Transcend TS-UWH31 microATX i810 Socket 370

The Bad

As mentioned previously, the placement of the floppy drive connector forces you to stretch the cable over the rest of the motherboard in order to plug it in. While a little unusual, the power connector's placement on the right side of the board should not be too much of a trouble except in extremely cluttered systems.

The on-board audio CODEC may not be the best choice for gamers or music enthusiasts because of the drain on CPU time. If the included GMCH is sufficient for your video needs but the AC97 CODEC is too much of a CPU hog, a PCI sound card can always be added as a supplement. Because the AC97 CODEC is relatively cheap, most boards in the future will probably be sporting such equipment.

Transcend is one of the few companies that usually includes more written documentation than just a quick installation guide. However this was not the case for the TS-UWH31. While this might not necessarily be a true problem for anyone but the novice computer builder, it is still an appreciated addition. The only written documentation included was a Quick Installation Guide outlining the basics of the TS-UWH31. For people not that familiar with motherboards, the Quick Installation Guide does contain a few helpful pointers and a brief description of installation. Unfortunately, cost-cutting is more and more prevalent in a competitive market where motherboard manufacturers try their best to keep profits high.

While recently some companies have been including virus programs, the Transcend CD provided drivers and an in depth manual in PDF format. The CD is a generic copy included with all their boards and includes manuals and specifications for all of them. The CD manual was readable even though English teachers might not be very happy with the grammar or some word choices.

Overclockers may be a bit disappointed with the message that the TS-UWH31, like the MX3W, does not support any sort of manipulation of the core voltage of Socket-370 processors. It's not so much that such a feat can't be accomplished, as it has already been proven that it can (ABIT, Iwill and Microstar to name a few), but it does take a little time and effort to implement. If anything, Transcend might want to keep stability their number one priority, meaning that implementing core voltage tweaks isn't high on the to-do list until more of their customers demand it.

USB Compatibility

• Number of Front Universal Serial Bus Root Ports: 0

• Number of Rear Universal Serial Bus Root Ports: 2

• USB IRQ Enable/Disable in BIOS: Yes

• USB Keyboard Support in BIOS: Yes

Recommended SDRAM

Recommended SDRAM: 1 x 64MB Mushkin SEC Original PC100 SDRAM; 1 x 64MB Memory-Man SEC Original PC100 SDRAM

SDRAM Tested: 1 x 128MB Mushkin SEC Original PC100 SDRAM; 1 x 128MB Memory-Man SEC Original PC100 SDRAM

Manufacturer: The Memory Man
Purchase Web-Site: http://www.memory-man.com

Manufacturer: Mushkin
Purchase Website: http://www.mushkin.com