14 DAY TRIAL // The first socket LGA1150 motherboards based on the Intel H81 Express chipsets have appeared, and they, sadly, do not provide their buyers with the ability to overclock Haswell central processing units.
Truth be told, this shouldn't come as a shock. H81 is, after all, the chipset made for entry-level desktop mainboards.
Nevertheless, overclocking might have actually worked on H81 platforms if Gigabyte put an effort into enabling it, just as it worked on H87 until not long ago.
Sadly, Intel cracked down on motherboard makers, making it impossible for them to allow overclocking on any platform not based on the Zxx or Xxx core-logic sets.
Anyway, the three new motherboards from Gigabyte are called H81M-DS2, H81M-D2V, and H81M-D3V.
H81 is the B85 platform minus the SBA and a few SATA6 Gbps storage ports. PCI Express 3.0 is also absent.
They are ATX models (226 x 170 mm / 8.89 x 6.69 inches) and are largely similar, but for their distinct connection array.
All of them have two DDR3 memory slots, a PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot (runs at gen 2.0, even with processors that have gen 3.0 root complex), two PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots, 6-channel HD audio, Gigabit Ethernet, AMI Aptio UEFI BIOS, and a 3-phase CPU power design.
Power from the PSU (power supply unit) is received through 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS power connectors.
The H81M-DS2 has D-Sub (VGA) and more legacy ports than its siblings, including an LPT parallel port, RS232 COM serial, separate PS/2 pots for mouse and keyboard.
H81M-D2V exchanges the LPT for DVI and uses a single PS/2 port. As for the H81M-D3V, is has DVI and D-Sub ports, a common PS/2 port and no COM/LPT.
All three motherboards should go up for sale soon, for $50. That's €38 according to exchange rates, but the EU price is more likely to be of €50.
