Manufacturer:
Price: $115 USD (eWiz.com)

Foxconn has stopped by again here at Overclockers Online with a new C2D capable motherboard for the Intel Socket LGA775. Foxconn is the trade name of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. based in Taiwan. Foxconn is a worldwide leader in manufacturing of motherboards, cable assemblies, and other consumer electronics. Today we will be looking at a new motherboard from one of the hottest segments in the motherboard world, the m-ATX form factor for HTPCs.



The HTPC or Home Theater Personal Computer has become a very strong sector in the motherboard market due to the recent amalgamation of the personal computer and the home stereo. This can mainly be accredited to the digitalization of audio and video that started with music and MP3's and has since spread to movies and DVD's. It is almost more common to see a small HTPC in someone's stereo instead of a CD rack anymore and the need for m-ATX form factor motherboards is greater than ever.



The G9657MA-8KS2H is a fully featured m-ATX motherboard built around the Intel G965 + ICH8 chipset for socket LGA775 CPUs including complete Core 2 Duo compatibility. With four DDRII memory slots, an X16 PCI-E slot, 8-channel audio and a total of 10 USB 2.0 connections, the G9657MA packs a punch for such a small motherboard. Make no mistake, size really doesn't matter with this motherboard as you will see in the following pages.