ABIT SE6 Socket-370 i815E ATX

The Bad

It is a little bit disappointing that the SE6 is still using SoftMenu II instead of SoftMenu III.  Users lose the 1MHz increments for FSB all the way to 200MHz and couple other tweaks.  Also, we expect to have settings higher than 153MHz, since speeds up to 166MHz have run reliably in AnandTech labs using other 815 boards.

The location of the second serial port is awkward.  As shown in the following pictures, the serial port cables will have to run either over or under the AGP video card (if you use one).  Ideally, running the cable under the video card is better, but when everything is seated in the case already, that can be hard to do.  The best place for the second serial port would be the left side of the board and above the PCI slots.

The AGP slot is very close to the DIMM slots.  That means users will have to install the memory first before inserting the AGP video card, otherwise the card will block the clips of the DIMM slots.

It would be great if ABIT had placed the power supply connector on the right edge of the board, just like the KT7-RAID.  The current position of the connector may block airflow since the power cables have to run over the memory and CPU.

It would be great if ABIT also included the thermistor cable and the bracket for the additional USB ports.

USB Compatibility

·         Number of Front Universal Serial Bus Root Ports: 2

·         Number of Rear Universal Serial Bus Root Ports: 2

·         USB IRQ Enable/Disable in BIOS: Yes

Recommended SDRAM

Recommended SDRAM: 1 x 128MB Corsair PC133 SDRAM; 1 x 128MB Mushkin PC133 SDRAM

SDRAM Tested: 1 x 128MB Mushkin PC133 SDRAM

Manufacturer: Corsair
Purchase Website: http://www.corsairmicro.com

Manufacturer: Mushkin
Purchase Website: http://www.mushkin.com