
Manufacturers are good at coming up with smart ideas aimed at setting their products apart from the competition. For the 8KNXP Ultra-64, Gigabyte uses professional ingredients to make the boards attract demanding users in the entry-level workstation segment.
Gigabyte has coupled a Socket 478 mainboard - based on Intel's well-known 875P/Canterwood chipset with the PCI-X Southbridge 6300ESB - and an Ultra320 SCSI controller. Gigabyte didn't skimp on standard (Serial) ATA components, which puts the overall features on a high level.

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The board is colorful and fitted with numerous elements: a DPS voltage regulator, featuring a total of six phases, six DIMM sockets for flexible memory placement, four additional Serial ATA ports via a Silicon Image Sil3114 (the Southbridge already offers two ports), DualBIOS, Gigabit-Ethernet with CSA connector, an Adaptec 7902W Ultra320 controller and an AC97 2.1-compliant sound system.
The feature that stands out the most though is the Southbridge used by Gigabyte, because it is not the ICH5 from Intel. Instead, this board has the Intel's HR 6300 ESB, which supports two 64 bit PCI-X slots with a maximum of 66 MHz (533 MB/s). The rest of the features are much the same as the ICH5's: two UltraATA/100 ports and two SATA connectors. RAID functionality is assured by Adaptec's BIOS software, which can be purchased separately. In contrast to the Intel RAID on the ICH5R, it does not offer any 128 kB stripes - you can choose from 16, 32 and 64 kB. As the 6300 ESB also has a mere four USB 2.0 ports, Gigabyte has grafted a VT6202 from VIA onto the board to offer four further connection possibilities.
The Adaptec chip has two Ultra320 SCSI ports and supports RAID modes 0 and 1. Although SCSI drives are still considerably more expensive than ATA hard drives, as demands increase, they are the better choice.
The two PCI-X slots leave a total of three PCI ports over - enough in most cases. If not, PCI plug-in cards can be operated in a PCI-X slot since these are downward compatible. The network chip does not take up a slot - it is operated via the CSA interface of the 875P chip. Here, the Northbridge cooler noteworthy, in that it now spins at a far lower speed and is practically inaudible.

The HR 6300 ESB is a clearly enhanced version of the ICH5. Most importantly, it offers two PCI-X slots.

For the last few years Gigabyte has been equipping its top models with two Flash ROMs, calling this feature DualBIOS. If a BIOS update goes awry, the backup BIOS can jump in - the computer is thus incapacitated for a short time only.

The DPS (Dual Power System) brings the benefit of additional switching regulators, meaning that this Gigabyte mainboard now handles six phases - or even eight on the 900 series chipsets.

The SATA controller on the ESB6300 is coupled with a RAID-capable BIOS from Adaptec.

Thanks to an SCSI controller from Adaptec, up to 14 devices can be connected - provided you have the right cables and a suitably large PC tower.

As we have come to expect, the package contents are extensive. Included are a cable set (unfortunately no SCSI cable) as well as adapter modules for two additional USB ports and the digital interfaces for the sound system

The SATA controller integrated in the 6300ESB is recognized as an Adaptec device.

The EasyTune-4 software lets you overclock without having to restart.

Opinions differ over the sense of having numerous controllers for mass storage. While the Sil3114 only recognizes hard drives, the Adaptec 7902W can be used for a wide range of devices. Both support the simple RAID modes 0 and 1. Gigabit-LAN, a sound system and high-grade components are only what you would expect from a high-quality mainboard with ambitions.
But the real selling point should be the 6300ESB PCI-X Southbridge, which ensures that there is enough bandwidth on tap for power-hungry components, thanks to two slots for a maximum 266 MHz.
Its performance is on a par for 875 boards; the scope of delivery is also satisfactory, bar the lack of an SCSI cable. Only the price tag is a negative - how about a model without the expensive SCSI controller?
