Foxconn's WinFast 755FXK8AA-8EKRS
| A few months ago, we took a look at a sampling of Athlon 64 Socket 939 motherboards, and ended up giving an Editor's Choice award to the NVIDIA nForce 3 Ultra based MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum. At the time, the K8N Neo2 Platinum struck the best balance between features, performance, overclockability, and price. Another motherboard tested in that round-up was also powered by the nForce 3 Ultra, and two others were based on VIA's K8T800 Pro. Since then, a few new PCI Express enabled chipsets for the Athlon 64 have sprung up, but they haven't begun shipping in any real volumes just yet. Plus, PCI Express graphics cards are more expensive than their AGP counterparts for the most part, and folks who already own high-end AGP graphics cards probably aren't too keen on abandoning their investments just yet. Fortunately, there's a lot of life left in AGP, and some new chipsets from companies like Silicon Integrated System, or SiS, and ALi are still being introduced. | ;) The SiS755FX Chipset |
Today on HotHardware, we're going to take a look at a motherboard powered by the SiS755FX chipset, the Foxconn WinFast 755FXK8AA-8EKRS. With the 755FX, SiS has added support for Socket 939 Athlon 64 processors, dual-channel memory, and a 1GHz HyperTransport clock. Other than these three additions though, the 755FX chipset is essentially identical to the 755. The 755FX also uses the same SiS964 Southbridge as the 755. The SiS755 chipset wasn't very popular, but it was one of the higher performing Athlon 64 chipsets available when it was initially released. As a result, we were eager to see what the FX version chipset could do. Here's what we discovered putting the 755FX based Foxconn WinFast 755FXK8AA-8EKRS through the wringer.
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| Processor •_AMD Athlon 64 / Athlon 64 FX, Socket 939 (939-pin) Chipset •_SiS755FX + 964 Memory •_Dual channel, unbuffered, 2.5V DDR266/333/400, (4) 184-pin DIMM sockets, max 4GB •_DDR400 w/ 2 DIMMs Installed •_DDR333 w/ 4 DIMMs Installed Graphics •_Discrete (non-integrated) - use expansion slot Expansion Slots •_1 x AGP 8X, 5 x PCI IDE •_2 x ATA/133 + 4 x SATA/150 (up to 2 x 2-drive RAID 0, 1 arrays) Audio •_Integrated, 7.1 channel, including front audio and S/PDIF headers (Realtek) LAN •_Integrated Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000) controller (Realtek) IEEE-1394 •_Integrated (VIA), 1 x rear + 1 x front I/O header Internal •_1 x floppy disk drive •_2 x USB 2.0 headers (supports 4 ports) •_1 x IEEE-1394 header •_Front audio header •_1 x S/PDIF (coax out) header |
Rear Panel •_1 x PS/2 keyboard •_1 x PS/2 mouse •_1 x RJ45 (LAN) •_4 x USB 2.0 •_1 x line-in/line-out/mic (audio) •_Additional line-out for 7.1 channel audio •_1 x coax S/PDIF •_1 x parallel (SPP/ECP/EPP) •_1 x COM (16550-compatible UART) •_1 x IEEE-1394 BIOS •_4Mb flash EEPROM w/ LAN boot, PnP, ACPI, WfM, DMI 2.0 Features •_Wake-on-LAN (WOL) •_Suspend-to-RAM (STR) •_Suspend-to-disk (STD) •_SuperUtilities - SuperBoot, SuperBIOS-Protect, SuperRecovery, SuperSpeed, SuperStep, SuperLogo, and SuperUpdate Accessories •_Support CD, user's manual (or installation guide) •_Rear I/O shield •_1 x floppy drive cable •_1 x HDD/ODD drive cable (supports UDMA/ATA 33/66/100/133 drives) •_RAID driver on floppy disk(s) •_2 x SATA data cables •_1 x SATA power cable (supports 2 drives) •_1 extra HDD/ODD drive cable (supports UDMA/ATA 33/66/100/133 drives) •_Rear cable/bracket assembly w/ 2 x USB 2.0 ports •_Processor heat sink retention mechanism Form Factor •_ATX, 12.0" x 9.6" or less - see User Manual |
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The Foxconn Winfast 755FXK8AA-8EKRS ships with a "no-nonsense" accessory bundle, which is perfectly fine considering this is a value priced product. Among the accessories included with the board, we found two 80-wire IDE cables, a single floppy cable, a pair of SATA cables, and a 4-Pin-to-Dual-Sata power cable splitter. We also found a couple of user's manuals outlining the features and installation of the board, a driver CD-ROM, and two floppy disks - one with SiS RAID drivers, the other with Silicon Image SATA drivers. Also included with the board were a processor heatsink retention mechanism and back plate, a USB case bracket, and a custom back panel I/O shield. The processor heatsink retention mechanism is the same as what would usually come pre-installed on other Socket 939 motherboards, but you'll have to install it yourself with the Winfast 755FXK8AA-8EKRS.
