Gone were the VGA/DVI/HDMI ports (3 ports, but only 2 could be used at the same time: VGA and HDMI or DVI), but now in its place are 2 eSATA ports, with USB power! Not just one 1394a Firewire port but a second mini-Firewire port as well. Even a second gigabit Ethernet port! And a copper/coaxial SPDIF port joins the optical port.
Not much room left to add anything else! To add even more to the cool bling factor are the illuminated power/reset/CMOS clear switches. Perfect for those times where you're working inside the case and you don't want to reach around to find the power switch. |
Now instead of moving a jumper on the motherboard to reset or clear the CMOS, just pop off the protective plastic cover and press the switch.
I decided to take the purple heatsinks off of the old motherboard and cover up/dress up the new one. I also transferred my north bridge cooling fan to this motherboard as well. The passive cooling can use the assistance. |