null/void

[First]

845PE/GE are out...

 

[RalfHutter]

Please review a real Intel board. So we can see if it can hold it's own against the overclockable boards.

 

[Khanivore]

Please don't forget to include the Abit BG7 (i845G) motherboard in your tests.

Also, can you find out how overclockable the i845G motherboards are compared to i845E motherboards?

You might also want to look into why the i845G chipset gives better Sandra 2002 Memory Benchmark score without the Intel INF drivers than with the drivers installed.

I'll be looking forward to your review.

 

[cliffa3]

if you could include an Albatron PX845G Pro II Motherboard, that would be cool...i saw a reveiw over here http://www.ocprices.com/index.php?rev_id=81&cat_id=74&action=reviews and was pretty impressed, but it'd be nice to see it compared side by side with a few others...also, if you could comment on when AGP 8x will be available or if it already is in an intel DDR board, or if there would be any reason to wait on it...thanks for all your hard work.

 

[lghost]

Boards from Epox, MSI, Gigabyte, ASUS, Abit, all the usual suspects.
Please be sure to cover who has PCI/AGP lock.
Thanks for asking!!

 

[cliffa3]

agreed on the agp/pci lock...a nice overclocling section would be much appreciated...overview features and go for testing...i've heard of a few interesting RAM settings that even the best stuff today can't even handle.

 

[JingHola]

Hi Evan, I would like to see you review the overall capabilities of the boards to use more than
one DIMM memory module with various brands of PC2700 memory. I recently bought an Epox
4G4A+ board and found that it would not run two sticks of Samsung PC2700 CL2.5 rated mem
modules at the DDR333 speed that it automatically defaults to (non-overclocked). I had to lower
the mem speed to DDR 290'ish speeds to get stability. However, using only one stick of the PC2700
DDR memory, the board runs rock stable at DDR333 and above speeds. Two sticks installed and
something happens where it becomes unstable and will give system freeze ups.

So if you could check out aspects like these to confirm if all the MB's or which MB's can run with
more than one DIMM slot populated. that would help separate out the boards for folks to make
decisions on... Also it is very KEY that a review mention which version of the BIOS each board is
tested with so that it can be referenced. Alot of times, reviewers don't mention which BIOS for each
MB they tested with.

Of course do test each board for how well they can OC too! Let us know which one(s) are the real
strong overclockers and which ones are'nt.

Thanks!

 

[gururu]

that is soooo cool!

can you investigate which boards undervolt or overvolt, as well as the discrepancy in cpu temperature readings
that these boards have. On one extreme Asus i845G board and on the other abit and epox?

please use retail hsf fan for the overclocking, since that is the hypothetical 'worst case scenario'.

good luck!

 

[yuppiejr]

It would be nice to see a representative or two from the non Intel chipsets (SIS 645DX/648, etc..) included in the benchmarks for reference purposes.

I'd also be curious how some of the Micro-ATX 845G boards perform and compare in terms of BIOS/overclocking features next to their full size ATX counterparts. The Abit BG7-M, Asus P4B533-VM, Chaintech 9BIF and Soltek Sl-85MIR-L boards are all full featured 845G boards in the m-ATX form factor. I have read there are some significant differences between the m-ATX/ATX versions of some of these boards, particularly in terms of overclocking features.

Thanks for asking, by the way.

 

[Showtime]

i'd also like to see that albatron board. It has a cas1.5 setting and all the different voltage settings. That ocprices review has it doing an amazing 185 fsb. 1.6a@ 2.960 using vapo chill and no extra cooling on mobo.
-show

 

[Athlon4all]

Hmmm, I would first off like to see if possible some tests for the absolute highest fsb on these boards using a unlocked Northwood but also, I would like to see how these boards do with both a 1.6A and 1.8A for people looking to take a 1.6A to 600fsb or 1.8A to 133fsb since those 2 CPU's remain.

One other thing that I would like to see however, is can these boards manage 2 sticks of DDR333 at CAS 2.5 and CAS2? Remember, this chipset doesn't offically support DDR333 can it can't handle 3 DDR266. Thats a secondary thing, but it would be interesting none the less.

 

[IntelConvert]

Evan~

1. I also would like you to investigate the stability of the boards when maxing-out all DIMM banks (with both PC266 and PC333).

2. From a SOHO perspective, I'm very interested in an evaluation of the 2D image-quality obtainable from the integrated graphics!

3. From a stock-performance viewpoint, how do the 845G boards compare to their 845E counterparts?

 

[MacKenzieIII]

Be curious if when a graphics card is put into the AGP slot. Can the intergrated graphics also be used to power a 2nd monitor. This seems like it could provide a nice bit of added desktop space.

 

[zuze]

Definetly some Soltek SL-85MIR series boards or their brand new SL-85MR2-SL with SATA interface.

Another thing that would be good if you could explain why some motherboards like Epox's one don't have the 12V connector which is required for P4. I have noticed on Soltek MIR boards that there is a socket for a regular power connector(besides the 12V connector) that we would use on cd roms or harddrives. Is it a replacement for that 12V connector?I am puzzled.Out to look at the manuals.

Update: I guess it is just peripheral power. Eh

 

[Wishkar]

please provide a 'bang for buck' section i.e. which board comes with most accessories, additional features such as lan port and 5channel sound etc.

agp/pci locking is also a must

 

[FodderMAN]

Before reviewing the Gigabyte 8igxp please read my comments in this thread.

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=29&threadid=835556

Thankyou,
FodderMAN

PS: I am not angry with the company I just want the 8igxp and from what I was told there are currently no plans to released the 8igxp in the US market.

 

[Tummy]

I too would like to see the stability of using multiple pc2700 dimms in each board, as when running non-standard memory fsb's on my GA-8IGX, it fails miserably.

 

[Lizardman]

I will second what gururu said about taking a note as to which boards record high temperatures and by how much. I have a BG7 myself and the winbond chips seems to report a temp that is about 12 - 15 C higher than what I think it should be. I am basing my information on a thermal probe i have next to the CPU. Dont forget to mention all the good overclocking bios options each board has like pci lock and Vcore adjustments, I am sure you wont though

 

[soki]

- WHICH MOTHERBOARDS HAVE PCI/AGP LOCK FOR BETTER OVERCLOCKING

- WHICH MOTHERBOARDS CAN ACCEPT 3 DIMMS OF DDR MEMORY @333 MHZ

- WHICH MOTHERBOARDS CAN DO 3 DIMMS@333 MHZ AND @ 133 FSB

 

[VincentVega]

please test the Gigabyte GA-8IGXP, and tell us where to buy

 

[soki]

Also if there are any problems when we use different amount of memory from different companies
Like a 256 ddr/333 from Corsair with a 512 ddr/333 from kingston for example...

 

[Antoneo]

Be curious if when a graphics card is put into the AGP slot. Can the intergrated graphics also be used to power a 2nd monitor. This seems like it could provide a nice bit of added desktop space.

Nope, you can't have two devices using the AGP bus.

Like Gururu suggested, could you see if the temps reported by each motherboard company are in fact different than what they really are? Some users say that Asus report lower temps than actuality and I was wondering if it is possible at all to verify if this is true or not.

 

[wingtel]

Please test a sis648 based abit/asus motherboard with 845g based mob BG7,P4B533V.Thanks,keep the good work going.

 

[Jola]

Stay away from the Gigabyte boards if you want to overclock. If you don't want to overclock just buy the Intel 845EBT, it seems to be a great board!

What I want to see from Evan Lieb's reviews is just a basic overclocking test to see if the boards shape up. For example, run a 1.8A at an 133FSB, and use a 3:4 memory multiplier to run the memory at 177Mhz DDR (obviously using reasonable memory).

This is a basic overclock, and if the board can't do this then it doesn't qualify as an overclocking board (the Gigabyte boards can't do this).

I am sure that many overclockers will go much further than this, eg 150FSB and memory bus at 200MHz DDR. This is still attainable with standard cooling and good memory (eg Corsair XMS3200), but I suppose this goes a bit further and can't really be expected from all motherboards and CPU's.

Just to cater for the many users that want to do just some basic adventuring.

I am just irritated that I bought the 8IEXP, which is an absolute dog, because it was an editors choice!!!

 

[soki]

Originally posted by: Jola
Stay away from the Gigabyte boards if you want to overclock. If you don't want to overclock just buy the Intel 845EBT, it seems to be a great board!

What I want to see from Evan Lieb's reviews is just a basic overclocking test to see if the boards shape up. For example, run a 1.8A at an 133FSB, and use a 3:4 memory multiplier to run the memory at 177Mhz DDR (obviously using reasonable memory).

This is a basic overclock, and if the board can't do this then it doesn't qualify as an overclocking board (the Gigabyte boards can't do this).

I am sure that many overclockers will go much further than this, eg 150FSB and memory bus at 200MHz DDR. This is still attainable with standard cooling and good memory (eg Corsair XMS3200), but I suppose this goes a bit further and can't really be expected from all motherboards and CPU's.

Just to cater for the many users that want to do just some basic adventuring.

I am just irritated that I bought the 8IEXP, which is an absolute dog, because it was an editors choice!!!

Jola it's not the gigabyte the problem for not going the p4 1,8A @ 133 fsb is the processor