Gigabyte GA-8TX i850 Socket-423 ATX

New chipset for a new CPU

The i850 chipset is very similar to the i840 chipset for the Pentium III, except that i850 chipset uses the Pentium 4's new AGTL+ bus, which runs at a quad pumped 100MHz (effectively 400MHz).

The 82850 is also covered by a large heatsink

It’s worthwhile to note that the 82850 MCH only supports 1.5V signaling, including on the AGP bus. Unfortunately, many AGP 1X/2X cards, and even a few AGP 4X cards, do not support 1.5V signaling and thus cannot be used.  Thus, the AGP Pro slot on the GA-8TX is keyed for 1.5V AGP devices only.  .  Although AGP Pro is not commonly used by most commercial video cards, some high-end graphics cards do take advantage of the extra power provided by the Pro specification.

The GA-8TX’s AGP Pro slot

There are a total of four RIMM slots on the GA-8TX, which is the case for all current Pentium 4 motherboards.  You will have to follow the instruction in the manual to install modules in pairs and also in certain orders.  For each slot you can either put in 64MB, 128MB, or 256MB modules, meaning that you could have a maximum of 1GB memory in the whole system.  Also keep in mind that for all the slots with no memory, you will have to install CRIMM modules (which are included with the board).

Like the i815E chipset, the i850 chipset also features the 82801BA I/O Controller Hub 2 (ICH2.  The ICH2 supports two Ultra ATA 100 channels, supporting a total of four devices (two per channel). 

The 82801BA ICH2

The ICH2 also features two USB root hubs for a total of four USB ports.  Two of the four ports are located among the ATX I/O panel at the end of the board, while the connector for the third and fourth ports is located on the left side of the board.  Our engineering sample didn’t include the necessary USB bracket to take advantage of the second USB root hub. It’s not clear what Gigabyte will do with the final retail version in this department, but our experience with other Gigabyte boards indicates that it will probably be included.

The 5/1/1/0 (PCI/AGP/CNR/ISA) is about average for the current motherboard market.  Five PCI slots should be enough for most users, but we have seen boards with six PCI slots, which obviously gives some added flexibility.  Unlike the ASUS P4T, Gigabyte did include a CNR slot, so OEM builders can install relatively cheap host-based communication devices.  Unfortunately, CNR devices still have not made their appearance in the common market, and before that happens it’s hard for end-users to make use of the CNR slot.

For on-board sound, Gigabyte continues to use the host-based Sigmatel STAC9708T AC’97 audio CODEC, which provides basic computer sound.  Like many other recent Gigabyte products, there is also the option of ordering the board with Creative CT5880 audio, which provides true hardware accelerated sound. Unless you want 3D positional audio, the CT5880 will meet all your sound needs.

The AC’97 audio CODEC

The optional Creative CT5880 sound chip