DFI LANParty PRO875 Review - DFI LANParty PRO875 Review
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Manufacturer: | DFI |
| Product: | LANParty PRO875 Canterwood Mobo |
Price: | USD$196 |
Availability: | NOW |
Reviewed By: | Jim "Justi" Miller |
Review Date: | June 2003 |
DFI LANParty PRO875 Canterwood Motherboard
IN AND OUT OF THE BOX:
As we've said since the top of page one, this board sets new standards in packaging, appearance, and accessories. Let's take a look at each catagory.
The Retail Packaging:
This is by far, second to none, the largest retail motherboard box I've ever come across. Just look at the mammoth size of this thing! We'll find out in a minute what's eating up all that room! Here's an image of the PRO875 box sitting next to a "normal" sized moterboard box, the ABIT IS7.. WOW!
Here are some more random images of the packaging:
Accessories Included:
This board is part of DFI's LANParty series of motherboards, and by looking at the included accessories you can see why! When you open this huge box you're greeted with five boxes packed within it. The motherboard itself is in one of the box, with each of the remaining four boxes containing one catagory of items or item.
Let's take a look at the accessory boxes one by one and what's in them...
Round Cables Box:
In this box is exactly what you'd expect, rounded cables. These are actually pretty impressive rounded cables, especially considering that you are getting them as part of the motherboard package and not shelling out an additional USD$15 a piece for them! These are the wire mesh cables with a UV sensitive orange coating over them to match the motherboard trim. Very nice. It includes a total of three rounded cables:
Accessory Kit Box:
Within the accessory kit box is all of the essential connection odds and ends. The box contains:
Game port add-on PCI slot card
Small package of thermal paste
One SATA Power cables
Two SATA data cables
I/O panel jack cover
Audio Jack PCI slot add-on card
All in all pretty quality components in this box. It's nice to see that there are two SATA cables after seeing several manufacturers only include one. It's a little odd that considering the two data cables, there's only one SATA power cable, but perhaps there's supposed to be two. One thing that really impressed me is that they included some thermal paste. Nothing special, just the garden variety white paste, which truth be told is what I prefer most of the time.
FrontX Box:
Now this is flat out neat. The FrontX port extender has been around a while, we actually reviewed one of the early versions back in 2000. Basically it is a device that slides into a 5.25" slot in your case and allows you to put USB, Sound, Serial, etc connectors in the front of your case. The FrontX included with this LANParty motherboard comes with the following.
FrontX Port Extender
Dual USB Port card
Two Audio Jack ports
PC Transpo Box:
To complete the LANParty package is something very cool. They've included a PC carrying bag. Basically it's a web strap system that secures your PC case and has a carrying handle as well as a shoulder strap. Another nice feature of it is that it has a cable pouch on the side to carry the cables that always end up being forgotten at home when you go to a LAN party!
This thing adjusts to fit about any size PC case and believe me, it makes it nice! I have a buddy (SPeeD!) that used to carry his PC in and out of LAN parties until the day he was trying to balance it and everything else he owned walking into the house. Long story short the PC ended up on the ground with a jacked up case bezel! Believe me, these things are nice to have!
Ok, now that we've seen all the jazz that comes with the LANParty PRO875, let's finally take a look at the board itself and it's layout!
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