Great board: the future of computing
The Intel D945GCLF motherboard is a great product. This is a super way to start building a computer without the time-consuming complexity of buying many compatible components and assembling them into a working system. So far, I've bought two of these boards and expect to buy more in the future as Intel continues to improve this chip / board product line.
You'll need to add a hard drive, ram memory, a case/power supply, external speakers, keyboard, mouse, monitor, and operating system. But that's all stuff you can pretty easily plug together. You may already have some of these key parts lying around as spares from existing or antiquated computers.
I installed several different versions of operating systems, settling on a copy of Ubuntu for daily use. It's fast, fun, and free.
I have shown this board to a number of very knowledgeable, computer savvy friends who were impressed enough to quickly buy one for their own use. It's cost effective and ruggedly reliable. (I wouldn't recommend a drop-test, but I did drop it off the back of a van and it kept working.)
I've found the processor performance to be quite acceptable for web browsing and basic administrative tasks. The system boots surprisingly quickly. The outstanding energy efficiency is appealing, ideal for any systems that are left on for extended periods of time (e.g. in home servers, security systems, or environmental control devices.)
This product is an exceptional value for a low-cost desktop system. You could also use it as a component in an embedded PC-compatible systems. If nothing else, it's a fun, inexpensive, and powerful way to explore and experiment with new computing technologies.
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