Abit BE6 Motherboard Review Elkhorn WI

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Originally published at Internet.com

Review Map Overview/Features Test Results/Installation Stability and Overclockability Conclusion ---------------------------------------------------------------------

From hearing about the rumors about the BE6, I was incredibly excited when I heard I was going to be able to get my hands on one. You know the rumors - the BE6 will have most of the BP6's FSB settings, and do for the >100 MHz FSBs what the BP6 did for those less than 100 MHz, making it the board to get for any overclocker.

Well, those rumors weren't true. That's not to say that the BE6 isn't a sweet board at all, and after a while, I began to see what it pretty much is - a BX6 vII with ATA/66 and one less DIMM slot. Other than a few quirks and other small differences, most everything else is basically the same. One thing is certain - this isn't the revolutionary. The BE6 is Abit's evolutionary step built on the original BX6/BH6 to the BX6 II, and now with the BE6. ---------------------------------------------------------------------

Features

Top MHz supported: 1200 MHz (150*8) Clock Multipliers 2x to 8x (.5x increments) Bus Speeds 66, 75, 83, 100, 103, 105, 110, 112, 115, 120, 124, 133 (1/3 PCI), 133 (1/4 PCI), 140, 150 CPU voltage settings 1.30-2.10 (.05v increments), 2.2v, 2.3v System Memory 3 168-pin DIMM sockets supporting SDRAM, 768MB max. (8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256 MB) - ECC also supported Expansion Slots 1 AGP 2x, 5 PCI, 2 ISA (all full-length) Internal/External I/O * Floppy port supports up to 2.88MB and mode 3 floppies * Ultra DMA/33 IDE supports up to 4 devices * On Board HPT366 ATA/66 Controller for up to 4 ATA/66 devices. * Two USB connectors * Two 16550 fast UART serial ports * Built-in Standard/ECP/EPP parallel port * PS/2 mouse and keyboard connectors * IrDA Infrared port header (not external) * Wake-On-LAN header * Wake-On-Ring header * SB-Link Header Form Factor ATX: 305mm x 210mm (12" x 8.3") Miscellaneous * Intel BX chipset * Award BIOS * CPU Soft-Menu II * Supports ACPI and Soft-OFF functions * Keyboard and/or Mouse Power-on * Motherboard temp, CPU temp, system and CPU fan speed, and voltages monitoring Boot Options A, C, EXT* C, A, EXT C, CD-ROM, A CD-ROM, C, A D, A, EXT (At least 2 IDE HDD can be used) E, A, EXT (At least 2 IDE HDD can be used) F, A, EXT (At least 2 IDE HDD can be used) EXT, A, C EXT, C, A LS/ZIP, C

Summary ---------------------------------------------------------------------

Price Street $115 + Solid FSB options Stability Compatibility 1/5/2 slot layout Thermistor Included ATA/66 onboard - A finicky overclocker

Overall The Abit BE6 is an excellent motherboard in its own right. It's not an earthshaking board like we had hoped for, but instead is a solid step in the right direction. Worth a look for any current motherboard shopper. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Setup as tested: Celeron 300A @ 450 MHz Celeron 366 @ 550 MHz 128MB Viking PC100 SDRAM Diamond Viper V550 AGP 9GB Seagate Medalist Pro 7200rpm ATA-33 13GB WD AC31300 ATA-66 Digital Research 50x CD Creative SB Live! Value Panasonic 4x8 SCSI CDR Creative SB16 SCSI 19" Viewsonic PS790 RealTek PCI 10/100 NIC

Stability and Overclockability

For stability, it's a pretty good board. I think I've had less crashes with other boards in the system, but I've also constantly been straining each board harder and harder. One other possibility is the heavily overclocked Celeron 366 I currently have in the system (I'll get to that in a minute). Regardless, it's been a fine board stability-wise, at least at the default speed of a system. If you aren't into overclocking, the board is rock-solid and nearly uncrashable (it runs Windows - nothing is uncrashable).

However, once you get into overclocking, things get interesting. I started testing the motherboard with a Celeron 300A overclocked to 450 @ 2.2v. I ran it over the winter just fine at 2.1v, but once I got into summer, I had to bump up the voltage to 2.2v and have a good desk fan blowing in on it. Knowing this prior to the BE6 installation, when I went to overclock the 300A, I set it at 2.2v with a fan blowing on it and didn't think much of it. However, I couldn't get Windows 98 to boot at all. It kept freezing while certain real-mode drivers were being loaded in DOS. Since I had run this CPU before just fine at 2.1v, I cut it back to see if that would get me in. I got a little farther, but managed to get a Windows Protection error and have to shut down. So then I figured, "Why not?" and pumped the voltage up to 2.3v. Still, the system would freeze before loading Win98. I decided just to start experimenting with it and testing different voltages. At 2.0v, it nearly booted into Win98, but froze just short of loading the GUI. So, I decided to cut the odds, and hope for 2.05v. It managed to get into the GUI before freezing just before the Network Login box. I was left not knowing what to do.

I decided to try increasing the voltage some more since I knew that was needed. So, I took it back up to 2.1v. This loaded the GUI, but froze before the Network login. I crossed my fingers and changed the voltage to 2.2v. AND IT WORKED! I was elated, but also very perplexed. I wondered if it was just this particular CPU or if it could actually be the motherboard since I had never had any other board do to me what this one had just done.

Later, I purchased 3 retail Celeron 366s. I immediately tested them at 550 MHz @ 2.2v, and only one would work without crashing over the short testing period I had (the other two wouldn't even boot to a GUI). After doing that, I took the one good one and reinstalled it to test at lower voltages and to verify stability. I found that in the BX6 II, it was only stable at 2.2v. However, it also had the same problem that the Celeron 300A had before it - it needed to boot to the Win98 GUI at 2.05v before it would boot properly into Win98 @ 2.2v. The odd thing was that it wouldn't boot Win98 at 2.3v either. So the moral of the story is that if you get a CPU that won't quite boot Windows and you're using a BE6, try the 2.05v setting before others. It may just work. Of course, it's possible this could work on other motherboards, too, but I've never heard of or had this problem before. I've contacted Abit about it, but haven't received any word back on it as of yet.

It really doesn't seem as if the BE6 has any more FSB settings than the BX6 II - they are just different. As you can see in the table on the previous page, the BE6 has a stronger showing between 100-124 MHz, but the BX6 II has more options from 124-153 MHz as well as supporting a slightly higher FSB than the BE6 (153 vs.150). For Celeron overclockers as well as P2 overclockers that don't have a hope of going beyond 124 MHz, the BE6 will be a nicer alternative. But for those P3 overclockers, the slightly more advantageous FSBs of the BX6 III could mean the difference between 20 MHz or more in overall clock speed. It even affected me. The P3 450 I have is rock stable at 558 Mhz (4.5x124), but won't go to 600 no way, no how. Yet, I am able to get it going at 581 Mhz (4.5x129) on the BX6 II @ 2.1v or 2.2v. However, I have no such option with the BE6 and am left to hang at 558 just like everyone else.

Good Stuff

The ever-sweet CPU Soft-Menu II coupled with 14 different FSBs and ATA/66 to boot. Abit also tossed in the kitchen sink when they threw in a thermistor on the end of a 6" cable. The manual is as steady as ever and they were kind enough to provide an ATA/66 cable along with the board. Stability is solid and the price is quite competitive. Abit continues the trend that has been in place since the beginning of time (at least it seems that way) with the 1/5/2 slot layout - still the nicest layout.

Bad Stuff

Finicky. That's how I'd describe the board to an overclocker. It probably will work, but it may be interesting getting it to. Also, since the FSB settings are different, it may be an unpleasant surprise to an overclocker used to a particular speed. The 3 DIMMs make this a bit more like a BH6 II rather than a true upgrade to the BX6 II, but that's only likely to affect the more picky.

Currently the ATA/66 controller only works under Win9x/DOS or WinNT4, not Windows 2000. Abit has beta drivers, but they aren't currently public. They haven't specified when end users

Conclusion

The BE6 is the logical successor to the BX6 II, assuming you don't already have one. If you do, then odds are that upgrading won't gain much. A better option would be getting a HotRod 66 or a Promise ATA/66 controller, giving you basically the same features as the BE6. On the other hand, for the $15-20 difference between the BE6 and the BX6 II, there isn't much to logically deny the better overall value and future upgradeability of the BE6. If you're already looking for a motherboard, then give the BE6 some serious consideration. It deserves it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------