While we all sit and wait for the Pentium 4 processors with 800MHz Quad Pumped Bus as well as Intel 875P-based mainboards to arrive, some smart boys around the world already sell i865-based mainboards on the not yet announced officially Springdale chipsets.

Apparently, MSI 865P Neo and 865PE Neo2 mainboards are available all around the USA starting from $100, according to PriceWatch.com. Furthermore, it is interesting to note that this Russian retailer announced availability of i865P and i865PE powered mainboards from Albatron and MSI as well. Since Intel has been supplying its Springdale chipsets for quite some time now, there is no surprise that some mainboard makers now sell their products utilising this core-logic even not because they want to break their agreements with Intel, but maybe because they have sold all their i845-based mainboards by now. Given that Intel wanted to transit from i845 to i865-sereies very rapidly, I suppose that the semiconductor giant simply does not supply a lot of its i845PE/GE chipsets now and mainboard makers have to sell what they sell.

Below you can find technical specifications of the solutions.

MSI 865P Neo/MSI 865PE Neo2: i865PE MCH; ICH5 (ICH5R for i865PE); 400/533/(800MHz for i865PE) QPB; 4 DIMM slots for up to 4GB of PC2100/PC2700 or PC3200 (DDR400) memory; dual-channel memory bus support: memory modules used should be identical and installed in pairs; AGP 8x, 5 PCI slots; 2-channel ATA-33/66/100; 2-channel Serial ATA-150 controller (ICH5R) with RAID 0 support for i865PE; 6 USB 2.0 ports; 6-channel AC’97 audio solution; ATX.

Albatron PX865PE PROII/Albatron PX865PE PRO: i865PE MCH; ICH5(ICH5R); 400/533/800MHz QPB; 4 DIMM slots for up to 4GB of PC2100/PC2700 or PC3200 (DDR400) memory; dual-channel memory bus support: memory modules used should be identical and installed in pairs; AGP 8x, 5 PCI slots; 2-channel ATA-33/66/100; 2-channel Serial ATA-150 controller (ICH5R) with RAID 0 support for PROII ; 10/100(/1000 for PROII)Mb/s Ethernet controller ; 8 USB 2.0 ports; 8-channel audio solution/6-channel AC'97 audio; ATX.

It is extremely interesting to point out relatively low prices on the mentioned products. In case i865PE-based mainboards cost from $100 to $115 even before to the announcement, we can expect basic solutions on this chipset to be priced from $90 to $100 after the official launch in the 21^st of May.