440BX Motherboard Review – Fall 1998 – THG.RU

Introduction

High end users don’t have much of a choice: Regarding performance there is no alternative for Intel’s BX chipset. ALi, SiS and VIA do offer Slot 1 chipsets, but they are only able of beating the Intel chipsets by features. The VIA Apollo Pro chipset already offers Ultra DMA/66 and besides the option of clocking the main memory asynchronously (at the AGP clock speed), as we know it from their Socket 7 chipsets. Thanks to the much faster L2 cache of the Pentium II you won’t lose much performance doing this. And of course you can still use 66 MHz SDRAM in a computer with 100 MHz FSB processor.

Anyway, as a matter of fact all power users have to go for a BX board. Let me give you some information on things which may become important for you when chosing a new motherboard.

What do you really need/want? All boards offer the common stuff: two IDE channels (Ultra DMA/33), floppy controller, two serial ports (16550), one bi-directional parallel port, two USB ports and the AGP slot. But as performance differences are minimal, every feature could become decisive when chosing a motherboard. Just take a look at the following list; maybe some feature could be important for you:

• Soundblaster link connector for PCI sound cards
• What about higher external clock rates: 103, 112, 124 or 133 MHz
• ACPI support
• Special monitoring features: temperature of the whole system or the CPU, fan activity control (checking the fan’s rpm) for 1, 2 or more fans, voltage monitoring
• Wake up or power on functions: on lan, on modem ring, by keyboard, by mouse, by real time clock (RTC)
• How many fan headers are available? Always one for the CPU fan, sometimes a second for an additional fan… three are even better.
• Suspend-to-disk function: the memory content is saved to a hard drive before shutting down. After booting the PC, you can continue your work at exactly the same place
• IR port
• Is it possible to boot from every device?
• How many ISA or PCI slots? The more the better.
• How many memory sockets? 3 or 4.
• Jumperless BIOS Setup: chose bus clock and multiplier within the BIOS
• Warranty
• Is there a mailbox, homepage, ftp site?
• Is there a support hotline? Free?

Of course there might be some more features, but this list is meant to show you how to differentiate from the various boards available. To get detailed information, please take a look at the manufacturer’s website. The amount of information would blow up a motherboard review tremendously; besides the technical data is changed permanently by most manufacturers. New revisions usually profit from new features.

Test Setup: Benchmarks

Performing many different benchmarks would be useless since you can’t show differences that do not exist. I ran the Business Winstone 98 under Windows 98 and the Highend Winstone 98 under Windows NT 4.0 (three runs each), the well known “Massive1” demo of Quake II 3.19 (five runs) and the “killer” demo of the new 3D shooter Sin (five runs as well). The charts contain the highest measured numbers of each benchmark/board.

The test systems were equipped as following:

• CPU: Pentium II 400 MHz CPU (with activated L2 ECC!)
• RAM: 2x 64 MB SDRAM (Toshiba or LGS)
• HDD: IBM DGVS 09U, 10,000 rpm with an Adaptec 2940UW (AIC 7880)
• Video: Canopus Total 3D 128V AGP, 4 MB SGRAM @100 MHz (nVIDIA drivers 1.50H) for the Winstone runs and two Hercules Stingray 2 VoodooІ cards, 12 MB each (90 MHz chip clock, 3Dfx reference drivers July 15, 1998) for the game benchmarks
• OS: Windows 98 or Windows NT 4.0 SP3

Important: I updated every board’s BIOS to the latest version available on the manufacturers website. This ensures best compatibility, best features and options and of course best performance. It is also the reason for the order of the boards appearing in the benchmark charts: Maybe some board which was one of the best in Tom’s last BX board review is now only on 10^th position in the benchmarks. I think this shows once more how small the differences really are.

Test Setup: Compatibility Testing

Card Compatibility Testing:

Most high end users do also have high end equipment. That’s why I expected the boards to run with the following components:

• AGP graphics card Canopus Total 3D 128V
• Two VoodooІ boards (PCI)
• An Adaptec 2940UW SCSI adapter (PCI)
• 3COM 905TX 100 MBit network adapter (PCI)
• Creative Soundblaster 32 Pnp (ISA)

Originally I also wanted to use an AVM Fritz ISDN card (ISA), but since there is no IRQ left you will have to disable some other device (e.g. one COM port or one IDE channel). The IRQs 1, 2, 6, 8 and 13 are system IRQ and usually not available. The two COM ports require IRQ 3 and 4, the parallel port wants IRQ 7, a PS/2 mouse needs IRQ 12 and the two IDE ports numbers 14 and 15. Last but not least the USB ports need IRQ 9 and unfortunately the USB controller still cannot be disabled with many boards.

You see, we have left IRQ 5, 10 and 11, that’s enough for three devices. If you are lucky you may have a graphics card which runs fine without an IRQ; in this case you can use all 4 components listed above (the Voodoos don’t require any IRQ), else you will have to disable one COM port, for example.

Some motherboards don’t allow to manually set any IRQ; they use fix IRQs for each PCI slot instead. In motherboards with 4 PCI slots, I usually plugged in first the AGP card, than SCSI adapter, both VoodooІ boards and last the network card. Most boards with 5 PCI slots use the same IRQ with the AGP and the first PCI slot. So I plugged in the AGP video card, the two VoodooІ cards, the SCSI and than the network card. The Soundblaster card consumed one ISA slot and an IRQ.

The chance of facing such IRQ problems while installing a computer is of course all but small. But don’t give up: Try re-placing the PCI cards, it’s very likely that you do find a configuration which runs properly. But you can solve those problems easily by using either SCSI or IDE, but if you can avoid it: not both. Try disabling the IDE ports in the BIOS and you will earn IRQ 14 and 15 – think about it, because many good boards can fail at the IRQ hurdle.

Memory Testing

Each board had to prove its memory compatibility with the following types of SDRAM:

• 2x 64 MByte PC-100, LG Semicon, 7 ns
• 2x 64 MByte PC-100, Toshiba, 8 ns
• 2x 256 MByte PC-100 with Parity/ECC, Samsung, 6 ns
• 2x 32 MByte PC-66, Samsung, 10 ns
• 1x 64 MByte PC-66, LG Semicon, 32 chips, 10 ns

The Samsung PC-66 memory has already proved its quality several times. You will be surprised to hear that this memory worked properly in all boards except the Intel at 66 MHz bus clock, sometimes even at 112 MHz.

Some people may still have PC-66 memory with more than 16 chips; to check if the boards can handle them I used a 64 MB memory module with 32 chips. Some boards did only recognize 32 MB, others didn’t even boot up. Of course nobody guarantees you that such kind of RAM works at 100 MHz bus speed, but I think it’s quite interesting that some candidates are able to cope with it anyway.

Crossing the 100 MHz line

Almost every board offers at least 103 and 112 MHz bus clock, most boards also 133 MHz and sometimes 124 MHz. But please be aware that other components are overclocked, too:

Let me tell you my opinion. Most PCI cards work fine at up to 37 MHz bus speed, but you do risk killing your timing sensitive devices (like a SCSI card or a network adapter) if you clock them at more than 40 MHz. Something similar applies for AGP cards. Most cards bear 80 MHz or maybe more, but be warned that all new cards (including TNT boards, Matrox G200 and Voodoo Banshee cards) maybe don’t even boot up at more than 75 MHz AGP clock.

ABit BH6

• External clock speeds: 66, 75, 83, 100, 103, 112, 124, 133 MHz
• Slots: 5x full size PCI, 2x full size ISA, full size AGP
• Memory: 3x DIMM

The first ABit board caused me some headache. The memory question seems to be a big problem for this board. First I used the LGS 64 MB PC-100 memory; one of them worked fine, but if I plugged in two, they had to be placed on bank 0 and 2, else the board would only log in 64 MB. Next I tried the Toshiba memory, but they also ran instable unless I used the very slowest memory timings. The 256 MB modules didn’t run at all as well as the special PC-66 32 chip module. How ironic: The only SDRAM which ran stable at all frequencies up to 112 MHz was the good old Samsung PC-66 memory!

If the board was tuned and an absolute winner type regarding performance I would even tolerate the necessity to tune down the timings, but since the benchmark results are average (game benchmarks or Business Winstone) or maybe some better sometimes (Highend Winstone) I wouldn’t go for this board now, because those memory troubles can of course be avoided.

The power-on connector on the board is situated between two others; but in spite of a description it’s not clear which two pins belong to it. At last some good news from the BIOS: Besides the option to change the CPU voltage as also with the BX6 you can also clock the AGP bus with the common 66% of the external clock (2/3) or with full external bus speed for avoiding trouble with AGP cards at 83 MHz, since most cards don’t tolerate such high bus speeds. What I like is the item to use the “turbo frequency”; if you enable this setting, the chosen FSB will be higher by a few MHz (e.g. 103 instead of 100). It’s also possible to run a 66 MHz FSB Pentium II or Celeron at 100 MHz FSB just by setting the corresponding item in the BIOS. Last but not least the USB IRQ can also be released.

ABit BX6

• BIOS Version: dated July 10, 1998
• Board Revision: 1.0
• External clock speeds: 66, 75, 83, 100, 103, 112, 124, 133 MHz
• Slots: 4x full size PCI, 3x full size ISA, full size AGP
• Memory: 4x DIMM

The BX6 was designed very generously. It’s clearly wider than most other Slot-1 boards in this review. ABit equips this board with three fan connectors; the two fan connectors are placed at the opposite sides of the board; so you can install one fan in the upper region of the case and another one directly in the vicinity of the system components. ABit was the manufacturer who introduced first the soft menu to facilitate the CPU setup. As Tom mentioned it in the last review ABit also includes the possibility to change the CPU voltage. This can be a dangerous thing for inexperienced users, since it offers a tool to possibly destroy the CPU. However, it can also be a great and helpful tool for overclockers, who really want to push their CPU to the edge. I can only recommend to be extremely careful with this feature, but it may be the last resort for getting your CPU to the clock frequency you desire. The BX6 does also offer the choice of running the AGP at 66 or 100% of the front side bus, so that touchy AGP cards run at 55.5 MHz rather than 83 MHz AGP clock, if you chose this frequency as your FSB speed. The BX6 is certainly the best board for people who want to clock their CPU as high as in any way possible.

The USB interrupt can successfully be released without difficulties. Also the memory tests ended satisfying: Only the big 64 MB module made trouble, all other memory ran perfectly at 112 MHz max. 133 MHz did only run with the LGS 64 MB memory (7 ns). If you don’t care about 2% less performance than the very top of this review or if you are a die-hard overclocker, you can become happy with the BX6.

AOpen AX6B

• BIOS Version: 1.20 (July 24, 1998)
• Board Revision: 1.1A
• External clock speeds: 66, 68, 75, 83, 100, 103, 112, 133 MHz
• Slots: 4x full size PCI, 3x full size ISA, full size AGP
• Memory: 4x DIMM

The AOpen board is clearly bigger than most others and I’m happy to see that the floppy connector is not behind the CPU this time. Other AOpen board have the FDD connector behind the CPU, so that the cable may prevent an optimum air flow around the CPU. The connector descriptions for the LED cable, reset or other cables are quite little, but they are present at least. Good is the power switch connector which has been placed away from the other pins, so creating a short circuit is here almost impossible. It’s only a pity that there is no third fan connector on this huge board.

AOpen uses jumperless design for months now and as you can imagine it works perfectly. The AX6B allows to freely chose a external clock between 66 and 133 MHz. AOpen also integrated the option to release the USB interrupt. The board is also one of the very exotic ones which supports “suspend to disk” which many of you may know from notebooks. It is also one of two boards in this test that are able to run with my 32 chip PC-66 SDRAM module at 100 MHz FSB! In the meantime I have the impression that boards which run properly with this memory module also run fine with any other SDRAM – and this theory was right, all other memory ran fine at up to 112 MHz. At 133 MHz the system was only able to boot with the 256 MB modules, since they are the only 6 ns memory I have at the moment.

Thanks to the convincing flexibility and features this board is a very good choice and for all who don’t insist on maximum performance it is even a recommendation.

Asus P2B

• BIOS Version: 1005 (July 15, 1998)
• Board Revision: 1.02
• External clock speeds: 66, 68, 75, 83, 100, 103, 112, 133 MHz
• Slots: 4x full size PCI, 3x full size ISA, full size AGP
• Memory: 3x DIMM

The Asus P2B is the classic Slot-1 BX motherboard. It’s actually not necessary to mention that it performs very well in all benchmarks. Asus also placed a third fan connector to enable using two chassis fans.

I did not face any problems during my tests: The USB IRQ can be released and every type of SDRAM ran fine at all clock speeds up to 112 MHz. For 133 MHz it had to be the 7 ns LGS memory. Overclockers will also be happy since all external bus speeds can be chosen independently from the CPU. What we still have to criticize are the old fashioned jumpers. The BIOS is ready for some kind of jumperless CPU setup menu, but Asus still doesn’t make use of it – why? A high end board should also have four DIMM sockets today. This, a fifth PCI slot and a jumperless setup solution would make this board the absolute winner of this review. Nonetheless it’s a very good choice and made it into my recommendation list once again.

A-Trend ATC-6220

• BIOS Version: 1.3 (August 12, 1998)
• Board Revision: 2.0
• External clock speeds: 66, 75, 83, 100, 103, 112, 124, 133 MHz
• Slots: 4x full size PCI, 3x full size ISA, full size AGP
• Memory: 3x DIMM

The green A-Trend motherboard wants the multiplier to be set over some dip switches like with the FIC board. On the other hand, the FSB is detected automatically and can be adjusted in the BIOS. Overclockers will have to go via B21 to have a 66 MHz CPU running at 100 MHz or faster bus clock. The A-Trend board it the third together with Superpower and MSI that has a IDE connector with a colour differing from the primary. Also the power switch connector has a white base to recognize it fast and easy.

Two things do primarily prevent this board to be recommended: The USB IRQ cannot be disabled physically. The second deficit is that the 256 MB memory modules didn’t run at all. An advantage are the three fan connectors on the board. A-Trend should be able to fix these two things with a BIOS uptade. If you are out for this board keep an eye on their website; maybe this will be corrected with a new BIOS soon.

Chaintech 6BTM

• BIOS Version: 0909 (September 9, 1998)
• Board Revision: M101 150
• External clock speeds: 66, 75, 83, 100, 103, 112, 133 MHz
• >Slots: 4x full size PCI, 3x full size ISA, full size AGP
• Memory: 4x DIMM

In spite of the generous board design there are only two fan connectors available. Chaintech doesn’t require many jumpers, since the CPU settings are done in the BIOS. Here you can freely chose your clock multiplier and FSB (independent from the CPU) up to 133 MHz. The biggest strength of this board was and still is the ability to run reliable with almost all kind of SDRAM (PC-66 or PC-100). Tom had found this out already half a year ago; I wanted to go a bit deeper and also tested the 32 chip PC-66 module as well as the 256 MB types. The result: It works fine and fast. Even four different memory modules ran stable! Of course you can release the IRQ for the Universal Serial bus if it’s not used.

Thanks to the impressing memory flexibility this board is also one of the best of this review, since it makes you almost independent from the main memory. It’s quite safe to say: If you have brand SDRAM, it should work with a probability of over 90%. This is a motherboard according my wishes as regular user, that’s why Chaintech earned more than the predicate “good choice”, it’s also my personal recommendation.

DFI P2XBL

• BIOS Version: dated August 5, 1998
• Board Revision: A
• External clock speeds: 50, 66, 75, 83, 100, 103, 112, 133 MHz
• Slots: 4x full size PCI, 3x full size ISA, full size AGP
• Memory: 3x DIMM

You may still remember the DFI board from Tom’s last BX board review. It is also sold by Yakumo as Y686BX. The basic facts are still valid: The multiplier has to be set by dip dwitches, the bus speed can be selected independently from your CPU in the BIOS. Keeping this setting on “default” will use the correct FSB. DFI equipped the board with three fan connectors which makes it possible to use two additional fans inside your case easily.

It’s good to see that DFI included the option to disable the IRQ for the Universal Serial bus controller, IRQs are extremely valuable… All connectors for reset, speaker, LEDs etc. are labeled clearly and are far away enough from each other to avoid being wrong. As with many other boards, my 32 chip PC-66 memory didn’t run at 100 MHz, all other memory ran perfectly at all clock speeds except 133 MHz. All in all this board is reliable and fast and doesn’t force you to come to any compromises, so it is a good choice.

Elitegroup P6BX-A+

• BIOS Version: 2.4e (August 3, 1998)
• Board Revision: 1.1A
• External clock speeds: 66, 68, 75, 83, 100, 103, 112, 133
• Slots: 5x full size PCI, 2x full size ISA, full size AGP
• Memory: 3x DIMM

This board is the only one with special locks for the IDE and floppy cables. If they are plugged in properly it’s not possible that they fall out during transport. The connectors for the LEDs, reset, power switch etc. are labeled so that you shouldn’t take the wrong connector by mistake. Elitegroup provides three fan connectors for all who need additional fans. Power or high end users could easily reach the board’s limits: our 256 MB memory modules did not run at all, also the low end PC-66 module with 32 chips.

The customer gets lots of settings to optimize the memory performance, but I had to chose slow timings to have the system run stable. A CPU menu in the BIOS makes the setup procedure very easy, but you can only chose clocks between 66 and 83 MHz for 66 MHz FSB CPUs. In case you are using a 100 MHz type, you can go up to 133 MHz if you want. But the only way of getting a 66 MHz CPU running at 100 MHz or more is by the pin “B21”. I also noticed two special items: It’s possible to enable a BIOS write protection for the hard disks and/or the floppy drive. Of course there is also the option to disable the IRQ assignment to the USB.

Everybody who uses high end software easily needs hundreds of megabytes main memory, and often 256 MB DIMMs are the only way for further memory increase. The problems Tom had in the last BX review have now gone; but since the large memory modules don’t run I’ve found a new one. Such deficits like the inability of getting along with 256 MB SDRAM modules prevent basically good boards from getting a recommendation. In this case, the Elitegroup board missed it the second time now.

EPoX EP-61 BXA-M

• BIOS Version: dated August 7, 1998
• Board Revision: 0.4
• External clock speeds: 66, 75, 83, 100, 103, 112
• Slots: 4x full size PCI, 3x full size ISA, full size AGP
• Memory: 3x DIMM

You will notice that the rail which fixes the Pentium II is installed permanently on the board. You just have to raise them and the CPU will be locked right after inserting it into the slot. The CPU configuration has to be done via easy jumpers which actually only determine the multiplier, the FSB is either detected automatically or set fixed at 100 MHz. If you want to use special frequencies (e.g. 75, 83, 103 or 112 MHz) you can chose this afterwards in the BIOS. Also the important setting “assign IRQ to USB” can be disabled if you want.

The memory tests were successful except with the XXL module once again (PC-66, 32 chips). If you already took a look at the benchmark charts you may have noticed that the EPoX is one of the very fastest. Fast for games, even faster for business and high end applications. A CPU menu in the BIOS would be great; nevertheless this board discerns from others by excellent labeled connectors, the possibility to use two chassis fans, the pre-installed CPU rails and lock, easy CPU setup in spite of old fashioned jumpers and great performance. That’s why this in not only a good choice but also one of my favourites which made it into the recommendations list.

FIC VB601

• BIOS Version: 1.15MC10 (June 11, 1998)
• Board Revision: 1.3
• External clock speeds: 66, 75, 83, 100, 103, 112, 133 MHz
• Slots: 5x full size PCI, 2x full size ISA, full size AGP
• Memory: 4x DIMM

FIC equips their BX board with integrated rails for the Pentium II, two fan connectors and four DIMM sockets. The performance is average, but you get the chance to freely select your bus clock between 66 and 133 MHz. Only the multiplier has to be set by some dip dwitches. The function to release the interrupt which is normally used by the USB works properly as well. The keyboard power on function can be disabled via a jumper on the board to make the system only accessible with e.g. a key power on solution. The memory test was successful except with the 32 chip PC-66 module at 100 MHz once again.

There’s not much to add, thanks to the stability, memory compatibility and large features list the VB601 is a very good choice and can be recommended for all users who don’t insist on the very best possible performance. A CPU soft menu is still missing; this would complete the good impression of this board.

Gigabyte GA-6BXC

• BIOS Version: 2.08 (August 27, 1998)
• Board Revision: unknown
• External clock speeds: 66, 75, 83, 100, 103, 112, 133 MHz
• Slots: 5x full size PCI, 2x full size ISA, full size AGP
• Memory: 4x DIMM

This board seems to have some little problem: As soon as the power button on the power supply in on, the board powers up without having closed the power on connector on the board itself. The board is also a premiere: Usually the Gigabyte boards do only support the specified bus speeds; this one can be clocked freely at a FSB between 66 and 133 MHz. It’s good to see that Gigabyte now has again a product that can be the right choice for overclockers.

But the dip switches are still a habit of Gigabyte, maybe this will be exchanged in favour of a CPU menu setup. One item in the BIOS seems to be great: Load performance defaults. These settings corresponded exactly to the settings I slowly had to find out while looking for those fastest and stable. All connectors are seperated from each other, labeled clearly and easy to access. What I am missing is at least a second fan connector and maybe a fourth DIMM socket. The memory test failed at the 512 MB hurdle; at least 2x 256 MB do only lead to 384 MB. If you can live without extra large memory modules, the Gigabyte 6BXC is a good choice.

Intel SE440BX

• BIOS Version: 86A.011.P04
• Board Revision: unknown
• External clock speeds: 66, 100 MHz
• Slots: 4x full size PCI, 2x full size ISA, full size AGP
• Memory: 3x DIMM

The first thing I noticed when I took a look at the Intel BX board was a bit disappointing: If the design was more clever, one more ISA or PCI slot could have been added. Instead Intel integrated a Crystal 16 Bit sound chip. That’s fine, just be sure you get the right ATX cover for the backside with the right holes for the line in/out connectors. Intel also integrated three CD-audio-cable-like line ins (CD in, telephone in, aux in) for free use. Also three fan connectors have been spread over the board to make abundant cooling easy possible. All connectors are labeled clearly and even the PC speaker has been placed directly onto the motherboard.

The feature showdown was almost impressing, but performance has been neglected a bit and the memory test was disappointing this time: The only type of memory that works on this board without getting an error message is PC-100 SDRAM with SPD. Of course I expected the 256 MB modules to run properly, but no matter if I plugged in one or two: The board always only logs in 128 MB. To change the CPU multiplier, you have to set the jumper “BIOS config” to 2-3. The FSB is detected via pin “B21” and cannot be changed except by covering this connect. Of course Intel wants to prevent overclocking and doesn’t include alternative FSB clocks except 66 and 100 MHz.

MSI MS-6119

• BIOS Version: 2.1 (June 16, 1998)
• Board Revision: 1.1
• External clock speeds: 66, 75, 83, 100, 103, 112 MHz
• Slots: 4x full size PCI, 3x full size ISA, full size AGP
• Memory: 3x DIMM

Tom had originally reviewed the board version 1.0, now we got 1.1 and the changes are really great: The actual revision has now an integrated PC speaker and the Pentium II rails/lock installed permanently. As similar with the Superpower board, the second IDE connector is white instead of black, so you don’t have to take a look onto the board or the manual in case you should have forgot which is which.

It performs quite well: top within the Highend Winstone and even better with games and the Business Winstone. The board revision 1.0 with a BIOS from February did not want to speak with the 256 MB memory modules; the actual ones do improve this: the only RAM that did not run was the quite exotic 64 MB PC-66 module with 32 chips. As other top motherboards it also offers three fan connectors to be able to cool the system properly. A fourth DIMM socket would have been nice, but since there are no real deficits, the board can be called a good choice and also made it into the holy recommendation list!

QDI Brilliant-I P6I440BX

• BIOS Version: 1.2SL (July 31, 1998)
• Board Revision: 1.0
• External clock speeds: 66, 75, 83, 100, 103, 112 MHz
• Slots: 4x full size PCI, 3x full size ISA, full size AGP
• Memory: 3x DIMM

The QDI board offers a CPU menu in the BIOS to select the right settings for your CPU; and the BIOS also features a special sub menu for the configuration of the system monitoring capabilities. It supports bus speeds of up to 112 MHz, but you are restricted to the default FSB of your CPU. If you want to run a 66 MHz CPU at 100 MHz bus speed, you will have to go via B21. A look at the benchmark charts makes clear that the overall performance is within the very middle of this test.

The second fan connector is placed at the bottom of the board; so you will need regular power cables to use a fan within the top of a tower case. Furthermore it’s good to see that the connector pins are labeled clearly. The board doesn’t claim to be an absolute high end product, so it’s no problem that there are only three DIMM sockets. You shouldn’t use 256 MB memory modules with the QDI board, since it only recognizes 384 MB instead of 512 (two DIMMs). All other memory besides the “big one” 64 MB type ran fine at all available clock speeds. Finally disabling the permanent usage of the USB IRQ was successful, so installing much hardware should be no problem. If there wasn’t this memory drawback the Brilliant I would have been a good choice, what a pity.

Shuttle HOT-661

• BIOS Version: S032 (August 14, 1998)
• Board Revision: 1.1
• External clock speeds: 66, 75, 83, 100, 103, 112, 133 MHz
• Slots: 4x full size PCI, 3x full size ISA, full size AGP
• Memory: 4x DIMM

Overclockers should be sure to use the BIOS 032 or newer, since it enables 133 MHz front side bus. But be careful: The fast memory timings do not run very stable. You should chose the slower settings; first this is the only way of getting a reliable system, and second the performance loss is minimal. Shuttle did not forget the option to disable to waste of an IRQ for the mostly not used USB.

While testing the different memory types on this board I was happy to see that the system started with the two Samsung 256 MB modules. But the happiness was over in the next moment since only 384 MB were recognized. All connectors on the board are described clearly and unmistakable. Unfortunately all CPU relevant settings have to be done via old fashioned jumpers; only the accomodation within a speed type (66-83 and 100-133 MHz) can be done in the BIOS. Shuttle placed three fan connectors on the board to enable a proper cooling of your components.

Soltek SL-67B

• BIOS Version: K (July 20, 1998)
• Board Revision: unknown
• External clock speeds: 66, 75, 83, 100, 103, 112, 133 MHz
• Slots: 5x full size PCI, 2x full size ISA, full size AGP
• Memory: 4x DIMM

Bus clock (66 or 100 MHz) as well as the multiplier have to be set via dip switches. In the BIOS you can vary the bus speed: 75 or 83 MHz can be chosen alternatively for 66 MHz CPUs, 103, 112 and 133 are possible for 100 MHz FSB CPUs. The BIOS also offers the possibility to disable the IRQ assignment for USB which works fine.

This motherboard is the only one which “admitted” that it cannot handle the 256 MB modules by the error message “memory test fail”. Other boards just run instable without giving you any hint that this could be caused by the main memory. The special “hurdle” (32 chips memory module, 64 MB) was also not passed: Only 32 MB were detected.

The board’s performance is average, but of course still satisfying. However, this candidate unfortunately cannot be called a winner. Something individual is missing to make this board really interesting.

Soyo SY-6BA

• BIOS Version: 2A9 (September 8, 1998)
• Board Revision: unknown
• External clock speeds: 66, 68, 75, 83, 100, 103, 112, 133 MHz
• Slots: 5x full size PCI, 2x full size ISA, full size AGP
• Memory: 4x DIMM

The layout of this board leaves quite much free space. Maybe that’s why the connectors for speaker, reset etc. are labeled this time (with the 6BB and 6BE they are not; you can imagine how funny it is to find them out in case you don’t have a manual). However, thanks to the larger board three fan connectors have been placed on it (two for chassis fans).

The item to disable the usage of an IRQ for the USB has not been forgotten and works properly. In the BIOS you also have to set up your CPU; overclockers will be glad to hear that you can freely chose between the whole spectrum of front side bus speeds and multipliers. Other Soyo boards are slightly faster and besides don’t have problems with two 256 MB memory modules. Only 384 MB are recognized. The special 64 MB PC-66 XXL SDRAM runs, but (as expected) only as 32 MB type.

Soyo SY-6BA+

• BIOS Version: 2BA3 (September 30, 1998)
• Board Revision: unknown
• External clock speeds: 66, 75, 83, 100, 103, 112, 124, 133 MHz
• Slots: 5x full size PCI, 2x full size ISA, full size AGP
• Memory: 4x DIMM

Soyo is offering four single BX motherboards at the momemt, and the differences are so small that many of you may be confused about the (non existent) differences. The 6BA+ is a more narrow version of the 6BA. You can recognize it at the green BIOS version line while booting. Overclockers listen up: This board is hot! Except the common frequencies of up to 112 MHz you can also set 133 or the exotic 124 MHz bus speed. The so called Soyo “combo setup” lets you define all necessary settings; it’s also possible to specify the AGP clock divisor. Usually it is 1.5, but for some cases it could be advantageous to revert to the option of / 1, which means external clock = AGP clock. But be careful: At 133 MHz FSB the AGP bus will also run at 133 MHz! Be warned that there’s no card which would even bear 100 MHz at the moment. This setting has a complete different origin: I would use the /1 setting in case of e.g. 75 MHz FSB. So you can get an (overclocked) AGP bus running at 75 MHz as well instead of the slow 50 MHz. When playing around with the different possible settings you will see that you always get the CPU and AGP speed resulting of the settings you have chosen before. However, I have to notice this again: Be careful with this option…

One feature has to be mentioned which I have not seen before: You can chose whether the CPU fan stops in suspend mode or not. For low end servers (mailbox, answering machine or similar) which run in accomodations this setting may be useful since it helps to reduce the noice level as well as the power consumption. My memory tests ended disappointing: Only 256 MB were detected in case of two installed 256 MB modules, and if I used 64 MB modules I found a strange bug: 2x 64 MB lead to 64 MB usable. 3x 64 MB end in 128 MB usable. “Of course” the “big” 64 MB module didn’t run as well, all the same that is no reason to worry about. Old BIOS versions have a known bug: In case you are using an Adaptec PCI SCSI adapter, it can happen that this device is initialized twice and two drive letters are determined for one drive

Soyo obviously developed a motherboard specifically for freaks and overclockers. For those people, the board is a good choice. I don’t know if the memory troubles do apply only to our test sample or to all boards, but as long this is not clarified a unlimited recommendation is taboo of course.

Soyo SY-6BB

• BIOS Version: 1A6 (September 8, 1998)
• Board Revision: unknown
• This board is the only baby AT motherboard in our review. It’s not surprising that there are only very few AT Slot-1 boards on the market since they all face two problems: A small amount of expansion slots due to the space consumption of Slot-1 CPUs and possibly a heat problem (the Pentium II 300 gets quite hot, and since the cooler is at the bottom of the CPU with BAT boards, heat could become a problem).
• External clock speeds: 66, 68, 75, 83, 100, 103, 112, 133 MHz
• Slots: 2x short PCI, 1x full size PCI, 3x full size ISA, short AGP
• Memory: 3x DIMM

As the other Soyo boards, the 6BB performs quite well in all benchmarks and is easy to configure thanks to the CPU menu within the Award BIOS which is ready for clock speeds far beyond 500 MHz. The monitoring system allows to check up to three fans, but there are only two on the board (one for the CPU, one additional chassis fan). Good news also from the memory front: The only memory which did not want to run at all was the big 64 MB module with 32 chips. All PC-100 and the Samsung PC-66 memory ran fine at up to 112 MHz. At 133 MHz my choice was smaller: Only the 256 MB modules ran (thanks to their 6 ns I think) as well as the LGS PC-100 memory. Overclockers will be glad to hear that you can freely select every bus speed between 66 and 133 MHz, no matter which CPU ist actually running.

Nevertheless there are a few things to criticize: First I faced the well known double initialization of the Adaptec controller; what I don’t understand is that this bug has been resolved with other Soyo boards months before, but still the latest BIOS version (dated September) doesn’t improve this. What I also don’t like very much are the LED, reset and power button connectors which are not labeled for some reason. Today most boards don’t differ very much from each other, thus such things can become decisive when chosing a motherboard! The BIOS allows the USB IRQ to be disabled successfully. The board also comes with both the AT and the ATX power connector.

Soyo SY-6BE

• BIOS Version: 6ibe 0721 (July 21, 1998)
• Board Revision: unknown
• External clock speeds: 66, 75, 83, 100, 103, 112, 124, 133 MHz
• Slots: 4x full size PCI, 3x full size ISA, full size AGP
• Memory: 3x DIMM

Soyo’s SY-6BE has only two visible differences to the 6BA or 6BA+. It has three instead of two ISA slots, only four instead of five PCI slots and three instead of four DIMM sockets. And there’s one solidarity which I cannot approve: Once again the connectors for reset, LEDs etc. are not labeled at all.

“Soyo Features Setup” is the name of the special submenu within the Award BIOS which consists of all important system settings. The clock options are similar to those of the SY-6BA+. Please take a look at it for more information. Back to the solidarities: Performance! At the moment it’s really convenient to say that all Soyo BX boards perform quite good. Also the 6BE reaches a very good position in the benchmark charts. The USB IRQ assignment can be avoided as well, as you know by disabling the corresponding setting in the BIOS setup. The 6BA+ had some problems with the memories. But don’t worry, this one does not cause such problems with very large SDRAM modules. The 256 MB modules ran perfectly. Once again, the 32 chip module was only recognized as 32 MB type, but as always this is no criterion. In case you are an overclocker searching for a good board you have now possibly found an adequate candidate: good choice.

Supermicro P6SBA

• BIOS Version: 1.2B (July 15, 1998)
• Board Revision: 1.01
• External clock speeds: 66, 100 MHz
• Slots: 4x full size PCI, 3x full size ISA, full size AGP
• Memory: 3x DIMM

This board uses the AMI Winbios which is really something you need to accustom to. I have to admit that I don’t really like it; but it allows the resources to be manually distributed. The jumpers on the boards are all in colours of the American flag, but they are still jumpers! Four for the multiplier and one for the front side bus: 66 or 100 MHz can be selected, no more. The BIOS has one heavy deficit: On the one hand it is possible to disable the USB controller, on the other hand the IRQ is still casted by it. That explains troubles you could face while trying to install multiple IRQ-requiring expansion cards.

The memory tests were all successfull except the 32 chips module which wouldn’t run at all. But I cannot say this enough: This DIMM doesn’t have to run at 100 MHz, but it is always interesting to see if a board runs with such “bad” memory anyway. The board allows three fans to be connected, one for the CPU and two others for the chassis. I expected this board to be one of the faster one’s since it achieved quite good benchmark results in Tom’s last BX review in spring. But it seems as if Supermicro couldn’t improve the performance at all since it only scores average results this time.

All in all there are too few features and too little advantages to recommend this motherboard. An option to release the USB IRQ is obligatory; I would gladly abandon the Winbios for it…

Superpower SP-P2BXA

• BIOS Version: B.3 (August 4, 1998)
• Board Revision: Ver. B
• External clock speeds: 66, 75, 83, 100, 103, 112, 133 MHz
• Slots: 4x full size PCI, 3x full size ISA, full size AGP
• Memory: 3x DIMM

I did not know Superpower before this test. While I was unpacking the board for testing I noticed that one IDE connector was yellow instead of the dominant white colour. I first thought this was a cosmetical error, but it is on purpose: The second IDE connector is yellow to be able to find out quickly which one is which. In a dark and thrived case it’s usually almost impossible to read the little prints on the board.

The CPU setting requires manual work. Some dip switches want to be set for the wished multiplier and one double jumper determines wheter the system runs at 66 or 100 MHz FSB. There are overclocking settings available for both speeds; they can all be selected in the BIOS. Unfortunately there is missing a BIOS item to disable the seizure of an IRQ for the USB, so you will have one less even if you don’t use the USB (I think the right name for USB should be “unused serial bus”. It’s nice to see that a newcomer board reaches a middle place in the benchmarks. All memory I threw against it ran fine, except the big 64 MB type (PC-66).

Tekram P6B40-4AX

• BIOS Version: 1.04 (July 21, 1998)
• Board Revision: 1.0
• External clock speeds: 66, 75, 83, 100, 103, 112, 133 MHz
• Slots: 4x full size PCI, 3x full size ISA, full size AGP
• Memory: 4x DIMM

Tekram is becoming more and more famous in the motherboard sector. Their actual BX board, the P6B40-4AX is a small ATX board with 4 DIMM sockets. The on board connectors are labeled very well, particularly the power on switch is marked clearly. Two connectors are available to directly connect the CPU and one chassis fan, a third would have been nice. The multiplier has to be set via some good described jumpers, the bus clock can be set easily in the BIOS with the restriction that the FSB type is detected automatically. This means that the Pentium II CPUs up to 333 MHz and the Celerons will run at 66 and all other Pentium IIs over 350 MHz do run at 100 MHz FSB. Of course you can go the way via “B21”, but this may be too much circumstances since today a modern motherboard has to be as comfortable to handle as possible, isn’t it?

From the performance point of view there’s nothing interesting, it performs average. As some other boards, the Tekram board does not work with our 256 MB SDRAM, too. The rest of this candidate is basically fine, but a motherboard can only be a good choice if you can be sure that it works with all common memory sizes. Many people would be surprised to hear how many users do already have memory modules larger than 64 MB.

TMC TI6NB

• BIOS Version: S3-0512 (May 5, 1998)
• Board Revision: 2.20
• External clock speeds: 66, 75, 83, 100, 103, 112, 133 MHz
• Slots: 5x full size PCI, 2x full size ISA, full size AGP
• Memory: 4x DIMM

The TMC motherboard comes with the maximum DIMM sockets and PCI slots. All connectors are placed together in a line, nevertheless they are labeled adequately. The FSB type is detected automatically, only the multiplier has to be set via dip switches on the board. In the BIOS you will get the option to change the bus speed inside the 66 or 100 MHz range. Two fan connectors are available on this board; unfortunately the floppy connector has been placed behind the CPU slot, it seems as if this habit has shift from AOpen to TMC…

The item to release the USB interrupt has not been forgotten and works fine. It’s good to see that the 256 MB modules ran stable; sometimes I’m even glad seeing a system boot up with this kind of RAM. From the performance view there are certainly faster boards; nevertheless it’s not very likely that you could face problems with the TMC board. That’s why it is a good choice and a recommendation for most users.

Tyan S1846 “Tsunami”

• BIOS Version: 1.12 (July 15, 1998)
• Board Revision: B
• External clock speeds: 66, 75, 83, 100, 103, 112, 124, 133 MHz
• Slots: 5x full size PCI, 2x full size ISA, full size AGP
• Memory: 4x DIMM

There’s not much new to tell since Tom reviewed this board half a year ago. Only the performance seems to have decreased compared to the last last time. But of course this is not true, only the competition has become bigger and faster. I’m sorry to say, but the game and Highend Winstone results are located at the bottom of the benchmark charts.

Nevertheless that’s still no disaster, of course. More weightily is that Tyan still uses the AMI Winbios with Revision B of the S1846. Getting a system with a lot of hardware running can take a whole weekend; I luckily have to say that there were no unusual troubles this time. The only flaw is the limited ability of this board to work with really large memory modules: With two 256 MB SDRAM modules installed, the board did only recognize 384 MB. But the Tyan is not the only board with this deficit.

If you take a look at the board you will notice that Tyan still uses jumpers. I hope future boards will also have a CPU menu in the BIOS, since it is a cheap and elegant solution. What I really like is the way Tyan arranges the connectors for reset, LED etc. By snapping them by 90 degrees you can plug in the cables from the side of the board (from where the cables do come from) and it’s really difficult to mix them. Oh, by the way: this time, the LED is yellow…

Zida 6ABX “Tomato Board”

• BIOS Version: unknown
• Board Revision: 1.00
• External clock speeds: 66, 100 MHz
• Slots: 5x full size PCI, 2x full size ISA, full size AGP
• Memory: 3x DIMM

Some of you may have played with the though to get the Tomato board; first it has five PCI slots and second the price should be interesting. But the problems Tom had in the last BX board review are still present. From the compatibility point of view this in one of the most dangerous boards in this test. It performs average and it not suited at all for overclockers (66 or 100 MHz, other speeds are not available).

The memory hurdle was not taken too god: Both the 32 chip memory module and the 256 MB types didn’t run at all. At least it is possible to free the USB IRQ to use it with other hardware. I’m sorry to say, but this board is quite far away from getting a recommendation.

Benchmark Results: Winstone

The difference between the fastest and the slowest board is only 3.5%. Since the Business Winstone results can differ by approximately 0.2 points, it’s convenient to say that the majority of the boards has exactly the same performance.

The fastest board in the Highend Winstone is only 5% faster than the slowest. Again the differences are only very small.

Benchmark Results: Quake II

Quake II shows similar performance gaps between the slowest and the fastest board. In my eyes differences which are smaller than at least 1 frame per second are not worth talking about.

Benchmark Results: Sin

Summary

It’s good to see that there is no BX board which would be noticable slower than others; if you want a BX board for a game computer without special hardware I would go for the cheapest brand board. The PnP issue could become a problem for all who want to equip their computer with all available add ons. Not every BIOS makes it possible to manually assign IRQs or disable the USB IRQ. Tom had already mentioned this problem half a year before in the last BX review, but it seems as if most manufacturers don’t do sufficient or elaborate testing. Everybody who would fiddle around one hour with a lot of expansion cards would notice that the USB occupies an IRQ – no matter if you use it or not. And it’s fairly annoying to find out that there’s no way to change that!

The second thing I have to criticize is the poor support of large memory modules. If I get a BX board I want it to run with all available sizes of memory available. It’s almost disappointing that a brand motherboard does not run with large memory modules or only recognizes a part of the original memory size… Some manufacturers have defused the memory issue by removing most options of changing the memory timings in the BIOS. Freaks and performance fanatics won’t be happy with this, but risking system stability for a half per cent performance is not worth it.

Conclusion

The BX chipset has proved to be fast and flexible. Most manufacturers make even more of it by providing good motherboards. Slot 1 will be Intel’s base socket of new CPUs for the next months, so you can expect that Katmai will run in every BX motherboard with just a BIOS update. On the other hand AMD has proved to be able to beat Intel’s next generation processors and it’s difficult to say which will be the fastest CPU in the beginning of 1999. We don’t know what’s about the future of Socket 7, but a good BX board is with a good future now since it’s certain that Intel will remain at Slot 1. If you now want to build a computer which is meant to be quite up to date for a longer time, a BX board should be take into account.

Recommendations

Here’s the list of the world’s very best 440BX chipset motherboards!

• Asus P2B (compatibility, overclocking, support)
• AOpen AX6B (features, memory compatibilityy, overclocking, support)
• Chaintech 6BTM (memory compatibility)
• EPoX EP-61 BXA-M (features, performance)
• MSI MS-6119 (features, performance)

All boards have in common that they should run very problem free, fast and reliable. Support means that the manufacturer does a lot to fix known bugs by providing actual BIOSes regularly.