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)
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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.