PT880 hits retail
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Soltek is among the first manufacturers to release an enthusiast-oriented motherboard based on VIA's new PT880, and I've managed to snag the SL-PT880Pro-FGR for testing. With Gigabit Ethernet, Serial and "parallel" ATA RAID, Firewire, and six-channel audio, the SL-PT880Pro packs a lot of functionality for a sub-$100 motherboard, but does it have the performance to run with more expensive Intel-based competition?
The specs
Before we get into the specifics of the board itself, let's have quick look at the SL-PT880Pro's spec sheet.
| CPU support | Socket 478-based Pentium 4 processors (800, 533, 400MHz FSB) |
| Form factor | ATX |
| North bridge | VIA PT800 |
| South bridge | VIA VT8237 |
| Interconnect | Ultra V-Link (1.06GB/sec) |
| PCI slots | 5 32-bit/33MHz |
| AGP slots | 1 4x/8x (1.5V only) |
| AMR/CNR slots | None |
| Memory | 4 184-pin DIMM sockets Maximum of 4GB of DDR266/333/400 SDRAM |
| Storage I/O | Floppy disk 2 channels ATA/133 |
| Serial ATA | 2 Serial ATA channels via VT8237 south bridge |
| RAID | RAID 0, 1 support via VT8237 V-RAID RAID 0, 1, 0+1 support via Promise PDC20378 |
| Legacy ports | 1 PS/2 keyboard, 1 PS/2 mouse, Serial and Parallel ports |
| USB | 4 USB 2.0 ports Additional 4 USB ports via on-board expansion header |
| Firewire | 1 IEEE 1394 Firewire port via VT6307 Firewire controller Additional Firewire port via on-board expansion header |
| Audio | 6-channel audio via VIA VT8237 audio controller and VT1616 codec Analog front, rear, and center outputs Analog line and microphone inputs |
| Video | None |
| Ethernet | 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet via VIA VT6122 |
| BIOS | Phoenix AwardBIOS |
| Bus speeds | CPU: 200-250MHz in 1MHz increments DRAM: auto, 100, 133, 166, and 200MHz |
| Bus dividers | None |
| Voltages | CPU: 0.08375-1.8V in 0.025V increments AGP: 1.5-1.8 in 0.1V increments DIMM: 2.5-2.8 in 0.1V increments |
| Monitoring | Voltage, fan status, and temperature monitoring |
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When it comes to integrated peripherals, the SL-PT880Pro has a little bit of everything. And I mean everything. With Gigabit Ethernet, six-channel audio, Firewire, Serial ATA, and RAID support, the board's loaded with features.
Because I know you're wondering, the SL-PT880Pro is also compatible with Intel's toasty new Prescott processors. However, Soltek will only support Prescott chips up to 3.0GHz; at that speed, Northwood is a better option at the moment. I haven't managed to snag a Pentium 4 "E" for the Benchmarking Sweatshop just yet, so we'll be doing all our testing with a Northwood Pentium 4.
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