uATX Update

[FrodeNilsen]

Originally posted by: Kreed

Originally posted by: Gary Key
The 690G/NV7050 is complete from a test viewpoint, running some additional background tests on 4GB configs under Vista64, having some compatibility problems that are not addressed yet. The article finally goes live next week. After that one, the NV7150 and the catch up with the new DVI/HDMI G33 boards and a couple of new G965 boards. I am happy to report that those five boards have all passed the 100 hour mark without a real problem.

Gary, please tell me you will publish the article this week. Surely, most of the issues would have been resolved by now.

690G boards have been around for a while. Most boards do not work with 4gb and Vista64bit. Now there are three scenarios I do not quite get:

1. The ATX MSI board works with 8gb. That kind of kills the driver is at fault, or what?
2. Lets imagine the makers are not aware of the issue. If so, they have not tested their hardware with 4gb and Vista 64bit, yet they claim support for 8gb or 16gb support. This is happening while they get plenty of user reports that there is an issue. If there is a fix, they do not publish it, rather they say that there is no sush known issue.
3. If they are aware of the issue, there is now nice way to describe their customer care or marketing.

If a Anantec article would remedy the issue in a week, this is close to a scandal. They only fix things that the press reports. The press really need to reconsider them NDAs and sticking to them press kits and guides.

I will be watching this alleged article carefully. The industry got some serious explaining to do.

 

[nidhoggr]

Originally posted by: Gary Key
Hi,

I will publish the 690G/NV7050 before the NV7150.

The 690G/NV7050 is complete from a test viewpoint, running some additional background tests on 4GB configs under Vista64, having some compatibility problems that are not addressed yet. The article finally goes live next week. After that one, the NV7150 and the catch up with the new DVI/HDMI G33 boards and a couple of new G965 boards. I am happy to report that those five boards have all passed the 100 hour mark without a real problem.

I'm really curious if I'm able to use my full 4GB of RAM on Vista64 before I switch to a Phenom AM2+ Board thats not AMD/ATI-built...
I bought Vista64 to use 4GB instead of 3.3GB RAM, but until now I had to stick with the limitation on 3.3GB, on a board that has Vista Premium Logo + support for 8GB Ram. Very funny indeed.

 

[imported_Kreed]

If I wasn't in need of a new PC, I would probably have given this generation of uATX motherboards a miss. They all seem to have problems in one way or another. On top of that, vendors don't seem all that interested in addressing issues with their boards unless they are getting bad coverage from the press. I feel sorry for all those people who have purchased a board based on features advertised by the vendor only to find out that some of the advertised features don't work. I guess we will just have to accept that vendors will always give priority to their mainstream offerings, which unfortunately, excludes uATX motherboards and related components.

I've been waiting since March for this uATX motherboard review. Yes, the first two articles have been posted. But, it's frustrating seeing the release of the third article get delayed every week. I can only speculate on why:

- New BIOS and driver updates from vendor => further retesting
- New board/chip revisions => further retesting
- Priority given to reviews on X38 and P35 motherboards
- Unplanned events and trade shows
- Sponsored reviews ;-)
- Being diplomatic - I guess you don't want to burn your bridges with vendors who are supplying you with boards to review
- Premature release - The boards were released with too many issues and it has taken over 6 months for vendors to address some of these issues

Ahhh, i guess i am just venting my frustrations and I apologize in advance if i am having a dig at Gary, AnandTech or the industry in general. I understand that no one is forcing me to wait for these reviews. It's just that we were given dates (albeit approximate ones) on when the reviews will be out. Oh well, fingers crossed that part 3 of the review comes out in the next couple of days.

 

[nidhoggr]

My board isnt even uATX, it only uses a chipset common in uATX boards. But I really hope they can fix that 690G/4GB/Vista64 issue by BIOS updates...

 

[JKing76]

Any update?

 

[Telvin]

I too would like to see the reviews. I'm going to building a µATX system in the next few weeks or so. There really aren't any other µATX reviews of quite this scale, let alone recent ones that are still relevant. More information before I put down my money would be nice.

 

[imported_Kreed]

I couldn't wait any longer (after 7 months of waiting) and ended up putting in an order for an Abit AN-M2HD. From all the comments that I've read from Gary and Jarred, the Gigabyte GA-MA69GM-S2H is their current favourite after testing. The Abit AN-M2HD is a close second. I went for the Abit board because of reasons listed in the following thread:

http://www.phoronix.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5995

Let's hope the Abit board doesn't disappoint.

 

[Zap]

Will it be another broken promise? We should start a poll. :evil:

 

[FrodeNilsen]

Originally posted by: Gary Key
Hi,

I will publish the 690G/NV7050 before the NV7150.

The 690G/NV7050 is complete from a test viewpoint, running some additional background tests on 4GB configs under Vista64, having some compatibility problems that are not addressed yet. The article finally goes live next week. After that one, the NV7150 and the catch up with the new DVI/HDMI G33 boards and a couple of new G965 boards. I am happy to report that those five boards have all passed the 100 hour mark without a real problem.

If the boards were complete from a test viewpoint, and should have been posted long ago, what happend?

Is the 64bit issues are killing this article?

 

[imported_Kreed]

It might have something to do with Priorities. uATX has made great strides in recent years, but ATX is still considered the mainstream, at least in the eyes of AnandTech readers. There was a 20 page review of the DFI UT P35-T2R last week by Gary. The same week that the third uATX review was supposed to go live as quoted above. This week, there was Overclocking update article on the Intel X38. Here's a quote of the final sentence in the article:

"We will be back shortly with full reviews of the motherboards, extensive overclocking coverage, and head to head comparisons against the P35, 680i, and 975X chipsets."

Reading between lines, it looks as if Gary's got his hands full. The uATX reviews will probably take a hiatus until all the planets line up ;-)

 

[imported_Kreed]

Btw, where is FireTech?

 

[FireTech]

Originally posted by: Kreed
Reading between lines, it looks as if Gary's got his hands full. The uATX reviews will probably take a hiatus until all the planets line up ;-)

Btw, where is FireTech?

Lurking mate.

Been a bit busy moving house recently and only just got our PC & ADSL back online. It's currently in my daughters room so when she gets put to bed..... :moon:

I suspect Gary has been busy as you suggested (lot's of new tech been released about now, mmmmm) but I'm sure we'll get an update soon enough.

 

[nidhoggr]

Gigabytes F4 (S3h) and F3 (S2H) BIOS seem to solve the &4bit issue, at least my S3H is working fine now with 4GB RAM. But the BIOS seems to change quite some things, I had to reactivate Vista...

 

[FrodeNilsen]

Originally posted by: nidhoggr
Gigabytes F4 (S3h) and F3 (S2H) BIOS seem to solve the &4bit issue, at least my S3H is working fine now with 4GB RAM. But the BIOS seems to change quite some things, I had to reactivate Vista...

Thanks for the heads up.

This bios seems to work with 4gb. It dates back to october 8th. Kind of makes one wonder, doesn´t it?

The issue is fixed silently, with no recognition of the issue what so ever. I got four boards waiting for RMA, and were forced to get replacement boards in advance.

The Gigabyte claim their boards support 16GB, so they should pass the 8gb test fine then. I will post back in an hour.

 

[FrodeNilsen]

Originally posted by: nidhoggr
Gigabytes F4 (S3h) and F3 (S2H) BIOS seem to solve the &4bit issue, at least my S3H is working fine now with 4GB RAM. But the BIOS seems to change quite some things, I had to reactivate Vista...

Stil not stable with 8GB, even with MSconfig. The bios did help, but not enough.

Any issues running your rig with 4gb?

 

[nidhoggr]

Nope, 3h of Neverwinter Nights 2 without problems. System isrunning fine now.
The 8GB problems might also be memory controller related I guess. Is Memtest fine with 8GB?

edit: System still absolutely stable, over 8h now, lots of gaming

 

[FireTech]

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2112864&enterthread=y