Intel's 865G chipset (codenamed Springdale), is almost identical to the 875 (Canterwood), and is designed to support the new Intel Pentium 4 processor with Hyper-Threading as well as the 800MHz frontside bus (FSB). It also includes 8x AGP, USB 2.0 and Serial ATA support.

The Intel 875P chipset (codenamed Canterwood) is very similar to the 865 in features. In fact, the 875P is essentially just the best silicon from the same line as the 865, which allows Intel to include its new Performance Acceleration Technology (PAT).

The 845PE was supposed to be Intel’s mainstream desktop DDR chipset, although the e7205 (the Granite Bay), and now the 865 and 875, have stolen much of its thunder with dual-channel DDR.

One of the mid-priced Intel 845PE boards, the Soltek SL-85DR3 comes in just shy of $200.

MSI's new motherboard is based on the Intel 865, or Springdale chipset, heralding the arrival of a host of new technologies (such as support for dual-channel DDR-RAM, AGP 8x and SATA) in Pentium 4 boards. These technologies have been commonplace in Althon boards for more than six months, and it's been an agonizing wait for many Pentium 4 fans.

Soltek, purveyor of all things shiny and glittery, is one of the first companies to release a motherboard based around Intel’s eagerly anticipated i865 Springdale chipset.

SiS's 648 is one of the oldest chipsets on test here, and parallels many of the features of the Intel 845. It still has AGP 8x, 533MHz FSB and DDR333 support, though.

Albatron's offering to the 865P family is bursting at the seams with features. SATA and IDE RAID, eight-channel audio, FireWire, dual-channel DDR, USB 2.0 and Gigabit Ethernet.

Before you complain about how little expansion this board allows – note that it' Micro ATX. In fact, the P4I865GMA packs a punch. Offering DDR400 support, AGP 8x, SATA, Gigabit LAN, onboard audio, and top I/O options, this little board also sports onboard Intel graphics.

Built with convenience in mind, this board features six board-mounted USB 2.0 ports, and two more on a rear panel.

One of the most interesting features of any board in this Labs is the 'AI' in the P4C800 Deluxe. The board will automatically inform you if you've plugged the wrong sort of peripheral into an audio jack, as well as informing of network cable problems.

How could a motherboard possibly cost over $1,000? The short answer is: if it has everything built in. The 8KNXP is geared towards the server market, and is the only board in this Labs with an Ultra360 SCSI controller.

Soltek offers a 865 board for a fair price with the SL086MP-L. It has some good core specifications – it hosts both Pentium 4 and Celeron processors, with support for 800MHz FSB and up to 4GB of DDR400.

For an attractively low $119, the Shuttle AB60RS offers all the basics, and also includes SATA, AGP 8x, and support for up to eight USB ports.

QDI offers another board similar to the P4I865GMA Micro ATX board, except this one is full-size ATX.

The S2662AN differs from most of the mobos in this Labs in that it is designed as a workstation-class board.

One of only three ABIT boards in our roundup supporting ATA133, the SR7-8X lacks SATA and features only two-channel audio.

The BH7 sports plenty of connectivity options, with two S/PDIF ports for optical audio; six-channel audio, SATA and side-mounted IDE ports.

Almost identical to the IC7, the IC7-G also features Gigabit LAN and four SATA connectors. Three fan headers on the board allow for the heatsink fan, case fan and an auxiliary fan, which is good for tweakers.

Scoring strongly for features across all the boards, the EPoX 4PDA2+ is formidable with, four IDE and SATA ports, IDE and SATA RAID, and excellent I/O connectivity