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As the
saying goes, "old habits die
hard". In this case, power users have
turned the Intel BX chipset platform time and time
again, for no compromise high end PC
performance. As technology matures, there
are always "trailing edge" standbys that
are not quick to adopt new standards. For
many folks, today's new mix of "PC133"
based products from Intel doesn't offer enough
incentive to make the jump over to the newer
platforms. Still for others, having the
latest and greatest is important and the extra
bells and whistles that come with it, are more
than enough to lure them in.
As you
may be aware, the top new alternatives to the
"work horse" 440BX platform are the
troubled i820/RAMBUS combination and recently
released i815/i815E PC133 integrated
chipsets. We don't need to re-hash what you
have already heard and seen here about the i820
and its very expensive memory partner. We
would however, like to show you what the BX
chipset's true successor is capable of against the
backdrop of a recent enhancement of the BX
architecture which makes it much more PC133
friendly. In the process, we are also going
to give you full details on features and
performance for two great new boards from Abit,
the i815 driven SE6 and BX133 driven
BX133-RAID.
Let's
start with the specs to warm up here.
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| Specifications
and Features of the Abit SE6 and
BX133-RAID |
| Full
of features and performance |
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Abit's
BX133-RAID
(Click
image)
CPU
-
Supports
Intel Pentium® III Socket
based processor
-
Supports
Intel Celeron®
Socket based processor
-
Reserves
Support for future Intel Pentium®
III/Celeron processor
Chipset
-
Intel®440BX
chipset (82443BX and 82371EB)
-
Supports
Advanced Configuration and Power
Management Interface (ACPI)
-
Supports
AGP 1X/2X (Sideband)3.3V device
Ultra DMA 100
-
High
Point HTP370 IDE Controller
-
Ultra
DMA 100MB/Sec data transfer rate
-
RAID
0(stripping mode for boosting
performance)
-
RAID
1 (mirroring mode for data security)
-
RAID
0 +1(stripping and mirroring)
Memory
-
Three
168-pin DIMM sockets support SDRAM
module
-
Supports
up to 1GB MAX. (8, 16, 32, 64,
128,256MB SDRAM
-
Supports
ECC
-
System
BIOS
-
SoftMenuTMIII
Patent Technology and DIP
switches to set CPU parameters
-
Award
Plug and Play BIOS
-
Write-Protect
Anti-Virus function by AWARD BIOS
-
Year
2000 Compliant
Multi I/O Functions
-
Two
Channels of Bus Master IDE Ports
supporting up to four Ultra DMA
33/66/100(up to 4 HDD devices)
-
Two
Channels of Bus Master IDE Ports
supporting up to four Ultra DMA 33
devices(up to 4 HDD devices)
-
PS/2
Keyboard and PS/2 Mouse Connectors
-
1
Floppy Port (up to 2.88MB)
-
1
Parallel Port (EPP/ECP)
-
2
Serial Ports
-
2
USB Connectors
Miscellaneous
-
1
AGP slot, 5 PCI slots and 1 ISA slot
-
Hardware
monitoring - Including Fan speed,
Voltages,System environment
temperature
-
Keyboard/Mouse/Password
and Hot Key multifunction Power On.
-
Built-in
Wake on LAN/Wake on Ring header
-
Built-in
IrDA TX/RX header
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Abit's
SE6
(click to enlarge)
CPU
- Intel
Pentium® III 500~1GHz
processor sockets based on 100 &
133MHz FSB
- Intel
Celeron® 566~677MHz
processor sockets based on 66MHz FSB
- Reserves
support for future Intel® Pentium®
III /Celeron processors
Chipset
- Intel
815E (ICH2) chipset
- Supports
66/100/133MHz(Front Side Bus)
- Supports
AGP 1X/2X/4X (Sideband) 1.5/3.3V
device.
- Supports
Advanced Configuration and Power
Management Interface (ACPI)
- Supports
Ultra ATA/100,Ultra ATA/66,Ultra
ATA/33 mode.
Graphics
- Chipset
integrated AGP 2X 3D graphics
acceleration.
- Support
AIMM (AGP In-line Memory Module)
Memory
- Three
168-pin DIMM sockets support SDRAM
module
- Supports
up to 512MB MAX. ( 64, 128,256MB SDRAM)
- Support
100MHz,133MHz SDRAM interface
Audio
- AC'97
2-channel Audio CODEC on board
- Audio
driver included
System BIOS
- CPU
SOFT MENUTM II technology
and DIP switche funtion.
- Award
Plug and Play BIOS supports APM, DMI
- Write-Protect
Anti-Virus function by AWARD BIOS.
Multi I/O Functions
- 2
channels bus Master IDE Ports
support Ultra DMA 33/66/100 (up
to 4 devices)
- PS/2
Keyboard and PS/2 Mouse Connectors
- 1
Floppy Port (up to 2.88MB)
- 1
Parallel Port (EPP/ECP)
- 2
Serial Ports
- 2
USB Connectors
- On
board USB header for two extra USB
channels
- 1
standard 15 pin VGA connector.
- Audio
connector (Line-in, Line-out, Mic-in,
and Game Port)
Miscellaneous
- Support
STR(Suspend to DRAM)
- ATX
form factor
- 1
universal AGP slot, 6 PCI slots and 1
CNR slot
- Hardware
monitoring - Including fan speed,
voltages, System environment
temperature,and one Thermal header for
CPU or other temperature monitoring
- Keyboard
and Mouse Power On
- Built-in
Wake on LAN /Wake on Modem/Open
Chassis header
- Built-in
IrDA TX/RX header
- VL-Bus
Supports Flat Panel display or TV out
(option)
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At
first glance there is a lot to appreciate about
both of these boards. The BX133 with its
integrated High Point ATA100 RAID Controller, Abit
Patented "Soft Menu III" CPU adjustments
in the BIOS and Health Monitoring, is a complete
package forged with the performance of the tried
and true i440BX chipset. On the other hand,
the SE6 sports Intel's newest PC133 compatible
chipset, the i815. In addition, you get 6
PCI slots, an integrated ATA100 EIDE Controller,
on board sound and video and of course AGP4X
support for the AGP slot.
BX133
Socket
370
BX133 PLL Clock
Driver
BX133 High Point
ATA 100 RAID
Controller
SE6
Intel ICH2 IO
Controller
SE6 and Alpha PEP66 Cooler
We
want to point out that we will not be looking at
the performance and features of the SE6's
integrated 2D/3D graphics. It is based the
i740 core and provides basic 2D/3D functionality
but nothing that power users like yourself will be
interested in. Just drop in a Voodoo5 or
GeForce 2 and utilize that AGP Slot for the real
McCoy. System integrators designing
"Business" machines, on the other hand,
will appreciate this level of integration.
Among other notables is the location of the power
connector on the SE6. Why it couldn't be
located in the exact spot that it is with the
BX133 RAID, is beyond me. The ATX Power
Cable needs to be tucked away tightly in order to
not restrict airflow around the CPU heat
sink.
Finally,
notice the PLL CLock Driver on the BX133, in the
above shot. It is a Realtek chip and it is
indeed recognized by H.Oda's
Soft FSB. On the other hand, you won't
need it since the BX133's Soft Menu III BIOS lets
you tweak front side bus settings all the away up
to 200MHz. in 1MHz. increments.
So,
let's set things up and take a look at the
competitors and the Soft Menu II and Soft Menu III
BIOS of the SE6 and BX133 RAID.
Setup,
Installation and BIOS Settings
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