865PE/875P Motherboard Roundup June 2003 - Part 1: 20-way Shootout
by Evan Lieb on June 12, 2003 10:57 PM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Intel 865PERL
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Motherboard Specifications |
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CPU
Interface
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Socket-478
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Chipset
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Intel
82865PE MCH (North Bridge)
Intel 82801ER ICH5R (South Bridge) |
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Bus
Speeds
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N/A
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Core
Voltages Supported
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N/A
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I/O
Voltages Supported
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N/A
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DRAM
Voltages Supported
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N/A
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Memory Slots
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4 184-pin
DDR DIMM Slots
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Expansion Slots
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1 AGP
8X Slot
5 PCI Slots |
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Onboard IDE RAID
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N/A
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Onboard USB 2.0/IEEE-1394
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Eight
USB 2.0 ports supported through South Bridge
Agere FW323 IEEE-1394 FireWire controller (up to 3 ports available) |
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Onboard LAN
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Intel
PRO/1000CT Gigabit LAN (CSA bus)
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Onboard Audio
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Analog
Devices AD1985 Controller
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Onboard Serial ATA
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Two
SATA connectors via ICH5R (RAID 0 & RAID 1 only)
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BIOS
Revision
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P06
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The D865PERL is Intel's 865PE-based enthusiast desktop motherboard and is probably the most interesting desktop motherboard they've offered to date.
The BIOS options are, yet again, virtually non-existent in terms of voltage regulation or FSB frequency adjustments. However there are a good amount of memory-related options to fool with. In particular you are allowed to adjust CAS Latency, RAS to CAS Delay, RAS Precharge, and Precharge Delay in the D865PERL BIOS as well as choose from DDR266, DDR320 and DDR400 memory frequencies. This isn't an uncommon combination of features for an 865PE or 875P motherboard, so the D865PERL doesn't completely disappoint in the tweaking department.
The D865PERL's onboard features are more intriguing than its BIOS options thankfully. Besides standard ICH5R Serial ATA support, the D865PERL brings Analog Devices AD1985 sound, Intel PRO/1000CT Gigabit LAN (CSA bus) and Agere FW323 IEEE 1394 FireWire support. This is a solid combination of features and very competitive at its price point in comparison to top tier Taiwanese motherboard makers such as ASUS, Gigabyte, and MSI among others.
While most users will probably be turned off by the D865PERL severe lack of tweaking and overclocking options, this motherboard is not meant for those types of users in the first place. The D865PERL is meant for enthusiasts that do not plan on overclocking but still want the latest and greatest features at a good price point (there is most certainly a niche market for these types of people). In that sense the D865PERL delivers quite well, as it is currently available online for between $115 and $125. At this price point the D865PERL is quite competitive with some of the best motherboards we've tested here today, including the ABIT IS7 and Gigabyte 8IPE1000 Pro. As a stock motherboard the D865PERL is perfect, but as anything else the D865PERL would not be in the same league.
UPDATE 6/13/2003 We forgot to mention that there are, in fact, some FSB tuning options available in the D865PERL's BIOS through a "Burn-In" mode option. The adjustments are only available as high as 4% of the FSB in 1% increments however. AGP/PCI adjustments are available as well, up to 73.60MHz/36.80MHz.
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18 Comments
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Zak - Sunday, January 18, 2004 - link
I bought IS7 after reading this article and I've been having problems. Random resets, then BSOD after changing XP recovery settings. Over the past few months it worsened. In the begining it like once a week maybe. I wasn't concerned, bad driver I thought. Now it won't run more than an hour without BSOD. I have Corsair XMS DDR400 in it. I've played with memory settings for weeks, timings and voltages as well, reinstalled XPPro several times, updated BIOS, got all newest drivers and run out of ideas... I've put a stick of DDR333 because that's all have to test and I still get the same random BSOD, even durnig XP installation. I have no PCI cards in this box. Mushkin calls this board problematic and attributes the memory problems to forced implementation of PAT that is not normally present in 865. I may try getting it replaced by NewEgg but I don't suppose it'll help. I'm thinking about getting a 875 board instead. Zak.Anonymous User - Friday, October 24, 2003 - link
I would like to see part II of the roundup of the 865 chipset. I wonder what is the delay?Anonymous User - Monday, October 13, 2003 - link
I thought Part 2 would be out by now at least... There are good new boards out there I'd like to see... Shuttle AB60R (cheap and full featured) and Abit IC7-MAX3 (OTES for mobo power area). I am still looking forward to seeing this, eventually, right guys?Anonymous User - Tuesday, October 7, 2003 - link
Any comments on newer motherboards? Why hasn't supermicro been tested since 2000?Looking to compare supermicro
Intel s875wp1-e and Super P4SCE (SuperServer 5013C-I (SYS-5013-CI)) for a $50k cluster
Thanks
syzygyus@yahoo.com
Anonymous User - Friday, August 29, 2003 - link
Evan, how in the world is #4 going to research your statement when the articles/review comments forum gets purged/is gone now ?Anonymous User - Saturday, August 23, 2003 - link
Any word on Revision 2 of the Gigabyte 8knxp ultra board yet?Anonymous User - Sunday, August 10, 2003 - link
I bought the is7 after I read this article. It had many problems. I ended up having to ram this board twice. If you read the abit forum boards you will see alot of problems I am fairly surprised after all the tests this board was put through nothing ever went wrong. I will not buy another abit product period. I will stick to gigabye i've built 6 systems with Gigabyte and yet to have any problems with them. Save for the chipset fans having a low life.Anonymous User - Friday, August 8, 2003 - link
I bought the Abit IS7 and am completely pleased. One note is that many of the IS7's appear to be getting shipped with the gigabit lan as opposed to the sales brochure stated 10/100. (mine has the gigabit)Anonymous User - Tuesday, August 5, 2003 - link
How could it be that the Asus p4c 800 de luxe is more expensive then the asus p4p deluxe but in the testresults it is slower?I would think i am misinformed by the computershop?
And the p4c deluxe got a gigabit lan on board, despite mentioning in the summary of this Mb it has not.
PixelDoc - Sunday, July 27, 2003 - link
Error Re: Gigabyte GA-8KNXP MoBoThis MoBo has 4, not 2 SATA connectors, 2 controlled by ICH5R and 2 more contolled by the SIL3112 chip.