All the latest hot 440BX mainboards have included a plethora of front side bus speed options and the MS-6163 is no different. Throwing down 16 different selectable speeds the board offers the same degree of FSB selections as the popular Abit BX6 R2 mainboard

There are some key differences between the MS-6163 and the rest of the 440BX field, and one of the major items added to the board is a user selectable voltage amount for not only the CPU but also for the 440BX chipset itself.

This is an unprecedented move in the world of the 440BX mainboard, even overclocking Kings Abit offer voltage modifications only for the CPU.

Thankfully, all settings for the MS-6163 are handled via its adjustable BIOS options, including the voltage amounts for both the CPU and 440BX chips.

Another interesting feature MSI opted to include on the MS-6163 comes in the form of four multi-colored LEDs that are lined up in a row above the fifth PCI slot. The four LEDs flash red/green depending upon the status of the PC at bootup, assisting installers in locating a possible error or hang-up within the machine that's keeping it from booting.

The decoding key to understand the visual signals from the LEDs is smartly located in the MS-6163's included manual, there are approximately 20 different messages that can be relayed to the board's owner via the four lights.

One other feature included with the MS-6163 is a thin wire thermal probe that's virtually identical to the one that was included with the Abit BE6 440BX board we tested two weeks ago. The thermal probe connects to two pins on the mainboard and reports the temperate of the sensor head back to included Win98 software as well as the BIOS itself.

It's nice to see that even with a low $100 - $120 price tag, mainboards are still capable of being offered with an amazing amount of features and extras to increase the value.