FIC KW15 i810E Slot-1/Socket-370 ATX

The Bad

As with almost all i810 or i810E motherboards, neither the audio CODEC nor the GMCH are the best choice for gamers or music enthusiasts -- the audio CODEC uses CPU power and the GMCH provides less than ideal video. However, both can be disabled, allowing for the addition of either a PCI video or sound card to reduce CPU usage. Because of the low price of the AC 97 CODEC, it is a likely addition on most future motherboards.

The lack of FSB options, especially when overclocking a 66 MHz CPU was noticed. Overclockers may be a bit disappointed that the KW15 does not support any sort of manipulation of the CPU's core voltage. This feat can be accomplished by motherboard manufacturers, but it does take a little time and effort to implement. However, with the lack of AGP support, overclockers are not the most likely patrons of i810E boards.

This board crashed multiple times when run at 550 MHz and when overclocked. The board would not run our PIII 550E at 133 MHz, instead only running up to 117 MHz. However, the 733 MHz Pentium III would boot into Windows. Again, this situation suggests that the Slot-1 connector is more efficient than the Socket-370, which ran very poorly in our tests.

USB Compatibility

• Number of Front Universal Serial Bus Root Ports: 0

• 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