Product DescriptionEssential Series. Single pack, mini ITX compatible form factor desktop board with soldered down Intel Atom Processor 330. The Intel Desktop Board D945GCLF2 with 945GC + ICH7 chipset supports 533 MHz System Bus, DDR2 667 MHz SDRAM Memory, Integrated10/100 Network Connection, PCI connector, up to 6 Hi-Speed USB 2.0 ports (4 back ports), 2+2 channel HD Audio, PATA and two SATA ports.
What Others Say
No love for this product, or Intel
S-Video (aka:tv out) does not work on this board if you're using linux (ubuntu, etc). Despite what the other poster said, it has a scrolling issue after linux loads, not before (why would there be an OS issue before the OS has loaded?).
I bought this board with the main purpose of using the s-video port. Even the Intel web site says it works with native drivers. It doesn't. VGA works fine, but if you plan to use it with your TV, it simple won't work. A bit of searching the web will show you other people's frustration with Intel D945GCLF2 Essential Series Mini-ITX DDR2 667 Intel Graphics Integrated Atom Processor Desktop Board - Retail as well.
FWIW, I'm very knowledgeable about linux / ubuntu, so it's not just a driver issue.
Mb fan is busted...
After two weeks the fan is louder than my new garbage disposal. The mb specs are great for the price point, but the fan needs to be replaced. Has anyone found a drop in replacement?
A small board for a small computer.
First, let me state an obvious thing: this board is not for everyone. It is a small, low-power computer mainboard built, designed and made (although not in that order) to use precisely as that, a small computer.
It measures exactly 17 by 17 centimetres, five centimetres tall. It has an Atom processor running at 1.6 GHz, enough power to run various flavours of Linux and Windows XP, but you don't want to run Vista on it. Why would you want to run Vista at all, I wonder? Well, that's another entirely different question.
It is a very limited board. It has a single memory slot, up to 2 gigs of DDR2 memory, shared with the video chip, which has both a VGA port and a s-video port, so you can plug it to a tv. It also has a ... Read More
I am having a lot of fun with this board--no buyers remorse here!
You may need a couple of extra cables and such to build a machine with this board but once you get your computer up and running you will most likely be impressed by what you put together for under 200 bucks. I think I actually built a machine for about 210.00 including a used case and PSU w/o monitor.
My setup has 2 GB of Ram (the max amount), 60 GB SATA Hard Disk. Also, I used a 20 pin PSU to 24 pin Motherboard converter cable as the pins did not match up when trying to plug the stock 20 pin connector into the motherboard--the instructions say this is possible. I use it mainly as a media server and for watching movies through s-video output to my TV set.
Here are a few really nice bits I found out about the ... Read More
Good, but small
I got this because my motherboard was fried and I felt like upgrading since I had to replace it anyway. My computer's noticeably faster and it can handle Sims 2 far better than it could with my old one. Intel D945GCLF2 Essential Series Mini-ITX DDR2 667 Intel Graphics Integrated Atom Processor Desktop Board - Retail was also surprisingly small. For me this was bad as it meant I had to rearrange things internally to make sure it all fit. As my tower is so much bigger, too, I can no longer use my front USB ports as they don't reach. However, if you're still in the planning stage you may be able to use this size to your advantage to build a smaller, more portable desktop.
