Tech Link (Motherboard): Four Mainstream Core 2 Motherboards

ExtremeTech reviewed four motherboard that supports Conroe. They aren't targetted necessarily for overclockers, so if you're such type, then you'll skip this one. However, those boards are really nice and if you're not interested about overclocking, then give this one a look. They have an Abit AB9 Pro, Asus P5B-VM, Foxconn P9657AA-8KSH2, and a Gigabyte GA965P-DQ6 on the test bed.

Final Thoughts: Consider What You Need
About the only board in our roundup we'd be hard pressed to recommend is the ABIT AB9 Pro, but that's only because of its weird layout. All of these boards offer solid performance and stability at default settings. The Gigabyte GA-965-DQ6 is a dream power-user board, while the Foxconn P9657AA-8KS2H is easy on the wallet. If you're hankering for a compact but full-featured microATX board, then the ASUS P5B-VM is an excellent choice.

Motherboards have come a long way. Buying a name-brand board these days usually means you get a stable, reliable system. If you want to go beyond that, however, you'll have to pay a bit more.

Source:Four Mainstream Core 2 Motherboards

Tech Link (Motherboard): 975X Express Motherboard Round-Up: Foxconn, Abit, and MSI

HotHardware posted a nice round up of motherboards that supports the new Intel processors. If you are looking for one, and can't decide which brand to take, take a gander and decide for yourself.

Performance Summary: All three of the 975X Express-based motherboards we tested performed similarly throughout all of our benchmarks. Overall, the Abit AW9D-MAX came away with the most benchmark victories, but the deltas separating the boards were always quite small. Strictly form a performance standpoint, there isn't much to differentiate the Abit AW9D-MAX, from the Foxconn 975X7AB-8EKRS2, or the MSI 975X Platinum v2. But, there are other things to consider of course.

Foxconn 975X7AB-8EKRS2H: There is a lot to like about Foxconn's 975X7AB-8EKRS2. According to our PriceGrabber price search engine, this motherboard is the least expensive of the three motherboards we looked at here, and could potentially be the least expensive, Core 2 compatible 975X Express-based motherboard available currently. At about $172, the Foxconn 975X7AB-8EKR2S is a relative steal. This motherboard exploits all of the features inherent to the 975X Express (CrossFire, HD Audio, Matrix RAID), and incorporates some innovations like Fox One and a solid state VRM. Performance and stability were both solid throughout our testing, and the board overclocked quite well. If you're in the market for a well appointed 975X Express-based motherboard, you owe it to yourself to check out the Foxconn 975X7AB-8EKRS2H.

Source:975X Express Motherboard Round-Up: Foxconn, Abit, and MSI

Tech Link (Motherboard): Intel P965: Foxconn P9657AA- 8KS2H

Hmm, today is value board day. AMDTech decided to get out of their uber high end motherboard review and have gone mainstream. It's nice to see websites doing such kind of review since most of the time, only mid-end and high-end motherboards are being reviewed by websites. I haven't read the full review, but I found out that it can overclock as well, though you can't expect it to compete against the big boys. Check out their review, expand this article for more.

Final Words

Once again we have a P965 based motherboard that performs equally with our other review units at stock levels. This is not necessarily a bad thing because with the base level performance basically being equal you can decide if features, price, quality, overclocking performance, or support will be the determining factor in your buying decision.

Our expectations of the Foxconn P9657AA-8KS2H varied over the course of testing as we did not anticipate much from a $100 P965 board at first. These expectations changed as we noticed the quality of the motherboard, its components, and general layout. Once we booted the board and updated to the latest BIOS our interest was piqued as maybe this motherboard would offer that perfect yet elusive price to performance ratio that we have been looking for during our P965 review process. We were at first disappointed with the overclocking capability of the board and then took a moment to recheck our original expectations of the board but more importantly ourselves.

Our original expectations of this board were centered on the stability and performance we would experience on a board that was selling for right under $100. We were also interested in the feature set and more importantly if Foxconn had designed a board that would live up to their marketing materials. Except for their recently released NVIDIA 590SLI motherboard which received a great deal of attention from NVIDIA's engineering group, their previous WinFast product lines were not the best enthusiast level boards.

This board is part of the CORE Series that promises leading technology products at affordable prices. Foxconn delivers on this point with the P9657AA-8KS2H motherboard. While not perfect, this board does exactly what it promises at a price that we find amazing for a board based on the Intel P965 chipset. The overall quality of the motherboard and its components are excellent while the feature set and layout is very good. We found the board was rock solid during several weeks of outright abuse in testing along with very good technical support from Foxconn.

We were originally disappointed with the overclocking performance and then realized we were expecting something from this board that was not promised by Foxconn in this series of product. We have grown accustomed to grading a board with the latest technology on its overclocking and pure performance aspects first and then looking at the features, stability, and other aspects of the board. We usually do this based upon how the motherboard is marketed but at times we also expect or demand premium performance at budget prices.

There have been just enough motherboards that have met these expectations to spoil us but they were usually a surprise and not an expectation. We have recently started to readjust our expectations to the point where features, quality, support, and overall platform stability are at the top of the list. Once those are addressed then we will certainly dive headfirst into the performance potential of the motherboard but with our eyes open as to what market the product is intended to reach. This board is intended for the mainstream user who needs stability, a good set of features, basic overclocking potential, and a strong technical support group behind the product. We believe this board is near perfect for that user and those buying the product looking for outrageous overclocks or class leading performance will be disappointed.

Not all is perfect with this board but a few minor issues can be overlooked considering the price/performance considerations. The location of the 8-pin ATX power connector will mean some creative cable routing will be required for the larger air coolers and even the stock unit to some degree. The overclocking capability of both the FSB and memory is limited but up to that limit the board was very stable. This board needs decent DDR2-800 to extract its performance potential but there is no need to purchase expensive kits as CAS 3 timings are not recommended. We had a few ghost issues such as our SATA drives not being recognized at various overclocks with a P4 processor or the Fox One utility occasionally not reporting the correct CPU temperature. One last minor quibble would be the addition of another fan header and Firewire support.

Overall, this is the best P965 motherboard available for under $100. It is not meant for the enthusiast group or even the hardcore gaming user. However, for the mainstream user that needs a high quality and stable Intel platform for general use then we highly recommend the Foxconn P9657AA-8KS2H.

Source:Intel P965: Foxconn P9657AA- 8KS2H

Tech Link (Motherboard): FOXCONN 975X7AB-8EKRS2H Motherboard Review

I know, I am on a posting spree, this is what's happening when you put a FanBoy on a vacation leave. It just gives me more time to brag and post and brag and post, what more can you ask from a FanBoy? Anyway, LegitReview got themselves busy with a nice motherboard from FoxConn. This motherboard is the only board that I know of that has a digital VRM to regulate power for the CPU. It looks ok, not attractive, but decent enough. The red PCB reminds me of standard board from MSI though, but anyway, check this out since LegitReviewer seems impressed.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion
So what do you say about a board that:a) Has a great layout with a great bundle; b) Performs as well as any other board out there; c) Overclocks like mad? You say that this board should be on the top of your list as you are looking at motherboards to house your brand new Core 2 Duo processor. Also, we should mention that this board comes in at a MUCH lower price than many other boards out there. Right now, you can pick this board up for a cool $159.99, which is much less than the $200+ that some of these new Core 2 Duo boards are retailing for.

One thing that should not be overlooked as we close up this review is the fact that Foxconn heard us when we let them know of a bios issue, and then within a matter of 72 hours, we had a new bios in hand, that had been tested by them over the weekend to make sure that it worked properly. This is almost unheard of anymore in the industry.

Feature-wise, this board has really everything you would want. And the bundle that comes with it is very generous considering the "low" price tag. The Foxconn 975X7AB-8EKRS2H motherboard can be found for $159.99 from online retailers, which makes it less than competing boards like the abit AW9D-MAX that we reviewed at the start of the week. The Foxconn 975X7AB-8EKRS2H represents great value from a price versus performance standpoint and an ideal motherboard for those looking to try out mild overclocking.

The ability to run a Crossfire setup also insures that you will be gaming to the best level that you can, and that you will be able to upgrade to a dual card setup if needed at a later date to extend the life of this board.

Legit Bottom Line: Foxconn really has outdone themselves with the offering of the 975X7AB. The performance and overclockability of the board are outstanding and the customer support is first class. This board certainly was not a "Dog" but a Fox to be desired. What more could you ask for in a board? With all that said, at $159.99, this board is certainly worthy of of value award for the 975X series of boards.

Source:FOXCONN 975X7AB-8EKRS2H Motherboard Review

Tech Link (Motherboard): Foxconn 975X7AB - FOX ONE and Digital VRM

I used to be a fan of LostCircuits when they are very objective and not subjective and seemed to be oblivious as to what the industry is trying to push on the "marketing" and they are focusing on "what's really in for the technology". Over time, I feel that this has changed, and I also began going away from the site.

I always wish I'd give the site the same reverence I used to give it to, but I just can't help but wonder if they really deserve it. But hey, it's just me, so you may have a different perspective and outlook on the way they post their articles. Have a look see, they have a new motherboard for the new Chipzilla processor on the test bench.

Summary

The probably hottest newcomer in the motherboard scene is Foxconn, who has recently set new standards of how to build motherboards based on nVidia and Intel chipsets. One thing we love about that company is that there is always one board where it seems that all stops have been pulled, examples have been the Winfast NFPIK8AA as well as the C51XEM2AA but both were aimed at AMD CPUs - understandable at the time of their introduction but things have changed. Intel's Core2 processors have conquered the enthusiast community by storm and - who might have guessed - Foxconn is following with the appropriate board, based on Intel's 975X chipset and displaying the inspiring name 975X7AB.

What the name lacks is made up by the feature set. A digital voltage regulator module borrowed from server class motherboards in combination with an auto-overclocking ASIC supported by proprietary software are the hi-lights but there is more in the form of Azalia audio and Dual Gigabit Ethernet. Having the features is one thing, having them working together is another issue and overclocking is yet a third issue since getting into Windows with enough stability is not the same as ramping the performance accordingly. So how does all of this pan out in the grand picture? Especially when we test with SLI instead of CrossFire?

Source:Foxconn 975X7AB - FOX ONE and Digital VRM