#Drivers dfi i845 motherboard full#
#Drivers dfi i845 motherboard license#

The slot layout is standard as always with everything moved down one backplane slot compared to the Asus. On the DFI there isn't space for the connectors to be vertically aligned without moving some components that live around that area such as the USB header and the Promise controller itself. The Promise IDE RAID ports are in the right hand bottom corner and horizontally aligned. The Enermax 431W supply in the test machine is suitably equipped but do check your PSU if you are uncertain. Being a P4 proprietary connector it doesn't feature on all power supplies, especially if your PSU is more than a year or so old. To the left, underneath the socket enclosure, we have a group of internal audio connectors for CD-ROM etc and the ATX12 connector. While it's a personal preference of mine and this will vary from person to person and from case to case, I give DFI points for a sensible layout with regards to those 3 ports. It's an orientation I prefer and especially so on the floppy connector which in this case is also up high on the board. Underneath ATX and AUX+12 are the 2 ICH2 IDE ports and the floppy port, all vertically aligned. AUX+12 and the ATX12 connectors are mandatory on P4 board to provide the power that the new processor requires. The AUX+12 on the DFI is the standard style connector, very much like one half of the old AT style split connector. Mounting the heatsink assembly can easily be done with memory modules installed since there is plenty of room.Īlongside DIMM3 we have the main ATX connector, vertically aligned with the AUX+12 socket alongside, flush with the right hand vertical edge of the PCB. The DIMM slots feature next and are further away from the socket enclosure than on the Asus. Starting at the top left we have the Socket 478 enclosure. Layout is very standard with everything in sensible places. Other than not supporting the Asus proprietary features like the smart card reader and iPanel the two boards are similar in feature set.Īs mentioned above, watch out for the size of the board in some cases. It's not unwieldy but watch out if you have a mid or small sized case.

#Drivers dfi i845 motherboard full#

Size wise, the board is bigger than the P4B and uses the full 9 hole mount that the ATX spec gives us. You lose a PCI slot on the DFI with only 5 slots but given the inclusion of hardware RAID and onboard sound, this isn't a shortcoming. If you have more than one array built then they both must use the same RAID type. It supports RAID 0 and 1 in hardware but you can't create seperate arrays using both RAID types. The DFI goes one step further and provided hardware IDE raid via the popular Promise controller. With the headers being so cheap, it makes sense to include on board audio if a southbridge supports it since it it very easily disabled via the BIOS or jumper if you wish to use a PCI audio solution. Like the Asus, DFI have included the headers and provided access to the AC'97 audio on the ICH2. System, processor temperature, voltage and fan speed Wake-on event: RTC/USB Keyboard/Modem/LAN/Keyboard/Mouse UltraDMA/100 transfer rate up to 100MB/secĢ x USB, 2 x DB-9, 1 x DB-25, 1 x mouse,1 x keyboard, 1 x game/MIDI, 3 x Audio jacksġ x connector for 2 additional external USB, 1x IrDA, 2 x IDE, 2 x RAID IDE, 1x Floppy, 3 x ATX power, 3 x fan, 1 x WOL,1 x WOR, 2 x internal audio connectors Intel Pentium 4 processor (Supports 400MHz system data bus)ĭual PIO mode 4 EIDE channels up to 4 IDE devices Lets take a look at DFI's take on what makes a good i845 board. Other than that, the boards are identical so watch out for that when you are buying. The SR version that we take a look at today features on-board Promise IDE RAID while the SC is RAID-less. Rather than regurgitate information on the Intel i845 chipset itself which powers the NB72-SR, I'll point you to the hot off the press Asus P4B review where we had a closer look at the chipset itself.ĭFI sell two versions of this board, the SC and the SR. You can find them over at DFI.com and they have an impressive array of boards to choose from.

#Drivers dfi i845 motherboard license#

They are one of the few companies to take up a new Radeon license from ATi so we may see a DFI Radeon for review at Hexus at some point. Like most motherboard manufacturers, DFI are a Taiwanese company doing motherboards and also graphics cards. It's always nice to feature a new manufacturer since a new manufacturer equals a fresh perspective on component design and more choice for us, the consumer. DFI are one of those companies that I had heard of but hadn't seen much from them in the way of products, especially to buy here in the UK. With my review of the Asus P4B out of the way, the next board on my pile was DFI's NB72-SR. It seems that the i845 is a popular chipset to base a Pentium 4 motherboard around these days.