Pros: I have used this board in over 30 builds with no problems at all. For the price this board far exceeds other manufactures boards at the same price level.
Cons: none what so ever! This board goes in everytime. Never have received a dead board.
Overall Review: Like I said I have used this board alot and when I see some of the reviews saying that you cant install windows xp sp1 sp2 on this board well thats just ridiculous!. I install winxp sp/2 on these with no problems at all. Most bad reviews of this board are caused not by THIS BOARD but by other components such as memory that is not 1.8 volts and or user error or lack of knowledge.
Pros: Small power consumption, small footprint, price, features, works fine with CentOS 5.3 and FedoraCore had installation problems with CentOS 5.2.
Cons: Built in graphics card not fully recognized by FedoraCore and CentOS had to install in graphics mode by using 'linux xdriver=vesa' << not really a problem.
Overall Review: Once the above graphics card hack is applied the card runs like a charm in linux. I had absolutely no problems with windows XP, vista and beta of windows 7.
I upgraded to the latest bios and this thing runs like a charm.
Pros: Nice simple layout, PCI x16 slot, quad core support up to 95W. This build has a Q9650 in it. Runs fast.
Cons: I have 3 of these boards so far , but have only built one so far, bios boots seem sluggish, even after bios update, motherboard speaker beeps upon boot up, just to let you know that it is boot, not because of an error. No error logs. Been building intel motherboard systems for 4-5 years now, and don't see the bios bootup beep often here lately. Odd.
Overall Review: This build, Q9650, 4GB DDR2 800, 2TB WD HDD, this board, in a 2U desktop case. Runs great. Vista 64 Home Prem.
Pros: Worked good out of the box as Intel usually does. I have been reformed to stick with Intel because of the capacitor issues that I have experienced with other motherboards in the recent past. The machines that I build are in a audio editing environment and audio playback in a broadcast radio station environment and are expected to last a long time. No on likes surprises at 2 am in the morning or anytime. These machines typically run 24-7 and are expected to be stable.
Pros: Onboard video is great! I have a 1920x1080 monitor and it looks great! This is not used for hardcore gaming, but online games look amazing.
Everything went together very well, great instructions & easy to understand layout.
Cons: I wish it had more fan headers, but I knew how many it had when I bought it.
Also wish the 4pin power connector was placed lower so it would be easier to hide wires, but no big deal.
Overall Review: reliable, easy to use, and came with everything I needed and then some.
Pros: Have purchased many of these boards for system builds. They are great boards for customers who prefer Intel HW. Very reliable, have had zero failures.
Cons: Maybe not the fastest or the most feature rich of MBs on the market.
Anonymous
Ownership: 1 day to 1 week
Verified Owner
Perfect Motherboard6/19/2009 11:34:44 AM
Pros: Nice compact micro ATX motherboard, has an IDE connector (saved me from having to buy a sata DVD burner), 4 sata ports, good onboard audio (fine for gaming), is fully compatible with the latest version of Ubuntu Linux (9.04 Jaunty), PCI Express x16. CMOS battery is perpendicular to the motherboard, never seen that before, but it looks cool.
Cons: Only one fan connector, besides CPU one. Not really an issue for most cases. If you are using lm-sensors in linux, it can only detect the CPU temp; fan speeds and voltages can only be accessed in the BIOS. That should be fixed in the future from what I read on the lm-sensors page.
Overall Review: I ordered this motherboard with several other parts to rebuild my 5 1/2 year old box. Everything worked out great. If I build any more systems in the near future, I'll be ordering this motherboard again. For the price and quality, you just can't get a better deal. I always use intel, never had a problem with their boards.
Intel Dual Core E6300 @ 2.8 GHz
2 GB RAM/DDR2 800 MHz
EVGA 9800GT (If you do put a big GFX card in there like a 9800GT, it will cover the top of the first PCI slot leaving you with only one PCI slot left)
400 watt modular PSU
Pros: I have used this board in over 30 builds with no problems at all. For the price this board far exceeds other manufactures boards at the same price level.
Cons: none what so ever! This board goes in everytime. Never have received a dead board.
Overall Review: Like I said I have used this board alot and when I see some of the reviews saying that you cant install windows xp sp1 sp2 on this board well thats just ridiculous!. I install winxp sp/2 on these with no problems at all. Most bad reviews of this board are caused not by THIS BOARD but by other components such as memory that is not 1.8 volts and or user error or lack of knowledge.