Soltek KT600-R: Fast & Promising
by Wesley Fink on September 1, 2003 12:06 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
The Soltek NV400-L64, built on the Single-Channel nForce2 400, was a simple board with very impressive performance. With that in mind, we resisted the temptation to pass on a review of the KT600 from Soltek. After many KT600 reviews, we were seeing a pattern develop with the boards. All were performing below the levels of the nForce2 Ultra400/nForce2 400 boards, and our KT600 reviews were becoming an evaluation of motherboard features. So, would this Soltek do better?
Like almost every other KT600 board that we have evaluated, the Soltek sells at a reasonable price, but with a much better feature-set, especially considering the selling price. This VIA chipset is impressive in the stability it displays with every KT600 board we evaluate. It is probably the best VIA chipset to date, and has a very up-to-date feature set including SATA RAID, excellent audio options, and up to 8 USB 2.0 ports. The only area where KT600 has failed to fully impress us is in performance — an area that is a primary concern with many buyers.
It’s a good thing we didn’t pass on the Soltek, because it held a few surprises in our testing. The Soltek has the kind of promise that makes us think that perhaps, with time and a little more maturity, the KT600 chipset may be able to compete effectively in the performance arena with nForce2.
Like almost every other KT600 board that we have evaluated, the Soltek sells at a reasonable price, but with a much better feature-set, especially considering the selling price. This VIA chipset is impressive in the stability it displays with every KT600 board we evaluate. It is probably the best VIA chipset to date, and has a very up-to-date feature set including SATA RAID, excellent audio options, and up to 8 USB 2.0 ports. The only area where KT600 has failed to fully impress us is in performance — an area that is a primary concern with many buyers.
It’s a good thing we didn’t pass on the Soltek, because it held a few surprises in our testing. The Soltek has the kind of promise that makes us think that perhaps, with time and a little more maturity, the KT600 chipset may be able to compete effectively in the performance arena with nForce2.
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Anonymous User - Sunday, October 5, 2003 - link
I agree, get rid of the flash.Anonymous User - Friday, September 5, 2003 - link
As a system builder who has been using Soltek motherboard for around 18 months in new systems that we build, I recently found out that Soltek do not replace motherboards that fail under warranty. Instead they have to be sent back to the factory in Taiwan where Soltek repair them.This is obviously unacceptable, particularly for a business user who can't afford to be without a PC for a month. If you agree, please send email to donald@soltek.com.tw to tell them what you think
In fairness to Soltek, their motherboards are very reliable, so its never been an issure until just recently for us. As a connsequence, we now use another brand of motherboard in the PCs we build.
Please feel free to contact me on peter@ctsgrafton.com.au
Anonymous User - Thursday, September 4, 2003 - link
Nice review Wes. But I dont' like the flash either, seems like it doesn't always show up ???Anonymous User - Wednesday, September 3, 2003 - link
#10, you're stupid. Flash is used by any large web site nowadays. Get used to it.Anonymous User - Wednesday, September 3, 2003 - link
Ugh! Please get rid of the flash!Anonymous User - Tuesday, September 2, 2003 - link
No problems using three DIMM's here, even at 200MHz FSB/Memory operation. (above official specs) Not being able to go nuts on the timings doesn't really matter. Practical performance is not hurting noticeably.Wesley Fink - Monday, September 1, 2003 - link
As I have mentioned in my KT600 reviews, I have often needed to go to a Command Rate of 2 instead of the more usual 1 for best stability on the KT600 with 2 or 3 dimms. However, I have not noticed that the 2 setting degraded performance by very much. My experience has not mirrored what Kyle is reporting at HardOCP, and I really can't explain it.You can NOT use nForce2 type timings on a KT600. The boards were not designed to handle them, nor are they necessary for best memory performance. Those holding on to fast memory timings are always faster need to run a few benchmarks, because it is not always true.
Anonymous User - Monday, September 1, 2003 - link
Im surprised about the comments on stability with KT600 boards. According to HardOCP, all KT600 boards they have tested (including Abit & Epox) are quite unstable with 2 DIMMs inserted.Zepper - Monday, September 1, 2003 - link
addendum to earlier post:As I see it, the DFI SiS based mobo just reviewed really lost out by not including the P4 connector. For a budget system, you want all your costs to be kept down, not just the mobo. You will still have to shell out for an overpowered PSU to run it...
.bh.
Zepper - Monday, September 1, 2003 - link
Thanks for the good reviews, Wes! I particularly like the fact that you make an issue of the P4 power connector in AMD mobo reviews. Finally AMD fans don't have to pay for overpowered PSUs as most AMD solutions will be able to run on a good 200W PSU. Even OCd and multiple drive systems should be able to get by on a good 250Watter.. Keep drilling on the P4 - make it a big demerit in reviews of AMD mobos that lack this feature.
.bh.