Gigabyte GA-SINXP1394

The GA-SINXP1394 has bells, whistles and a fair part of the orchestra too. Using a Sis 655 chipset, this Socket 478 motherboard supports dual-channel DDR400 memory, as well as a host of ports and connections.

There are two USB2 ports on the backplate and four more spread across two back brackets. A third bracket connects directly to a header on the motherboard, blocking a PCI port, as well as overshadowing the one below it.

It does give you three FireWire ports though. A fourth bracket handles optical and coaxial S/PDIF output, while the fifth is an adaptor that allows you to connect up a Serial ATA hard drive, as your ATX power supply is unlikely to have the correct connector.

While many users will welcome this many add-ons, if you have two PCI devices to install, most PC cases will leave you having to decide which brackets to fit.

Nestling just to the left of the processor is a riser card that houses a Dual Power Voltage Regulator Module (DPVRM).

Coming complete with its own heatsink and fan and a garish blue LED, the DPVRM is aimed squarely at overclockers who want to bump up the processor core voltage to 800MHz (or above) for the new Pentium 4 chips.

The Bios allows you to set the PCI, AGP and FSB speeds independently of each other to get the maximum from your PC but, even on standard settings, this is a fast motherboard.

Contact: Gigabyte 01908 362 700
www.gbt-tech.co.uk

Specifications:

• Pentium 4 Socket 478 533MHz FSB
• Sis 655 chipset
• 4 Dimm slots
• AGP 8x, 5 PCI slots
• Floppy controller
• 4 parallel UltraDMA133 controllers
• 2 serial ATA controllers
• 6 USB2 ports
• 3 FireWire
• 2 PS/2
• 2 serial, 1 parallel, 1 Lan port
• Six-channel audio
• Optical and coaxial S/PDIF output
• Dual Bios