Ako je suditi prema mogućnostima Foxconn 975X7AA-8EKRS2H, tvrtka je na dobrom putu ka konkurentnosti na tržištu high-end ploča. Implementacija kvalitetnijih alata za održavanje i nadzor sistema je vrlo važan korak u ovom procesu, a Foxconn ga je izveo prilično dobro, pogotovo u pogledu alata za nadogradnju softvera, drivera i BIOS-a.

Što se tiče hardverskog dijela priče, ne možemo reći da nas je ova ploča impresionirala. Premda ima dobar layout , nudi dobru opremu po pristupačnoj cijeni (radi se o jednoj od najjeftinijih i975X ploča na tržištu s cijenom od oko 200 USD, barem prema Neweggu) te je odličan overclocker, problemi s BIOS-om na koje smo naišli nas spriječavaju da ju preporučimo zahtjevnim korisnicima. Još jedan trn u oku je svakako nedostatak podrške za Intelove Conroe procesore. Premda je za ovo kriv Intel budući da je naknadno promijenio specifikacije napajanja svojih novih procesora i dalje stoji činjenica da na Foxconn 975X7AA-8EKRS2H nije moguće ugraditi procesor s jezgrom Conroe.

Sve u svemu, Foxconn 975X7AA-8EKRS2H bi vas trebala zadovoljiti ako tražite pristupačnu i dobro opremljenu ploču baziranu na i975X čipsetu, a spremni ste se pomiriti s njenim pomalo problematičnim BIOS-om i nedostatkom podrške za procesore s jezgrom Conroe.

Conclusion in english

If we look at features and performance which Foxconn 975X7AA-8EKRS2H delivers to its user, Foxconn is on the right track to become a competitive player on market of high-end motherboards. Implementation of tools for upgrading software and monitoring system parametars is a major step in this process, which Foxconn executed pretty good, especially regarding functionality of LiveUpdate, tool for automatic upgrades of software, drivers and BIOS.

As for harware side of the story, unfortunately we can’t say that this board impressed us. Altough it has good layout, offers good equipment for a fair price (it is one of the cheapest i975X boards on the market, with price of about 200 USD, at least according to Newegg) and overclocks really well, problems with BIOS (problematic DDR2 800 support, no Command Rate setting for memory and some other minor problems) we managed to find during our testing prevent us from recommending this board to demanding users. One more problem is lack of support for Intel Conroe CPUs. Altough Intel is to blame for this situation because company made last minute changes to CPU power circuit specifications, it’s still a fact that user can not install a Conroe based CPU on Foxconn 975X7AA-8EKRS2H.

All in all, Foxconn 975X7AA-8EKRS2H should satisfy your needs if you are searching for a relatively cheap i975X board with good equipment, at least if you are willing to tolerate a bit problematic BIOS and lack of Conroe support.