Soltek has started to distribute motherboards for Intel next-gen processors in LGA packaging which are expected within 2 months. In order to have enough motherboards ready by that time Soltek decided to use Intel's i865PE which is originally intended for Intel's current processors in mPGA packaging.
LGA775 microprocessors from Intel are projected to emerge in the second quarter of the year and enable new speed increases along with some feature-set improvements. Previously it was unclear whether LGA775 chips are compatible with existing infrastructure or not. However, Soltek managed to create a mainboard based on slightly outdated last year’s performance-mainstream i865PE chipset compatible with future processors for Socket T – the new infrastructure for Intel’s land grid array microprocessors.
Specifications of the Soltek SL-865Pro-775 mainboard are as follows:
Supports Socket T Intel Pentium 4, Celeron processors with 533MHz and
800MHz Quad Pumped Bus;
Supports Intel Hyper-Threading technology;
i865PE chipset, and ICH5R I/O controller;
4 DIMM slots for up to 4GB of PC2700 DDR SDRAM memory. Dual-channel memory
bus support: the memory modules should be identical and installed in pairs;
5 PCI slots, 1 AGP 8x slot;
2-channel ATA-100/66/33 integrated controller;
1-channel ATA-133/100/66/33 (Promise PDC20579);
2 Serial ATA-150 ports with RAID support (ICH5R);
2 Serial ATA-150 ports with RAID support (Promise PDC20579);
8 USB 2.0 ports;
FireWire (IEEE1394) support;
10/100/1000Mbit/s Ethernet adapter;
6-channel AC’97 audio solution;
Overclocking/tuning features;
ATX Form Factor.
As you see the SL-865PRO-775 motherboard from Soltek lacks some new features like DDR2, PCI Express and other. The price is around $155 - $163 according to the Japanese Akiba PC Hotline.
