss-free setup, low power consumption and consistent performance is something you value, then the MSI board will be a good choice.

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