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Intel BOXD945GCLF2 MINI-ITX 1PCI Motherboard

Intel BOXD945GCLF2 MINI-ITX 1PCI Motherboard (Intel: BOXD945GCLF2)
IntelVPN: BOXD945GCLF2
Vendor: Intel
Price: $0.00 - $0.00 CAD from 0 stores
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Product Reviews

Intel BOXD945GCLF2 MINI-ITX 1PCI Motherboard
38%
Excellent
46%
Very Good
17%
Average
0%
Below Average
0%
Poor
Rating: 8.42/10
With 24 User Reviews
GuruSteve@NCIX
Rating:

Review Date: 07/20/09
Cons: Active Fan on Heatsink. What's up with that? A passive cooling solution would be so much better!

Pros: Very small, great on power, and generally quiet
Comment:
You just can't beat the price for this board. Unfortunately, be sure to budget a few more bucks for a replacement chipset fan, or alternatively even more cash for a good passive heatsink. The heatsinks that are on the board look pretty cheap!
Michel_R@NCIX
Rating:

Review Date: 05/22/09
Cons: NorthBridge Fan need to be changed for it to be noiseless.

Pros: Take 2.5 Amp max at 12V = 30W power consumption
Comment:
Take 2.5 Amp max at 12V = 30W power consumption. Powerfull enough to run Windows XP. It takes standard DDR2 memory for wich I paid 9.99$ for 1024M.
stone414@NCIX
Rating:

Review Date: 05/18/09
Cons: chipset fan is loud, only one ram slot

Pros: Good price, fast for a mini itx board, low electricity consumption,stable
Comment:
I got this motherboard to build a server works really good, the only thing is that the chipset fan is loud, wich I will replace soon for a quieter one.
curriegrad2004@NCIX
Rating:

Review Date: 04/29/09
Cons: Numerous Issues with this board. BIOS doesn't want to upgrade via iFLASH or Express BIOS Update, LOUD IGP Fan (fixed with Scythe's 40mm FAN) and has issues with on board GbE chip. Adding a second Ethernet network card will certainly kill it unless you upgrade to the latest BIOS.

Pros: Great Board, just does what it needs to do. Used as a Windows Server 2003 NAS/DC/Routing/VM Host Box.
Comment:
Bought this for a Windows Server 2003 EE NAS/DC/Routing/VM Host Box. Most features load fast and work fine Virtualized or not.However there are four issues that really killed this board:1. Loud GPU/IGP fan. It just gets too loud. Fixed it with a Scythe 40MM fan instead of the stock TNT fan. My board had to be replaced by NCIX once because the stock TNT fan just crapped out.2. BIOS won't upgrade without a fight. Had to do the recovery method as suggested by one of Intel's support techs.3. A BIOS related bug that can kill this box if there was a second Ethernet NIC added on the PCI slot. (A Wireless Card works fine, but an Ethernet card will lock up the system under Windows Server 2003 or XP) Fixed it with BIOS version LF94510J.86A.0171.2009.0403.01184. The ES version of the Atom 330 CPU was used in my board. I just only found it out today. ES's won't last long and I might need to get a replacement for this board by the end of the year if the ES chip does really fail.I would give this board a 5, but given the issues above, I'd lower it to a 3.
BobT@NCIX
Rating:

Review Date: 04/27/09
Cons: Will not boot with only hard drives attached to ATA 100.

Pros: Small size, low power consumption, good performance.
Comment:
Used for a home server build. Excellent board but it would not boot unless a CD/DVDROM was installed on the IDE channel.a. Nothing attached to the IDE (SATA drives only) - Boots OK.b. Two Seagate 7200.10 IDE drives installed - No Boot.c. One Seagate Drive and the CD/DVDROM (Master or Slave) - Boots OK.
Serhiy_S@NCIX
Rating:

Review Date: 03/13/09
Cons: Noisy and crappy chipset fan, no PCIe support, no HDMI output, NIC is not supported by FreeNAS 0.69, though worked with nightly build 0.7.

Pros: Small, fast, dual core Atom, hyper threading support, CHEAP!, 1Gigabit NIC, two SATA-II connectors, PCI slot, S-Video out.Perfect for a small power efficient closet server.
Comment:
Bought this and Apex MI-008 case to build my own NAS/LAMP server. With such low power consumption and plenty of power behind dual core Atom it's perfect for 24x7 server. Combine that with a small Mini-ITX case like Apex MI-100 or MI-008 and now it looks great and has a size of a shoebox. Ubuntu 8.10 Server runs on it like a charm (after BIOS update). This review was modfied by poster @ 03-13-09 12:03 PM
Aquamarine@NCIX
Rating:

Review Date: 02/17/09
Cons: Just one PCI slot and not an express one at that. Northbridge fan not reliable.

Pros: Cheap, small, low-power, decently powerful.
Comment:
This is probably the best $/performance ITX board I have ever owned - beats Via's VT-310dp out of the water (except for encryption related tasks). It is too bad that it only has a single memory slot and only 2 SATA ports. Would have made a great NAS board. I highly recommend you find a fanless enclosure with heatpipe cooling and mod it to support this board. There is no reason that it has to be so loud.
Haxelon@NCIX
Rating:

Review Date: 02/11/09
Cons: only 1 stick of ramonly VGA output

Pros: - small size- low power- low cost
Comment:
I used this for a home server setup. worked great and is use almost no power so i can let it run 24/7. Great stuff
David_S@NCIX
Rating:

Review Date: 02/04/09
Cons: one pci slotone ram slot

Pros: Small footprintLow power consumption
Comment:
Bought this dual core atom board for a file server. There is only one ram slot which is kind of a bummer but I purchased a 2gb stick and i don't believe I'll need anything more. I was looking for something that was low power consumption and fast enough to serve some big files. So far this baby works pretty good. I installed windows home server and it runs pretty decent. I paired this up with a VIA sata card which gave me 2 more available hard drives to install. All in all I am happy with my purchase!
Lance W@NCIX
Rating:

Review Date: 01/18/09
Cons: Weak IGP, lacks digital outputLoud chipset fan

Pros: CheapEnergy EfficientCPU can play 1080p x264/MKV smoothly
Comment:
This is a great CPU/board for a cheap mini-ITX rig that handles better than anything single-core. It's energy efficient and enough to playback 1080p x264/MKV (if you use CoreAVC). I used it in a system I built for my mother using an Apex MI-008 case.The onboard graphics are seriously weak - don't expect to do anything with it. No you can't play Blu-ray on it, not that you'd want to since it lacks DVI, HDMI and S/PDIF.The little POS fan is the worst. For some relief plug the fan into the second fan header - you can set it in the BIOS to run at 50%. I unplugged it altogether and slapped an unsecured 80mm fan over it. Not pretty but it works and is a lot quieter.p.s. Anyone who complains about only one expansion slot needs to get their head examined - that's mini-ITX SPEC. Also is 2 SATA ports not enough? How many drives can you fit in a typical mini-ITX case? Narm. This review was modfied by poster @ 01-18-09 01:46 AM
Mark_G@NCIX
Rating:

Review Date: 01/17/09
Cons: Lousy chipset, no DVI, only two SATA ports and one PCI; no PCI-Express. Requires P4 power connector. Needed a BIOS upgrade to run Linux.

Pros: Cheap, small, low-power, decently powerful.
Comment:
Overall, this is a good piece of hardware for a low-power, low-cost system; mine is running MythTV as a PVR and has no problem with recording, transcoding and commercial-scanning 6-8 hours of TV a day while using 40-50W of power. Linux install failed initially due to a BIOS issue, but after I upgraded to the latest BIOS it installed and recognised all the hardware with no manual intervention or extra driver installs.The single PCI slot is probably a limitation of the Mini-ITX design, so I can't complain about that too much, but this board would have far more uses if only Intel had put at least four SATA ports on there rather than limiting it to two; if you want to build a cheap home RAID server your options are basically VIA mini-ITX or an AMD micro-ATX board. In addition, the chipset sucks up far more power than the CPU and requires a fan to operate; I replaced mine with a quieter fan than was shipped with the board. For some reason they've also chosen to require a P4 power connector, which many mini-ITX cases don't provide.Overall, it's about 80% of the way to an excellent product, but crippled for many uses by some poor choices on Intel's part. I guess that as their first foray into this market we can't expect them to get it all right first time. This review was modfied by poster @ 01-18-09 12:24 PM
David_A@NCIX
Rating:

Review Date: 01/09/09
Cons: Just one PCI slot and not an express one at that. Northbridge fan not reliable.

Pros: Price and value
Comment:
This is a great little board to upgrade an older machine. Works well for basic word processing and web browsing. I am running Vista home basic on it, and it will handle that just fine with 2GB of ram. Note that there is only one RAM slot, so you can't use 2X1GB sticks. Northbridge fan started squealing after about a month. Very common problem. It is a 40mm 12V fan, so budget for a replacement. (there is no CPU fan)
Jordan_S@NCIX
Rating:

Review Date: 12/31/08
Cons: None so far

Pros: Cheap and Energy Efficient
Comment:
This board is great for a small home server or a PC for surfing the web, text editing etc. With a cheap mini ITX case, it makes a great computer for kids as well.
Guillaume_P@NCIX
Rating:

Review Date: 12/15/08
Cons: The northbridge fan sucks. Mine failed already, and I bought a replacement one. Temperatures are a little high even with the fan working, but nothing alarming.

Pros: Really, really small. Don't lose it when you unpack it.Product booted and worked flawlessly on Linux. Havn't tried Windows.Requires next to no power, CPU even runs a L4D 4-player coop server!Dual-Core (Huge advantage over the 230)Requires very low power
Comment:
This board is great for anything wanted a little home server for file sharing or web/cvs/ftp hosting. I have mine setup with a 5400rpm laptop SATA hard drive, with no monitor (controlled by SSH) and nothing hooked up except an external USB hard drive for a network share.The entire thing runs great on Gentoo Linux, but I haven't tried getting sound or 3d acceleration to work (Since I have no X server). The sensors for temperature are working right and are supported under Linux, and the same can be said for the SATA/IDE controllers.The computer makes a bit of noise because of the obnoxious Northbridge fan, which I suggest you replace as soon as you get the thing shipped to your house. Mine failed within 2 weeks.In conclusion, this is a great server motherboard for low and moderate requirements. I haven't tried it as a desktop, but I have no doubt it could run Windows XP or Linux (preferably) properly.
Martin_J@NCIX
Rating:

Review Date: 12/11/08
Cons: Noisy chipset fan.

Pros: Good value for money mITX board. Has PCI slot and Gig Ethernet.
Comment:
Got a combo deal GCLF2 and Apex 100 black case. Added 500GB HD, DVD, 2GB RAM and a Hauppauge tuner. Works well as mythTV backend and fileserver.Gig ethernet was pleasant surprise (I had thought it was 100mpbs). Linux users need newer install CD to have right driver. (Fedora 9 worked, 7 didn't)Chipset fan drove me crazy. Replaced with a passive cooler off a Pentium 2 CPU. I had to saw off 1/3 to fit and pull some off the fins off to get the retainer clip on. I put a 120mm nexus fan on right side, and put in some internal baffling to get airflow over chipset and CPU. Now both run at 40-44C.I have a mysterious Fedora boot problem. (gets some sync panic on loading kernel. I often have to try 3-4 times. But once booted runs fine)
Pawel_P@NCIX
Rating:

Review Date: 12/10/08
Cons: loud annoying chipset fanonly 2 sata ports

Pros: fastdual-core cpulow power consumption
Comment:
This is probably the best $/performance ITX board I have ever owned - beats Via's VT-310dp out of the water (except for encryption related tasks). It is too bad that it only has a single memory slot and only 2 SATA ports. Would have made a great NAS board. I highly recommend you find a fanless enclosure with heatpipe cooling and mod it to support this board. There is no reason that it has to be so loud.
darethehair@NCIX
Rating:

Review Date: 12/10/08
Cons: S-video doesn't work (yet) with linux OS, but smart folks are working on it. Wish it also had Firewire. Stock GPU fan is noisy, so replaced it with 40x40x10mm Mini-Kaze.

Pros: Inexpensive, quiet (especially with mini-Kaze fan), works great with Linux (Fedora 10!), Windows XP, and Leopard. Lots of USB ports, and legacy serial port. Nice hi-res VGA signal. Great to have one PCI slot.
Comment:
Bought this, along with an Apex MI-008 case, to replace my ASUS Pundit (with failed PSU), to act as low-power webserver, DVR, and weather station host. So far, working great. This review was modfied by poster w 12-10-08 10:52 AM This review was modfied by poster @ 12-10-08 10:57 AM
Sean_G@NCIX
Rating:

Review Date: 12/01/08
Cons: Only one PCI slot (Wish there were two) so I could run my TV Tuner and PC Graphics card in tandem

Pros: Mini iTX form factor is coupled with fairly decent on board additions (intel graphics & chipset)
Comment:
Purchased this board as part of an HTPC setup. So far no problems getting it configured and running on a network running WinMCE as my OS.
Nicolas_M@NCIX
Rating:

Review Date: 11/17/08
Cons: the chipset

Pros: coolcheapquiet
Comment:
I bought this for my htpc setup.It was noisy at first but I bought a miniKaze fan that solved this annoyance.
[I]an ]H[@NCIX
Rating:

Review Date: 11/04/08
Cons: None.

Pros: Cheap, runs XP!
Comment:
I have this running Xp with 1gig of ram for a basic web surfing pc. The S video is nice for hooking up to the tv to watch movies. This is surprisingly quick. The only downside is that the chipset fan is on the loud side.
[BF2] hillybilly@NCIX
Rating:

Review Date: 10/25/08
Cons: size= limited expandability

Pros: size, price,
Comment:
Wow, I had never put together one of these itx systems before this one, and what a pleasant surprise. I used this mb/cpu in a system with dvd writer, 500gb hd, Apex mini-itx case and 2gb of ram. Running xp, it seems plenty fast for surfing the net and the basic office applications. It would be nice if it had a pci-e slot to install a nice video card for an htpc or gaming, but then maybe I would need a case with a better psu, I dunno. A couple more sata ports would be nice, but the 500gb hd seems more than adequate for now. This system is more than sufficient for lite users. As a net machine= 5/5. For gaming, well look elsewhere. This review was modfied by poster @ 10-25-08 02:47 PM
Brad_K (aka. Stanley)@NCIX
Rating:

Review Date: 10/17/08
Cons: No PCI-E

Pros: QuickCheapGB LanAll-In-One
Comment:
I love this! Got it a few days ago for a basic desktop system and it's great. It's quick and it gets the job done. Doesn't get too warm either which is nice. Stuck in 2GB of ram and a 80GB hard drive in the Apex-MI-008 and you have yourself a full system for dirt cheap.
tivollix@NCIX
Rating:

Review Date: 10/14/08
Cons: Does not 'feel' faster than D945GCLF

Pros: Can play higher definition video than D945GCLF
Comment:
It's an ok board for surfing and media playing.The 4 threads are usefull for video playing on HD content.On general usage, web, office use, the 2nd core is not that usefull.It does a cheap and nice setup with the Apex MI-008 case.
Kevin_B@NCIX
Rating:

Review Date: 10/05/08
Cons: A bit slow.

Pros: Quiet, and fast...
Comment:
Great for a surfer computer, or on older games. Only problems are that there aren't any Firewire. There could be more SATA ports too..
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Product Features

Product Specifications

Model
BrandIntel
ModelBOXD945GCLF2
Combo TypeMotherboard/CPU Combo
Bundle
CPUAtom 330
With CoolerYes
Supported CPU
FSB533/400MHz
Supported CPU TechnologiesHyper-Threading Technology
Chipsets
North BridgeIntel 945GC
South BridgeIntel ICH7
Memory
Number of Memory Slots1×240pin
Memory StandardDDR2 667
Maximum Memory Supported2GB
Expansion Slots
PCI Slots1
Storage Devices
PATA1 x ATA 100 2 Dev. Max
SATA2 x SATA II
Onboard Video
Onboard Video ChipsetIntel GMA 950
Onboard Audio
Audio Channels6 Channels
Onboard LAN
LAN Speed10/100/1000Mbps
Max LAN Speed10/100/1000Mbps
Rear Panel Ports
PS/22
COM1
LPT1
Video PortsD-Sub
S-Video1
USB4 x USB 2.0
Audio Ports3 Ports
Onboard USB
Onboard USB4 x USB 2.0
Physical Spec
Form FactorMini ITX

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