Abit BX6 Motherboard Review Colorado

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Originally published at Internet.com

Review Map * Specifications * BIOS Options * Documentation * Performance * Advantages/Disadvantages * Overall Report * Contacting ABIT --------------------------------------------------------------------- Specifications

Form Factor ATX Board Size 305 mm x 245 mm CPU Intel Pentium II (Klamath) Processor CPU Speeds Supported 133MHz to 665MHz (that's no misprint!) Bus Speeds Supported 66MHz, 75MHz, 83MHz, 100MHz, 112MHz, 133MHz (112 and 133 are unofficially supported) Clock Multipliers Supported 2x, 2.5x, 3x, 3.5x, 4x, 4.5x, 5x System Memory Four 168-pin DIMM sockets support SDRAM Second-level Cache On the CPU Chipset Intel 82443BX Expansion Slots 3 ISA, 4 PCI, and 1 AGP (2x support) Serial Port Two serial ports UART 16C550 compatible Parallel Port One parallel port supports standard parallel port (SPP), enhanced parallel port (EPP) or extended capabilities port (ECP). Floppy Interface Floppy Interface supports 3.5 in. drives in the 720KB, 1.44MB, 2.88MB format (incl. mode 3 floppy), or 5.25 in. drives in the 360KB, or 1.2MB format. IDE Interface Ultra DMA/33 bus master IDE supports up to 4 IDE devices (Including LS-120 MB floppy drive) USB Interface Two built-in USB conectors. PS/2 Mouse Mini-Din PS/2 mouse connector onboard. Keyboard Mini-Din PS/2 keyboard connector onboard. BIOS AWARD Plug-and-Play Flah ROM BIOS Supports ACPI and DMI. Misc. Reserved circuitry for LDCM feature, PC97/98 Compliant.

BIOS Setup Options

BIOS Features Setup Options Virus Warning Enabled, Disabled CPU Internal Cache: Enabled, Disabled External Cache: Enabled, Disabled Quick Power On Self Test: Enabled, Disabled Boot Sequence: A, C, SCSI (choices for any order) Swap Floppy Drive: Enabled, Disabled Boot Up Floppy Seek: Enabled, Disabled Boot Up NumLock Status: On, Off IDE HDD Block Mode: Enabled, Disabled Typematic Rate Setting: Enabled, Disabled Typematic Rate (Chars/Sec): 6 through 30 Typematic Delay (Msec): 250 through 1000 Security Option: Enabled, Disabled PCI/VGA Palette Snoop: Setup, System OS Select for DRAM > 64MB: OS/2, Non-OS/2 Report No FDD for Win 95: Yes, No Delay IDE Initial (sec): 0 to 15 Video BIOS Shadow: Enabled, Disabled C8000 - CBFFF Shadow: Enabled, Disabled CC000 - CFFFF Shadow: Enabled, Disabled D0000 - D3FFF Shadow: Enabled, Disabled D4000 - D7FFF Shadow: Enabled, Disabled D8000 - DBFFF Shadow: Enabled, Disabled DC000 - DFFFF Shadow: Enabled, Disabled

Advanced Chipset Setup Options SDRAM CAS Latency Time: 2, 3, Auto DRAM Data Integrity Mode: ECC, Non-ECC System BIOS Cacheable: Enabled, Disabled Video BIOS Cacheable: Enabled, Disabled Video RAM Cacheable: Enabled, Disabled 8-bit I/O Recovery Time: 1 through 8 16-bit Recovery Time: 1 through 4 Memory Hole at 15M-16M:

Documentation --------------------------------------------------------------------- As usual, Abit's documentation is easy to understand and quite complete. The manual for the BX6 includes a new section on how to flash the BIOS, which can be helpful to those who are hesitant to perform a flash upgrade without any instructions.

Once again, they fall short in documenting the Chipset BIOS Setup options, providing a very small description of only 3 out of 12 or so options. See the BIOS Information page if you need help with any of the settings.

Performance ---------------------------------------------------------------------

System Setup:

ABIT BX6 Motherboard Diamond Viper V330 Video Card Two 10ns 4-clock 32MB SDRAM DIMM's Seagate Cheetah 9.1 GB Ultra Wide SCSI HD (ST19101W) Diamond Fireport 40 SCSI Card

Pentium II @ 350MHz (100MHz x 3.5) CPUMark32 884 Winbench High-End Graphics 196

Advantages/Disadvantages ---------------------------------------------------------------------

Advantages: * Bus speed adjustable via BIOS Setup from 66MHz to 133MHz, * CPU Voltage adjustable via BIOS Setup from 1.30v to 3.20v, * Multiplier adjustible via BIOS Setup from 2x to 5x in 0.5 increments. Disadvantages: * Very few RAM timing adjustment options in BIOS Setup. Overall Report --------------------------------------------------------------------- For overclockers, this is a fantastic board. The wide range of bus speed, clock multiplier, and CPU voltage settings, make it very easy to overclock the BX6 to a speed that will be stable with your hardware components. And of course, Abit's "Softmenu II" technolgy makes changing those settings a breeze by enabling them to be changed from within the BIOS Setup, without the hassle of opening the case and switching jumpers around.

I did not run into any instability or incompatibility issues. The BX6 ran fine with all 3 ISA slots filled (56k Modem, Scanner SCSI card, and Sound Blaster Gold), 3 out of 4 PCI slots filled (2 Diamond Monster 3D II Voodoo2 cards, and a Diamond Fireport 40 UW SCSI card), and a Diamond Viper V330 AGP video card in the AGP slot (no, I'm not a Diamond rep, I just happen to own a lot of their stuff, ok!? :-) ). FYI, I was using the final release of Windows 98 to test the BX6.

I would recommend the BX6 to advanced users. The overclocking options can be hazardous in the hands of a novice, but as long as you're conservative at first, anyone should be able to appreciate this board's features without doing harm to their CPU and other components. To use a bus speed of 100MHz, not just on the BX6 but with all BX based boards, I recommend 8ns PC100 SDRAM. Anything less opens yourself up to the potential for instability problems that can otherwise be avoided. However, it should be noted that the BX6 ran fine with my 10ns "PC66" SDRAM DIMM.

-- Scott Wainner (sdw@sysopt.com) --------------------------------------------------------------------- Contacting ABIT Computer Corp. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ABIT's Web Page

Sales E-mail (product questions): sales@abit.com.tw Technical support E-mail: technical@abit.com.tw Marketing: market@abit.com.tw

ABIT Computer Corporation 3F, No. 79-7, Sec. 1, Hsin Tai Wu Rd., Hsi Chi, Taipei Hsien, Taiwwan, R.O.C. Tel: 886-2-6981888 Fax: 886-2-6981811, 6981822,6981833