"Workhorse" motherboards based on 945GC by Gigabyte and Foxconn

Author: Aleksandr Mitrofanov
Date: 10.06.2008

Performance tests

While determining the starting FSB speed, it turned out that the boards set it at a high enough precision.

In our test setup, we used the following hardware:

Test setup
CPU	Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 LGA775 (2.33 GHz; Conroe) Intel Celeron 215 (1.33 GHz; Conroe-L)
Cooler	Gigabyte 3D Cooler GP Edition
Video card	Integrated graphic core Intel GMA 950
Sound card	-
HDD	Samsung HD160JJ
Memory	2x 1024 MB Corsair DDR2 TWIN2X2048-8500C5
Housing	Inwin506 with the PSU PowerMan 300W FSP 550 W
OS	Windows XP SP1

Note that we used the previous pack of tests under Windows XP. The thing is, the speed of the integrated Intel GMA 950 graphic core at modern 3D games (e.g. Crysis) is perhaps one of the biggest mysteries of the Universe: none of the reviewers was simply unable to wait until the tests are complete.

First, let's look at the results of synthetic tests (Gigabyte MA78GM-S2H is based on AMD 780G, and the system on its base uses a CPU Athlon 64 3500+).

Now - on to gaming tests (the result in fps; the higher the result, the lower the resolution).

Another test - WinRar (Kb/s.; the more, the better)

Final Words

Unfortunately, for now (May 2008) the retail prices of both the boards are still unknown. But it doesn;t look like the price for Foxconn 45CMV will be above the prices offered by competitors. By the way, there are a lot of competitors: prices for motherboards based on Intel 945GC start with $38 and go up to as high as $75. The number of models is rather high - they range from the most basic up to the most advanced (e.g. the MicroATX board abit LG-95C with two PCI-E x16 slots). Foxconn 45CMV runs stable and leaves the impression of a regular "workhorse". There is one thing to complain about. It is the proprietary utilities on the CD which wouldn't start on this motherboard. Most likely, the release of new versions of these software utilities will fix the issue. But the number of USB 2.0 ports can't be increased with a new firmware: if the buyer needs more than six ports, you would have to buy a USB hub.

As regards the Gigabyte 945GCMCL, it is important to note that it is a niche product. In other words, among the major advantages of the boards are small dimensions, low price, as well as the low heat emission level. That is a good framework for small-sized systems in which the size matters more than the expansion options. We note it separately that the board is shipped with a CPU soldered-in, which may be good on the one hand because you don't have to look for a mobile CPU around the retail shops. On the other hand, this solution restricts the capabilities for raising the system performance.