Layout and features
Packing a reasonable feature-set onto a microATX board can see sacrifices made in terms of the board's layout.
So has Foxconn managed to keep things tidy and functional or do we have a board blighted by stretched cables and blocked headers?
First impressions are certainly positive, with no glaringly obvious problems. So let's look a little closer and see what we can find...
The area around the socket is free of any tall components that could interfere with larger heatsinks.
We also find the ATX12V connector located along the board's upper-edge, towards the back panel. That's not the ideal location but is sufficiently out the way to allow for clean cabling runs.
The ATX and IDE connectors are conveniently placed high up the board and along the edge, easing the cabling process.
Because the first expansion slot is a PCIe 1x, not PEG, the memory slots are far away enough from the graphics card not to interfere with memory installation.
There is also a silk-screened header for a Trusted Platform Module but no module as such - an absence that's unlikely to upset many people.
Only four SATA II ports are included, despite ICH9R being able to supply a maximum of six. These four are all you get - the JMicron JMB368 controller doesn't include SATA.
We think that very large PEG cards, such as the 8800 Ultra, could obscure two of these SATA ports. However, it's somewhat unlikely that buyers would choose to use such a card with this board.
USB and FireWire headers are colour-coded and encased. That's great if the connectors used are in single blocks but can make split-pin connectors tricky to wire up correctly.
Despite the integrated graphics, there is a PEG slot and this is accompanied by three further slots - one PCIe 1x and two PCI 2.3.
The PCIe 1x is the first expansion slot, so even if you have a two-slot PEG card, you still get access the PCIe 1x slot and one of the conventional PCI slots.
As with PEG slots on NVIDIA nForce 680i boards, the Foxconn's PEG slot has a retention clip at the back. This makes it easier to remove cards than would be the case if the clip were front-mounted and obscured by heatsinks.
The ATX backpanel looks distinctly old school, lacking any digital video or digital audio. Instead, there's a D-sub video output, plus an eight-channel audio output that, rather disappointingly, lacks support for Dolby DTS Connect and Digital Live technologies.
Parallel and old-style serial ports are close to being defunct but are included here along with PS/2 sockets for keyboard and mouse, a Gigabit Ethernet connector and six USB2.0 ports.
Summary
Foxconn has done well to keep the G33M-S tidily laid out despite the constraints of the microATX form factor.
We have no major qualms with the positioning of connectors and ports but the lack of fan headers is an issue - two isn't really enough.
The lack of digital outputs does grate, too. A single DVI-I output, complete with adaptor, could provide both DVI and D-sub outputs (using an adaptor) and we'd have happily seen Foxconn sacrifice the COM port or parallel port to make room.
