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Foxconn P9657AA-8KS2H P965 Express Core 2 Duo Motherboard Review
Foxconn P9657AA-8KS2H P965 Express Core 2 Duo Motherboard Review - PCSTATS
The Foxconn P9657AA-8KS2H is one of least expensive P965 Express motherboards out there. Onboard goodies include a PCI Express x1-based Gigabit network card and an Intel Azalia High Definition 7.1 channel audio codec.
 84% Rating:   
Filed under: Motherboards Published:  Author: 
External Mfg. Website: Foxconn Oct 03 2006   Max Page  
Home > Reviews > Motherboards > Foxconn P9657AA-8KS2H

Intel P965 Express and ICH8 chipsets

The Intel P965 Express chipset is Intel's latest mainstream chipset and it works with all Socket 775 processors on the market. Along with the P965 Express Intel also released the ICH8 Southbridge to replace the ICH7. The version found on the Foxconn P9657AA-8KS2H is the plain ICH8 model, which does not include RAID. Bummer.

Intel has increased its DDR2 memory support to 800 MHz with the P965 Express chipset, putting Intel's latest and greatest at par with AMD's Socket AM2 Athlon64's. Intel calls the new memory controller FMA or 'Fast Memory Access' and gives the system a maximum theoretical bandwidth of 12.8GB/s. Below is breakdown on the full feature set of the Intel 975 / 965 Express series chipsets, including the P965 Express which is used on the Foxconn P9657AA-8KS2H motherboard.

Intel 975 / 965 / 955 Series Chipset Feature Breakdown
Intel 975X Express Intel P965 Express Intel Q965 Express Intel G965 Express Intel Q963 Express Intel 955X Express
CPU LGA775 Core 2 Duo LGA775 Core 2 Duo LGA775 Core 2 Duo LGA775 Core 2 Duo LGA775 Core 2 Duo LGA775 Pentium D
Front Side Bus (FSB) 1066/800 MHz 1066/800/533 MHz 1066/800/533 MHz
2 threads
1066/800/533 MHz 1066/800/533 MHz 1066/800MHz
Intel Flex Memory Technology Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Dual Channel Memory Support DDR2 667/533 DDR2 800/667/533 DDR2 667/533 DDR2 667 DDR2 667 DDR2 667/533
Maximum Memory Capacity 8GB 8GB 8GB 8GB 8GB 8GB
Integrated Graphics - - GMA 3000 GMA 3000 GMA 3000 -
PCI Express x16 2 1 1 1 1 1
PCI Express x1 4 4 4 4 4 4
Intel Matrix Storage Technology Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
SATA/IDE HDD 4/1 6/0 6/0 6/0 6/0 4/1
SATA Speed 3Gb/s 3Gb/s 3Gb/s 3Gb/s 3Gb/s 3Gb/s
RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 (with ICH7R) 0, 1, 5, 10 (with ICH7R/ICH8R) 0, 1, 5, 10 (with ICH8R) 0, 1, 5, 10 (with ICH8R) 0, 1, 5, 10 (with ICH8R) 0, 1, 5, 10 (with ICH7R)
Hard Drive NCQ - Yes Yes Yes Yes -
USB 2.0 Ports 8 8 10 10 10 8
PCI Masters 6 6 6 6 6 6
Audio High Definition Audio (Azalia) High Definition Audio (Azalia) High Definition Audio (Azalia) High Definition Audio (Azalia) High Definition Audio (Azalia) High Definition Audio (Azalia)

Initially Intel's P965 Express chipset only supports a single PCI Express x16 videocard however with the recent ATi announcement that may change. At the moment all P965 Express motherboards that have been released, like the Foxconn P9657AA-8KS2H, only have a single PCI Express x16 slot.

A dedicated 2GB/s I/O bus connects the Intel P965 Express Northbridge and ICH8 Southbridge together, which might be a little tight if you have many high bandwidth devices installed but should be just fine for the average user.

The Foxconn P9657AA-8KS2H motherboard comes installed with the ICH8 Southbridge which includes a ton of goodies. There are four Serial ATA II channels as well a 7.1 channel Intel Azalia high definition audio, 10 USB 2.0 slots (any, or all of which can be disabled which is an important feature for businesses), six PCI Express x1 lanes and an integrated Intel Gigabit MAC which runs through the PCI Express bus.

Noticeably lacking from the chipset itself is any parallel IDE support. This is forcing many motherboard manufacturers to integrate a standalone IDE controller onto their motherboards so consumers have something to plug their optical drives into... A block chart of the Intel P965 Express chipset's major features are illustrated below.

Luckily parallel IDE technology isn't overly expensive to add to a motherboard. While I admit that Intel is the leader in computer technology, the notion that it has ceremoniously done away with IDE in one fell swoop seems a bit premature.

Next up, we take a tour of the Foxconn P9657AA-8KS2H motherboard highlights.

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Contents of Article: Foxconn P9657AA-8KS2H
 Pg 1.  Foxconn P9657AA-8KS2H P965 Express Core 2 Duo Motherboard Review
 Pg 2.  FoxONE and External SATA
 Pg 3.  — Intel P965 Express and ICH8 chipsets
 Pg 4.  The Foxconn P9657AA-8KS2H Motherboard Highlights
 Pg 5.  P965 Express and Core 2 Duo Overclocking
 Pg 6.  Test System Specs / Sysmark 2004
 Pg 7.  Benchmarks: Office Productivity, SiSoft Sandra
 Pg 8.  Benchmarks: Sandra 2005, Super Pi
 Pg 9.  Benchmarks: PCMark05
 Pg 10.  Benchmarks: 3DMark05
 Pg 11.  Benchmarks: 3DMark06, FarCry
 Pg 12.  Benchmarks: Doom 3, Quake 4
 Pg 13.  Conclusions: Intel Core 2 Value all the way?

 
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