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Intel are known more for their line of incredibly successful processors than their motherboards, but if the D850GB is any indication, they can definitely hold their own with the likes of motherboard companies such as MSI. The D850GB is a Pentium 4 socket 423 motherboard built around the well performing and stable i850 Tehama chipset and supports the classic 5 PCI and 1 AGP configuration.
With dual RDRAM channels supporting up to 2.0GB of RIMM memory the D850GB offers the performance or workstation user the expandability for true expansive use. Individuals interested in doing a little overclocking on the side will find little to no tweaking tool with this motherboard - this is Intel after all. During our tests we found the board to live up to its expectations in terms of reliability, and even managed to surprise us with its performance abilities.
We are currently witnessing a flooding of high performance motherboards on the market today. These days, the fastest motherboard may only be marginally faster than the slowest ones available. Without a doubt, the mainboard and chipset market is no less than cutthroat. Though most users are accustomed to seeing such products available in abundance, a significant portion of the market remains interested on those products that focus upon the delivery of good business performance at a low cost.
As we will see in this review, the Intel D810E2CA3 "Cayman 3" motherboard is one such motherboard providing very good performance in business applications at a reduced overall cost. The D810E2CA3 is based upon the Intel 810E2 chipset and comes outfitted with ATA 100 support, 4 USB ports, 4 PCI slots and 2 DIMM sockets in a micro ATX layout.
With a feature set like this, the line between business and high end motherboards seems to be a lot less defined.
Designed for enthusiasts with extreme over-clocking and blistering gaming performance in mind, the GIGABYTE GA-X48-DQ6 is based on the killer combination of the newest Intel X48 chipset plus support for the latest multi-core processors up to FSB 1600MHz, including the Intel 45nm processors. The GA-X48-DQ6 is CrossFireX enabled with true dual PCI-E 2.0 x16 connectivity for the ultimate in extreme gaming performance. Built tough to provide maximum stability, durability and performance for even the most hard-core gamers, the GA-X48-DQ6 delivers several advanced GIGABYTE innovations including the Ultra Durable 2 design, featuring top quality electronic components which provide optimized power savings, ultra cooling and extended system durability.
Features:
* Revolution energy saving design with DES technology
* Supports Intel Core 2 multi-core and 45nm processors.
* 1600 MHz FSB (Front Side Bus) support.
* DDR2 1200 memory with Intel ECC technology featuring faster speeds and higher data bandwidth
* High quality CPU power module with Ferrite Core Chokes, Lower RDS (on) MOSFETs and Lower ESR Solid Capacitors.
* Supports ATI CrossFireX with Dual PCI-E 2.0 x16 graphics for extreme gaming performance.
* High speed Gigabit Ethernet with Green design for power consumption
* ALC889A with DTS Connect enables high quality Full Rate Lossless Audio and support for both Blu-ray and HD DVD.
* Features SATA 3Gb/s with Quad eSATA 2 interface.
* Quad BIOS for an extended level of protection.
* Quad-Triple Phase Power Design for ultimate system stability.
* 2 Gigabit Ethernet LAN through Teaming.
When Intel introduced the Socket 775
platform and the ICH6 Southbridge, it did something radical, it removed a parallel IDE channel. Intel reasoned that the IDE standard had reached its maximum capability and that Serial ATA would quickly replace IDE due to its vast technological advantage.
Hard drive manufacturers quickly adopted the new standard however it still took the public a few years to move over. Optical drive makers on the other hand (aside from Plextor) have not moved over to the Serial ATA architecture and to the dismay of other manufacturers and consumers, continue to release primarily IDE devices.
Like it or not, Intel is forcing the hands of everyone to adopt the Serial ATA architecture by completely dropping IDE from its ICH8 Southbridge. Other chipset manufacturers are also starting to loose support for IDE, with nVIDIA's latest nForce 500 series chipsets the latest example.
In this review, PCSTATS is testing the Biostar TForce P965 Deluxe motherboard. This board is based on Intel's P965 Northbridge and ICH8 Southbridge chipsets. With Intel phasing out IDE, motherboard manufacturers have been scrambling trying to fill the void since Serial ATA optical drives are difficult to find. Biostar address the lack of native IDE channels by integrating a separate IDE controller onto the Tforce P965 motherboard in the form of a VIA VT6410. Other integrated goodies on this full sized ATX board include Gigabit LAN,7.1 channel high definition Intel Azalia audio, a flurry of USB2.0 jacks, and expansion slots.
For most of its existence, the AMD processor
platform has heavily depended on third party chipsets made by VIA, nVIDIA, ATI, ALI, or SIS. It's fortunes were tied to the performance and capabilities of 3rd party core logic. In 2006 AMD gobbled up the Canadian videocard company ATi. ATI had been making headway with its own line of motherboard chipsets, and for the first time since this merger AMD has had its own in-house motherboard chipset to pair with an Athlon64 processor. The last time the planets aligned like this was with the AMD750 Irongate (Slot A) and the AMD760 (Socket A, SMP platform), but in each of those situations that was core logic born out of utter necessity.
ATi's experience in building chipsets is not a long tale, but its pre-AMD merger platforms seriously challenged stock from Intel and nVIDIA's stables. The ATI CrossFire Xpress 3200 chipset is still considered faster than Intel's 975X, and that was certainly quite a feat at the time. However, the real winner in ATI's line up was a little known chipset slated for release at the time of the merger, the 'RS690.' Intended to be married with an AMD Athlon64 processor, the 'RS690' was said to beat the pants off nVIDIA's extremely popular GeForce 6100 & 6150 series...
Asus is perhaps the most prominent motherboard maker around, they are renown for quality, stability and speed. The Asus CUV4X hopes to carry on the tradition, while using the VIA 133Z (essentially the 133A, except for Socketed processors) chipset.
The Asus CUV4X comes complete with an instruction manual, a driver CD, an UltraATA/66 cable, a serial port connector, USB connector, as well as a floppy drive cable. All for about $168 CDN / $113 USD
As with all Asus motherboards, the CUV4X is just a plain brown PCB. The CUV4X uses the VIA 133Z chipset which enables a few important features, these include native ATA66 compatibility as well as AGP 4X, and true PC133/133mhz FSB support.
The CUV4X supports Celeron's and PIII's in PPGA and FCPGA form factors.
Asrock's motherboards are made with affordability in mind, and thus the boxes are pretty light when it comes to the bundle. It's one of those 'consider yourself lucky to see a SATA or IDE cable thrown in for free' manufacturers, which is okay because ASrock motherboards are inexpensive, and generally well enough built. The Asrock Penryn 1600SLI X3-WiFi motherboard breaks this mold somewhat by offering consumers a $125 platform with a bevy of multi-videocard, integrated wireless networking and quad-core Intel processor support.
The Penryn1600SLI X3-WiF motherboard is built on nVidia's nForce 680i SLI chipset, and as you may have guessed this platform supports Intel 'penryn' quad core, 45nm 'yorkfield' and dual core 'wolfdale' processors. Essentially, Intel's full family of 45nm quad and dual core chips, ranging from 800-1600MHz front side bus are spec'd out as compatible, with the following caveat... 1600MHz FSB processor support comes to us care of overclocking mode, it's not native. nVidia's nForce 680i SLI chipset technically only accomodates up to 1333MHz FSB processors, so keep that in mind.
While DDR memory crept into mainstream Pentium 4 systems in 2002, back then users looking for top of the line performance still had to go with RDRAM. The i850E/PC1066 RDRAM combo held the performance crown for most of last year, but in 2003 things are turning out to be totally different. Cast aside the i850E chipset and RDRAM which have gone the way of the dodo, and the new king of the hill is clearly Intel's i875P chipset a.k.a. "Canterwood."
As for the actual performance and architectural differences between the i865PE and i875P which runs with DDR memory, we'll get to that in just a bit.
Intel had previously road mapped the Pentium4 from 533MHz FSB to 667MHz with the "Springdale" chipset. Springdale-based motherboards were originally expected to support 667/533/400MHz FSB Pentium 4 processors, but with Canterwood everything has been shifted towards 800MHz FSB.
These changes were announced on November of 2002 during Comdex Fall 2003, much to the surprise of motherboard manufacturers
who had many 667MHz FSB Springdale motherboards actually on display. When we take into account AMD's recent rise to 400 MHz FSB, Intel's mirroring of this bus speed change in November of last year now makes more sense.
There's little doubt that Asus is one of the technological leaders in the motherboard industry. One area that Asus had not previously explored much is the entry-level market, where companies like Biostar
, ECS, and others have a strong foothold. Traditionally, Asus' motherboards have been built to satisfy the needs and wants of higher-end systems and price points, with features to match. Since the entry-level motherboard market is extremely large, and determined foremost by prices, you can understand why Asus would want to try its hand at it eventually.
Asus had a bit of a branding problem to deal with first though. How do you enter this market when you're known as an exclusively mid to high-end parts provider? To avoid diluting its respected motherboard brandname, Asus decided to create a new subsidiary focused entirely on entry-level motherboards and peripherals, and thus ASRock was born.
Intel are known more for their line of incredibly successful processors than their motherboards, but if the D850GB is any indication, they can definitely hold their own with the likes of motherboard companies such as MSI. The D850GB is a Pentium 4 socket 423 motherboard built around the well performing and stable i850 Tehama chipset and supports the classic 5 PCI and 1 AGP configuration.
