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MSI’s P41T-C31 immediately scores points for its low price. It lacks an integrated graphics processor, but provides a PCI-E x16 slot for a dedicated graphics card, two PCI-E x1 slots (one of which would be obscured by a dual-slot graphics card) and three PCI slots. The storage support makes it obvious that this is a budget board. There are just four SATA ports, with no RAID capabilities and, although there’s an IDE port, there’s nowhere to connect a floppy drive. There are just two memory slots, but each can take a 4GB module, allowing a maximum of 8GB. The fastest memory it supports is 800MHz, while the FSB tops out at 1,333MHz, which is fine for most Intel LGA775 processors. The I/O panel at the rear has a full set of legacy ports, including two useful PS/2 ports for your keyboard and mouse, plus a parallel and serial port that are rather less likely to find a use. There are just four USB ports, and although there are two more internal USB headers, which can provide an extra two ports each, no brackets are supplied. The Realtek sound processor has six analogue mini-jack ports that can provide up to 7.1 surround sound, but there are no digital audio outputs.
Despite these limitations, the P41T-C31 redeems itself with its performance, beating many of the pricier Intel boards. The P41T-C31 isn’t for people who want to build a high-end PC, but it covers all the basic requirements and did well in our tests. At this price, it earns our Budget Buy award.
