The most stable motherboard I have ever used
Written: Aug 15 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Stable, compatible and surprisingly cheap.
Cons: No ATA-66/100 (limitation of BX chipset)
The Bottom Line: This board has given me no trouble at all... unlike some others I could mention :)
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| murgan's Full Review: AOpen Slot 1 AX6BC Motherboard |
Late last year my motherboard (a Soyo 6BB) went up in a puff of smoke and had left my computer dead in the water. I was desperate for something to get up and running again as quickly as possible. At this point I was not looking to upgrade anything, I needed something worked with my existing kit, which included a slot 1 Pentium III processor.
At the time, slot 1 boards were no longer being made, and there were few to choose from. However, I managed to find an Aopen AX6BC at a bargain price of only $45. With hope in my heart I took it home.
Installation could not have been easier (though that may be due to the fact that I spent the money on a decent tower case which featured a removable motherboard drawer), and before long I was back in business. When installing a new motherboard, it is always a good idea to download and flash the latest BIOS, which I did without any trouble. As with all motherboard installations, it is a good idea to test often every step, which I did. It must be said that this was the most trouble-free motherboard swap that I have ever done.
This is the first jumperless motherboard that I have used, and I am impressed. While it is possible to overclock the bus in the BIOS from the stock speed of 100MHz as high as 133MHz, it must be remembered that you are also overclocking both the AGP bus and the Intel BX chip set, neither of which are particularly happy about being pushed beyond their specified limits.
The board automatically identified my Pentium III 550 Katmai without any problems. Six months later, I upgraded to a Pentium III 850 Coppermine processor - the fastest chip that is officially supported by this board.
Six months later, are often making some discreet inquiries in the newsgroups, I took a gamble and purchased a Pentium III 1GHz. The gamble paid off; the motherboard recognized the processor without any problems, and I am now running this configuration.
The only thing that the board does not do is handle faster HDs than ATA-33, but a dedicated controller card got around that problem.
I am happy ... until the next time i feel the urge to upgrade!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 45
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Epinions.com ID:
murgan
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Member: Stephen Murgan
Location: Louisville, KY, USA
Reviews written: 33
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
Fortysomething Computer Consultant, Born and raised in London, England, now living in Kentucky.
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