Everything from this mainboard looks and feels right.

The mainboard is with a 150 USD pricetag, not exactly one of the cheapest models. But bare in mind what amazing features this mainboard has and what you save on money with integrated 6-channel sound (SPDIF) and integrated Gigabit (1000/100/10) LAN, 11Mbit Wireless LAN and Serial ATA. Everything ran stable, the integrated sound solution was very pleasant, worked quite well and 'normal'. It's at a good quality level and hey multi-channel, yet by far not an Audigy2 though.

This mainboard will get without a doubt in my mind our editor's choice award as it's just so feature-rich. 6-channel quality integrated sound through Realtek ALC658, Gigabit integrated LAN, Serial ATA, Wireless LAN,  next to the standard IDE ports Serial ATA, Dual channel memory capability at 400 MHz, 8x USB 2.0, FireWire, I completely love everything about it and can only Gigabyte for manufacturing such a great mainboard.

Overclocking options are more than sufficient, our 2.8 GHz CPU ran at the first try in tweaking instantly at 3.2 GHz instantly with core voltage set at 1.6 volts and and increased FSB to 4x230 MHz, in the end we got it towards 3.5 GHz. The mainboard is not just alone for overclockers though. Everyone will be very comfortable with the options and features it has. I like to make a small side statement though, if you plan to overclock by increasing the FSB you might run into issues with Serial ATA. This is a common issue.

If you are going to buy this product then remember my little story about using the PAT feature. It will boost your performance by 5-8% with no further stability loss. Also remember that you'll need a Pentium 4 C class (800 MHz FSB) CPU to be able to enable that feature. So, if you are opting this mainboard then please buy two identical memory modules, preferably specific Dual Channel DDR memory. Your memory bandwidth will increase dramatically and so will your overall performance.

Is there anything negative then ? Yeah ! There is one point I'd like to adress, with such a priced and feature rich mainboard I'm missing additional IDE RAID. In my believe it really should have been integrated. I'll end this article with something that I mentioned in the introduction.

This mainboard is all about the combination or rather symbiosis of proper products. The mainboard with 800 MHZ FSB processor and Dual Channel DDR are the key items here. If you have that combination that I guarrantee you, it'll be one of the fastest performing systems you have ever owned. The pricetag is worth every penny and hey .. if you think that's too much to match your budget then you can also opt the 'normal' non pro 2 version which is much cheaper yet with a lot less features of course.

Product: GA-8IPE1000 Pro2-W
More info: Gigabyte
MSRP: 150 USD
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