Stability - First and foremost, the P4R533-N proved to be a wonderfully stable board, as we’ve come to expect of Iwill products. During normal usage in our labs, the board did not experience a single hiccup, which is more than we can say for some others.

On-Board LAN & Audio - We’re starting to see this on more and more boards nowadays, and we love it. With the prevalence of broadband connections, even most home users now require a network card in their systems, and there’s no reason it shouldn’t be right on the motherboard. It’s a great way to save $20 on a network card, and free up a PCI slot. Certainly there are higher-quality controllers out there than the Realtek, but for 95% of the users out there, it’s more than sufficient.

The on-board audio is excellent as well. Opt for the digital-capable riser, and you’ll get one of the highest quality on-board audio subsystems available on the market (and one of only a few that offer digital I/O at all). Both the networking and sound can be disabled in favor of add-in PCI cards, if desired.

User’s Manual - I have personally chided Iwill on more than one occasion for the poor quality of its User’s Manuals. Apparently I wasn’t alone, as the P4R533-N’s manual very obviously presents a concerted effort at improving quality. Every single connector and jumper is documented, with a Function, Description, and More Information heading listed for each, complete with diagrams. Hardware installation is well-documented, again including diagrams, and configuration and BIOS options are explained clearly and concisely. Excellent.

Package Quality - One of the most underappreciated aspects of marketing and production of PC components nowadays is the ability to leave the consumer with a feeling of quality. Right now, Iwill does it better than any other motherboard manufacturer out there. The physical packaging is superb, and Iwill goes out of its way to offer a complete kit, including an ATX I/O backplate, and even a little bag of extra jumper caps in case any get dropped in the carpet. Big deal, you say? It’s not, but when you’re trying to earn repeat customers in a rather tough market, which do you think will work better, a well-packaged, complete kit, or a board crammed into a small cardboard box with a two-page Quick Install Guide?