FIRST LOOK: SiS 755FX for Socket 939 Athlon 64

Our Take

If we look at this review as an evaluation of the SiS 755FX chipset, we have to say that we remain impressed with what SiS has done in the Athlon 64 chipset market. In the transition to Socket 939 and dual-channel memory, SiS has kept the fast performance that made the 755 chipset a standout. This is basically the same chipset that we tested almost a year ago and it still holds its own against the latest nForce 4 and updated VIA chipsets. It seems as of late that our tests of SiS chipsets leave us wondering what they could really do in a top-of-the-line motherboard design, but we will likely have to keep wondering, since we do not know of any SiS boards in the works right now except those geared for value price points.

That should take absolutely nothing away from the excellent performance of the Winfast 755FXK8AA. The board is very fast at stock speeds. When you consider it is designed to sell for less than $100, we are impressed at the very complete feature set and excellent layout that Foxconn have managed to build into this motherboard. You don't even expect to be able to buy a top performing 939 motherboard for $100, let alone a board with Gigabit LAN, Firewire and 8-channel on-board audio. Foxconn has done a very good job of delivering value in the Winfast, and you won't feel like you have compromised on features at all if you choose the 755FXK8AA for your new 939 Athlon 64 system.

For the capabilities it does have in overclocking, the Winfast is rock solid. It can run at 233 all day long without any issues. The CPU voltages with both + and - ranges also allow the board to be used for both modest overclocking as well as modest underclocking. Some users do underclock to reduce noise and heat to the lowest possible levels and it is not always easy to find a board that will underclock. The Foxconn will fit those users very well.

Disappointment comes into play in considering overclocking and what might have been with the Winfast. The lack of a clock generator that supports more than 233 and the missing memory voltage adjustments limit a board that could have been so much more. The 755FX is so good to 233 that we are severely disappointed that it doesn't have the stuff to let us see where the SiS755FX chipset can really go. There is also the frustration that this is perilously close to the magic sub $100 Socket 939 board that everyone is looking for. A different clock generator, memory voltage adjustments, a BIOS fix for 4 DS dimms, and a bit more attention to what the Athlon 64 enthusiast is looking for would have made this board a huge sales success.

As it is, the Foxconn is still easy to recommend. It is solid, fast at stock speeds, and filled with the features most users want. It is an incredible bargain when the selling price is considered. You can easily reach 233 even with the limitations, which make it a decent match to a 90nm 3500+ or faster processors for overclocking. That is because you can reach near 2.6GHz with the 3500+ combination even with the 233 limitation. For overclockers looking to push the 3000+ or 3200+ to 2.6 to 2.8GHz, however, you need to look elsewhere as 233 is just not enough. It is also not a board we would choose if we planned to run 4 DS dimms, but we suspect Foxconn could fix the 4 DS dimm issue with a BIOS update that offered 200 as a memory speed choice.

If you're not an overclocker or only have modest needs for overclocking, then by all means, go for the Winfast 755FXK8AA. It is a fast performer and you will not be disappointed. If we could just get past what might have been . . .