Palit's Very First Intel Mainboard

Some time ago the computer hardware manufacturing company Palit Microsystems which is specialized in graphics cards announced that it will soon launch a line of mainboards based on Intel made chipsets. Now, it looks as if the company really wants to keep up the pace with the industry's leaders Asus, Gigabyte and MSI as it just announced the official launch of its first ever mainboard art piece, the Intel compatible 945GC1066 mainboard.

The Palit 945GC1066 supports, of course, Intel processors built using the 65 or the newer 45 nanometer fabrication technology, processors which are based on the LGA 775 socket like the Core 2 Duo, Pentium Dual Core, Pentium D and 4, Celeron D and Celeron. The new Palit mainboard supports a fontside bus frequency between 533MHz and 1066MHz and it also offers support for DDR2 random access memory, RAM for short. Not meant as the highest possible computing solution but more as a middle level product, the Palit 945GC1066 mainboard is built around the Intel 945G, which means the mainboard also offers an integrated graphics solution in the form of the Intel GMA950 graphics processing unit.

As the mainboard comes equipped with two DDR2 memory compatible slots for 240 pins DIMMs it can support a maximum amount of memory of 2GB and the manufacturing company recommends DDR2 memory modules running at a clock frequency of 667MHz. Because the integrated Intel graphics solution does not have its own dedicated video memory, a certain quantity of random access memory must be reserved for its use. Even so, because of the integrated graphics solution, DDR2 memory support and wide range of Intel processors supported the new Palit 945GC1066 mainboard is the perfect choice for users desiring a decent level of performance without emptying their pockets.

Like all modern day mainboards, this one too comes with an integrated audio chip which supports 7.1 high definition sound processing as well as an integrated network card based on the Realtek 10/100 Ethernet chip. The presence of one PCI Express x16 expansion slot will allow users to later expand their computer system with an additional discrete graphics card, while the two legacy PCI slots are available for users desiring to connect some older hardware parts. A new PCI Express x1 slot is also present for newer expansion cards. Built using the micro ATX form factor which keeps the occupied space to a minimum inside the computer case and compatible with Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system, the Palit 945GC1066 mainboard is a good choice for its money.