This might sound like a mundane thing to talk about, but I'm happy to report that the clear CMOS jumper is next to the battery and easy to access. Some other motherboards we've tested recently have the clear CMOS jumper in the oddest of locations, like under the last PCI slot or next to the memory DIMMs!

While just about every motherboard manufacturer includes a quick installation guide with its products these days, the one that comes with the DFI LANParty 875P-T is probably one of the most detailed we've seen.

The guide folds out to cover everything from the motherboard's features, to do's and don'ts as well as basic installation steps! It's so informative that you probably won't have to refer to the users manual.

I like the fact that more an more motherboards ship with rounded IDE cables, but I would prefer if more flexible tubing was used. The UV cables DFI ship with this board are good, don't get me wrong, but I think the braided type included with the DFI LANParty NF2 Ultra B and LANParty PRO875B motherboards were much easier to mold around components in the chassis. The folded type of IDE cables DFI includes with the LANParty 875P-T are stiffer in that regard. Again, not tremendously big deal.

The UV sensitive Serial ATA cables that are included with the DFI 875P-T are quite nice, and are even a little smaller than your average SATA cable.

FrontX Ports

DFI have become known for including everything but the kitchen sink with its LANParty motherboards. One of the more unique items you'll find in the large LANParty box is the FrontX I/O drive bay.

This is a handy little 5.25" bay which moves the most common ports to the front of the computer where they are easier to access and use. The unit that ships along with the 875P-T includes a four LED system diagnostic tool (helpful for figuring out what may be causing the PC to not boot), an IEEE 1394b Firewire port, and a couple of others which we'll cover individually.

For starters, we were pleasantly surprised to discover that the FrontX drive bay supports external Serial ATA devices - the port is right there to right in the picture above. Consumers can already buy external Serial ATA chassis that connect to the computer via Serial ATA, so this only makes sense. And lastly, for the audiophile in the crowd there is an optical SPDIF out port so you can connect you high end audio equipment to the PC.