X-bit labs

Soltek SL-KT880E-RL Mainboard on VIA KT880 Chipset Review (page 2)

Category: Mainboards

by Ilya Gavrichenkov

[ 05/23/2004 | 01:01 PM ]

Specification and Accessories

Note that Soltek has two more mainboards in its product series that are too based on the KT880 chipset and use the same PCB as the Soltek SL-KT880E-RL has.

They are:

• Soltek SL-KT880E-GR (this version supports Gigabit Ethernet by using a VIA VT6122 PCI controller instead of the physical-level VIA VT6103 network controller);
• Soltek SL-KT880E-R comes without any network controller at all.

Thus, the Soltek SL-KT880E-RL is a middle product in the series – there are cheaper and more expensive versions.

The Socket A platform belongs to the low-end market sector today, so the accessories to the mainboard are scanty. Besides the mainboard itself, the package, made in the traditional Soltek design, contains:

• A CD and a diskette with standard drivers and utilities;
• A software CD with PC-cillin 2002, Virtual Drive 7, RestoreIt! 3 Lite, PartitionMagic 6.0 SE and DriveImage 4.0;
• One standard ATA-100/133 cable and one FDD cable;
• One SerialATA cable;
• One power cord for SATA hard disk drives;
• An I/O shield for the back panel of the system case;
• A user manual.

As you see, there are no round aerodynamic cables that have become a traditional accessory to top-end mainboard. Some other things are missing too, like a USB bracket with additional ports, and we have only one SATA cable here. Overall, Soltek seems to have been saving on every trifle – we’ll see some other traces of that economy shortly.