For the first time we got a silver PCB Soltek board. All other features are rather usual. Note that chipset specs, significantly improved since P4X266 and P4X266A, resulted in considerable redesign for new features, so the board differs much from older VIA-based products.

The package includes:

• Standard packing;
• User’s guide in English, brief installation and setting manual in 9 languages;
• 1 ATA66/100/133 and floppy cables;
• 2 software CDs, including:
  • drivers;
  • monitoring utilities;
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader;
  • PC-Cillin 2002;
  • VirtualDrive 7;
  • RestoreIT! 3 Lite;
  • Partition Magic 6.0 SE;
  • DriveImage 4.0.

The board design has some minuses: audio jacks are located in front of PCI slots, IDE and FDD sockets – behind them; graphics card will block memory sockets, and connected power cables hamper, airflow. Jumpers are always accessible and described onboard.

The 3-channel switching CPU power regulator features 7 capacitors of 2200 microfarad 3 capacitors of 1500 microfarad.

The board features the following controllers:

• audio, based on chipset features and AC’97 Avance Logic ALC650, supporting 5.1 systems.

ITE IT8705F I/O controller enables the smartcard reader connectivity.

The underside features a protective plate to prevent bending after installing large coolers.

Unsoldered, but designed: network controller and RJ45 connector.

The board features ITE IT8705F hardware monitoring:

• CPU, memory voltage, +3.3, ±5 and ±12 V, VBAT and +5 V Standby;
• FAN speeds;
• Temperature of CPU (a built-in sensor), board (a built-in sensor) and external sensor, connected to the board.

The board has 2 dynamic and 2 non-dynamic fan control connectors.

Brief specifications: 3 DDR SDRAM sockets; AGP/ 6 PCI slots; 2 COM/ LPT/ 2 PS/2/ 6 USB 2.0 ports; 305x220 mm dimensions.

Board settings:

We used BIOS AJ1.1, as the latest at the moment of testing.

A good board for a suitable price. A good alternative to Intel-based products, though not the fastest and most feature-rich.