Introduction
About a month ago, Foxconn sent us a review sample of their latest flagship motherboard, the Foxconn X38A. As this was before the official launch of the Intel X38 chipset, we could only run a
preview
of the board. Since its launch though, we found that the retail version of the Foxconn X38A motherboard has undergone some minor cosmetic changes as well as being the star in Foxconn's latest Digital Life product segment. However, there hadn't been any modifications to functionality or design and our sample was proven to be feature-complete and fit for a review.
Our Foxconn X38A review sample motherboard.
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The retail version of the Foxconn X38A "Digital Life" motherboard. The only real difference is the updated heat-pipe cooler.
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In this review, we will look closer at the X38A motherboard and check out the differences between our sample and the retail board. As usual, before we go into the details, you can check out the full technical specifications in the following table:-
Foxconn X38A Technical Specifications
| CPU
Support |
- Supports
all 90nm/65nm Intel LGA775
processors
- 45nm ready (Wolfdale & Yorkfield)
|
| Chipset |
- Northbridge:
Intel X38
- Southbridge:
Intel
ICH9R
|
| Memory |
- Four
unbuffered DIMMs of 1.8 Volt DDR2 SDRAM
- Max 8GB Dual-channel DDR2-800
- Two
unbuffered DIMMs of 1.5 Volt DDR3 SDRAM
- Max 4GB Dual-channel DDR3-1333
|
| Storage |
- Intel ICH9R
Southbridge
- 6 x SATA 3.0Gbps
interface
- Intel Matrix
Storage Technology
- Supports RAID 0,
RAID 1, RAID 0+1, RAID 5, RAID 10
- JMicron
JMB363
- 1 x Ultra
ATA
33/66/100/133 (data transfer rate up to
133MB/sec.)
- 2 x SATA 3.0Gbps interface
(eSATA)
- SATA RAID 0, RAID1 and JBOD
|
| Audio |
- Intel High Definition
Audio (Azalia)
- Realtek ALC888S HD
Audio CODEC
- Optical
and coaxial S/PDIF
|
| Networking |
- Realtek
RTL8111B PCIe Gigabit Ethernet
- Realtek RTL8110SC PCI Gigabit Ethernet
|
| IEEE 1394 (FireWire) |
- Texas
Instrument TSB43AB22A FireWire controller
- 2 x 1394a
ports @ 400 Mbps speed
|
| I/O Interface |
- 1
x Floppy connector
- 1 x Ultra ATA
IDE connectors
- 6 x SATA
connectors
- 2 x eSATA connectors
- 8 x USB 2.0
ports (4 x rear, 4 x header)
- 2 x
RJ45 LAN
ports
- 2 x FireWire-400 ports (1 x rear, 1
x header)
- 1 x
Optical S/PDIF
Output
- 1 x Coaxial S/PDIF
Output
- 8-Channel Audio I/O
ports
- 1
x COM
port header
- 1 x
mini-DIN-6 PS/2
keyboard port
- 1 x mini-DIN-6 PS/2 mouse port
|
| Expansion
Slots |
- 2 x
PCIe x16
slots,
PCI Express Bus specification v2.0
compliant (Blue)
- 1 x PCIe x16 slot, PCI Express Bus specification v
1.1 compliant (Black)
- 2 x PCIe x1
slots, PCI
Express Bus specification v1.1
compliant
- 2 x 32-bit
PCI slots,
PCI 2.3 compliant
|
| Special Features |
- Foxconn Digital Connector
|
| PCB |
- ATX Form Factor, 12"x
9.6"(30.5cm x 24.4cm)
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Pretty much what to expect from a full-featured high-end motherboard. Apart from the legacy PS/2 connectors, you get optical and coaxial S/PDIF, FireWire, two eSATA, two LAN, four USB 2.0 ports and analog surround audio jacks. Our board is missing the Foxconn Digital Connector, which is located in the space between the eSATA and S/PDIF ports. Retail boards will all feature it.
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Channels
TECH GUIDES
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