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April 2001
More New Motherboards from Intel

Intel announced the release of two new motherboards, the Easton 2 and Fayetteville, and this month initial shipments began to arrive. Based on forecast commitments, it appears that volume shipments cannot be expected much before early May, however we will see product during the month of April. This following outlines the difference between Intel’s Easton, Easton 2 and Fayetteville motherboards.

The Easton and Easton 2 series boards utilize the same 815E and 815EP chipsets and are designed to support the Pentium III Processor and 66/100/133 Front Side Bus. Processor speeds up to 1Ghz are supported. The only differences in the motherboard part number is the addition of the “2” in the Intel part number code. There are three primary differences between the Easton and Easton 2 series.

The most significant difference is that the Easton 2 has 4 USB ports at the back the motherboard placed in a double stack configuration. The current Easton motherboard has support for 4 USB, but only two exit from at the rear. Two additional ports can be added to the front by incorporating a third party USB cable. The cable connects to two jumpers on the motherboard and exits the front of the case. In order to utilize these additional ports, you need to purchase the cable and the front of the computer requires and adapter to support front mount USB ports.

In order to make room the additional USB ports, Intel has removed the Game port, therefore the Easton 2 series does not come with its own game port any longer. This is not a significant change since most devices used on a game port are available in USB versions.

The first of the Easton series of motherboards had a unique set of diagnostic LED lights positioned on the back of the motherboard. These lights are set to flash in various sequences to assist technicians diagnose problems that may be occurring on the motherboard. Intel conducted several studies and learned that the vast majority of people were not using the LED lights, and some didn’t know they were even on the board. Intel determined from this information that this feature was not adding value to the product and was therefore removed from the Easton 2 series. The Easton 2 boards will be available using both the 815E and 815EP chipsets, and will include version both with and without LAN.

Intel identifies their new Fayetteville series motherboards by adding an “F” in their part number, however it is basically the same product as the Easton 2 series except that it is in the MicroVAX form factor. The Fayetteville has 4 USB ports on the back in a dual stack configuration, does not have a game port, and it does not have the Diagnostic LED lights. The primary difference between Fayetteville and Easton 2, due primarily to the size reduction, is that it has three PCI slots while the Easton 2 has five. It has the same processor support as the Easton 2, as well as the same number of memory slots, and offer versions with both the 815E as well as the 815EP chipsets. The Fayetteville is available with or without LAN.

In the very near future, Intel will be introducing their newest processor, code named Tualatin. The Tualatin will use a .13-micron die size compared to the current .18 used on Coppermine PIII processors. Similar to when Intel changed the die size from .25 to .18 when it went from the Katmai to the Coppermine, the newer reduced die size will allow for lower voltages, less heat and higher speeds. Although the significance of this new Pentium III version is unclear given Intel’s emphasis on the Pentium 4, we do know that these new processors will not be supported on the new Easton 2 and Fayetteville. Intel intends to introduce a new motherboard during the second quarter of 2001 referred to as the “B-Step”, which will support the new lower voltages of the Tualatin. It appears as though the new Tualatin will have more significance in the dual processor workstation and server markets, while the Pentium 4 and Coppermine Pentium III will vie for the desktop. That’s speculation of course!

As with all of the recent 800 series Intel motherboards, the Easton, Easton 2, and Fayetteville have only one serial port exiting the motherboard at the rear, however their is on-board support for a second port. This only requires the purchase of a third party serial cable.

The chart below will provide you with an overview and comparison of the Easton, Easton 2, and Fayetteville motherboards. as noted above, all motherboards support a Front Side Bus of 66/100/133, and processors up to 1Ghz. All boards have three DIMM sockets to support up to 512MB of SDRAM, and they all include a 4X Universal AGP slot regardless of whether there is integrated graphics or not.

Note: – The inclusion of the number “2” in the Intel part number indicates the motherboard is an Easton 2, while the inclusion of the letter “F” in the part number indicates the motherboard is a Fayetteville, and as such is a MicroATX form factor.

Intel	Chipset	VGA	PCI Slots	USB	CNR	Size
D815EEAAL	815E	Integrated	5 PCI	2 Back 2 Optional	LAN	ATX
D815EEAA	815E	Integrated	5 PCI	2 Back 2 Optional	CNR	ATX
D815EPEA	815EP	None	5 PCI	2 Back 2 Optional	CNR	ATX
D815EEA2L	815E	Integrated	5 PCI	4 Back	LAN	ATX
D815EPEA2L	815EP	None	5 PCI	4 Back	LAN	ATX
D815EPEA2	815EP	None	5 PCI	4 Back	CNR	ATX
D815EPFV	815EP	None	3 PCI	4 Back	CNR	MicroATX
D815EPFVL	815EP	None	3 PCI	4 Back	LAN	MicroATX
D815EFVL	815E	Integrated	3 PCI	4 Back	LAN	MicroATX

Notice: Intel, Pentium and Celeron are registered trademarks or trademarks of the Intel Corporation.