Closer Look at Intel DX38BT Mainboard

As you may have understood from its name already, Intel DX38BT also known as BoneTrail is based on the latest Intel X38 Express chipset. The mainboard belongs to the Extreme series and came to replace its predecessors based on the morally outdated Intel 975X Express core logic.

Following our good tradition let’s take a closer look at this solution starting with the first thing you see: the package and accessories bundle.

Package and Accessories

Intel DX38BT is shipped in a modest black box with a sticker saying that there is a full version of Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 game inside. The front side of the box states that it is designed for Intel Core 2 Extreme processors. The same is written on the sides of the box. Only on the back side of the box where they placed a mainboard photo and a list of its peculiarities we found our with great relief that Socket LGA775 supports not only Intel Core 2 Extreme processors but also Intel Core 2 Quad and Intel Core 2 Duo.

The warning message in several different languages on the back side of the box insists that the mainboard should be installed by a professional. Besides, there is also a list of bundled software and accessories inside the box.

Intel DX38BT mainboard comes with the following:

• 80-pin IDE cable in transparent plastic casing;
• Four Serial ATA cables with locks at the ends;
• 4-pin→8-pin ATX12V power supply adapter;
•  I/O Shield for the case rear panel;
• A poster with brief installation guide;
• A large colorful sticker with the PCB layout;
• DVD with Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 game;
• DVD with accompanying software.

Besides, there are two plastic parts of unknown purpose.

The thing on the right turned out to be a decorative cover that sticks to the South Bridge chipset heatsink (just remove the protective film from its bottom and press it against the heatsink top).

The other one appeared to be a very useful thing actually. It is a retention bracket for the additional fan to be installed on top of the chipset North Bridge heatsink. The fan itself is not included, but you can use any 40mm fan for that purpose.

Besides that, Intel DX38BT mainboard comes with a bunch of marketing and informational materials. They include a leaflet with a reminder where you can download the latest drivers and BIOS Updates, a booklet describing all bundled software, a story about highest quality of Dolby Home Theatre audio solutions, the details about the infra-red and eSATA ports available on the board. However, we were mostly impressed with the tag like the ones you would put onto your hotel door knob. It is supposed to be hanging on your door warning unwanted and technically inexperienced visitors that you shouldn’t be disturbed for trifling reasons. Not really functional, not really reasonable, but pretty funny.