Intel D865GLC Motherboard

Pros: SATA, USB 2.0, onboard audio/video, solid chipset in a micro-ATX motherboard
Cons: No LAN in this version, Intel skimps on the bundled goodies

OVERVIEW Any time we're tempted to buy a motherboard with all of the bells and whistles we seem to gravitate back to the simple and straightforward. The Intel D865GLC is simple and straightforward. But it has a lot to offer users ...

Pros: Compatible with most Socket 478 processors, integrated graphics, up to 800Mhz FSB
Cons: Some versions do not support 1Mb cache processors or have a NIC

The Intel D865GLC is a solid micro ATX motherboard that has performed flawlessly for me since 2004 under 100 percent CPU load performing the following tasks: processing SETI at Home workunits, rendering POV-Ray animations and displaying the Aquarium ...

Pros: Onboard fan control, good onboard sound/video, support for Prescott, 4xDDR slots.
Cons: No onboard NIC, fan control doesn't adjust itself soon enough.

My first impression of this board that it was very vanilla. A standard board, standard features (although no NIC), standard price. By the end of the install however, the board was anything but vanilla! This board is a champ, as it's price and features ...

Pros: Small, fast, simple, lots of onboard functionality. Maximum use of microATX.
Cons: MicroATX isn't for everybody. There is only so much a board this size can do.

Okay.

I chose this board for my first homebuilt computer project. I've been very happy with it. I like the small size and the onboard video, audio, and LAN (mine has gigabit LAN!). I'm running it with the 800Mhz FSB and PC3200 memory (1024 Mb of it).

I'd definitely recommend it. It came with a handy disk that installed a bunch of utilities on my Win2k system. The temperature monitoring software is particularly nice.