Intel Ships CA810 Value Motherboard With 810 Chipset

Intel is now shipping the CA810, a MicroATX motherboard built for the value PC market. It supports the Celeron and carries the recently announced 810 chipset, which puts Intel’s own 3D graphics with Direct AGP right on the board, plus an integrated Creative Labs SoundBlaster PCI audio subsystem. The basic configuration runs $110, and an enhanced version adds an Intel 82559 LAN controller and remote management through LANDesk Client Manager for $145. Boards are headed to Intel’s authorized distributors immediately.

The CA810 also supports Intel’s Suspend To RAM, which parks an idle PC in a low-power sleep state and wakes it on command instead of making you sit through a full shutdown and reboot.

Graphics, sound, and optional networking on one cheap board makes sense for an office machine or a starter family PC. Just don’t confuse chipset graphics with a real 3D accelerator. If you plan on gaming, the 810 is the bonus, not the plan.