Socket 754 Roundup, Part 3: Asus, Soltek & DFI
by Wesley Fink on September 14, 2004 12:03 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Soltek K8AN2E-GR: Features and Layout
| Soltek K8AN2E-GR Motherboard Specifications | |
| CPU Interface | Socket 754 Athlon 64 |
| Chipset | nVidia nForce3-250Gb |
| CPU Ratios | 4 to 20X in 1X increments |
| Bus Speeds | 200MHz to 250MHz (in 1MHz increments) |
| PCI/AGP Speeds | Auto, 66MHz to 100MHz (in 1MHz increments) |
| HyperTransport | 1x-5x (200MHz to 1GHz) |
| Core Voltage | 0.8V-1.55V in .025V increments |
| DRAM Voltage | 2.6V to 2.8V in 0.1V increments |
| AGP Voltage | 1.5V to 1.8V in 0.1V increments |
| Chipset Voltage | 1.6V to 1.9V in 0.1V increments |
| Memory Slots | Two 184-pin DDR DIMM Slots Unbuffered Memory to 2GB Total |
| Expansion Slots | 1 AGP 8X Slot 5 PCI Slots |
| Onboard SATA/RAID | nVidia 2-Drive SATA by nF3-250 RAID 0, 1, JBOD PLUS 2 SATA by Promise PDC20579 RAID 0, 1, JBOD |
| Onboard IDE/RAID | Two nVidia ATA133/100/66 by nF3-250Gb (4 drives) RAID 0, 1, JBOD plus One Promise RAID IDE (2 drives) by PDC20579 |
| Onboard USB 2.0/IEEE-1394 | 8 USB 2.0 ports supported by nF3-250 No FireWire ports |
| Onboard LAN | Gigabit Ethernet by Cicada CIS8201 PHY |
| Onboard Audio | Realtek ALC650 6-Channel with SPDIF |
| BIOS | Version 1.1 (9/02/2004) |
The Soltek is smaller than a standard ATX board. While it is clear that Soltek has designed the K8AN2E for value, like the Chaintech VNF3-250, it is interesting that Soltek decided to implement most of the unique features of the nF3-250 family by using the premium 250Gb chipset instead of the cheaper nF3-250. Vendors stocking the Soltek are selling it for less than $100, and the 250Gb brings you the nVidia on-chip LAN and Firewall/RAID capabilities of the Gb chipset.
It would have been an even better board if Soltek had fully implemented the nVidia SATA RAID capabilities, but you can see that the additional 2 SATA channels and an added IDE channel are provided by the Promise controller. Once again, this arrangement proved to limit overclocking capabilities with a SATA drive, though the board was still capable with an IDE hard drive.
The range of overclocking controls and options on the Soltek are quite good, as we have come to expect of Soltek boards. The memory voltage extends to 2.8V, better than the Asus K8N-E but still on the low side. There is also a useful range of chipset voltage adjustments missing from the Asus, and an HT range to 5X. The only puzzle here is the CPU range to just 250 with the latest BIOS. Our evaluation BIOS extended to 300, so we were surprised to see that Soltek cut the range on the latest BIOS. Frankly, 250 is not enough for an nForce3-250 board with working PCI/AGP lock, and we hope that Soltek can correct this with a new BIOS. The CPU voltage options to just 1.55V are also limited for a CPU rated at 1.5V.
All-in-all, Soltek makes fewer compromises than the Chaintech VNF3-250 in their effort to control price of the 754 board. The only real feature missing from the Soltek is IEE 1394 Firewire ports. So, if this is an important feature, look elsewhere or plan to use an accessory PCI Firewire controller. However, the Chaintech still succeeds better than almost any value 754 in the area of overclocking.
The Soltek is smaller than a full ATX size, but the layout is very good, better than you might expect in a smaller board. The main IDE connectors are located in the preferred upper right edge. The 24-pin ATX power and 4-pin 12V are both near board edges where they do not interfere with other components. The floppy location will be a concern to some with a lower right edge location, but this will not likely be a problem in the cases that are most likely to be combined with the value Soltek board. The Promise SATA and IDE connections are also located at the lower right.
Another departure from the usual for Soltek is the use of two DIMM connectors instead of the more common 3 connectors, which will be an issue to some end users. There is clearly room for 3 connectors; it even appears the board was designed for 3 dimm slots. However, Soltek uses just 2 dimm slots on the K8AN2E.
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Staples - Tuesday, September 14, 2004 - link
I bought a 3200+ system a week ago and this Soltek board. I am glad to see that incomparison, this board's performance fairs really well. There is a big thread here and it seems quite a few people are experiencing various problems with it. Myself included. I think any potential buyer who is inticed by the cheap price might want to check it out before deciding on this one.Illissius - Tuesday, September 14, 2004 - link
Excellent review, and excellent boards. The only nitpick I have is that you say the three boards are constantly trading performance leads in the stock benchmarks; in reality, the Asus K8N-E and Soltek K8FNAEDKJL:DSGKJ3 trade wins and the DFI is usually behind them, where by a larger, where by a smaller margin, except for the Far Cry test where it manages to squeak a win by a fraction of a FPS.The DFI board is damn near perfect. There are only three minor problems with it: (1) The various stuff on the board that is glaring yellow is not blue instead; (2) It is not Abit; (3) It's slightly slower at stock speeds than the Asus and Soltek. Otherwise it's completely perfect, if I were buying a board right now it would absolutely be the one I'd choose.
One topic I'd like to see touched upon is support for mobile/DTR processors; mobiles AXPs were hugely succesful overclockers, but the mobile A64s are held back by almost universally substandard motherboard support for them. A 35W (1.2V) Mobile 2800+ coupled with the Lanparty UT would be pretty amazing, if it worked.
DoobieOnline - Tuesday, September 14, 2004 - link
Hey Wesley, that's weird that you couldn't get to 9x250 with a SATA drive on the Soltek. I'm using that board and running 10x250 with a 74GB Raptor on NVIDIA SATA 1. It's a great board for under $100! - doobiedevonz - Tuesday, September 14, 2004 - link
Just a thought. When you review memory modules you untimately produce comparison charts of the top overclocked performance of the modules. Why not have a set of graphs showing the top overclocked performance of motherboards so we can judge them based on that information too?icarus4586 - Tuesday, September 14, 2004 - link
It would have been interesting, just as a side-note, to see some tests on the DFI running at CAS 1.5, whether they were here or in the article on that board specifically. I've never seen any board/RAM that can run at 1.5-2-2LocutusX - Tuesday, September 14, 2004 - link
Regarding the Asus board:Wesley, is your A64 a Newcastle/CG revision or Clawhammer/C0? I have absolutely no issues running my Newcastle 3000+ @ 255FSB - it's like a rock. But yeah, I am using PATA.
Also, note that there is a new BIOS (1005) for the K8N-E which allows usage of 2.8v V_dimm on the 1.05 revision mobos.
jensend - Tuesday, September 14, 2004 - link
I think it would be interesting to see tests of how well different s754 chipsets and boards do with the Paris core Sempron.Wesley Fink - Tuesday, September 14, 2004 - link
The information in the Soltek Features table has been updated to reflect the latest BIOS values.Gundamit - Tuesday, September 14, 2004 - link
Price performance ratio is so much stonger for the 754. Thats why I decided to go for the DFI right now. In 6-8 months I'll take another look at the 939.The only dissapointment in the article was the fact you ran the 1.5 CAS setting but didn't post any results. Maybe it would have been out of place in a "roundup". BTW- Is still a round-up with only three mobos or cows? Maybe you could run some benchmarks and update the original LanpartyUT review?
ceefka - Tuesday, September 14, 2004 - link
If you haven't bought anything yet: The 754's only real disadvantage I can think of is its upgrade path or non existence thereof. It is still a very good platform. So what if it is limited to 2/3GB of RAM support. There are not many home users with 2GB+ of RAM.