New VIA Nano-ITX Mainboard

Taipei, Taiwan, 24 July 2007 - VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator and developer of silicon chip technologies and PC platform solutions, today announced the VIA EPIA NR Nano-ITX mainboard, powered by a fanless 1.0GHz VIA C7 processor and VIA CX700 system media processor for ultra compact, quiet and durable embedded systems.

Measuring just 12cm x 12cm , the VIA EPIA NR is the first Nano-ITX mainboard to natively support LVDS in two single or one dual-channel monitor configuration without the need for a daughterboard; this makes it ideal for a wide range of ultra compact embedded devices requiring two displays, such as healthcare, industrial control, retail and signage systems.

The VIA EPIA NR also provides considerable storage options, with Serial ATA and IDE hard drive connectors for mainstream systems and Compact Flash for local OS storage in industrial automation. Moreover, an extensive I/O set includes broadband Ethernet as well as a mini-PCI port, USB2.0, COM, LPC and Super I/O headers; while WLAN connectivity can be supported through an add-in card for greater flexibility in system design.

More about → New VIA Nano-ITX Mainboard

Asus Maximus II Formula motherboard

As had been anticipated for quite some time, Intel released its 4 series chipsets last month. This new series which include the X48, G45, G43, P45 and P43 Express have been designed to couple Intel's own Core 2 processors, and as you will see in a moment, resemble a lot its '3' series predecessors.

Codenamed Eaglelake, the P45 is the mainstream offering in the 4 series. This partly new chipset will support upcoming Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Extreme processors using a bumped 1600MHz Front Side Bus - current Core 2s use either a 800MHz, 1066MHz or 1333MHz FSB. In terms of features, the P45 can easily impress primarily due to the inclusion of the ICH10R south bridge.

Just as before, the X48 remains as the flagship offering, boasting more PCI Express lanes and greater DDR3 memory support. However, the P45 does offer a number of improvements when compared to the P35 chipset. The P45 is built using a 65nm design process compared to the larger 90nm design of the P35.

As you may recall, the P35 and even older P965 chipsets were not ideal if you wanted Crossfire support. The limitation of running only one graphics card in PCI Express 16x mode, while the second was limited to PCIe 4x could hurt performance. Even when manufacturers eventually found its way around this, for the most part users were left with the choice of the more expensive X38/X48 chipsets.

Intel has now solved this issue by including digital switches that can share the PCIe 16x bus amongst both slots, balancing the bandwidth. This is similar to how the Nvidia nForce 750i chipset works, which should help Crossfire become an even more competitive solution against SLI.

The ICH10R south bridge still only supports six SATA ports, just as the ICH9R did, and the USB 2.0 support has not been improved either, though most will find that 12 ports are more than enough.

After holding the release off for a few months, it is possible to buy an Intel P45 motherboard today from a number of makers, though you will find that prices can vary substantially. From as little as $100 for budget-oriented boards, to upwards of $200 for the most fully featured versions coming from usual suspects like Asus, Gigabyte and MSI.

Just recently Asus announced the Maximus II Formula which is based on the P45 chipset, and is the latest member of the elite Republic of Gamers series targeting gamers and overclocking enthusiasts alike. After all, they will need to aim at a certain niche willing to spend the big bucks given this board's suggested price tag of nearly $300.

This is one of the most equipped motherboards out there, even including the SupremeFX X-Fi sound card that makes use of the ADI 2000B audio codec, adding support for Creative's EAX 4.0.

More about → Asus Maximus II Formula motherboard

Overclocking with new mainboard

Intel has taken another significant step into satisfying the needs of the PC enthusiast crowd. For many years the company has discouraged overclocking, but now they are offering a mainboard set to do just the opposite. The new D975XBX2 a.k.a. Bad Axe 2, is a product especially designed for gamers. It comes with 3 PCI-Express slots, perfect for a SLI/Crossfire setup plus a physics card (if those are ever worth it), and a most impressive CPU overclocking feature that allows for aggressive FSB settings, multiplier and voltage tweaking.

Featuring improved memory circuitry, Intel’s new mainboard now officially supports dual-channel PC2-6400 (DDR2 800MHz) on Intel 975X core-logic, something, which is not available on the D975XBX mainboard and something supported on other Intel 975X-based motherboards formally via overclocking.
There are many mainstream PC companies that have realized sooner or later that the enthusiast and gaming market is up for grabs. Recently we even witnessed the announcement of factory overclocked systems with full guarantee from Gateway. Intel has realized that with AMD trailing not too far behind (if at all sometimes), it can’t just rest on its laurels again. Luckily for them, they have now got Core 2.

More about → Overclocking with new mainboard

Motherboard NCL-DR1 Dual Intel Xeon

Based on the Intel E7520 chipset, this new Intel Xeon server platform features an 800MHz front-side bus and built-in 1M L2 Cache, providing powerful computing ability. Along with DDR2 400, the bandwidth between memory and Northbridge will better transferring data. NCL-DR1 is also exclusively designed for 1U server.

Processor / System Bus - Dual Intel Xeon processors supports EM64T with 2M L2 cache 3.6 GHz
Core Logic - Intel E7520 , IntelICH5R , Intel 6700 PXH
Memory - Dual Channel DDR2 400, ECC Registered , Max up to 16GB / 8 slot
Board Size / Form Factor - 12x13 inches, E-ATX

Max RAM 16 GB

Form Factor EATX - Extended ATX

Max CPU Speed 3.6GHz

Power Supply Pin Size 24-pin ATX + 8-pin aux

Memory Slot 8

USB 2.0 Port 4

Graphics Memory 8 MB

Serial ATA Controller ICH5R SATA

USB 1.x Port Same as USB 2.0

Chipset Type Intel E7520

Processor Intel Xeon

LAN Dual GbE Lan

Firewire Port Qty N/A

Audio Output N/A

Pin Count N/A

IDE Controller N/A

Supported RAM Technology DDR2

Bulk/Retail N/A

AGP Slots N/A

RAID Controller N/A

Accessories N/A

Special Features N/A

Power Supply Minimum Size N/A

SCSI Controller N/A

Onboard Management Controllers N/A

Cables N/A

Onboard Graphics ATI Rage XL with 8M SDRAM on board

Hyper-Threading Technology N/A

Serial Port Qty 1

Parallel Port Qty N/A

Slots 6 expansion slots

Max Bus Speed 800MHz

Detail Specifications

Processor / System Bus - Dual Intel Xeon processors supports EM64T with 2M L2 cache 3.6 GHz

Core Logic - Intel E7520 , IntelICH5R , Intel 6700 PXH

Memory - Dual Channel DDR2 400, ECC Registered , Max up to 16GB / 8 slot

Board Size / Form Factor - 12x13 inches, E-ATX

Expansion Slots - 4 x 64bit/ 133 MHz PCI-X , 1 x 32bit/ 33MHz PCI , 1x x8 slot (x4 link)

IO Controller - SATA---Intel ICH5R, 2 ports , 1 Mini PCI-X socket for Adaptec AIC-2015 ZCR Card

On Board LAN - 2 x Broadcom BCM5721PCI-E Gb LAN

On Board VGA - ATI RAGE-XL / 8MB

Onboard I/O Connectors - 1 x Floppy Connector , SSI 24-pin and 12V 8-pin , 2 x Front USB , 6 x Fan , 2 x Front LAN LED

Rear I/O Connectors - 1 x External Serial Port , 2 x External USB Port , 1 x VGA Port , 2 x RJ-45 , PS/2 Mouse/Keyboard

OS Support

-Window Server 2003 Stndard/Web/Enterprise Edition / Windows.2000 Server / 2000 Advanced Server / Windows.Server2003 Enterprise Editon / Windows.Server2003 Standard Edition

-Windows NT Server4.0 / Windows.XP Professional SP1

-Redhat Enterprise Linux AS3.0 / Redhat8.0 / Redhat9.0

-SuSE Linux Enterprise 8.0 / SuSE Linux 9.0

-Novell netware 6.5 / Novell netware 6.0

-SCO Unixware 7.1.3 / SCO OpenServer 5.0.7

-Sun Solaris 9.0 / FreeBSD 4.9

Management Solution - ASWM2.0

Environment

-Operation temperature---10C to 35C

-Non operation temperature---40C to 70C , Non operation humidity---20 percent to 90 percent ( Non condensing)

EMI - Australia (C-TICK) , Europe (CE, EN55022 and EN55024)

More about → Motherboard NCL-DR1 Dual Intel Xeon

Motherboard X6DAI-G Intel Xeon

Dual Intel Xeon EM64T Support, up to 3.6 GHz, 800 MHz FSB. 2. Intel E7525 Chipset. 3. Up to 16GB DDR 333 SDRAM (or) Up to 32GB DDR 266 SDRAM. 4. Intel 82541GI Single-port Gigabit Ethernet Controller. 5. 2x SATA Ports via 6300ESB On-chip SATA Controller. 6. 1 (x16) and 1 (x8) on a (x16) PCI-Express, 2 x 64-bit PCI-X, 2 x 32-bit PCI. 7. AC97 Audio, 6-channel Sound.

Processor Dual Xeon
Max Bus Speed 800 Mhz
Max CPU Speed 3.6GHz
Pin Count 604
Supported RAM Technology DDR 333/266
Memory Slot 8

Serial Port Qty 2

Parallel Port Qty 1

USB 2.0 Port 4

Serial ATA Controller 2 Serial ATA Controller

IDE Controller ATA100

Audio Output 6-Channel Audio

Chipset Type Intel E7525

Form Factor EATX

LAN GbE LAN

RAID Controller RAID 0/1/JBOD

Max RAM up to 16GB DDR333 ; up to 32GB DDR266

More about → Motherboard X6DAI-G Intel Xeon

Motherboard H8SMi-2 AMD Opteron Pro Socket AM2

Single AMD Opteron 1000 Series (Socket AM2) Support, 1000 MHz HyperTransport Link. 2---nVidia MCP55 Pro Chipset. 3---Up to 8GB DDR2 800/667/533 SDRAM. 4---Dual-port Gigabit LAN/Ethernet Controller. 5---Up to 6 SATA2 3.0 Gb/s HDD Support. 6---1 (x16) PCI-Express 1 (x8) PCI-Express using x16, 1 (x4) PCI-Express using x8, 3 32-bit 33MHz PCI slots. 7---ATI ES1000 Graphics and VGA port. 8---SIMLP / SIM1U IPMI 2.0 Support.

Memory Type - DDR2 800/667/533MHz un-buffered ECC / non- ECC SDRAM 72-bit, 240-pin gold-plated DIMMs
SATA - 6 SATA Ports, SATA RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 5, JBOD Support
IDE - Supports UDMA Mode 5, PIO Mode 4. Supports ATA/100/133
IPMI - Intelligent Platform Management Interface v.2.0

Form Factor ATX

AGP Slots No AGP

Max RAM 8GB

Power Supply Minimum Size 300W ATX

Memory Slot 4

Serial Port Qty 2

Parallel Port Qty 1

USB 2.0 Port 6

Max Bus Speed 1000 MHz

Warranty 1 Year Parts; 3 Years Labor

Power Supply Pin Size 24-pin ATX, 4-pin ATX 12V

Serial ATA Controller 6 x Serial ATA

USB 1.x Port Same as USB 2.0

Processor AMD Opteron

LAN Dual GbE Lan

RAID Controller RAID 0/1/0+1/5 and JBOD

Onboard Graphics ATI ES1000

Max CPU Speed N/A

Graphics Memory N/A

Slots 6 expansion slots

IDE Controller ATA 100/133

Pin Count Socket AM2

Supported RAM Technology DDR2 800/667/533

Chipset Type nVidia MCP55 Pro

Detail Specifications

MBD-H8SMi-2-O - H8SMi-2 (Standard Retail Pack)

Form Factor - ATX 12" x 9.6 " (30.5cm x 24.4cm), 6 layers

CPU - Supports one Dual-Core AMD Opteron 1000 Series (Socket AM2) processor

-Single 940-pin ZIF Socket, 4 phase VRM

System Bus - 1000MHz HyperTransport

Chipset - nVidia MCP55 Pro

Memory Capacity - Four 240-pin DIMM sockets, Supports up to 8 GB DDR2 memory

Memory Type - DDR2 800/667/533MHz un-buffered ECC / non- ECC SDRAM 72-bit, 240-pin gold-plated DIMMs

SATA - 6 SATA Ports, SATA RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 5, JBOD Support

IDE - Supports UDMA Mode 5, PIO Mode 4. Supports ATA/100/133

IPMI - Intelligent Platform Management Interface v.2.0

-Low Profile: (Optional: AOC-SIMLP), 1U: (Optional: AOC- SIM1U), RMM (Remote Management Module)

-(Card not included)

Network Controllers - nVidia MCP55 Pro Chipset Dual-port LAN / Ethernet Controller

-Supports 10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, and 1000BASE-T, RJ45 output

VGA - ATI ES1000 graphics controller

Super I/O - Winbond 83627HF

Input / Output

-Floppy - 1 Floppy port 1.44 MB

-LAN - 2 RJ45 LAN ports

-USB - 6 Total USB 2.0 Compliant, 1.1 Compatible. 4 USB Internal Headers, 2 USB Rear Ports

-VGA - 1 VGA port

-Keyboard / Mouse - PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports

-Serial Ports - 1 Fast UART 16550 serial ports, 1 Header

-Parallel Port - 1 ECP / EPP parallel port

Expansion Slots

-PCI-Express - 1 x16 PCI-e, 1 x8 PCI-e using x16, 1 x4 PCI- e using x8

-PCI - 3 PCI 32-bit, 33MHz slots

BIOS Type - 4Mb Flash EEPROM with AMI® BIOS

BIOS Features - Plug and Play (PnP), DMI 2.3, PCI 2.2, ACPI 2.0, BIOS Rescue Hot Keys, SMBIOS 2.3, USB Keyboard support , Hardware BIOS Virus Protection

Important Chassis Notes

-To ensure system stability, a 300W (minimum) ATX power supply

-4-pin (+12V) and 24-pin are required

More about → Motherboard H8SMi-2 AMD Opteron Pro Socket AM2

Motherboard A33G AMD Athlon / Sempron

A33G is one of the most advance and unique modules of PCCHIPS production.It can also support latest AMD AM2 CPUs,up to 1000MHz FSB,Dual-DDR2 800,two Serial ATA and 8 USB 2.0 ports.With embedded Mirage1 Graphic engine,128M share memory,one PCI ExpressX16 slot and one PCI ExpressX1 slot,all these advance supports,we believe your computer can run with best performance and bring you the great value and enjoyment.


Form Factor mATX - Micro ATX
Max RAM 16 GB
Hyper-Threading Technology Yes
AGP Slots No AGP
Memory Slot 2
Parallel Port Qty 1
Graphics Memory 128MB

Max Bus Speed 1000 MHz

IDE Controller 2xUltraDMA 133/100/66

Audio Output 6-Channel Audio

Power Supply Pin Size 24-pin ATX, 4-pin ATX 12V

USB 1.x Port Same as USB 2.0

Firewire Port Qty N/A

Warranty N/A

RAID Controller N/A

Max CPU Speed N/A

Chipset Type SiS 761GX/965L

USB 2.0 Port 8

LAN 10/100 Lan

Serial Port Qty 1

Onboard Graphics Mirage Graphics

Serial ATA Controller 2 x Serial ATA

Pin Count Socket AM2

Processor AMD Athlon 64 FX / Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core / Athlon 64 / Sempron

Supported RAM Technology DDR2 800/667/533

Slots 1 x PCI-E X16 , 1 x PCI-E X1 , 2 x PCI , 1 x CNR

Detail Specifications

CPU

-Socket AM2 for AMD Athlon 64 FX/Athlon 64 x2 Dual- core/Athlon 64/Sempron processor

FSB - 1000 MHz

Chipset - SiS 761GX/965L

VGA - Embedded Mirage Graphics with 128MB share memory

Memory

-Dual-channel DDR2 memory architecture

-2 x 240-pin DDR2 DIMM sockets support up to 16 GB

-Support DDR2 800/667/533/400 DDR2 SDRAM

Expansion Slots

-1 x PCI Express x 16 slots , 1 x PCI Express x 1 slot

-2 x PCI slots , 1 x CNR slot

LAN - Boardcom AC131 10/100Mbps Fast Ethernet Phy

Audio

-Realtek ALC655 6-channel audio codec

-Compliant with AC97 2.3 specification

IDE - 2 x UltraDMA 133/100/66

Back Panel I/O Ports

-1 x PS/2 keyboard , 1 x PS/2 mouse

-1 x Parallel Port , 1 x Serial Port

-1 x VGA port , 4 x USB 2.0 Ports , 1 x RJ 45 Port

-1 x Audio I/O (Line-in, Line-out and Mic-in)

Internal I/O Connectors and Headers

-24-pin ATX Power Supply connector , 4-pin ATX 12V power supply connector

-2 x USB 2.0 header support additional 4 USB2.0 ports

-1 x Front panel switch/LED header

-CPU / SYS FAN headers

-1 x Speaker header , 1 x IrDA for SIR header , 1 x CD in header

-1 x Floppy connector-support 360K to 2.88M Byte, 3 Mode FDDs or LS120

-2 x Serial ATA connectors , 1 x Front panel audio header

System BIOS

-AMI 4Mb Flash ROM

-Supports Plug and Play 1.0A, APM 1.2, Multi Boot, DMI

-Full support for ACPI revision 1.0 specification

Form Factor - Micro-ATX Form Factor, 244 x 200mm

More about → Motherboard A33G AMD Athlon / Sempron

Motherboard M2N-SLI DELUXE AMD Althon 64

Support AMD Socket AM2 CPU2. AMD LiveReady3. NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI Technology4. Advanced Thermal Design Heat-pipe Thermal solution5. Dual channel DDR2 800 6. ASUS Crystal Sound - ASUS Array Mic , Noise Filter

Special Features ASUS EZ DIY(ASUS Q-Connector,ASUS CrashFree BIOS3, ASUS EZ Flash2),ASUS Music Alarm
Accessories 1 x SLI bridge, 1 x ASUS Q-Connector Kit,1 x ASUS Array Mic,1 x UltraDMA 133/100/66 cable, 1 x Floppy disk drive cable,6 x SATA cables, 3 x SATA power cable for 6 devices, 1 x 2-port USB2.0 module,1 x IEEE1394a port module, 1 x I/O Shield
Chipset Type NVIDIA nForce® 570 SLI™ MCP
Detail Specifications

CPU- Support AMD Socket AM2 Athlon 64 X2 / Athlo 64 FX / Athlon 64 / Sempron, AMD Cool n Quiet Technology, AMD64 architecture enables simultaneous 32-bit and 64-bit computing, AMD Live Ready

Chipset- NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP(media and communications processor)

Front Side Bus -2000 / 1600 MT/s

Expansion Slots- 2 x PCI Express x16 slot at x16, x8 speed, Support NVIDIASLI technology (both at x8 mode), 2 x PCI Express x1, 3 x PCI 2.2

SLI- Support two identical NVIDIA SLI-Ready graphics cards (at x8, x8 mode), ASUS two-slot thermal design,ASUS PEG Link

Storage- 1 x Ultra DMA 133 / 100 / 66 / 33, 6 x Serial ATA 3.0Gb/s, NVIDIA MediaShield RAID supports RAID 0, 1, 01, 5 and JBOD span cross Serial ATA drives, 1 x Internal Serial ATA 3.0Gb/s , 1 x External Serial ATA 3.0Gb/s port on back I/O (SATA On-the-Go), Support RAID 0, 1, and JBOD

LAN- Support Teaming and Fail-Over functions, Support TCP/IP Acceleration

Audio -ADI 1988B 8-channel High Definition Audio CODEC ,Support Jack-Sensing, Enumeration, Multi-streaming and Jack-Retasking,Coaxial, Optical S/PDIF out on back I/O port

IEEE 1394a -TI 1394 controller supports 2 x 1394a ports

USB -max.10 USB2.0/1.1 ports Overclocking Features- ASUS AI NOS (Non-delay Overclocking System), AI Overclocking (intelligent CPU frequency tuner),ASUS PEG Link (automatically performance tuning), vDIMM 15-step DRAM voltage control, vCore Adjustable CPU voltage at 0.0125V increment, Stepless Frequency Selection (SFS) allowing FSB tuning from 200MHz up to 400MHz at 1MHz increment, PCI Express x16 Frequency from 100MHz up to 200MHz at 1 MHz increment, ASUS C.P.R.(CPU Parameter Recall),

Special Features- ASUS Q-Connector, ASUS CrashFree BIOS3, ASUS EZ Flash2

Back Panel I/O Ports- 1 x PS/2 Keyboard port(purple), 1 x PS/2 Mouse (green), 1 x Optical S/PDIF Out port 1 x Coaxial S/PDIF Out port, 1 x External SATA ,2 x LAN (RJ45) port, 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports, 1 x IEEE 1394a port, 1 x COM port, 8-channel Audio ports

Internal I/O Connectors- 3 x USB 2.0 connectors support additional 6 USB 2.0 ports, 1 x Floppy disk drive connector,1 x IDE connector for two devices, 7 x SATA connectors,1 x CPU / 4 x Chassis / 1 x Power Fan connectors,1 x ADH connector,1 x IEEE1394a connector, 1 x Parallel connector,Chassis Intrusion connector, Front Panel Audio connector, 1x S/PDIF output connector,CD audio in,24-pin ATX Power connector,System panel connector ,4-pin ATX 12V Power connector

BIOS - 4Mb AWARD BIOS, PnP, DMI, WfM2.0, SM BIOS 2.3 Manageability - WOL by PME, WOR by PME, Chasis Intrusion, PXE

Accessories- 1 x SLI bridge, 1 x ASUS Q-Connector Kit(USB, 1394, system panel Retail version only), 1 x ASUS Array Mic,1 x UltraDMA 133/100/66 cable, 1 x Floppy disk drive cable, 6 x SATA cables, 3 x SATA power cable for 6 devices,1 x 2-port USB2.0 module,1 x IEEE1394a port module,1 x I/O Shield, InterVideo Media Launcher (OEM version only),Users manual

Support CD- Drivers, ASUS PC Probe II, ASUS Update , ASUS AI Booster, NVIDIA MediaShield RAID,Anti-virus software (OEM version)

Form Factor- ATX Form Factor, 12x 9.6 (30.5cm x 24.5cm) ASUS AI Lifestyle Features-AI Nap, AI Gear, ASUS Fanless DesignHeat-pipe Thermal solution,ASUS Array Mic, Noise Filter

More about → Motherboard M2N-SLI DELUXE AMD Althon 64

Motherboard H8QM3-2 Quad AMD Opteron

Quad AMD Opteron 8000 Series (Socket F) Support, 1000 MHz HyperTransport Link. nVidia MCP55 Pro / IO55 / NEC uPD720400 Chipsets. Up to 128GB 32 DIMMS DDR2 667/533/400 SDRAM. Intel 82546GB Dual-port Gigabit LAN/Ethernet Controller. 8-port LSI 1068E SAS Controller.

MPN: MBD-H8QM3-2-O
Vendor: Supermicro
Key Features
Bulk/Retail Retail

Memory Slot 32

Serial Port Qty 2

USB 2.0 Port 4

LAN Dual Gigabit Lan

Max Bus Speed 1000 MHz

Warranty 1 Year Parts; 3 Years Labor

USB 1.x Port Same as USB 2.0

Processor AMD Opteron

Serial ATA Controller 6 x SATAII

RAID Controller RAID 0/1/0+1/5 and JBOD

Onboard Graphics ATI ES1000

Form Factor Proprietary

Supported RAM Technology DDR2 667/533/400

IDE Controller ATA 100/133

Power Supply Pin Size 8-pin , 8-pin , 24-pin

Pin Count Socket 1207

Chipset Type nVidia MCP55 Pro

Power Supply Minimum Size 1200W ATX

Max RAM 128 GB

Detail Specifications

Physical Stats

- Form Factor: Proprietary

- Dimensions: 16.4" x 13" (41.7cm x 33.0cm)

CPU

- Quad 1207-pin Socket F. Supports up to four Dual-Core AMD Opteron 8000 Series (Socket F) processor(s)

- 1000MHz HyperTransport

Chipset

- nVidia MCP55 Pro, IO 55, NEC uPD720400

System Memory

- Thirty-two 240-pin DIMM sockets. Supports up to 128 GB memory.

- DDR2 667/533/400MHz buffered (registered) ECC SDRAM 72- bit, 240-pin gold-plated DIMMs

On-Board Devices

- nVidia MCP55 Pro SATA2 3.0Gbps Controller. 6 SATA2 Ports. SATA RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 5 JBOD Support

- LSI SAS1068E. RAID 0, 1, 10 support. (Optional: AOC- IButton68) RAID 5 support

- Support for Intelligent Platform Management Interface v.2.0. 200-pin IPMI slot

- Intel 82546GB Dual Port Gigabit Ethernet Controller

- Super I/O: Winbond 83627HG

- VGA: ATI ES1000 Graphics Controller

Input / Output

- 8 SAS / SATA ports, 6 SATA2 ports

- Single EIDE channel support up to two UDMA IDE devices. Supports UDMA Mode 5, PIO Mode 4, ATA 100 / 133

- 1 Floppy port; 1.44 MB support

- 2 RJ45 LAN ports, 1 VGA port

- Up to 4 USB Ports 2.0/1.1 Compliant (2 Rear Ports, 2 Internal Headers)

- PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports

- 1 Fast UART 16550 serial port, 1 Header

Important Chassis Notes

- To ensure system stability, a 1200W (minimum) ATX power supply [ 8-pin & 8-pin (+12V) and 24-pin are required]

Expansion Slots

- 2 x16 PCI-e Slots, 1 x8 PCI-e Slot, 1 x4 PCI-e Slot (Using x8 Slot)

- 1 64-bit 133 MHz PCI-X (3.3V) slots

System BIOS

- 8Mb Flash EEPROM with AMI BIOS. SST 49LF080A BIOS Chip

- Plug and Play (PnP), DMI 2.3, PCI 2.2, ACPI 2.0/1.0, USB Keyboard Support, SMBIOS 2.3

Warranty

- 1 year parts & 3 years labor

More about → Motherboard H8QM3-2 Quad AMD Opteron

Motherboard P4SCI P4 IntelE7210 Socket478

Intel Pentium 4 Support up to 3.4 GHz, Celeron up to 2.4 GHz 2. Intel E7210 (Canterwood ES) Chipset 3. Up to 4GB DDR 400/333/266 SDRAM 4. 1 x Intel 82547GI CSA, 1x Intel 82541 Gigabit Ethernet Controller 5. Intel H6300ESB Serial ATA Controller 6. 2 x 64-bit 66MHz PCI-X, 2 x 32-bit 33MHz PCI (5V) slots 7. ATI RageXL 8MB PCI Graphic

MPN: P4SCI
Vendor: Supermicro
Key Features
Processor Pentium 4

Pin Count 478

Max Bus Speed 800 Mhz

Warranty 3 Years

Form Factor ATX

Max CPU Speed 3.4GHz

Parallel Port Qty 1

USB 2.0 Port 2

Chipset Type Intel E7210

More about → Motherboard P4SCI P4 IntelE7210 Socket478

Motherboard With Intel G33+ICH9R chipset

Support Intel Core 2 multi-core processors
- Dual Channel DDR2 800
- Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator
- SATA 3Gb/s with RAID
- Gigabit LAN & Firewire
- 8-channel High Definition Audio

More about → Motherboard With Intel G33+ICH9R chipset

Motherboard Gigabyte EP45-DQ6

The DQ6 class of motherboards have a way of creating their own headlines as each revision comes into existence and GA-EP45-DQ6 has several landmark features to make the DQ6 family proud of this newcomer. On board, you'll find four PCIe based Realtek 8111C Gigabit LAN controllers and this is readily seen by the rear-I/O panel's impressive quad Gigabit LAN ports. Before your jaw drops to the floor, we'll jog your memory that this isn't the world's first consumer board with quad LAN ports - that honor while still belonging to Gigabyte, was first introduced in their nForce 680i implementation in the GA-N680SLI-DQ6 motherboard . So that makes the GA-EP45-DQ6 the second board in history to feature four Gigabit LAN ports.
That's not to say that that this isn't one-of-a-kind, because the Realtek Gigabit controllers as well as the new software stack now supports teaming functionality across all these ports which enables four discreet connections to act as a singe massive connection with four times the bandwidth. Simply put, you've the equivalent of a single 4Gbps connection at your disposal for an ultra high performance digital media home server. Factor in Duplex operational modes and your theoretically have an 8Gbps connection! And unlike previous onboard LAN incarnations, these new network connection standards support Receive Side Scaling (RSS) that helps balance network traffic load among dual-core processors for better overall system performance. Furthermore, the network ports and the software stack are more resilient than ever before with fault tolerance support. Should any link suffer from a hardware failure, it is able to prevent network downtime by transferring the load to the other remaining working ports - be it in teaming mode or not. Sounds almost as if you're getting an onboard router with this motherboard, doesn't it?

More about → Motherboard Gigabyte EP45-DQ6

Motherboard ASUS M2N-SLI Dual-Channel DDR2-800

Support AMD Socket AM2+/AM2 CPU
- Dual Channel 4x DDR2 800/667/533/400MHz Slot
- Gigabit LAN

ASUS M2N-SLI (nForce560 SLI/ATX) Dual-Channel DDR2-800

More about → Motherboard ASUS M2N-SLI Dual-Channel DDR2-800

New AMD motherboard

For overclockers, the A79A-S comes with Foxconn's proprietary Windows-based overclocking utility, FoxOne, which allows newbie overclockers to adjust their motherboard settings without venturing into the more complex BIOS environment.

Since the SB750 Southbridge was designed specially for overclockers, now is probably a good time to mention talk about it. One of the key features of the SB750 is the incorporation


of something called Advance Clock Calibration (ACC), which is a feature that works together with AMD's Overdrive to give overclockers more headroom with AMD Phenom chips - up to 200MHz or more in some cases. To add on, the new Southbridge will also support RAID 5, something that was missing from its predecessor, the SB600. Other features include more SATA 3Gbps ports (two more for a total of six) and USB 2.0 support for up to 12 ports (an increase from 10 ports). There's also an SB700 Southbridge model that has identical features to the SB750, sans the RAID 5 support.

More about → New AMD motherboard

Motherboard PVL-D/1U Intel Xeon E7520 LGA603 Asus

Asus PVL-D/1U is especially for 1U servers based on Intels latest dual core processor platform, it provides customers the most advanced technologies and superb performance with DDR2 400 and other leading technologies.

MPN: PVL-D/1U
Vendor: Asus
Key Features
Warranty 3 Years
Max RAM 16 GB

Max CPU Speed 3.6GHz

Pin Count 603

LAN GB Lan

IDE Controller Ultra DMA 33/66/100/133

Supported RAM Technology DDRII-400

Form Factor EATX

Chipset Type Intel E7520

Processor Intel Xeon

Bulk/Retail N/A

Serial ATA Controller N/A

Firewire Port Qty N/A

Audio Output N/A

Slots N/A

USB 2.0 Port N/A

Serial Port Qty N/A

Cables N/A

AGP Slots N/A

RAID Controller N/A

Accessories N/A

Special Features N/A

Power Supply Minimum Size N/A

Power Supply Pin Size N/A

SCSI Controller N/A

Onboard Management Controllers N/A

Graphics Memory N/A

Memory Slot N/A

Hyper-Threading Technology N/A

USB 1.x Port N/A

Onboard Graphics N/A

Parallel Port Qty N/A

Max Bus Speed 800MHz

Detail Specifications

Dual core Xeon with 800MHz FSB, DDR2 400 and advanced network connection are the latest high-performance technologies for those that demand the very best

Dual PCI-E Broadcom Gigabit LAN chips deliver most efficient network connectivity with load balance and failover function

ECC Registered DDR2 400 provides superb memory performance with better signal quality, stability and reliability

More about → Motherboard PVL-D/1U Intel Xeon E7520 LGA603 Asus

Choosing a motherboard

Choosing a motherboard is actually something of a backwards process, because the motherboard will determine which CPU and RAM you can use. In most cases, I advocate picking a CPU first and then looking at your available motherboard options. It makes sense especially at the high-end, where the CPU will be the most expensive component in your PC. The only circumstance where I would choose a motherboard before a CPU is if you have expensive legacy adapters, older PCI or even ISA adapter that you are married to for industrial use reasons, and you require a motherboard featuring the proper number of legacy slots.
The 4th edition of Build Your Own PC features three different motherboard and CPU combinations, representing the latest in mainstream PC technology. The first build is a Pentium 4 LGA (Land Grid Array), the new Intel CPU package design for Socket 775. The motherboard used was an Intel D925XCV, which Intel kindly provided with the CPU, which was pre-production at the time I did the photography for the book. I'd actually put off doing the 4th edition for almost a year while waiting for Intel and AMD to release the platforms that would have a little shelf life, and the Socket 775 design with DDR2 support should remain the desktop computer flagship for Intel for a while. The motherboard also features the new PCI Express standard for the highest speed video card support, double the throughput of AGP X8.

owever, it's been AMD that's been pushing the performance barrier for desktop computers the past couple years, and we used an ASUS ABV Deluxe motherboard to support a Athlon 64 3800+ CPU. The ASUS motherboard supported 8X AGP, two banks of DDR, built in Gigabit networking, and didn't buckle under the weight of that huge chunk of copper called a heatsink:-) Both of these motherboard were standard ATX boards and could have just as easily been built in the other's corresponding case.

The Pentium 4 in Socket 478 with RAMBUS RDRAM (RIMM) was held over from the third edition, in part to illustrate the RDRAM, and in part because of the SCSI drive option. The motherboard was a D850MD, which is really a small format ATX, but was available pre-production back when I was doing the third edition. All of these motherboards featured full I/O cores with sound, I/O ports and USB, with the newer motherboards going over the top with 6.1 and 7.1 sound!

The second chapter of the book discusses choosing a motherbard and getting the most bang for your buck with components, which roughly translates into, "buy a middle of the road CPU in the latest technology (in case you need to upgrade) with a middle of the road motherboard." It's really a question of buying what you need with the option to expand, since after you build your own PC you'll be ready and willing to upgrade it when the price of the $800 CPU falls to $100.

More about → Choosing a motherboard

GA-N650SLI-DS4 New Motherboards

Designed for enthusiasts with extreme overclocking and blistering high-definition gaming performance in mind, the GIGABYTE GA-N680SLI-DQ6 motherboard features the advanced NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI MCP chipset, delivering true dual PCI Express x16 connectivity for flawlessly smooth 3D video rendering and screaming frame rates. With support for an additional x8 lane of PCI Express connectivity, GIGABYTE GA-N680SLI-DQ6 allows users to add a standalone games physics processing card for an additional boost of graphics performance, taking games to the next level of hyper-realistic detail and effects.
Providing the most powerful gaming solution in the industry, the GIGABYTE GA-N680SLI-DQ6 features 1333 FSB support for Intel next generation Core2 Quad CPUs and NVIDIA SLI-Ready memory technology supporting DDR2 1200MHz memory modules (up to 8GB total system memory) for the ultimate in overclocking performance. Delivering an unprecedented level of features including an all-solid capacitor design, Quad-Triple Phase power and revolutionary GIGABYTE cooling technologies, the GIGABYTE GA-N680SLI-DQ6 was built tough to provide maximum stability, durability and performance for even the most hard-core PC gamers.

GIGABYTE also provides an additional extreme SLI motherboard featuring the NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI MCP chipset. The GIGABYTE GA-N650SLI-DS4 offers exceptional gaming performance and leading-edge connectivity features including dual PCI Express x8 connectivity, support for the latest generation SATA 3.0Gb/s devices, optimized Gigabit LAN and support for 8-channel Intel High Definition audio.

Worldwide distribution of the GIGABYTE GA-N680SLI-DQ6 and GA-N650SLI-DS4 is expected for late December, 2006.

More about → GA-N650SLI-DS4 New Motherboards

Motherboard with 2.4 GHz Intel P4

Asus P4P800-VM motherboard with 2.4 GHz Intel P4 to them and upgrade my own machine. Since I do a fair amount of number crunching but am not too concerned about video performance on my workstation, I started looking for a new motherboard with a cheap but decent nVidia video chipset and decent audio chipset onboard, with good Linux compatibility reports. I was also interested in an AMD 64 bit architecture since I had heard so many glowing performance reports. It seemed like the amd64 architecture had been around long enough to have most of the painful issues worked out in Linux, and I like to play around with new-but-not-bleeding-edge technology. So I narrowed my choice to amd64 motherboards and looked for some Linux motherboard recommendations online. Newegg.com turned up a few likely contenders.

After seeing a few negative comments at various places around the web regarding Asus' negative attitude toward Linux users, and not liking some of Asus' recent hot and fan-ful motherboards, I decided to give other vendors a try. The MSI K8NGM2-FID had a couple of positive Linux user reports on Newegg, and was certainly cheap enough, with onboard nVidia 6150 video, so I got one.

More about → Motherboard with 2.4 GHz Intel P4

Motherboard AMD Chaintech SK8T800

Features / Specifications

Processor

AMD Athlon™ 64 Processor

FSB
800 MHz

Chipset


North Bridge : VIA K8T800
South Bridge : VIA VT8237
LAN Chip : VIA VT6103 PHY 10/100 Mbit
Audio Chip : 5.1 Surround AC'97 Codec


Memory
2 x DDR Sockets:
DDR200/266/333/400 NON-ECC DDR SDRAM up to 2GB


Expansion Slots
1 x AGP(3.0) 8X slot (1.5V only)
5 x PCI slots (PCI 2.2 compliant)


IDE Connectors
2 ATA133/100/66 Channels, up to 4 ATA 133/100/66 IDE devices
2 Serial ATA150 Channels, up to 2 Serial ATA150 Hard Drives

Onboard I/O Connectors
Three 3x1 pin fan connectors
Three 5x2 pin USB connectors for additional 6 USB ports
Optional 3x2 pin S/PDIF connector for additional S/PDIF-out adaptor
3x1 pin wake on LAN connector with housing
3x1 pin wake on Modem connector with housing
Two 4x1 pin CD-in connectors
9x2 pin front panel connector
5x2 pin front side audio connector
20 pin ATX Power connector
4 pin ATX 12V Power connector


I/O via Back Panel
PS/2 keyboard/mouse, 2 x USB(2.0/1.1), 1x RJ45, 2 x Com(serial), 1 x Parallel,
1x Line-in / Line-out (Speaker Out ) / MIC, 1x Game / MIDI

Power
20-pin ATX power connector, 4-pin ATX 12V power connector

Form Factor
ATX ( 305 x 220 mm )

More about → Motherboard AMD Chaintech SK8T800

Review Motherboard ECS NF650iSLIT-A Socket 775

The ECS NF650SLIT-A Motherboard is intended to offer up full SLI PCI-E 16x support as well as some decent features. While the 650-SLI chipset has achieved less than top notch overclocking results from other various makers, it hasn't been poor results either. The common 650 boards reach the 1300 FSB area before running in to heat and stability issues. In some cases, these motherboards differ in limits based on which multi-core processor was used to test. Overclocking really isn't all that important as far as the 650-SLI goes. In fact, users would rather get a little something extra along with excellent stability and good performance. Let's see where the ECS NF650SLIT-A places based on these terms.

More about → Review Motherboard ECS NF650iSLIT-A Socket 775