Introduction and Specifications

Asus is attempting to move into the desktop Pentium M market with this adaptor that allows you to use a 479-pin P-M processor on a 478-pin motherboard.

Introduction

If you have been following our reviews section over the past couple of months, you’ll have noticed that there were a couple of articles that stood out among the rest.  They were the Pentium M 755 and DFI 855GME motherboard review and the AOpen XC Cube EY855-II SFF system, both centered around the Pentium M platform from Intel.  The once mobile-segment only processor and chipsets were beginning to show up in the desktop market, and they are making quite a splash.  Asus, not one to be left out of any exciting trends in the enthusiast market, has come up with a Pentium M offering of their own, but not in the form of a motherboard or a SFF case.

Instead they are introducing the CT-479 Pentium M upgrade kit.  This adaptor allows users of current Asus 478-pin motherboard to upgrade their systems for use with Pentium M processors.

Adaptor Specs (from Asus.com)

CT-479 Specification
CPU
Support for the Intel® Pentium® M processors in a Micro FCPGA 479 packaging technology:
  Banias 1.3GHz~1.7GHz
  Dothan 1.5GHz~2.26GHz
  Celeron M 1.2GHz~1.7GHz

excluding Intel® Pentium® M processor Low Voltage and Intel® Pentium® M processor Ultra Low
Front Side Bus
533 / 400 MHz
Internal I/O Connectors
1 x 4 pin small power connector
2 x 3 pin jumper to select FSB400/533 CPU
Accessories
Quick Installation User’s Manual
1 x Heatsink
1 x Fan
  Dimension of Fan: 70*70*15 mm
Rated Speed: 3000±10%R.P.M.
Voltage(V): DC 12V
Maximum Air FLOW: 32.5CFM
Noise: 30dB-A
1 x 4-pin CPU power cable
QVL Motherboard Model Name:
ASUS P4P800 SE
ASUS P4P800-VM
*CT-479 is able to be used on ASUS Qualified Motherboard only. The updated qualified Motherboards will be listed on ASUS website.

Benefits of the Adaptor over an 855-based motherboard

The first thing we are going to talk about is how using this adaptor is actually a better solution, technologically speaking, than using a motherboard based on the 855-chipset for a Pentium M desktop platform.  First, using the adaptor on the Intel 865 chipset means that the Pentium M processor benefits from having a dual channel memory controller as well as having a faster memory speed of DDR400.  You also have the benefit of access to four total DIMM slots rather than the two DIMM slots on the 855 motherboards.  Finally, the 865 chipset offers full AGP 8x support whereas the 855 chipset only runs at 4x speeds. 

To aid in our testing, Asus sent along the Ct-479 adaptor as well as the P4P800-SE motherboard based on the Intel 865PE chipset.  Let’s see how it all works together.

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