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Closer
examination
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Chaintech takes the
SK8T800 and breaks away from the normal design trends we have seen by moving the
Northbridge and CPU sockets. The Northbridge took the largest leap and is now
totally adjacent to the AGP slot which pushed the CPU socket down closer to the
RAM sockets. They also put both motherboard power connectors (20 pin ATX
and 4-pin auxiliary) on the top-middle section of the motherboard. This should
be located directly under the power supply in a typical ATX system
configuration, which should also prevent the larger power wire-bundles from
being draped across the board and CPU heatsink.
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The absence
of an additional Serial ATA RAID controller/connectors on the board means
Chaintech has a lot of room to spread out the native chipset connections and
headers. Bunched between the 2nd and 3rd PCI slot are the three USB 2.0 headers.
Just a reminder that the board does not ship with a USB bracket in the bundle
but most enclosures have headers to allow connecting at least one, if not all
three, headers to the front panel of your case. The Parallel and Serial ATA
connectors are located on top of each other, centralizing the mess
associated with drive-cable hook up. Also in this region of the board is one of
the three 3-pin fan power connectors. In its usual spot on the motherboard is
the complex front-panel header block for the Power/IDE LED and power/reset
buttons. If your enclosure does not have a speaker, fear not! The SK8T800 has a
built-on buzzer! The more exposure I have to motherboards with the floppy
connector on the bottom, the more I am beginning to accept the location. With
rounded cables being so readily accessible and affordable, this location isn't
really that inconvenient.
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Chaintech
put the Wake on LAN and Wake on MODEM connectors under the last PCI slot right
next to the floppy connector. In the bottom corner of the SK8T800, also
typically placed, is the front panel audio header block. In the very top of the
photo, next to the yellow game connector port, is the location of the (optional)
expanded audio headers for SP/DIF inputs & ourputs as well as Subwoofer/Center/
Rear channel audio ports.
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How many of
you can still find the original rear panel ATX Mutli I/O shield that came with
your enclosure? Of course, the folks that buy a new enclosure should get a stock
panel that looks like the one in the picture. Reason I mention this is because
the Chaintech SK8T800 does not ship with a panel in the box. The rear panel
conforms to the original design specs, so Chaintech has saved themselves, and
you, money by not including it -- every little bit helps.
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