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Intel DG45FC Media Series G45 Mini-ITX DDR2 800 Intel Graphics HDMI+DVI 1333MHz FSB LGA775 Desktop Board – Retail
Product: Intel DG45FC Media Series G45 Mini-ITX DDR2 800 Intel Graphics HDMI+DVI 1333MHz FSB LGA775 Desktop Board – Retail-Retail $152.99! Sale Only $109.99!
List Price: $152.99
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Compare Prices on Intel DG45FC Media Series G45 Mini-ITX DDR2 800 Intel Graphics HDMI+DVI 1333MHz FSB LGA775 Desktop Board – Retail
Explore the small, yet powerful Intel desktop board DG45FC. Built in a mini-ITX form factor with integrated HDMI + DVI display outputs, together with high-definition playback hardware acceleration decode, the Intel desktop board DG45FC will bring you the home entertainment experience youve always wanted. With support for the Intel Core 2 Duo processors and up to a 1333 front side bus, you can expect a lot of computing performance from this tiny desktop board. In addition to delivering outstanding performance and stability, the integrated graphics and connectors meet a variety of digital needs. Experience the maximum performance of integrated graphics capabilities with Intel graphics media accelerator X4500HD with Intel Clear Video technology with onboard HDMI and DVI graphics ports.
- Brand: Intel
- Model: BOXDG45FC
- Format: CD
- Original language: English
- Dimensions: 3.75″ h x 7.75″ w x 8.25″ l, 1.70 pounds
Features
- MINI-ITX PCIE VID SND LAN 1333MHZ
excellent motherboard!
Pros: Nice set up, very small, no old tech PS2 or VGA (of course you can buy an adapter). tons of USB and you can still add more from the MOBO, DDR2 800 up to 4GB, 4 SATAs, RAID support.
Cons: this MOBO is hot, hot, hot!!! Make sure you have a good air circulation in the case. I looked at the temperature in the BIOS and it was worrisome: ICH at 80 C!!!
Space is really tight but that is to be expected for a mini-itx.
Other Thoughts:
1- Drivers (for audio, LAN, and Video) are not out yet for Linux install.
2- I have intel cpu E8500 on it, it works well but the heat sink would bend the MOBO. My advice is to get plastic or metal screws and make your own heat sink screws. Also, don’t buy the retention bracket (the X form) to attach FHS underneath the MOBO, there is a chip in the way next to one of the hole.
3- Here is what I have put together and works perfectly with VISTA 64bit: HD Scorpio WD1600BEKT 2.5″, Memory G.Skill F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ – (2 X 2 Gb), 8x DVD DL/RW Sony NEC Optiarc Slim SATA Model, and PicoPSU-120 with 4pins (very important because the MB will not work without it) from mini box.
Many flaws, but not many other choices
I planned to build a computer under the following conditions: (1) mini-ITX or smaller form factor, (2) Intel Core 2 duo or faster CPU, (3) legacy free IO (at least no VGA, no PS2, no FDD, no IDE, no parallel printer port), and this product was among the few that satisfied all these criteria.
Upon using it, I found that there are so many defects, and most of them are already widely known as you can search on the internet. They are: (1) ICH (south bridge) becomes extremely hot. I read about this before buying, so I prepared a fanless heatsink, but that was of no use. Still, mine goes constantly abovce 100C. Probably, I will need to change the south bridge heatsink to a one that has a fan. (2) the coils keep making noise by vibration, especially when in idle. I read on the internet that this will improve after upgrading the BIOS, so I did it. True, it improved, but not completely. There is still annoying sound. (3) The BIOS was from more than a year ago (several versions ago). After updating, this is resolved, but as a sold product, they should have given me one with a newer BIOS on it and saved my several hours on attempt to upgrade. (4) the analog audio output has noise. I grounded all over the place, but did not improve much. (5) something strange with the CPU fan control algorithm on the BIOS, letting the Intel core 2 duo stock fan switch to high RPM at strange timing. I could not stand it, and I replaced the fan with Thermaltake MeOrb (16dBA), which fits fine on this board. (6) the arrangements are so tight that you have to remove the CPU fan in order to plugin the motherboard fan plug, and pico PSU cannot be fit as it hits the RAM. (7) the DVI port is a little crappy. After plugging in and out several times, the connector became loose a little bit.
However, after knowing all these flaws, I still think this was the right choice as there are not many other boards that satisfy the conditions that I mentioned above, and this one looks the best choice for my purpose.
It has became old tech
I have been thinking to build a small server to replace an old Synology DS107 for our small office. It is not mainly for HTPC, but a server that we can use as RAID-protected file, VPN, streaming, web, and a testing VM (Sun VirtualBox) Server. I really think most NASs nowadays are over-priced. Not only that, we lost the control to compile and run apps (eg. Apache & MySQL) from source codes. Since we will need to keep it on 24/7, it has to be small, quite, and consume low power. After months of research, I finally decided to make my move for this board, plus the Chenbro 4-bays chassis. We have a Win2k8R2 license, 4 of WD Green 2TB HDDs, and a Q9550 sitting around; so I believed it would be a good tiny powerful server. Even the 4G RAM limitation is kind of a worry for me, but I don’t think I would really need to go beyond that at this point with the projects we have on hand now.
It took me around 45 minutes, carefully, putting the board into the chassis. Then very first thing I realize is that the mobo doesn’t boot. After over an hour of trouble shooting, and another few hours on Google, I found out that this mobe DOESN’T support Q9550, but Q9550s. Yes, the mobo doesn’t support TDP CPU over 65W. You would ask “why didn’t you go to Intel web site and check the CPU supports list first?” Yes, I did went to Intel website on Oct-2009, and I was 100% sure Q9550 was in the list. But now it is gone. Ok, never mind, it is a good excuse for me to replace the old E6750 for my workstation. Then, second catch, the 4 SATA ports on the mobo doesn’t match the number on the manual. Easy fix. Not problem. Just wasted me another 2 minutes to correctly connect the ports to the right position. Then, ok, a 6TB RAID-5 volume is ready; and Windows 2008 R2 disc boots up. Wait… Windows Server cannot install into the RAID volume? Microsoft doesn’t support ICH10R? Driver issue? Then, another hour on Google. Finally, it turns out ICH10R DOESN’T support bootable volume over 2TB. So, the 2TB HDDs on hand, the RAID feature has become useless, unless we don’t mind wasting 2 of 2TB to setup RAID-1. We do mind; and this is the deal killer.
My thought is, the mobo is really work as what it is designed for – home use HTPC. You should not test its limit to build a server like this. It is a good mobo after all, but just doesn’t fit what we need. And I was surprised that Intel and Amazon do not mention about the 2TB volume issue in the website. So now, the mobo is returned; and we are wondering if we should put some budget for DH57JG, a new i5-670, plus 4G of DDR3.
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