Introduction

The Intel 845G chipset came into the market in a very timely manner. Intel has always managed to position the launch of their chipset solutions and processors at the right time so as to maximize the marketability and potential of their products. The 845G is Intel's integrated graphics solution for the all-powerful Socket-478 Pentium 4 processors and not forgetting the upcoming Socket-478 version of the 1.7GHz and 1.8GHz Celeron too.

With built-in graphics, the chipset will bring many different small form factor PCs into the market. Integration will be simpler too since you do not need to spend extra cash on a graphics card. A simple graphics card can cost you up to S$100 today and the cost of the integrated graphics is way lower than that. So it really makes a lot of economical sense to consider the 845G for systems that does not need fancy 3D graphics. In fact, it's a superb solution for your kids or office. Why anyone would want to get a GeForce4 or RADEON for office work is really a mystery to us all.

However, the graphics on the 845G is not all that bad as Intel has redeveloped their graphics engine with more processing power for the occasional gamers as well. The Intel Extreme Graphics core has been vastly improved over the previous core found in the 815E chipset. Sporting better graphics performance and lower overall system cost, the 845G is indeed very attractive. This is one reason why most motherboard manufacturers today have solutions for the 845G chipset, and we have right here, Gigabyte's 845G motherboard.

Comes in a beautiful box, Gigabyte has graduated from the days of dull colors and forgettable designs. In the box, there are the usual accessories to help the beginner get started. A quick installation guide can be found in the box and it should be detailed enough to get you started. A manual is also provided for the intermediate and experts. We were pleasantly surprised to find a bright yellow pamphlet teaching users how to differentiate between AGP 2x/4x cards and cautioning users to use only 1.5V cards on the board. The examples provided there were indeed very valuable, especially for the beginners. Inside, you'll also find a driver CD, an I/O faceplate, a USB 2.0 bracket, an ATA100 IDE cable, a floppy drive cable, a sticker with the motherboard layout and a high quality Gigabyte casing sticker.

The USB 2.0 bracket that came with the GA-8IGX. This will give you four additional ports.