Papers with the board explain that it has 2 PCI Express controllers in the MCH to enable either 1 x 16 or 2 x 8 operation for the 16 PCI Express lanes. In addition to multiple thread support, the Intel 975X Express Chipset enables key performance-optimized capabilities such as support for multiple 2x8 graphics cards, Intel Memory Pipeline Technology (Intel MPT), 8GB memory addressability to enable 64-bit computing, and ECC memory support.

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You can get this motherboard for the price of a juicy stake, and unlike a stake, this will make the foundation of building a new Intel PC. Sure, it's no cutting edge hardware, but it has onboard audio, onboard LAN and works with Intel's Pentium D, Pentium 4 HT and Celeron D processors.

Board revision: ?

BIOS version: 1959

In the past, Intel motherboards were always reliable companions, but for the technically interested user, they were rather plain. Given that history, we can say that the importance of the competitive struggle in the motherboard sector is illustrated best by the D955XBK from Intel. Compared to previous offerings, the board from the chip market leader would almost be unrecognizable, if its corporate identity weren't revealed at all key points and in the professional packaging.

In theory, Intel has an advantage over competing motherboard makers because it engineered the X48 Express chipset that lies at the DX48BT2's core. Given intimate knowledge of the chipset and its associated quirks, Intel's motherboard designers should be able to exploit the X48's potential fully. There's more to a good motherboard than pushing the chipset to its limits, though, starting with how all of the various slots, components, and connectors are laid out on the board.

The DX48BT2's layout begins well enough, with power connectors located along the edges of the board where their associated cabling won't interfere with airflow around the CPU socket. Intel also does well to place the board's single IDE port—powered by an auxiliary Marvell storage controller due to the ICH9R's lack of legacy ATA support—near the top edge where it will be close to the 5.25" drives bays of most enclosures.