Soltek SL-PT880Pro-FGR: VIA Dual-Channel for the Pentium 4

BIOS: Soltek SL-PT880Pro-FGR

Soltek uses the familiar Phoenix-Award BIOS on the PT880Pro, so navigation will be familiar for most users. Soltek is well-known for the tweaking options provided on their boards. You will find a complete selection on the PT880PRO, but some of the ranges could be improved.

The adjustment that most disappointed us probably was a CPU adjustment range of just 200-250. With DDR550 memory available that runs at 275, and some 2.4 chips making it to 300 on the CPU, this looks like a very slim range for an Intel board. CPU speed and memory adjustments are under the "CPU Ratio/Voltage Control" tab. Since Intel CPU's are locked, there are no multiplier adjustments.

CPU voltage adjustments, on the other hand, are outstanding with a range from a low 0.8375V to 1.80V in fine 0.0125V increments. Whether your chip is a low-voltage Prescott or a Northwood, you should find what you need to overclock voltage in this range.

Advanced BIOS features allow control of boot devices and boot order.

Many of the overclocking adjustments are under this tab, including the selection to adjust memory timings.

Soltek provides a very complete selection of memory timing adjustments. This will allow the most to be squeezed from whatever memory you use in the PT880Pro.

Soltek provides a Windows-based Red-Storm 2 overclocking utility and a Hardware Monitor for Windows. You can also check voltages and fan speeds in the BIOS Smart Doc section.

The BIOS options for the PT880Pro are very good, except for the limited range of CPU frequency adjustments. That should make more sense after we look at overclocking.