Soltek KT600-R: Fast & Promising
by Wesley Fink on September 1, 2003 12:06 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Final Words
The Soltek KT600-R is a value-priced KT600 board whose feature set is average among the KT600 boards. Most of the adjustment options that enthusiasts like to see are available on the KT600-R, except the ability to fully tweak memory timings. Because of this omission, we expected poorer than average performance.Imagine our surprise when the Soltek KT600 benchmarked as the top performing KT600 we have tested! The Soltek was the top KT600 in every gaming benchmark. In almost every other benchmark run in this review, the Soltek is first or second among the KT600 boards. While the nForce2 is still the better performer, the difference between the best nForce2 Ultra 400 boards and the Soltek KT600-R is often very small.
Frankly, we are seeing much greater variation in the performance of VIA KT600 boards than we have seen with the nForce2 Ultra 400. Perhaps it is because the chipset is new, or maybe it is because it was relegated to the bargain bin by manufacturers before it was even launched. The top performing KT600 boards, like this Soltek KT600-R, give us hope that, with maturity, the KT600 can compete better with the nForce2 Ultra 400.
While Athlon64 and its variations are only a month away, the current Athlon Socket A will likely be a good seller at the low-end of the market for the next year or so. Unless poor sales cause the KT600 boards to be discontinued early by manufacturers, then the KT600 may continue to improve.
The KT600-R, like all KT600 boards we have tested, does not have a way to lock the PCI/AGP frequency. As a result, the FSB overclock is poorer than the nForce2 family. However, the multiplier options work well on recent Athlon chips, and we reached some of the highest overclocks that we have seen with the 2500+ used for testing.
There are KT600 motherboards available with more features than the Soltek KT600-R and RL. The Asus A7V600 is a good example of a great feature-set. However, if you insist on KT600, and performance is your goal, then the Soltek KT600-R is the best-performing KT600 that we have tested.
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Anonymous User - Sunday, October 5, 2003 - link
I agree, get rid of the flash.Anonymous User - Friday, September 5, 2003 - link
As a system builder who has been using Soltek motherboard for around 18 months in new systems that we build, I recently found out that Soltek do not replace motherboards that fail under warranty. Instead they have to be sent back to the factory in Taiwan where Soltek repair them.This is obviously unacceptable, particularly for a business user who can't afford to be without a PC for a month. If you agree, please send email to donald@soltek.com.tw to tell them what you think
In fairness to Soltek, their motherboards are very reliable, so its never been an issure until just recently for us. As a connsequence, we now use another brand of motherboard in the PCs we build.
Please feel free to contact me on peter@ctsgrafton.com.au
Anonymous User - Thursday, September 4, 2003 - link
Nice review Wes. But I dont' like the flash either, seems like it doesn't always show up ???Anonymous User - Wednesday, September 3, 2003 - link
#10, you're stupid. Flash is used by any large web site nowadays. Get used to it.Anonymous User - Wednesday, September 3, 2003 - link
Ugh! Please get rid of the flash!Anonymous User - Tuesday, September 2, 2003 - link
No problems using three DIMM's here, even at 200MHz FSB/Memory operation. (above official specs) Not being able to go nuts on the timings doesn't really matter. Practical performance is not hurting noticeably.Wesley Fink - Monday, September 1, 2003 - link
As I have mentioned in my KT600 reviews, I have often needed to go to a Command Rate of 2 instead of the more usual 1 for best stability on the KT600 with 2 or 3 dimms. However, I have not noticed that the 2 setting degraded performance by very much. My experience has not mirrored what Kyle is reporting at HardOCP, and I really can't explain it.You can NOT use nForce2 type timings on a KT600. The boards were not designed to handle them, nor are they necessary for best memory performance. Those holding on to fast memory timings are always faster need to run a few benchmarks, because it is not always true.
Anonymous User - Monday, September 1, 2003 - link
Im surprised about the comments on stability with KT600 boards. According to HardOCP, all KT600 boards they have tested (including Abit & Epox) are quite unstable with 2 DIMMs inserted.Zepper - Monday, September 1, 2003 - link
addendum to earlier post:As I see it, the DFI SiS based mobo just reviewed really lost out by not including the P4 connector. For a budget system, you want all your costs to be kept down, not just the mobo. You will still have to shell out for an overpowered PSU to run it...
.bh.
Zepper - Monday, September 1, 2003 - link
Thanks for the good reviews, Wes! I particularly like the fact that you make an issue of the P4 power connector in AMD mobo reviews. Finally AMD fans don't have to pay for overpowered PSUs as most AMD solutions will be able to run on a good 200W PSU. Even OCd and multiple drive systems should be able to get by on a good 250Watter.. Keep drilling on the P4 - make it a big demerit in reviews of AMD mobos that lack this feature.
.bh.