Winfast 760GXK8 MB-ERS

Board-Revision: ?

BIOS Version: 14.01.2005

Winfast is the brand name for AMD compatible system boards from Foxconn. What's hard to understand here is that the company posts and maintains software for these boards at www.foxconnchannel.com. Those who remain unaware of this connection are likely to visit www.winfast.com instead; unfortunately this domain name belongs to Taiwanese OEM and board manufacturer Leadtek. Even more unfortunately, those seek Winfast motherboard information or software there are unlikely to ever find what they need!

In action, the 760GXK8 MB board uses SuperUpdate software to flash the BIOS while Windows is running. Unfortunately, we think they should rework this program because it tried to overwrite a newer BIOS version with an older one. Only when we used the BIOS date to select the right version did this utility work to our entire satisfaction.

On the plus side, the packaging for Winfast beats the competition: it comes with cables for two SATA drives, plus a slot module for two additional USB ports, of which six more may be directly connected.

The motherboard itself matches other offerings: three PCI slots, AGP 8X, two UltraATA/133 channels and two SATA ports are all included, as well as 100 Mb Ethernet and a sound system with 5.1 Surround Sound support.

The layout is well thought-out and the floppy connector is in a corner, where it doesn't interfere with anything else, yet is always readily available to be connected (as shown in the photo). Full-length adapters fit nicely, and the DIMM sockets are streamlined horizontally. Another bonus: the Winfast motherboard is the only one in this bunch to offer a FireWire chip with a usable port. Unfortunately, the vendor red-penciled the voltage regulator chosen, and only offers two-phase power.

You can use SuperUpdate to flash the motherboard's BIOS while Windows is running. But the first thing the program did was ask us to 'update' to an older version!