TechDuke

Chipset: Intel 945
Socket Type: LGA 775
Processor Support: Intel Core2Duo, Pentium D, Pentium 4, Celeron D
FSB Support: 1066/800/533 MHZ
RAM Type: DDR II
Slots: USB x8, PCI x2, PCI-E-16 x1, PCI-E-1 x1, SATA x4, PATA x1

 
The Intel Core2Duo is the premium processor to buy in the market today. AMD does not offer and solution that is close to what Intel has on offer in terms of both technology and processing efficiency.
So the question is: what is missing in this motherboard that makes it so affordable? For starters, it is a baby ATX form factor motherboard, and hence does not hold a lot of space for upgrades. Two PCI slots can easily be taken over by a dial-up modem card and a high end sound card.
Furthermore, no RAID options are present, which could possibly present a bottleneck for the Core2Duo’s massive bandwidth requirements. Support for features such as ViiV for multimedia functions and Quiet System for efficient cooling is missing. ViiV allows the user to use his or her PC as a complete multimedia solution box for watching TV shows, DVDs, HD Videos, MP3s and many more from a ViiV certified remote control device. Quiet System allows better airflow and silent cooling solutions to come equipped with the motherboard. Also, as with all Intel-built motherboards, this board has zero overclocking options. In fact, there are active measures such as inflexible RAM timings that prevent any user to hack through the set speed settings. How important overclocking is for the average user is a question that can only be answered by the individual making the purchase, but on an average, overclocking is the least of most people’s concerns.

 
Good bits
So what makes this Intel board worthy of review? Firtsly, it comes equipped with a fully powered PCI Express x16 slot that allows user to plug in any high end to mid-range graphics card right out of the box. This means that this motherboard can be used for high-end gaming without worrying about a shutter or a pause. Plugging in a test GeForce 8800 GTS 640-megabyte card resulted in gaming that was nearly as good as it was on a full fledged MSI Core2Duo motherboard. By saying “nearly” it should be noted that the MSI motherboard has features such as dynamic overclocking and better airflow than the Intel motherboard, so pushing the GPU to its best was done better by the MSI board. On the other hand, standard out-of-the-box performance was very similar between the two boards, which again brings back to the question of how important a few frames per send (fps) are to the average gamer? Again, the answer lies with the consumer.
The Onboard 5.1 surround chip is no slouch either. Although it is definitely up no Creative X-Fi in implementation, it is definitely up for all the latest games present in one’s library. Furthermore, it has a PCIE 1x slot that will allow any future peripherals to upgrade easily. The lack of a Gigabit LAN card is a bit of a hit and miss this situation. Gigabit LAN cards are de facto for all high end motherboards.
 
Catches
As with all Internet motherboards, it is very important to note down the name of the companies whose RAM works well, with them. Kingston and Crucial are both fully supported by this motherboard while no name RAM modules should definitely be avoided.
Furthermore, double check the front side bus (FSB) rating and processor socket type of your old Pentium 4 if you intend to upgrade only the motherboard of your rig. Older socket and FSB type Pentium 4’s are not compatible with this motherboard, and experiments to do so are not recommended for the faint of heart.
 
Conclusion

The Interl 945GCL is a good budget motherboard, and provides rock solid performance at default clock settings. It is aimed at the casual gamer who does not intend to overclock, but would like o upgrade the graphic prowess of his rig over the default chip present. The motherboard’s drivers are Vista ready as well, allowing the corporate types to choose this platform with relative comfort. If you are a hardcore tweaker, then this motherboard will severely disappoint you. For the rest of the regular folk out there, buy this motherboard alongside a Core2Duo processor and smile.