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Intel
certainly has an established reputation when it comes to
motherboards. In most regards, its reputation is solid but hardware enthusiasts generally don't recognize
Intel for supporting those whom derive utility from
pushing a processor or motherboard to the limit.
Intel would rather see a group of power users purchase
3.06GHz Pentium 4 processors instead of overclocking their
less-expensive 2.53GHz chips to the same level.
Clock multipliers on both Pentium 4 and Athlon XP
processors are locked by both chip manufacturers as a
result of this mentality. Most motherboard
manufacturers are more sympathetic to mongering
overclockers, though. With so many boards on the market,
features like voltage modifications and 1MHz front side
bus settings help differentiate the unique boards from the
bland. Further, integrated add-ons like USB 2.0,
onboard Ethernet, Firewire and most recently Serial ATA,
infuse value which also attracts those that consider
themselves enthusiasts. Unfortunately, an impressive
specification sheet doesn't always equate to comparable
reliability. This is where Intel sets itself apart.
Simply, Intel takes pride in offering some of the most
stable motherboards on the market.
But in taking
a no-nonsense approach to system stability, performance
and feature sets are often sacrificed. Intel boards
work well in mission-critical machines and servers but we
wouldn't expect to find one in a tweaked out gaming rig,
at least up until now. It seems as though Intel has
deviated from the straight-and-narrow a bit, in order to
deliver a motherboard that includes a few more bells and
whistles than previous products. The D845PEBT2
(affectionately referred to as Blue Mountain 2) comes
equipped with 6-channel audio, IEEE 1394, Serial ATA and
integrated Ethernet. Its BIOS provides memory timing
options and the board is even laid out on an aesthetically
pleasing black PCB! While it may not be usual Intel
fare, we certainly love to see Intel making an earnest
appeal to the hearts of performance enthusiasts.
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Specifications and Features of Intel's D845PEBT2 |
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All of the bells and
whistles. |
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CPU:
Chipset:
Memory:
Serial
ATA:
Audio:
USB
2.0:
IEEE
1394:
-
Up to
three IEEE 1394a-2000 ports (Agere FW323-05)
(optional)
LAN:
Internal I/O Connectors:
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1 AGP 4X
slot, 5 PCI slots, 1 CNR slot
-
Floppy
Port supports up to 2.88MB
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2 x
Ultra DMA 33/66/100 Connectors
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2 x
Serial ATA 1.5G bps Connectors (RAID)
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1 x USB
headers, 2 x IEEE 1394 header
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1 x
Smart Card Reader connector
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CD/AUX/Modem audio input
Back
Panel I/O:
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1 x PS/2
Keyboard, 1 x PS/2 mouse
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4 x USB
connectors
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1 x IEEE
1394 connectors
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1 x
optical S/PDIF Out connector, 1 x coaxial connector
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Audio
I/O
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1 x
RJ-45 LAN Connector
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1 x
parallel port, 1 x serial port
Miscellaneous:
-
ATX form
factor (12" x 8.5")
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Hardware
monitoring - Including Fan speeds, Voltages, CPU and
System environment temperature
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Intel
Precision Cooling Technology
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Three
fan headers
As you can
see from the listed specification sheet, Intel has put
some effort into the D845PEBT2. To begin with,
the Silicon Image Sil3112A controller enables two
Serial ATA channels. This, of course, is in
addition to the parallel ATA channels provided by the
ICH4. Native S-ATA drives are still hard to come
by, but once availability improves, a pair can be used
in conjunction to form a RAID 0 (for performance) or
RAID 1 array (for data security).
Analog
Devices has made continual improvements to its audio
codec family, culminating in the AD1980 that Intel
utilizes on the D845PEBT2. Most gamers opt for
an add-on sound card that offers surround sound output
and digital connectivity, but the AD1980 helps
eliminate the need for an expensive card by supporting
6-channel analog output through three 1/8" mini-jacks
available on the board's back panel. Also
present are coaxial and optical digital outputs that
can be connected to an external receiver. Audio
quality differences are hardly discernable and with a
3.06GHz Pentium 4, there is little performance penalty
due to the use of the onboard codec.
Intel has
championed the use of USB, so it is no surprise that
USB 2.0 support is included in the ICH4. Four
ports are offered on the board's back panel and an
additional two are available through a header.
Surprisingly, Intel has also included the Agere FW323
Firewire Link/PHY that interfaces with a single
Firewire port on the back of the board and two more
optional ports available through a header. LAN
capabilities have also been integrated using Intel's
own 82562 MAC/PHY, rounding out the D845PEBT2 back
panel with an RJ-45 connector that delivers 10/100Mbps
speeds.
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| | The
BIOS, Layout and Quality
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