Elitegroup Computer Systems recently introduced the micro ATX form factor motherboard series based on Intel’s 945GC and 945GZ chipsets for Intel Core 2 Duo, Pentium and Celeron processors. The new budget-minded socket 775 ECS 945GCT-M and ECS 945GZT-M mainboards incorporate Intel GMA 950 integrated graphics, support for up to 2GB of dual-channel DDR2 533/400 system memory and ICH 7 Southbridge.
The only difference between ECS 945GCT-M and ECS 945GZT-M motherboards is related to expansion slots. ECS 945GCT-M has one PCI Express x16 slot and one PCIe x4 slot, while the 945GZT-M has one PCI Express x16 at reduced x4 bandwidth. Both products have 2 PCI slots.
The Intel ICH7 south bridge in ECS 945GCT-M and 945GZT-M motherboards provides support for up to four SATAII 3 Gb/s hard disk drives, as well as for two Ultra DMA100/66 devices. All boards support eight USB 2.0 ports and feature Realtek’s ALC883 6-channel audio, Ethernet LAN and Serial port.
Currently there is no information on the prices and availability of these entry-level motherboards.
