Rock solid performance, pain-free installation and abundant connectivity options make this board a sweet platform for an Intel Pentium Extreme Edition CPU. We liked the fact that Gigabyte bundles a Bluetooth adapter with this board, too
Simple to set up and rock solid during testing, this board is definitely one to go for if you're going to be using the Pentium Extreme Edition CPU. It supports a 1066MHz frontside bus for that CPU and can accommodate 667MHz DDR2 memory modules.
Connectivity features are abundant throughout the Intel 955X-based motherboard: the Royal has legacy ports (serial and parallel) in its rear port cluster as well as two Ethernet ports--both of which are capable of Gigabit networking and are controlled by individual Broadcom chips. It doesn't have a FireWire port in this cluster, so if you wanted to access the FireWire ports you would have to install the supplied expansion bracket, which features both regular FireWire and FireWire800.
For storage, you can take your pick from either the four-port integrated Intel RAID controller or the two-port Silicon Image RAID controller. An ITE IDE RAID controller for up to four devices is thrown in for good measure. We installed Windows XP on a RAID 0 array using the integrated Intel controller. Gigabyte does not supply a floppy disk for installing the RAID drivers during the Windows installation procedure, so we had to make a disk using the drivers provided on the CD-ROM. This worked perfectly and we experienced no issues during installation or during the hard drive transfer tests.
This board features Gigabyte's dual-BIOS technology, which transparently kicks in if you ever experience problems during a BIOS flash. It also features Gigabyte's U-Plus Dual Power System module, which aims to maintain system stability during varied voltage settings, such as when overclocking.
As for the board's design, the PCIe release lever is well designed and relatively easy to access, and all the drive ports and internal peripheral ports (USB and FireWire) are wonderfully aligned along the bottom and side edges of the board. For extra convenience, Gigabyte supplies a Bluetooth USB adapter in the box.
Our impressions of this board are very positive, and the only fault we could pick during testing was the noticeable interference that was exhibited through our analog speaker system when the mouse was moved.
"I need power and lots of it. As a Front End Web developer anything less just won’t cut it which is why the MSI GT75 is an outstanding laptop for me. It’s a sleek and futuristic looking, high quality, beast that has a touch of sci-fi flare about it."
The latest business news, reviews, features and whitepapers
Visit our shop for the best deals on hot products
Watch our video news and reviews from around the world
Comprehensive buying guides, features, and step-by-step articles
MSI GT75 TITAN
I need power and lots of it. As a Front End Web developer anything less just won’t cut it which is why the MSI GT75 is an outstanding laptop for me. It’s a sleek and futuristic looking, high quality, beast that has a touch of sci-fi flare about it.
MSI GE63 Raider
If you’re looking to invest in your next work horse laptop for work or home use, you can’t go wrong with the MSI GE63.
MSI GS65 Stealth Thin
If you can afford the price tag, it is well worth the money. It out performs any other laptop I have tried for gaming, and the transportable design and incredible display also make it ideal for work.
Brother MFC-L9570CDW Multifunction Printer
Touch screen visibility and operation was great and easy to navigate. Each menu and sub-menu was in an understandable order and category
Brother MFC-L9570CDW Multifunction Printer
The printer was convenient, produced clear and vibrant images and was very easy to use
WD My Cloud Home
I would recommend this device for families and small businesses who want one safe place to store all their important digital content and a way to easily share it with friends, family, business partners, or customers.
