ABIT BP6 i440BX Dual Socket-370 ATX

The Bad

As a single processor BX motherboard, the BP6 is as stable as the old BX6R2 and the BH6 and comparatively speaking, carries an above average level of stability. However, as a dual processor BX board, the BP6 is the least stable dual processor solution AnandTech has ever encountered, however this does not necessarily mean that the BP6 is a bad motherboard. Windows NT is a much better environment to test motherboard stability than Windows 98, tests show that it is much more sensitive to causes of instability than Windows 98 and does therefore require a much more stable system to operate properly. Most dual processor workstation boards exhibit a level of stability greater than single processor boards simply because dual processor boards are generally put under more stress than single processor boards are. Think of it this way, regardless of how hardcore you are, a dual processor webserver is almost always under more stress than an overclocked Quake 3 machine.

Basically, you won't want to use a BP6 as the base for any type of server where reliability is a top concern. As a personal workstation or game machine, the BP6 works just fine and in normal usage environments it won't exhibit many signs of instability. The BP6 won't be nearly as stable as most dual processor Slot-1 BX solutions that are designed for server environments, but it gets the job done. Mixing processors of different speeds does decrease stability somewhat, as the frequency of Winstone crashes during AnandTech's tests increased slightly after installing two different clock speed Celerons, however the system did function properly and could function as a normal system even with CPUs of different speeds installed.

In spite of current rumors, Intel has not officially announced any plans to disable the ability of the Socket-370 Celerons to operate in dual processor mode using the same 'trick' the BP6 takes advantage of. The unfortunate truth is that Intel could, at any time, remove the functionality from the Celeron without making a huge public announcement, and in that case, your dual processor BP6 would be useless unless you got your hands on older Celeron processors. Currently, all Socket-370 Celerons work fine with the BP6 in dual processor mode, and the newer 500MHz Celerons will work fine as well (this has been verified by AnandTech in lab, and unless something changes between now and the release of the processor) however that could change in the future. Your best bet is to ask around before investing in a BP6 system to make sure that owners of recently purchased Celeron processors aren't noticing anything usual with the BP6.

The biggest downside of the BP6 seems to be the stability issue, the easiest way to sum up the stability of the BP6 is by saying that it is as stable as the BX6R2, which may be fine for a single processor board, it isn't all that great for a dual processor board.

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 Web-Site: http://www.mushkin.com