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VIA PT880 Preview: Soltek SL-86SPV2-RL Mainboard in Our Lab (page 4)

Category: Chipsets

by Ilya Gavrichenkov

[ 09/09/2003 | 12:14 PM ]

Soltek SL-86SPV2-RL: First Mainboard On VIA PT880

So, the first PT880-based mainboard to enter out test lab is Soltek’s SL-86SPV2-RL. Let’s learn its specifications.

Although the VIA PT880 chipset is not yet announced officially, and this mainboard is just an engineering sample, we can claim VIA PT880 to be a practically finished product. Throughout our tests, the Soltek SL-86SPV2-RL mainboard displayed satisfactory stability and performance. Probably, VIA engineers will spend the time to the official launch of the chipset testing it for compatibility with various memory modules and other equipment. Now, we will discuss the mainboard sample in more detail.

This is the first PT880-based mainboard. Lately, Soltek is seeing a lot to the exterior of the products. Thus, they have several lines of “colored” mainboards like Black Thunder, Violet Eyes and so on. Soltek SL-86SPV2-RL continues this trend. We don’t know yet what name it will come to the market under, but its looks are definitely non-trivial: the PCB is colored rich red, and slots and connectors are all in yellow and violet colors. As for the mainboard’s capabilities, they are all defined by the capabilities of the chipset. Soltek SL-86SPV2-RL has no external controllers at all. It doesn’t mean that the mainboard lacks anything in functionality. The VIA PT880 chipset with the VIA VT8237 South Bridge is a powerful duo offering a long list of supported ports and protocols. That is why the absence of extra controllers in the previewed mainboard promises enough capabilities at a low price. By all signs, this mainboard with dual-channel DDR400 SDRAM support and mainstream performance will cost no more than $100. If this will be the case, such products as Soltek SL-86SPV2-RL may become a hit in the market.

So, to the specs. This mainboard carries 5 PCI, 1 AGP 8x and 2 DIMM slots – one for each memory channel. Of course, two memory slots is a drawback, but truly, you don’t often use more than two memory modules in one system. To use Soltek SL-86SPV2-RL in the dual-channel mode, you plug in two identical modules, of course. This is not a requirement, though. It works all right in the one-channel mode, although slower.

As for supported CPUs, Soltek SL-86SPV2-RL works with all available Socket 478 processors and is going to work with upcoming Prescott-core processors, too. The CPU voltage regulator module is a quality one and can handle high currents necessary for the future CPUs made by the 90nm technology.