Soltek SL-75DRV VIA KT266 socket A DDR
Friday, September 07, 2001
Conclusions
Overall Quality Evaluation
The evaluation table below shows both the strong and weak points of the tested motherboard. No need to remind you that performance is not the sole purchasing criteria in a motherboard. Most of today's motherboards exhibit performance very close to each other, so we need additional information in order to help us distinguish the real advantages of a motherboard compared to its competitors. This is exactly where this evaluation table comes in handy.
|
Soltek SL-75DRV VIA KT266 socket A DDR
|
|
|
Feature
|
Evaluation
|
|
Design Originality
|
Poor
|
Good
|
Average
|
Excellent
|
Top Grade
|
5
|
Component Layout
|
Poor
|
Good
|
Average
|
Excellent
|
Top Grade
|
5
|
|
Heatsink space around CPU
|
Poor
|
Good
|
Average
|
Excellent
|
Top Grade
|
5
|
Capacitiors
|
Poor
|
Good
|
Average
|
Excellent
|
Top Grade
|
5
|
|
CPU Retention Mechanism
|
Poor
|
Good
|
Average
|
Excellent
|
Top Grade
|
5
|
|
Amounts of Expansion Slots
|
Poor
|
Good
|
Average
|
Excellent
|
Top Grade
|
4
|
|
Amount of Memory sockets
|
Poor
|
Good
|
Average
|
Excellent
|
Top Grade
|
4
|
|
Ease of installation
|
Poor
|
Good
|
Average
|
Excellent
|
Top Grade
|
5
|
|
BIOS Setup Design
|
Poor
|
Good
|
Average
|
Excellent
|
Top Grade
|
5
|
|
Performance
|
Poor
|
Good
|
Average
|
Excellent
|
Top Grade
|
5
|
|
Overclockability
|
Poor
|
Good
|
Average
|
Excellent
|
Top Grade
|
5
|
|
Stability
|
Poor
|
Good
|
Average
|
Excellent
|
Top Grade
|
5
|
|
Bundled Software
|
Poor
|
Good
|
Average
|
Excellent
|
Top Grade
|
5
|
|
Bundled Hardware
|
Poor
|
Good
|
Average
|
Excellent
|
Top Grade
|
4
|
|
Users Manual Quality
|
Poor
|
Good
|
Average
|
Excellent
|
Top Grade
|
5
|
|
Packing Quality
|
Poor
|
Good
|
Average
|
Excellent
|
Top Grade
|
5
|
|
Features supported
|
ATA100
|
PC133
|
Wake On LAN
|
Modem ring
|
Pwr Fail Res
|
5
|
|
Features supported (suite)
|
Sensor
|
CNR
|
Mouse Pwr On
|
Susp. to RAM
|
Susp. to Disk
|
4
|
|
Features supported (suite)
|
IRDA
|
SCSI
|
Keyb. Pwr On
|
Hardw. mon.
|
Vcore adj.
|
4
|
|
Features supported (suite)
|
RAID
|
Alarm
|
Jumperless
|
L2 latency adj.
|
IRQ assign.
|
3
|
|
Total Score obtainned for this motherboard
|
93 points out of 100
|
|
Features color codes: Blue = supported, Red = optional, Black = not supported
|
Conclusions
The weak points
Another PCI slot would have been nice.
Another memory slot would have been appreciated.
The strong points
Can adjust the Vcore voltage from within the BIOS
Can adjust the clock multiplier from the board's circuitry
FSB adjustable in 1MHz increments
Excellent performance
Numerous Overclocking functions
Conclusions
|
Soltek has always been a manufacturer that we can count on to present us with quality boards. This time again, not only has Soltek developed an excellent product - the SL-75DRV - but they've also had the audacity to include a number of functions that competing manufacturers haven't even thought of; features that allow users to increase the stability of their Overclocked systems. So, for its originality, its excellent performance, and its high-score, we're very pleased to award the Soltek SL-75DRV our coveted "Top Hardware Award", and our highest recommendations.
That said, please note that the SL-75DRV is quite picky about the memory it will accept, and that testing will likely be necessary to determine what it can really co-exist with. This may seem a bit surprising, but we actually run into this sort of problem on a regular basis here at the lab. The fact is, many boards tend to be particular about memory, and users often end up having to test different modules before hitting on a combo that matches their performance/stability expectations, and squashes the nasty little bugs that seem to crop-up in the worst places...
|
|
Home page.
For more information, visit Soltek
You can discuss this article in the Forum
|
