Beefed Up BX? — Five Boards with 815/Solano Chipset — THG.RU

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Five Boards with 815/Solano Chipset» —>

Introduction

There has been a new hand of cards dealt in the world of chipsets. With the introduction of 815/Solano, Intel has a component that supports SDRAM memory and all new features, for example, 133 MHz Front Side Bus or AGP 4x. The Intel 815 (code name «Solano») and the Intel 815E «Solano 2» are supposed to slowly substitute the established 440BX chipset. The latter has been very popular for more than two years. However, it is due to be discontinued soon. At least this is the product roadmap according to Intel, which does not exclude a late comeback of the Rambus chipsets such as 820 and 840. This only works under one assumption: To overcome some of the current problems with RDRAM and its disappointingly bad performance in today’s applications, chipsets like the 820 and the Rambus memory itself must become much more affordable. Additionally, it would take quite a lot of subsidizing on Intel’s side to convince every motherboard manufacturer to embrace this technology. For the user this means either he continues to bank on the 440BX that will be discontinued at the end of the third quarter of this year, or he switches to a board with the 815 chipset now. But, there is a fly in the ointment with the second scenario. Intel is planning to ship the 815 chipset in low quantities, thus most board manufacturers will initially favor the OEM business and produce few boards for the retail market. There’s of course the alternative in shape of the VIA Apollo Pro133A chipset, which comes at a much better price point than Solano, but its performance can also not quite live up to the new competitor from Intel

For the following test we looked at five boards based on Intel’s 815 chipset. All test participants are final products that will be available in retail stores soon. The only difference between the individual candidates is that the Abit SE6 and the MSI MS-6337 are equipped with the ICH2 chip (Solano 2), while the other three boards still feature the «old» ICH.

A Closer Look at the Five Test Participants

Here you see a connector for digital video output. Because there is no standard, every manufacturer designs his own connector. Apparently, the appropriate DVI compatible card will be available as an option.

The Abit SE6 and the MSI MS-6337 are equipped with the ICH2 chip, meaning both boards offer two Ultra-DMA/100 interfaces. However, we did not have the appropriate hard disks to test these new features, so we ran the tests as usual in Ultra-DMA/66 mode. To fully support Ultra-DMA/100, not only the chipset (Intel 815E), but also the BIOS and the connected hard disk must support this transfer mode. There are no changes for the IDE cable: The common cable with 80 pins for Ultra-DMA/66 may be used.

All boards possess AGP slots that can be equipped with an AIMM module (AGP Inline Memory Module) for the onboard graphics. Often these memory upgrade modules (8 MByte maximum) are disproportionably expensive (about $50), however, making the purchase hardly worth it. But there is an interesting point, too. These boards can operate Front Side Bus and the memory clock asynchronously and offer an interesting function for owners of Celeron CPUs. It is possible, for example, to run the Front Side Bus with the specified 66 MHz (all socketed versions of Celeron), while the memory clock is at 133 MHz — given the appropriate SDRAM memory. Individual boards offer other features: MSI, Chaintech and Abit come with 6 PCI slots, while the MSI is equipped with 4 DIMM slots. Nevertheless, on all boards the maximum memory upgrade is limited to 512 MByte.

Tracing the Shortcomings

During the test we encountered a few problems with the different keyboards we used. While the Cherry keyboard worked flawlessly with all boards, our Keytronic model malfunctioned on irregular intervals with the Chaintech and the Azza one. For example, after calling the DMI functions, just before the actual boot procedure, the keyboard did not react to entries anymore. In this case, less experienced users might blame this problem on setting the memory timings too progressively. However, compared to the first tests a few weeks ago, when we only had the engineering samples, the picture looks much more balanced: all boards were stable under Windows 98 SE.

Abit SE6 (ICH2)

The Abit SE6 offers 6 PCI slots and numerous possibilities for overclocking. Utilizing the Ultra-DMA/100 functionality requires a BIOS update.

Apart from the MSI MS-6337, the Abit SE6 also had the ICH2 chip (Solano 2) onboard. The SE6 is shipped in a package that contains all necessary cables and the technical manual. Compared to all other contestants the manual has deserved some praise as the numerous chapters describe the board functions and settings extensively and in great detail. All clock frequencies and voltages for processor and memory can be adjusted in the softmenu. OEM customers may also use the DIP switches for all settings. Unfortunately they are not labeled. An optional card allows you to output the video signal directly to a digital LCD. This board is not going to disappoint overclockers. The Front Side Bus as well as the memory clock can be operated beyond specification, enabling clock rates of up to 153 MHz for the FSB. Regarding performance the Abit SE6 positions itself at the upper end of the middle field, but the MSI MS-6337 is faster in almost all benchmark disciplines.

Unfortunately the settings for the DIP switches are not labeled, thus requiring the user to consult the technical manual.

Azza 815TX (ICH1)

The company Azza is still unknown in some countries. During the test this board did not reveal any outstanding features, and the equipment is average.

The Taiwanese company Azza is still rather unknown in some countries. The external packaging of the boards stands out due to its colorful design. However, the board does not follow suit. It contains many small SMD components (especially a lot of resistors) that seem to correct a bad design. The technical manual is much too brief, and lacks concrete descriptions for all BIOS settings. The Azza comes in two versions, the 815TX with two USB ports, and the 815TX5 with 4 USB ports. The board is less flexible regarding the memory clock settings: The memory clock can be operated at 133 MHz, but only in conjunction with a Front Side Bus of 133 MHz. If a FSB clock of 66 MHz is used, the memory clock is automatically set to 100 MHz. Because of its limited settings for the FSB and memory clock, this board is less suited for overclocking. Also missing is an option for increasing the CPU core voltage step by step. The board only offers a function for raising the voltage statically by 0.05 Volts. During the benchmark tests the Azza finishes in one of the last places. The board layout is definitely the main reason why this board does not perform as well as the top candidates in this test.

Chaintech 6OJV (ICH1)

The Chaintech 60 JV is equipped with a total of 6 PCI slots, and also comes in a dual BIOS version. The system status of the board may be monitored acoustically, but after just a few seconds the acoustic output is very unnerving.

The Chaintech 60JV is shipped in a plain vanilla package. A first glance reveals a technical guide that is much too brief: the inexperienced user gets very little support in installing the board. Additionally, detailed descriptions of the clock settings for Front Side Bus and memory in the BIOS are missing, as well as the explanations for all onboard connectors. Labeling the onboard connectors seems to be a recurring problem for Chaintech. As in numerous previous tests of other Chaintech boards, this board is also lacking the labels for important pins. This test candidate is equipped with only one BIOS chip — but the board also comes in a dual BIOS version. During the test we experienced memory problems at irregular intervals. The board did not like the setting CL2 (CAS Latency 2), an adjustment to CL3 remedied this problem for good. However, this fact is the reason for the relatively low benchmark results.

On the Chaintech 60JV important pins are not labeled, so the user must look them up in the technical handbook.

MSI MS-6337 (ICH2)

Many features and very well equipped: The MSI MS-6337 offers 6 PCI slots, 4 DIMMs and multi-color diagnosis LEDs. The performance is not too bad either. Numerous features for overclocking round off the positive picture.

Along with the Fujitsu-Siemens D1184, the MSI MS-6337 is clearly one of the top candidates. The board comes in a colorful and functional package. Because of the ICH2 chip the board is capable of addressing both IDE channels with Ultra-DMA/100. It offers very flexible settings for Front Side Bus and memory clock: It allows clock rates up to 153 MHz adjustable in small steps. Increasing the core voltage is an important overclocking feature to ensure stable operation of a processor near the limit. The system diagnosis consisting of four multi-color LEDs is helpful for finding hardware errors. We did not encounter any problems during the test, and the MSI MS-6337 ran very stable.

The MSI MS-6337 is equipped with four multi-color diagnosis LEDs to indicate hardware errors.

Fujitsu-Siemens D1184 (ICH1)

Siemens D1184:This very solid board offers a very good basis for all system integrators and OEMs. It is less suited for overclocking, however.

The Fujitsu-Siemens D1184 has the highest standard of manufacturing quality. Nevertheless, in the end user market Siemens still leads quite a shadowy existence, which is unnecessary considering the board’s performance and quality. In the past the board production was exclusively aimed at the project business, and the regular user could not buy these boards in retail stores. But this is supposed to change now, with Siemens planning to offer the boards in retail stores as well. The D1184 is still equipped with the old ICH1 chip, but it also possesses a network chip. The extensive thermal management that is implemented as a pure hardware solution independent from the operating system platform ensures high reliability. It monitors temperature and fan revolutions, and adapts them to the actual operation status. The manufacturer is very much on the conservative side with the settings for Front Side Bus and memory clock: Siemens strictly complies with the specifications recommended by Intel, thus the maximum possible FSB clock is limited to 133 MHz. As a result, this board is more for PC OEMs than for overclocking-eager home users. The benchmark results are not bad at all: In all disciplines, the D1184 occupies one of the top places. If Siemens would implement all important overclocking features in a special version of this D1184, it could instill fear in the competition.

Manufacturing quality of the highest level: The wiring of the Siemens D1184 is unequalled so far.

Room for improvement: The labels for the connectors on the Siemens D1184 are a little too small.

Test Setup

Benchmark Results and Discussion

For the comparison of the five motherboards with Intel 815 chipset we exclusively used Windows 98 SE as the operating system. To allow a direct comparison with an identically equipped 440BX system, we added the benchmark results of the Asus P3B-F. The 440BX system is operated beyond specification limits to achieve a distinct comparison at 133 MHz (Front Side Bus as well as memory run at 133 MHz). The AGP bus runs at 89 MHz on the 440BX system, which could lead to crashes with some older AGP cards. However, the many of the new GeForce and GeForce 2 cards do not encounter to such problems.

Game Performance

In the OpenGL game benchmark Quake 3 Arena the Asus P3B-F with 440BX chipset clearly outperforms the candidates with 815 chipset. The MSI board achieves the best result among the Solano participants.

The game benchmark Expendable is an indicator for the Direct3D performance. Again, the Asus board with 440BX chipset is clearly in the lead, while the Abit SE6 with the Solano 2 chipset claims second place.

Game Performance, Continued

In the UTBench from Unreal Tournament the MSI MS-6337 delivers a very good performance, and leaves the competition behind. Here the Asus P3B-F with the older 440BX chipset cannot keep up with the Solano competition.

The picture looks different for the Quake 2 benchmark: The Asus P3B-F with 440BX chipset wins again, with the Abit SE 6 in second place.

OpenGL Performance

This OpenGL test does not reveal any differences between the individual test candidates. The fill rate of the GeForce graphics card is the limiting factor.

The Asus P3B-F based on the Intel 440BX chipset outperforms the competition with Intel 815 chipset.

OpenGL Performance, Continued

In the test «Data Explorer» the Asus P3B-F finishes first ahead of the Solano competition.

The Lightscape benchmark shows it quite clearly: all boards with Solano chipset are faster than the reference board with 440BX chipset. The MSI MS-6337 comes out on top.

The situation is similar to the Lightscape benchmark: all test participants with Solano chipset outperform the Asus P3B-F with 440BX chipset.

Features Table

Conclusion: MSI is balanced, Siemens is very solid

The MSI MS-6337 showed the most balanced features among the boards tested: The board based on the Solano 2 chipset delivers a very good performance in connection with high system stability. In addition, it offers numerous features for overclocking that are especially interesting for users who like to tweak the performance.

The Fujitsu-Siemens D1184 also achieves a very high performance, but is more suited as a basis for system integrators and OEMs. The nifty thermal management increases system reliability independently from the operating system platform and does not drain any system resources. In comparison with the other test boards, the product quality of the D1184 is unequalled.

The benchmark results display it quite clearly: Only in two OpenGL disciplines is the Intel 815 chipset faster than the older 440BX. In all other test categories its predecessor delivers a marginally better performance. Generally, it is not easy to argue for the Intel 815(E): In a direct comparison with its predecessor 440BX, the new chipset offers all the modern features (AGP 4x, 133 MHz Front Side Bus, Ultra-DMA/66/100, etc.), but does not deliver any visible advantage considering the most important criterion, performance.

Keep in mind that all this is true under the assumption that the 440BX is operated at a (FSB) memory clock of 133 MHz and an AGP clock of 89 MHz, which does not comply with the specification. However, it was the only way to directly compare it with the Intel 815 (E).