Foxconn Intel i945/i955 Dual Core Motherboards

Introduction

Today, Legit Reviews takes a look at a trio of boards from Foxconn based on Intel’s 955X and 945 chipsets. First up is the 955X based 955X7AA, Foxconn’s flagship board. Then we tackle Foxconn’s very able 945P based board, the 945P7AA, and lastly we take a look at their 945G based micro-ATX board the 945G7MA, which features Intel’s integrated Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) .

“The Foxconn 955X7AA-8KS2, a motherboard with extreme performance capabilities, coupled with Intel’s new Extreme Edition processor, ensures an exceptional user experience, especially in the entertainment environment. The 955X7AA-8KS2, which features support for an unprecedented 8GB of DDR2-667 memory, is ready for current and future 64-bit operating systems. It provides the ability to process higher quality audio and video, as well as do high speed 3D rendering. It includes dual Broadcom Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) LAN ports, allowing extremely fast local area network interaction while concurrently surfing the Internet at the highest possible speed. With one IEEE-1394b port, capable of data transfer rates up to 800Mbps, and two IEEE-1394a ports, this board supports communication with today’s fastest multimedia equipment. And, as a motherboard full of innovations and rich features, it supports the industry’s latest drive technology, Serial ATA II, doubling hard drive bus bandwidth for blazingly fast disk performance. In total there are eight SATA connectors, four SATA II and four SATA. RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 5, 10, Intel Matrix Storage Technology are supported by the 4 SATA/300 ports coming off the ICH7. In addition, the board includes support for up to four ATA /133 drives with RAID. The ability to securely store your precious data while speeding up data writing and reading rates has never been higher. Further, the Foxconn 955X7AA-8EKRS2 fully supports Intel’s Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology (EIST), saving power when processor loading is at reduced levels. In a word this high-performance, leading-edge platform, is the ULTIMATE choice for high-end gamers and enthusiasts.

The Foxconn 945P7AA-8KS2 and 945G7MA-8KS2 support 800MHz and 1066MHz system bus speeds, dual-channel, 667MHz, DDR2 SDRAM, Serial ATA II with RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 5, 10, and Intel Matrix Storage Technology. The 945P7AA also includes a dual-channel, ATA/133 controller and IDE RAID capability. RAID brings more secure storage of your precious data while increasing data writing and reading rates. The 945G7MA incorporates Intel’s new Graphics Media Accelerator 950 (GMA950) graphics processor. With the GMA950 users will get incredible graphics, vivid colors, high-definition video and audio, and more. They will be able to stream multiple music sources to different rooms over a home network or watch, record, and pause live TV on their computers.

The Foxconn 945P7AA-8KS2 and 945G7MA-8KS2 are optimized for use with Hyper-Threading Technology-capable Intel processors, allowing faster multitasking and greater productivity. Faster access to data, aggressive protection of your business applications and data from viruses, hackers, and worms, and easier system maintenance are all afforded with these new Foxconn motherboards. You can do more in less time, propelling greater productivity and responsiveness in the home and in your business. In addition, when coupled with appropriate Intel processors, these great, new Foxconn motherboards support the latest in power saving, Intel’s Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology (EIST).”

While Foxconn has never been mentioned in the same breath as ASUS or DFI when it comes to the enthusiast crowd, their 925XE7AA-8EKRS2 was well recieved, and proved to be a pretty damn good performer. Could we soon see Foxconn join the motherboard elite?

Let’s check out some specs before we move on to the boards themselves and some benchmarking.

Lets look at the boards individually before we move on to some benchmarking.