AOpen MX64 VIA Apollo Pro 133A Slot-1 microATX

The Bad

As with VIA chipsets of the past, we did encounter a few problems. First and foremost is a fundamental problem with all VIA chipsets we've encountered - memory performance is subpar compared to the i440BX. The use of Virtual Channel Memory (VCM) is able to narrow the gap, but unfortunately VCM is not widely available at the moment.

Our MX64 sample performed noticably worse across the board compared to our Tyan Trinity 400. In fact we found that they performed similarly if the Tyan's CPU IOQ Depth was set to 1 Level, which introduced a 5-10% performance hit. As such, we surmise that AOpen has chosen the default setting of 1 Level and did not offer an option to change it in the BIOS. We'd really like to see AOpen include this feature in a BIOS update, or at least change the default setting to 4 Level. AOpen also neglected to include an option for Fast Writes in the BIOS and it too appears to be disabled.

While stability in all situations was rock solid, overclocking can be aided greatly by the addition of core voltage manipulation. AOpen's done it before, starting with the AX6BC Pro and followed by the AX63 Pro and AX6BC Pro II, so we know they have the ability. We'd really like to see this become a standard feature from AOpen rather than just a feature reserved for their "Pro" boards. For overclockers working with a Slocket device, this issue can often be resolved through the use of the Slocket's core voltage jumpers.

We'd really like to see AOpen go back to their full manual, rather than the quick install that's included. Unfortunately, this is a trend we see throughout the motherboard market. Fortunately, the quick install does cover pretty much everything you need to get going.

USB Compatibility

• Number of Front Universal Serial Bus Root Ports: 2

• Number of Rear Universal Serial Bus Root Ports: 2

• USB IRQ Enable/Disable in BIOS: Yes

• USB Keyboard Support in BIOS: Yes

Recommended SDRAM

Recommended SDRAM: 1 x 64MB Mushkin SEC Original PC100 SDRAM; 1 x 64MB Memory-Man SEC Original PC100 SDRAM; 1 x 128MB Mushkin SEC Original PC133 SDRAM

SDRAM Tested: 1 x 128MB Mushkin SEC Original PC133 SDRAM

Manufacturer: The Memory Man
Purchase Web-Site: http://www.memory-man.com

Manufacturer: Mushkin
Purchase Website: http://www.mushkin.com