As a Digital Home Entertainment platform, VIIV has a heck of a lot going for it. Intel's High Definition Audio standard, plus the other features makes it a compelling value addition to any motherboard bundle. The GIGABYTE GA-8I945GMH-RH is a good example of what the VIIV platform brings to the table. For today's Home Theater enthusiast, VIIV+ a powerful graphics card makes good sense. The software bundle of Internet Security from Norton's nearly pays for the board by itself.
Box and board
Unfortunately, the audio on the board would not work, making this evaluation incomplete. The onboard graphics on the GMA950 is perfectly fine for playing back DVD movies, and audio, business use and very light gaming. One thing I would not suggest is running this system with HD-DVD or Blu-Ray devices without a graphics upgrade, as the H.264 content will bring even the best Core Duo CPU to its knees. Once GIGABYTE sends a new board I'll test the audio and append my review.
