440BX Motherboard Review - Fall 1998

Shuttle HOT-661

• BIOS Version: S032 (August 14, 1998)
• Board Revision: 1.1
• External clock speeds: 66, 75, 83, 100, 103, 112, 133 MHz
• Slots: 4x full size PCI, 3x full size ISA, full size AGP
• Memory: 4x DIMM

Overclockers should be sure to use the BIOS 032 or newer, since it enables 133 MHz front side bus. But be careful: The fast memory timings do not run very stable. You should chose the slower settings; first this is the only way of getting a reliable system, and second the performance loss is minimal. Shuttle did not forget the option to disable to waste of an IRQ for the mostly not used USB.

While testing the different memory types on this board I was happy to see that the system started with the two Samsung 256 MB modules. But the happiness was over in the next moment since only 384 MB were recognized. All connectors on the board are described clearly and unmistakable. Unfortunately all CPU relevant settings have to be done via old fashioned jumpers; only the accomodation within a speed type (66-83 and 100-133 MHz) can be done in the BIOS. Shuttle placed three fan connectors on the board to enable a proper cooling of your components.

Soltek SL-67B

• BIOS Version: K (July 20, 1998)
• Board Revision: unknown
• External clock speeds: 66, 75, 83, 100, 103, 112, 133 MHz
• Slots: 5x full size PCI, 2x full size ISA, full size AGP
• Memory: 4x DIMM

Bus clock (66 or 100 MHz) as well as the multiplier have to be set via dip switches. In the BIOS you can vary the bus speed: 75 or 83 MHz can be chosen alternatively for 66 MHz CPUs, 103, 112 and 133 are possible for 100 MHz FSB CPUs. The BIOS also offers the possibility to disable the IRQ assignment for USB which works fine.

This motherboard is the only one which "admitted" that it cannot handle the 256 MB modules by the error message "memory test fail". Other boards just run instable without giving you any hint that this could be caused by the main memory. The special "hurdle" (32 chips memory module, 64 MB) was also not passed: Only 32 MB were detected.

The board's performance is average, but of course still satisfying. However, this candidate unfortunately cannot be called a winner. Something individual is missing to make this board really interesting.