The board
MSI's K8N Neo4 Platinum/SLI is built on a black board, though the myriad of multicolored ports and slots ruins the effect a bit. The only "Platinum" color on the board is the MOSFET cooler to the left of the CPU socket. The last PCI slot is orange to differentiate it from the others; this is the slot MSI reserves for use with its own proprietary 802.11g and Bluetooth peripherals.

Unlike most of the SLI boards we've reviewed, the K8N Neo4 Platinum/SLI does not use a secondary Molex connector for additional power. Both the 24-pin ATX power connector and auxiliary 12V connectors are well placed, with neither presenting a cable clutter problem for traditional ATX cases.

Most motherboard manufacturers secure their SLI paddles in place with metal tabs, but MSI uses a different approach. A single black plastic "hook" (seen in the center of the picture) fits over a tab in the card, keeping it locked into place. Moving the hook aside is easier than releasing the metal tabs found on most motherboards, although most users shouldn't need to switch back and forth from SLI mode that often.

Unfortunately, the K8N Neo4's DIMM slot placement and organization are a little tighter than we'd like. The slots are quite close to the CPU socket, which can cause clearance problems with larger aftermarket heat sinks. Packing all four DIMM slots together also limits the space between memory modules, leaving little room for air flow, especially when DIMMs with heat spreaders are installed. This may not be a problem at stock speeds or voltages, but it could limit overclocking and cause problems in warmer enclosures.

The bulk of the K8N Neo4's internal connectivity options are clustered at the bottom right-hand side of the board. The two green headers on the far left are for Firewire hookups, and the pair of SATA ports next to them are connected to the Silicon Image 3132 Serial ATA RAID controller. Next, we see three USB headers (supporting up to six additional devices). The four SATA ports hooked directly to the NVIDIA chipset run down the right-hand side of the board.

Just above the stack of four Serial ATA ports, one can see a small button mounted on the board. This is the K8N Neo4's CMOS reset button; rather than flipping a jumper to reset the CMOS, users need only to push the button.

In additional to internal connectivity options, the K8N Neo4's back edge is brimming with external ports, including a pair of digital S/PDIF audio outputs, two Ethernet jacks, four USB ports, and one Firewire port. Those with older peripherals should also appreciate the board's PS/2, serial, and parallel ports.