Basic Features: Biostar TForce 6100-939

It is worth mentioning that Biostar is shipping TForce 6100 micro ATX boards in both Socket 754 and Socket 939 versions. The Socket 754 version, called the TForce 6100, is the same chipset combination and features 2 DIMM slots. The board that we are testing is the TForce 6100-939, obviously supporting Socket 939, and featuring four DIMMs in dual-channel mode. Older A64's, Revision E, and x2 are all supported on this Socket 939 board.

 Biostar TForce 6100-939
CPU Interface Socket 939 Athlon 64
Chipset NVIDIA GeForce6100 Northbridge - NVIDIA nForce 4100 Southbridge
Bus Speeds 200 to 300MHz in 1MHz Increments
PCIe Speeds 100 to 125MHz in 1MHz Increments
PCI Fixed at 33
OnBoard GPU Auto, Always Enable
Frame Buffer (UMA) 16M, 32M, 64M, 128M, Disabled (64M Default)
Core Voltage Startup, 0.80V to 1.70V in 0.025V increments
CPU Clock Multiplier Startup, 4x-25x in 1X increments
HyperTransport Frequency 1000MHz (1GHz)
Supports AMD Cool'n'Quiet
HyperTransport Multiplier Auto, 1X, 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X
DRAM Voltage 2.66V, 2.72V, 2.82V, 2.93V
Memory Slots Four 184-pin DDR DIMM Slots
Dual-Channel Configuration
Regular Unbuffered Memory to 4GB Total
Expansion Slots 1 PCIe x16
1 PCIe x1
2 PCI Slots
Onboard SATA/RAID 2 SATA II Drives by nForce 410 (RAID 0, 1, JBOD)
Onboard IDE/IDE RAID Two Standard ATA133/100/66 (4 drives)
Onboard USB 2.0/IEEE-1394 8 USB 2.0 ports supported by nF410
No Firewire (Optional)
Onboard LAN 10/100 Ethernet by Realtek 8201 PNY
Onboard Audio AC '97 2.3 6-Channel by Realtek ALC655
BIOS Phoenix Award

Frankly, Biostar even includes an overclock quick guide in the TForce kit - a real surprise for a Micro ATX board with integrated graphics. What's more, the available options in BIOS are a lot more than what many will expect for a Micro ATX/Integrated Graphics board, and even include an Integrated Flashing option so that you don't have to load DOS or Windows to flash the BIOS.

There is even an auto-overclocking option in BIOS, called ONE (Overclocking Navigator Engine) and a CMOS Reloaded feature to allow saving and quick restore of favorite BIOS setups. The only other place that we have seen CMOS reloaded is DFI.

The layout is clean and the TForce 6100 even supports 24-pin power supplies. 20-pin connectors from older power supplies will also work. An even bigger surprise was momentary power and reset switches on the board - and detailed in the manual.

Index Test Setup
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  • sprockkets - Thursday, September 22, 2005 - link

    It has already been shown that the local FB has no effect on performacne here. But it does allow for not taking away from the main memory.
  • Vol2005 - Monday, September 26, 2005 - link

    ATi Xpress 200G @ 450MHz ---- 3DMark 2001SE = 6,396, 3DMark 03 = 1724, 3DMark 05 = 815. (687 05's @300MHz-default)
    http://www.hkepc.com/hwdb/c51-firstlook-test.htm">http://www.hkepc.com/hwdb/c51-firstlook-test.htm
  • sprockkets - Thursday, September 22, 2005 - link

    $80 at newegg.com

    Btw, can you use the VGA out for HDTV output? Because they do not show any way of hooking up this model to a tv.
  • JarredWalton - Thursday, September 22, 2005 - link

    No - not unless your HDTV has a VGA input. (Some do, but they tend to cost $3000+.)
  • HarryAsse - Thursday, September 22, 2005 - link

    Would the 6100 be faster than a 9700pro?
  • Brunnis - Thursday, September 22, 2005 - link

    Most certainly not. It is very far from the 9700 Pro.
  • linkgoron - Thursday, September 22, 2005 - link

    Budget PCs don't have AMD 4000+, but 3000+, and won't have 2 x 512MB OCZ PC3200 Platinum Rev. 2 RAM... They'll get 30% lower fps (I think, correct me if I'm wrong) in most games...
  • Wesley Fink - Thursday, September 22, 2005 - link

    The comparison was between the nVidia GeForce 6100 and the current best ATI RS480. As long as we used the same CPU and memory for testing both boards it really didn't matter what CPU we used. The 4000+ is now $368 at New Egg, a little less than the 3800+ x2, and more mid-range than value. The 3000+ costs around $150. We have used the 4000+ in all recent motherboard reviews, so we thought the 4000+ would be easier to compare to other boards we've tested.
  • jediknight - Saturday, September 24, 2005 - link

    It would still be nice to see reviews where budget components (like mobos with integrated graphics) are paired with other budget components (CPU, RAM, etc.) such that the performance numbers more accurately resemble real-world performance.

    Using top-end processors and memory present an unrealistically optimistic picture of real-world performance.. because these combinations are really not likely to be seen.
  • Furen - Thursday, September 22, 2005 - link

    Framerate shouldnt bee much lower since these systems are insanely graphics-bound. They could be a bit lower but I wouldnt expect more than a frame or two (per seccond) lower.

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