Intel D875PBZ: Spartan, Slow, Expensive
Intel 875P Chipset
Board Revision 01
BIOS BZ87510A-68A... (05/16/2003)
Click on image for larger version
Intel has been trying to gain a foothold in the retail market and take market shares away from established Taiwanese competitors. The retail packaging is based on the manufacturer's well-known design, but it lacks anything to differentiate itself from some of the low-cost brands from Taiwan.
Everything becomes clear when you open up the packaging. There are only a few accessories, which you can count on one hand. These include two Serial-ATA cables and a floppy cable, an Ultra DMA/100 connection and a handbook. This board is therefore the most spartan of all the test candidates in terms of equipment. Intel has not even placed a sound chip on the board; according to the manufacturer, this is reserved strictly for the OEM market. The manufacturer, which designed this board for the high-end/ workstation market, even does without an AGP pro slot.
Praiseworthy features are the limited number of SMD components and the very good overall workmanship. A BIOS update can easily be performed using Windows XP via the Internet. Intel gets points for the automatic fan control, which the company has been using for some time.
There's not even onboard sound.
Manual setting for memory timings.
