The first thing apparent with the Rattler motherboard is the gunmetal heatsink that covers the MOSFETs and shields the 12 chokes, signifying a 12-phase VRM power design. It looks very aggressive and robust.
Being LGA1155, Rattler will accommodate all Intel 6 Series processors, its more beneficial to use a "K" chip on this board since this is Intel P67 and will allow CPU tuning. The K chips are of course those of the 6 series that have an unlocked multiplier. We can mount either LGA1155 or LGA1156 CPU coolers onto the socket since both use the same alignment.
12-phase power and aggressive looking heatsinks
Over at the DIMM slots we have dual channel - 4 slots capable of up to 16GB of DDR3 rated at 1066MHz all the way up to 2133MHz (OC).
Next to our memory slots are the onboard OC buttons. Strangely, these buttons allow the BCLK to be modified on the CPU. Since Sandy Bridge BCLK should remain at 100MHz and the multiplier should only be altered to adjust CPU clock speed this is a very peculiar feature. Really, this button should be programmed to adjust multiplier rather than BCLK. As it is, this is pointless. It would be much more effective if these controls where to adjust the multiplier.
Regardless of this significant flaw, pressing the OC button whilst the system is booted will cause all 3 buttons to illuminate. The LED indicator to the left will then signal "00" (100 BCLK) and pressing the up button will cause the LED to display 0.1 meaning 101 BCLK. Pressing down the down arrow does the reverse.
DIMM slots - 16GB dual channel - 1066MHz to 2100MHz (OC) support
OC buttons on the Rattler
In regards to storage, Rattler gives 2 x SATA 6G ports which are highlighted in red whilst the black ports offer SATA 3G support and there are 4 of those. Many will be puzzled to see the old IDE port make a comeback, I have no idea why Foxconn have chosen to implement this on the board its a strange decision indeed. IDE drives cannot be bought anymore and they have been superseded by SATA due to sheer speed. Therefore this slot would only be useful to those with a 7 years old+ IDE drive. It would have been far more valuable to include another SATA controller for additional SATA ports.
Storage options including SATA 3G/6G and IDE
