Soltek K8TPro-939: Moving A64 to 939
by Wesley Fink on October 28, 2004 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Final Words
It is really good to see more Socket 939 motherboards appearing in the market just in time to house the new, lower-priced 90nm 939 processors. The recently reviewed Epox 9NDA3+ and this Soltek K8TPro-939 both add new 939 choices and good value to those new choices. This Soltek board costs about the same as the value 939 boards, but it offers a full set of features that compares well to any Socket 939 board. It is also a very fast performer at stock speeds, performing as well or better than any VIA K8T800 Pro motherboard that we have tested.However, the broken PCI/AGP frequency lock on the Soltek makes it a poor choice to get the most from the new 3000+, 3200+, or 3500+ Socket 939 processors. We saw in our recent review of the new 90nm processors that most could reach 2.6GHz with not much effort. With 2.6GHz as a target, it is easy to see that we would need a 289 setting for the 3500+, 260 for the 3200+, and 236 for the 3500+. With the AMD + Series locked at the top, the only 90nm that could come close to 2.6GHz on the Soltek would be the 3500+, which, at 228 x11, could reach 2.51 Ghz. There is no such issue with the FX processors, since they are unlocked up or down, but frankly, they are very expensive and the end-user is not likely to be looking for a value Soltek to use with an $800 CPU.
The other issue with the Soltek is that 4 double-sided DIMMs will not run at DDR400, as the Soltek resets the memory speed to DDR333 at 2T. If you need to use 4 DIMMs at DDR400, then look elsewhere until Soltek fixes this problem.
Both of these issues are very disturbing with the Soltek board because it is full of features and a great performer at stock speeds. It does not suffer from any reboot issues and is exceptionally stable at stock speeds and any setting up to 228. If Soltek can correct the broken lock and 4 DIMM problems with a BIOS update, the Soltek would be one of the fastest and most stable 939 boards that we have tested; but the warts are too large with the current BIOS to recommend, if you require 4 DIMMs or robust overclocking.
The Soltek is a fast, stable 939 board at stock speeds with 2 DIMMs. If that is what you are looking for, the Soltek is a great value. We hope that Soltek will fix the issues in the current BIOS. If they do, we will report that here in an update. To Soltek, we would say, fix the BIOS and this board will be a winner. An excellent alternative with the same K8T800 Pro chipset, a working PCI/AGP lock, top performance with 4 DIMMs, and similar price is the Abit AV8. It is not as full-featured as the Soltek, but everything works as it should. We found that the working AGP/PCI lock allowed us to reach a clock frequency of 280 in our Abit AV8 overclocking tests. At a higher price, the Asus A8V is also an excellent choice based on the same VIA chipset that reached 289 in our overclocking test bed.
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manno - Thursday, October 28, 2004 - link
Son of a $@#!Any way what the heck is up with the Halo #'s? Is this so shady under the table stuff between MS, or Bungie, and nvidia? If so that sucks, and I hope that we don't see anymore of it in the future. Any info on that?
-manno
manno - Thursday, October 28, 2004 - link
bob661 - Thursday, October 28, 2004 - link
> In fact the majority of PC users are not> overclockers.
Very true. And the majority of PC users have no idea who Anand is. Online reviews are mostly read by PC users in the know or those that want to be in the know. The average PC user has no clue about these review websites and heads down Best Buy when it's time to purchase a new computer.
PrinceGaz - Thursday, October 28, 2004 - link
Last page, second paragraph- "With 2.6GHz as a target, it is easy to see that we would need a 289 setting for the 3500+,"...That should be 3000+. The rest of that sentence is correct.
Myrandex - Thursday, October 28, 2004 - link
typo: We suspect that the answer has to do with the cist difference between the VIA and Realtek solutionsAlso, on the first page a picture doesn't load.
Omega215D - Thursday, October 28, 2004 - link
I know I posted this before but why is there no news on the Elitegroup's Dual PCIe (for graphics) with an AGP Express port on the bottom? This should appeal to those into "future-proofing" by including both old and new. Of course it'll be on a 915 chipset.....Boonesmi - Thursday, October 28, 2004 - link
hopefully they will have quick bios update that fixes the agp/pci lock (i dont really care about 4 dimms)... if they get it fixed quick it will probably be my next board :)newegg has an eta of 11/8/2004 which is about when ill be buying, so make sure you update this review if the agp/pci lock gets fixed
Beenthere - Thursday, October 28, 2004 - link
While a BIOS upgrade will likely fix the AGP lock and (4) DIMM 2T issues, I doubt either is a BIG issue for most PC users. Yes overclockers may have an issue with the AGP lock and no doubt it will be corrected, but not everyone is an overcloker. In fact the majority of PC users are not overclockers. It's OK to point out the AGP lock and (4) DIMM issues for those who care, but it ain't worth getting an ulcer over. From the review it sounds like these are life or death features, which they are not.In regards to PCI-e Mobo reviews, the results are going to mirror AGP Mobos as the nF4 chipset is just an nF3 with PCI-e instead of AGP graphics. The only PCI-e Mobos that will show any major difference from a similar nF3 or K8T800 PRO Mobo are the SLI dual graphics card versions. If you're looking for one of these you better have real deep pockets and be willing to wait awhile.
MDE - Thursday, October 28, 2004 - link
Why do you guys keep whining about floppy port location? Honestly I think the bottom of the board is a pretty good location, especially since I almost never use a floppy drive (just for RAID drivers). It's easy to get at when you do need a floppy drive plugged in and doesn't interfere with anything else, helping to avoid the tangle of cables around the right side of the board that's so common with "properly" laid out boards.Gnoad - Thursday, October 28, 2004 - link
Alot of us still want AGP. I'm sick and tired of mobos being manufactured without the most important part functional: the agp lock. Nforce3 150 pissed me off, and we have it here again. I really don't want to use the k8n neo, so this is a big dissapointment to me.