PCSTATS     
[X]   Directory of
Guides & Reviews

Beginners Guides
Motherboards by Brand
Weekly Newsletter
Archived Newsletters

+70 MORE Beginner GUIDES....
Gigabyte GA-8GPNXP Duo 915P Motherboard Review
Gigabyte GA-8GPNXP Duo 915P Motherboard Review  - PCSTATS
Along side the Socket 775 Pentium 4 the GA-8GPNXP Duo will support up to 4GB of DDR-2 or DDR memory (though not at the same time); which is one the nicer features of the 915P chipset.
 89% Rating:   
Filed under: Motherboards Published:  Author: 
External Mfg. Website: Gigabyte Oct 09 2004   Max Page  
Home > Reviews > Motherboards > Gigabyte GA-8GPNXP Duo

Gigabyte GA-8GPNXP Duo 915P Motherboard Review

When Intel introduced the i865PE last year, little was the company aware that it would later become a victim of that chipsets success. Targeted towards the mainstream market, the i865PE offered a lot of a value, was less expensive than the i875P, and performed like a champ. Soon after its release the major Taiwanese motherboard manufacturers discovered how to turn the i865PE's 'PAT' on, a feature that was supposedly exclusive to the i875P. This put Intel in a difficult situation. With i865PE and PAT enabled, there was really no reason to spend the extra money for an i875P equipped motherboard since performance was identical.

With the i865PE being substantially cheaper than the i875P, we can only assume it was none to pleased that sales of its flagship i875P solution quickly faltered... This time around, Intel has been very tight lipped about the 915P and 925X chipsets, and exactly what differentiates the two.

Over the next few pages of this review, PCstats will be examining the Gigabyte -built GA-8GPNXP Duo socket 775 Intel Pentium 4 motherboard. It is targeted towards the masses, and is based on the 915P chipset.

Along side the Socket 775 Pentium 4 the GA-8GPNXP Duo will support up to 4GB of DDR-2 or DDR memory (though not at the same time); which is one the nicer features of the 915P chipset.

Gigabyte GA-8GPNXP Duo

Includes:

Users Manual, SATA RAID Manual, Hardware Installation Guide, One Ultra/133 IDE Cable, One Floppy Cable, Four Serial ATA Cables, Two Molex Y Serial ATA Power Cables, Wireless NIC, DPS Power System, Northbridge Fan, Driver CD, USB Bracket, IEEE1394b/USB Bracket

There are two sockets for DDR-2 RAM, and four sockets for DDR RAM. Onboard components consists of an IDE RAID controller, IEEE 1394b fireware, four SATA channels, three PCI x1 slots, 7.1 channel Intel 'High Definition Audio', a PCI Express based Broadcom 5751 Gigabit NIC, a second PCI-based Gigabit Marvel NIC, an 802.11G wireless LAN card, and twin BIOS'. The software bundle includes all the typical fodder, including a copy of Norton Internet Security 2004.

The board is the typical Gigabyte shade of blue, and utilizes colour coded sockets and ports to help new users find their way around easier. From this standpoint I can certainly appreciate the extra work Gigabyte has done with this board, and it makes installing components all the much simpler.

The board features two legacy PCI slots, four PCI Express x1 channels (one is used for the Gigabit NIC, so there are three actual PCI Express x1 slots), and the all important PCI Express x16 videocard socket. There aren't too many PCI Express expansion cards on the market right now, but with the emphasis Intel is putting into it, I'd expect that to rapidly change.

© 2023 PCSTATS.com Next Page >

 

Contents of Article: Gigabyte GA-8GPNXP Duo
 Pg 1.  — Gigabyte GA-8GPNXP Duo 915P Motherboard Review
 Pg 2.  New Power, Extra Goodies
 Pg 3.  8-phase Power Circuitry
 Pg 4.  The 915P up close and personal
 Pg 5.  The Blue BIOS and test System Spec's
 Pg 6.  Benchmarks: Sysmark 2004
 Pg 7.  Benchmarks: Winstone 2002, Winbench 99
 Pg 8.  Benchmarks: SiSoft Sandra 2004, Super Pi
 Pg 9.  Benchmarks: PCMark2002, PCMark04
 Pg 10.  Benchmarks: 3DMark2001, AquaMark3
 Pg 11.  Benchmarks: Comanche 4, X2: The Threat, UT2003
 Pg 12.  Well Rounded Motherboard, Good Performance

 
Hardware Sections 


 
PCSTATS Network Features Information About Us Contact
FrostyTech
PCSTATS Newsletter
Tech Glossary
Technology WebSite Listings
News Archives
(Review RSS Feed)
Site Map
PCstats Wallpaper
About Us
Privacy Policy
Advertise on PCSTATS

How's Our Driving?
© Copyright 1999-2023 www.pcstats.com All rights reserved. Privacy policy and Terms of Use.