X-bit labs

Review of Soltek SL-86SPE-L Mainboard on i865PE Chipset (page 8)

Category: Mainboards

by Ilya Gavrichenkov

[ 06/24/2003 | 11:28 AM ]

Performance

During our test session we compared the performance of Soltek SL-86SPE-L mainboard with that of the fastest i865PE based mainboard – ASUS P4P800. As you remember, ASUS P4P800 supports HyperPath technology and uses PAT to provide maximum performance. Besides, we also included the results of Gigabyte GA-8IPE1000 Pro, which doesn’t use PAT. Note that although Soltek SL-86SPE-L allows enabling PAT, we didn’t enable it during the tests. Unfortunately, Soltek SL-86SPE-L worked very unstably with enabled PAT, so we couldn’t actually take advantage of it.

The testbeds were built with the following hardware components:

• Intel Pentium 4 3.0GHz CPU;
• Mainboards: ASUS P4P800 (BIOS version 1.08), Soltek SL-86SPE-L (BIOS version 1.1LB); Gigabyte GA-8IPE1000 Pro (BIOS version F6);
• 512MB (2x256MB) DDR400 SDRAM from OCZ (2-2-2-5 timings);
• ATI RADEON 9700 PRO graphics card (Catalyst 3.4 driver);
• Seagate Barracuda ATA IV, 80GB HDD.

The tests were run in MS Windows XP SP1, the mainboards BIOS’s were set to ensure the maximum performance.

The table below contains all benchmarks results obtained:

As we see from the benchmarks results, Soltek SL-86SPE-L performance is on a very good level against the background of those i865PE based mainboards, which could use PAT technology. However, we shouldn’t forget that Soltek SL-86SPE-L allows enabling PAT theoretically, and as soon as they solve the BIOS problems, the performance of this mainboard will grow up significantly. If we look at the first numbers, which we obtained on Soltek SL-86SPE-L with enabled PAT (see our section called PCB Design),w e will see that this mainboard is just a tiny bit behind the today’s leader: ASUS P4P800.

Conclusion

Well, we have just reviewed one more inexpensive mainboard on i865PE chipset - Soltek SL-86SPE-L. This solution pleased us a lot with its stylish design and theoretical opportunity to enable PAT. However, we should admit that the current BIOS version still has a few issues preventing the users from taking advantage of the tremendous potential of this product. Nevertheless, Soltek engineers are most likely to eliminate the above described memory stability problems during overclocking, and then this mainboard will become a very worthy platform for a contemporary system.

Highs:

• Theoretical opportunity to enable PAT technology;
• Good overclocking friendly options;
• Relatively low cost;
• Allows boot-up from USB devices;
• Stylish exterior.

Lows:

• Memory stability problems during overclocking and with enabled PAT;
• Not very rich accessories set;
• Only two USB 2.0 ports actually available in a standard package.