Written:
11/03/2000
Written by: Moto®
Price: $100 (Low price
here)
Manufactured by:
ABIT
The Abit VH6 is in many ways just like a Socket 370 version of the excellent
Abit VT6X4. Both motherboards are based on the VIA chipset and use the same
Softmenu II system for setting CPU speed. The VIA chipset used in the VH6 has
quite a few advantages over the Intel BX and 815E chipset. Against the BX
chipset the VIA can control RAM speed independent of system bus speed and offers
a 1/2 AGP divider. Against the 815E chipset, the VIA has a price advantage with
equal performance.
The VH6 has a nice small footprint. The board is the same
size as the VT6X4. You shouldn't have any problem getting this motherboard to
install into any size case. The layout of the board is top notch. There is a
lot of room accommodating big CPU coolers and the power supply is place near the
very top of the board. The VH6 offers one AGP, five PCI and one modem riser
slot. There is also on board sound for those too cheap to get a real sound
card.
Abit has always been known for overclocking but you
wouldn't know that with the VH6. The selection of Front Side Bus speed is not
what I have come to expect from Abit. You can chose Front Side Bus speed from
150, 140, 133, 124, 120, 115, 110, 105, 100, 83, 75, and 66Mhz. While this
seems like an OK selection, it's kinda disappointing compared to the SoftMenu
III powered BE6-II or BX133-RAID, which has bus speeds from 83 all the way to
200Mhz in 1Mhz steps. It's ashamed that Abit chose to make the maximum bus speed
150Mhz. I would have like to see it go to at least 160Mhz.
One of the nice feature the VH6 is its ability to increase or
decrease the RAM speed by 33Mhz. This little feature is great if your want to
overclock, but your RAM is not up to snuff. Seeing that most PC-133 RAM can't
handle a 150Mhz bus speed, all you need to do is go into the Abit BIOS and
reduce the RAM speed by 33Mhz. Now the RAM is running at just 117Mhz, no problem
for PC133 RAM or even good quality PC-100 RAM. This works the other way too. If
you're running at Celeron 366 at 100Mhz FSB to get 550Mhz and you're using
PC-133 RAM, you're not getting the full use of the RAM. With the VH6 you can go
into the BIOS and increase the RAM speed by 33Mhz. Now your PC-133 is doing what
it was designed to do, run at 133Mhz, while your FSB remains at 100Mhz.
Next page: The Specs
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