Closer Look

Soltek SL-86SPE-L is a pretty simple but at the same time very well-done product, based on i865PE chipset. This chipset is exactly the one that determines most mainboard functions connected with the CPU, memory and basic interfaces support. That is why like many other mainboards based on i865PE aka Springdale-PE, Soltek SL-86SPE-L can work with any Intel processors fitting into Socket478. The mainboard supports 400MHz, 533MHz and 800MHz system bus frequency and can work with processors with or without Hyper-Threading technology. As for the future Prescott processors support, Soltek doesn’t promise anything directly. However, the mainboard meets Intel’s latest FMB2 and VRM10 specifications, which provides a nearly 100% guarantee that Soltek SL-86SPE-L will work at least with the first Prescott based CPU models. Anyway, in the middle of next year Pentium 4 processors will acquire new LGA775 packaging, which will put an end to the compatibility of all today’s mainboards with the newest processors. So, you’d better get ready for that now.

As for work with the memory, Soltek SL-86SPE-L doesn’t boast any specific peculiarities compared with the other mainboards. With the FSB frequency equal to 133MHz, the mainboard allows clocking the memory in DDR266 and DDR333 modes (DDR400 SDRAM is not supported in this case). As soon as the FSB frequency rises up to 200MHz, DDR400 SDRAM can also be used. We would like to point out that in case the FSB frequency is equal to 200MHz, DDR333 memory works at the actual 320MHz to ensure better synchronization.

There are 4 DIMM slots on the mainboard grouped in pairs: two per each memory channel. This way if you want to squeeze the maximum performance out of your Soltek SL-86SPE-L, you’d better install memory modules in pairs, although this is not a must. The mainboard also works absolutely fine in single-channel mode, though the performance in this case is about 10% lower.

As for the expansion slots, there are no surprises here. Soltek SL-86SPE-L features an AGP 8x slot compatible with 1.5V/0.8V graphics cards, and 6 PCI slots. Note that there is no protection against accidental use of old 3.3V graphics cards with Soltek SL-86SPE-L. However, I don’t think you should be very upset about it, as there are hardly any more graphics cards that old left in the today’s market.

As you remember, one of the innovations of i865PE chipset is the special CSA bus with 2Gbit/sec bandwidth implemented in the chipset North Bridge, which is intended for connection of gigabit network controllers. However, Soltek didn’t use this bus. The thing is that the only controller today, which can be connected to the CSA bus, is Intel PRO/1000CT gigabit controller. This is a truly fast solution, but at the same time a very expensive one. Still, the Soltek SL-86SPE-L mainboard is targeted not for advanced users and costs not too much. That is why it would be not very reasonable to use Intel’s CSA controller on it. So, Soltek engineers kept in mind their main target and equipped Soltek SL-86SPE-L with a regular Realtek RTL8100B Ethernet controller connected to the chipset South Bridge via the PCI bus and supporting 10 or 100Mbit/sec network connections.