When we reviewed the original
Gigabyte 8IPE1000 Pro 2 motherboard we were generally pleased with what we saw.
It was not the most well equipped motherboard on the market but it was
aggressively priced and great for those who don't need a lot of unused
frills.
With
wireless networking growing exponentially, it's high time that motherboard
manufacturers are bundling it in with their boards.
The rehash the Gigabyte 8IPE1000 Pro 2 into the
8IPE1000 Pro2-W was just a natural step in that evolution, and the addition of a
802.11b wireless network adapter adds a lot of value to the entire
package.
If wireless is not
for you right now don't fret, the Gigabyte 8IPE1000 Pro2-W stil packs in a
mighty dose of Gigabit LAN care of the Intel CSA chip. Other standard features
you'll want to take notice of include a 5.1 channel soundcard, IEEE 1394 and
dual BIOS'.
Unlike some other i865PE/i875P based motherboards
on the market right now, it is important to realize that the Gigabyte 8IPE1000
Pro2-W is fully Prescott compatible. If you're buying a new Pentium 4 processor
in the future, this is something to watch out for.
The design
and layout of the Gigabyte 8IPE1000 Pro2-W is well executed, and you can't
beat the software bundle which includes Norton Internet Security 2003.
Setting up the wireless LAN
was extremely easy; but the GN-WBZB-M only supports WEP 64 and 128 bit
encryption right now. I'd expect Gigabyte to release a WPA compatible driver
any day now though.
Performance
of the 8IPE1000 Pro2-W was good, but that's expected since it's based around the
venerable i865PE chipset. On this board, PAT was enabled incidently. With PAT it
easily kept up with the i875P test motherboards, and proved to be a respectable
overclocker as well.
We're not
sure how much the board retails for, but you can bet it will be inline with the
price for the 8IPE1000 version, bearing in mind the wireless adaptor will add on
a few dollars. Bottom line, the Gigabyte 8IPE1000 Pro2-W is a well rounded
motherboard and would keep even the most demanding user happy.
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