This review will be devoted entirely to such a computer component as the Foxconn model N15235 motherboard. It is on the example of this component that the strengths and weaknesses of the products of this manufacturer will be given. This will allow you to give recommendations regarding the purchase of his products.
Foxconn Quick Reference
Custom assembly of various electronic devices is Foxconn's core business. Motherboards, graphic adapters, memory modules, smartphones, mobile phones - this is not a complete list of equipment that is manufactured at the production facilities of this company. Moreover, the list of Foxconn customers includes Apple, Asus, Gigabyte, and MSI. Having such rich capabilities in assembling and testing the equipment manufactured, this company decided to expand the scope of its business. So there was a series of motherboards under the Foxconn brand. One of them is N15235.
Which PCs is this motherboard suitable for?
At the time of its release, the Foxconn motherboard model N15235 was focused on installing the most productive processors. There was also the possibility of complementing such a computer system with a high-performance graphics adapter. All this in total allowed creating the most productive personal computers based on this solution. It could be a workstation, a graphic station, or a gaming computer capable of running any of the most demanding toys existing at that time. The same motherboard could successfully act as a link in a mid-range and entry-level PC. Only in this case, the use of such an expensive and functional computer component was not entirely justified. Its main purpose is the creation of high-performance computer systems.
Location of system board elements
Motherboard foxconn This model is manufactured in the microATX form factor. Its dimensions are 9.6 inches by 8.0 inches. Almost in the middle of the upper part of the product is the LGA 775 processor socket. To the left of it is the CPU power supply system , which consists of several solid-state capacitors and semiconductor stabilizers. Even further, at the very edge of the board, there are interface wired ports. To the right of the socket, 2 slots for installing RAM are grouped, behind which the power connectors and IDE drives are connected. Directly under the processor socket for installing the CPU is the north bridge of the chipset. Below it, expansion slots are displayed. To their right is the south bridge, the BIOS battery, and the ports for connecting SATA drives. Here, on the very edge, there is a switching connector on the front panel of the PC case.
Chipset and its characteristics
The Foxconn N15235 motherboard is based on a set of two chips. Description of this product indicates that the North Bridge in this case is Intel's G31. Its key component is the memory controller. The thermal packet of this silicon crystal was 17 W, and the system bus frequency in this situation could be 800 MHz / 1066 MHz / 1333 MHz. In this case, ICH7 enters as the south bridge . Its main task is to connect peripheral devices and controller boards in expansion slots.
Socket. What processors can be installed in it?
An impressive list of central processing units for the LGA 775 socket is supported by the Foxconn N15235 motherboard. The description of this product indicates the presence in this list of all chips oriented to be installed in this processor socket. The most productive solutions of this platform are the quad core Cor 2 Quad. A step below in terms of speed is Cor 2 Duo, in which the number of computing units has been reduced to two. Pentium Dual Cor core CPUs had an even lower level of performance. The number of cores they had was exactly the same, but the frequencies were reduced and the cache memory was cut. The most affordable dual-chip chips for the LGA 775 were Celeron Dual Cor. They had even less cache than older CPU models. And the frequency has been further reduced. The segment of single-core processors was occupied by Pentium 4 and Celeron. Any of the above models with an Intel chip could be installed in such a motherboard. But still, taking into account its positioning and level of functionality, it was preferable to use it in combination with 2 and 4-core CPU models of this platform.
Peripheral kit
The list of wired interface ports on this motherboard was as follows:
2 PS / 2 format ports for connecting a manipulator to the PC (it was green) and a keyboard (the violet port was used for this purpose).
One COM port (its second name is serial) and one LPT port (or, as it is also called, parallel). With their help, it was possible to switch various input / output devices to a computer system (plotter, scanner, printer).
Four USB format ports, if necessary, could replace the COM port or LPT port for connecting similar input / output devices to the computer system.
Also, this product was equipped with one RJ-45 port for connecting a PC to a computer network.
Expansion slots
An excellent set of expansion slots was completed with the Foxconn N15235 motherboard. Her characteristics indicate the presence of such of them:
PCI Express 16 X is the only and main slot for installing a discrete graphics accelerator that processes the images displayed on the display.
Also, this motherboard was equipped with one PCI Express 1 X slot. The latest versions of additional controllers (for example, a TV tuner) should be installed in it.
But to install obsolete controller modifications, this product was equipped with 2 PCI expansion slots at once.
Regarding the expansion slots of this board, it is necessary to note one important feature: if you use a productive graphics card in such a computer system that occupies 2 expansion slots at once, then it will be impossible to install an additional expansion controller in the PCIExpress 1 X slot.
RAM
Only modules of one type of RAM were supported by the Foxconn N15235 motherboard. Features indicated support for DDR2. Moreover, it was only possible to install the “DDR2-667” and “DDR2-800” trims. It was preferable to use just the latest modification of RAM, which allowed in practice to get a certain increase in performance. The maximum amount of RAM that could be installed in such a computer system was 4 GB. This restriction was primarily imposed on the part of the CPU, which could address the maximum amount of RAM. The RAM controller itself was a key component of the chipset's north bridge. He was a two-channel. Accordingly, the use of two 512 MB strips instead of 1 module per 1 GB allowed to obtain even greater performance increase, which could reach 15 percent.
Connecting the front panel of the system unit
As noted earlier, the front panel of the case of the system unit of a personal computer is connected in the lower right corner of the system board. All necessary symbols are marked next to the corresponding connectors. So this Foxconn motherboard cannot stand out with something unusual compared to similar products. Connection is provided for the following front panel elements:
Speaker (system speaker event signaling).
Power Switch (PC power button).
Power LED (indication of turning on the PC).
Reset Switch (button to force restart the computer system).
HDD LED (indication of the operation of the hard disk or solid state drive).
Power Supply and System Board Power Supply
Connecting a Foxconn N15235 Motherboard to the power supply is carried out immediately by two connectors. One of them is ATX12V, which consists of 24 contacts. The second in this case provides additional power to the central processing unit and consists of only eight contacts. Also, when equipping a PC with a high-performance graphics accelerator, it was necessary to connect a third power connector to it.
Reviews
Foxconn has equipped its products to successfully conquer the market of computer electronics with low cost and attractive technical specifications. Motherboards of this brand in this regard were no exception. And it is precisely these two pluses that the owners distinguished from N15235. But her minus was only one: when installing a productive graphics accelerator, it was impossible to install an additional controller in a neighboring expansion slot.
Price and relevance
The features of this model's Foxconn motherboard were truly impressive. Moreover, her cost was lower than that of direct competing products. This led to the fact that it is not so rare in a PC based on LGA 775 to find such a solution. But now this hardware platform is outdated morally and physically. At best, its capabilities will be sufficient only for solving tasks of medium complexity. But the most demanding application software on such hardware will definitely not work. Even the manufacturer in the person of Intel recommended that the owners of such PCs switch to more recent processor sockets LGA 1150 or LGA 1151. Finally, it should be noted that such a motherboard together with a processor and cooler can now be purchased in supported condition for 1200-1500 rubles.
Summary
Motherboard Foxconn model N15235 was one of the best solutions for creating high-performance PCs based on LGA 775. Now this processor socket is outdated. Therefore, owners of such computer systems are advised to upgrade and upgrade to more recent hardware.