Foxconn 865A01-PE-6EKRS - 865PE Motherboard

865A01-PE-6EKRS Bundle:

The retail style packaging that the 865A01-PE-6EKRS comes in is quite attractive and professional looking. The back of the box sports some of the "unique" features, which include:

• SuperStep - SuperStep is a powerful and easy-to-operate tool for overclocking. You can quickly increase your CPU's working frequency through its user-friendly interface. It will enhance your CPU's performance and meet all kinds of DIY requirements.

• SuperRecovery - SuperRecovery (built in BIOS hidden partition) can protect and recover HDD data, eliminate computer virus worries, minimize after sales issues, and can reduce the time and effort needed to maintain computer networks used in the financial and education institutions. SuperRecovery has good compatibility, reliability, and it's easy-to-operate, easy-to-update.

• SuperBoot - SuperBoot aims to speed up your computer's boot time. Compared with traditional BIOS booting, SuperBoot technology start POST (Power on self test) only in the first boot, and stops doing so in later bootings.

• SuperBios-Protect - SuperBIOS-Protect function protects your PC from viruses, e.g. CIH, by using a HW/SW double BIOS lock technology.

• SuperSpeed - SuperSpeed is the first jumperless technology. You can choose the system speed easily through its user-friendly system setting interface.

• SuperLogo - SuperLogo can display user-designed graphics and pictures, such as a company logo or personal photos, thus making your PC more personalized and friendly.

• SuperUpdate - SuperUpdate function can help to update the BIOS through internet directly.

One issue that can often plague PC manuals is their poor translation and lack of information. However we found that the manual included with the 865A01-PE-6EKRS was very easy to read, and extremely detailed. All the motherboard features and BIOS settings were covered, and included pictures and illustrations. Other included items are a SATA cable and power adapter, HDD & FDD cables, I/O shield, driver & utility CDs and floppy.

The Foxconn 865A01-PE-6EKRS is based on the 865PE Northbridge and ICH5R Southbridge supporting the latest Pentium 4 processors. The four (4) DIMM slots can accommodate a maximum of 4GB of RAM. One thing to note however is long AGP video cards will come in close proximity to the memory slots, so if you want to add / remove memory you will probably need to remove your video card first. The main 20pin ATX connector is placed near the front of the board, helping keep the bulky cable away from the CPU socket, however the 4pin 12v connector is placed near the rear of the board.

By using the Intel ICH5R Southbridge, two SATA/150 ports are available (the purple connectors). There are still the standard two PATA ports, supporting up to 4 devices. The floppy connector is way on the left side of the board, along with a majority of the extra headers for USB, WOL, Firewire, Audio, CD Audio, etc. Some of these headers might pose a problem for people with full tower cases, be sure you check your cables before making any purchasing decisions.

Also worth mentioning is the onboard Intel Gigabit Ethernet controller utilizes the CSA bus found in the Intel 865/875 chipset. The CSA bus is nothing more than a copy of Intel's Hub Link 2.0 bus that connects the MCH (Northbridge) to the ICH (Southbridge), but instead, this bus is used to connect the MCH to Intel's Gigabit Ethernet controller. The CSA bus is perfect for Gigabit Ethernet as it offers a total of 2Gbps of bandwidth (266MB/s).

The rear I/O configuration has all the essentials, headers are provided on the motherboard for additional USB, Firewire, Audio, and COM port connections.

Lastly, right next to the SATA connectors are 5 diagnostic LEDs to aid in determining boot-up problems. The debug info is silk-screened onto the MB so you don't have to go digging for the manual. This feature is found on a lot of high-end motherboards, and can be extremely useful and more friendly than the traditional beep-codes when a system is having problems.