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First of all, congratulations on a terrific website. The best of all the notebook barebone resellers I have visited and, believe me, I have been to many.
I have a couple of related questions and a comment.
(1) Why don't you sell the MSI MS 1057 barebone? This is the model I am interested in. I want a 4 pound notebook and a Core 2 Duo processor.
(2) What things must a motherboard provide in order to accept a certain kind of processor? I am getting conflicting information between MSI technical support and one MSI reseller as to whether the 1057 supports or does not support the Core 2 Duo. The specs the reseller got say no. But MSI technical support insists yes. I know the socket has to be correct and the chipset and BIOS must be compatible with the processor. Is there anything else? All MS 1057s have the Socket M which takes the Core 2 Duo. They also all have the Intel 945 chipset which is compatible with Core 2. However, the Core 2 specifications say: "The processor will not operate (including 32-bit operation) without an Intel EM64T enabled BIOS." How likely is it that the MS-1057 which is at the reseller has a BIOS incompatible with Core 2? It was probably built one (two? three?) months ago. What can I do if that is the case? How easy is it to change the ROM where the BIOS is stored because it looks like the CPU won't work at all without the right BIOS? Is there a way to download a new BIOS if the CPU isn't working?
Is there anything else on the motherboard which might conflict with the processor?
I am just worried that MSI might have changed the specs on the 1057 so that current versions accept the Core 2 Duo but an old version at the reseller might not? This might be one explanation for conflicting information. Or the reseller might just be parroting what was on the spec sheet which might have been written before the Core 2 Duo was available. You guys know the MSI company much better than I. Can their Technical people be trusted? Does MSI sometimes put out units with marked differences using the same product identifier?
My comment is precisely related to the dearth of information on the MSI website on notebook barebone models. This seems to be a malady of this industry. ASUS isn't much better. At either of these websites, it is impossible to find information on the motherboard that these barebones use. For example, "barebone" is not one of their product categories. You cannot find it anywhere on MSI. When you look for a particular barebone model, you are referred to the complete notebook that is built from it. ASUS has them as "ASmobile" but you have to know those are the barebones. Am I a mind reader? In addition, on both websites, the little information there is has a warning that specs can change at any time. Barebones are supposed to be for builders and one needs the information to be able to buy the right parts. They send customers to the resellers but the sales people at the resellers are not necessarily the most knowledgeable on technical details. You guys sound like you might be but you would be the exception. (Unfortunately, you don't sell the MS-1057). You do have "barebone" as a product category. Hurray for you. But you don't have any spec information on your barebone pages. You sound like you might have the right information if one asked but it would be nice to someone trying to build to have the information on the web page. Make them as informational as the rest of your site which is terrific.
I have a couple of related questions and a comment.
(1) Why don't you sell the MSI MS 1057 barebone? This is the model I am interested in. I want a 4 pound notebook and a Core 2 Duo processor.
(2) What things must a motherboard provide in order to accept a certain kind of processor? I am getting conflicting information between MSI technical support and one MSI reseller as to whether the 1057 supports or does not support the Core 2 Duo. The specs the reseller got say no. But MSI technical support insists yes. I know the socket has to be correct and the chipset and BIOS must be compatible with the processor. Is there anything else? All MS 1057s have the Socket M which takes the Core 2 Duo. They also all have the Intel 945 chipset which is compatible with Core 2. However, the Core 2 specifications say: "The processor will not operate (including 32-bit operation) without an Intel EM64T enabled BIOS." How likely is it that the MS-1057 which is at the reseller has a BIOS incompatible with Core 2? It was probably built one (two? three?) months ago. What can I do if that is the case? How easy is it to change the ROM where the BIOS is stored because it looks like the CPU won't work at all without the right BIOS? Is there a way to download a new BIOS if the CPU isn't working?
Is there anything else on the motherboard which might conflict with the processor?
I am just worried that MSI might have changed the specs on the 1057 so that current versions accept the Core 2 Duo but an old version at the reseller might not? This might be one explanation for conflicting information. Or the reseller might just be parroting what was on the spec sheet which might have been written before the Core 2 Duo was available. You guys know the MSI company much better than I. Can their Technical people be trusted? Does MSI sometimes put out units with marked differences using the same product identifier?
My comment is precisely related to the dearth of information on the MSI website on notebook barebone models. This seems to be a malady of this industry. ASUS isn't much better. At either of these websites, it is impossible to find information on the motherboard that these barebones use. For example, "barebone" is not one of their product categories. You cannot find it anywhere on MSI. When you look for a particular barebone model, you are referred to the complete notebook that is built from it. ASUS has them as "ASmobile" but you have to know those are the barebones. Am I a mind reader? In addition, on both websites, the little information there is has a warning that specs can change at any time. Barebones are supposed to be for builders and one needs the information to be able to buy the right parts. They send customers to the resellers but the sales people at the resellers are not necessarily the most knowledgeable on technical details. You guys sound like you might be but you would be the exception. (Unfortunately, you don't sell the MS-1057). You do have "barebone" as a product category. Hurray for you. But you don't have any spec information on your barebone pages. You sound like you might have the right information if one asked but it would be nice to someone trying to build to have the information on the web page. Make them as informational as the rest of your site which is terrific.
Processor compatibility comes down to the Chipset, Socket and if the Bios supports it. I cant comment on the 1057, as we dont sell it and i am not familiar with it. We sell the 1058 and not the 1057. 
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