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Original Link: https://www.anandtech.com/show/96
After reviewing the HOT-565 I was contacted by Shuttle to review some of their newest line of motherboards, including the HOT-567 and the HOT-603, however the one that stood out the most was the HOT-569. When a chipset is first announced and released many motherboard manufacturers just try to get a board "on the market", it takes a really good manufacturer to take the chipset to the max time and time again, this is what Shuttle has done with the HOT-569. I mentioned a while ago when I reviewed the HOT-565 that I gave it my award for best TX motherboard on the market, that award now goes to the HOT-569...lets find out why
Socket Style: | Socket 7 |
Chipset: | i82430TX |
Cache: | 512KB |
Form Factor: | AT (w/ AT & ATX P/S Connectors) |
BUS Speeds: | 50 / 55 / 60 / 66 / 75 / 83 MHz |
Clock Multipliers: | 1.5x / 2.0x / 2.5x / 3.0x / 3.5x / 4.0x* / 4.5x* / 5.0x* / 5.5x* |
Voltages Supported: | 2.0v / 2.1v / 2.2v / 2.3v / 2.4v 2.5v / 2.8v / 2.9v / 3.2v / 3.3v / 3.4v / 3.52v |
RAM Slots: | 4 72pin SIMM
Slots (EDO/FPM) 3 168pin DIMM Slots (SDRAM/EDO/FPM) |
PCI/ISA Slots: | 4 PCI Slots 3 ISA Slots (1 Shared / 3 Full Length) |
BIOS: | AWARD PnP BIOS w/ Auto Detect Voltage Setup |
PCI EIDE Controller: | GiG I/O 2 EIDE Channels 1 FDD Channel 2 Serial /1 EPP |
* For future processors
Expansion, speed, stability, and documentation, 4 areas in which the HOT-569 smokes the competition. First, expansion, is 4 SIMM slots enough? How about 3 DIMM slots in addition to those 4? The first thing I noticed was that the 569 had an ATX power supply connector on it, so I thought to myself, why not, and I decided to test it in my Enlight 7230. The HOT-569, although designed for an AT case, worked perfectly in my Enlight Mid-Tower ATX and it made testing it much easier (due to the roomy ATX case) than with an AT case. The HOT-569 also supports most of the features of an ATX motherboard (i.e. Soft Off) so if you have an ATX case just sitting around don't feel like the 569 isn't for you, because...well...it is! This is the first AT style motherboard I've tested that allowed me to use full length ISA cards in ALL of the ISA slots, this is mainly due to the offset positioning of the CPU Socket-7 and the low profile switching voltage regulators which allow the HOT-569 to support core CPU voltages ranging from 2.0v to 3.52v (for the SERIOUS overclocker). No, the HOT-569 isn't jumperless, but it does allow you three different options for selecting the core voltage of your CPU. You can either setup the voltage via a jumper setting, let the board autodetect it, or configure it manually through the BIOS setup!! Because of its support for < 2.8v CPU voltage settings, the HOT-569 is an excellent candidate for upcoming processors including the Intel Tillamook and the AMD K6 250/266 processors. That tops off the majority of the HOT-569's expandability features. Performance-wise the 569 is among the best for use with the AMD K6 and gives the Megatrends HX83 a run for its money with the Pentium MMX. I am expecting to have a 6x86MX in my test lab soon and when I do I'll be sure to post scores of that with the HOT-569. Although people have complained about the HOT-565 having some reliability problems at an 83.3MHz bus speed, the 569 doesn't display any erratic performance when using the 83.3MHz bus speed. In fact, the HOT-569 is the ONLY TX board I got to run the Pentium MMX 233 at 290.5MHz even semi-reliably. The documentation of the HOT-569, unlike the 565, is provided in a written manual instead of a CD. This does come in handy, especially since the 569's manual is very descriptive and easy to follow. Another nice add-in Shuttle decided to include with the HOT-569 are the settings for the 75 and 83.3MHz bus speed, which were mysteriously left out of the HOT-565's quick reference card. Shuttle also decided to include a few stickers with the 569 manual, which even though isn't a major advantage of going with the 569 (you shouldn't buy it because it comes with shiny stickers), shows you how much attention Shuttle pays to the little things that make us all happy =)
Like the HOT-565, the 569 is plagued by the 64MB cacheable memory limit of the Intel TX chipset. If you're wondering how much of a performance hit you get, see below for my 64MB vs 96MB memory test on the 569. The only other downside is the small capacitors used on the 569, although pretty stable in my tests, it could prove otherwise with excessive overclocking (just gotta love that term =) ). Shuttle tried hard to make the best TX board possible, and in my opinion they did it VERY well!
Allows user to individually set IRQs for each Legacy ISA card
Allows user to reserve IRQ/DMA Channels if necessary
Auto-detects PnP Cards after HDD Detection
Here are my Recommended BIOS Settings for those of you who have been having problems with the HOT-569 and higher bus speeds. Below are my recommended settings for bus speeds < 66MHz, and 75MHz. If you are using Non-EDO RAM, then use the settings the in the 2nd (Non - EDO) column, if you are using SDRAM/EDO RAM with a 50/60/66MHz bus speed use the 3rd (66MHz Setting) column. The next column should be used if you are using the 75/83MHz bus speeds and EDO/SDRAM. Finally, if you are looking for the safest and most stable setting, use the last column.
Shuttle HOT-569 Chipset Features Setup | ||||
Item | Non - EDO | 66MHz Setting | 75/83MHz Setting | Safe Setting |
Auto Configuration: | Disabled | Disabled | Disabled | Disabled |
DRAM Leadoff Timing: | 10/6/4 | 10/6/3 | 10/6/3 | 10/6/4 |
DRAM Read Burst (EDO/FP): | x333/x444 | x222/x333 | x222/x333 | x222/x333 |
DRAM Write Burst Timing: | x333 | x222 | x222 | x222 |
Fast EDO Lead Off: | Disabled | Enabled | Enabled | Disabled |
Refresh RAS# Assertion: | 4 Clks | 4 Clks | 4 Clks | 4 Clks |
Fast RAS To CAS Delay: | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
DRAM Page Idle Timer: | 2 Clks | 2 Clks | 2 Clks | 2 Clks |
DRAM Enhanced Paging: | Enabled | Enabled | Enabled | Enabled |
Fast MA to RAS# Delay: | 2 Clks | 1 Clks | 2 Clks | 2 Clks |
SDRAM (CAS Lat/RAS-to-CAS): | 3/3 | 2/2 | 3/3 | 3/3 |
SDRAM Speculative Read: | Disabled | Enabled | Disabled | Disabled |
System BIOS Cacheable: | Enabled | Enabled | Enabled | Enabled |
Video BIOS Cacheable: | Enabled | Enabled | Enabled | Enabled |
8 Bit I/O Recovery Time: | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
16 Bit I/O Recovery Time: | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Memory Hole At 15M - 16M: | Disabled | Disabled | Disabled | Disabled |
PCI 2.1 Compliance: | Enabled | Enabled | Enabled | Disabled |
Power Supply Type: | AT/ATX | AT/ATX | AT/ATX | AT/ATX |
CPU Core Voltage: | Auto | Auto | Auto | Auto |
This little addition to my review layout was put in here just so you all can have an idea of what brand of SDRAM I recommend and have tested with the board, just to avoid problems in the future if you decide to purchase the board.
Recommended SDRAM: Advanced Megatrends SDRAM
SDRAM Tested: 2 x 32MB Advanced Megatrends SDRAM DIMMs
Manufacturer: Advanced Megatrends
Purchase Web-Site: http://www.megacom.com
The Test
In recent times, choosing a motherboard cannot be completely determined by a Winstone score. Now, many boards come within one Winstone point of each other and therefore the need to benchmark boards against each other falls. Therefore you shouldn't base your decision entirely on the benchmarks you see here, but also on the technical features and advantages of this particular board, seeing as that will probably make the greatest difference in your overall experience.
Test Configuration
Processor(s): | AMD K6-PR2/233 ANR & Intel Pentium MMX - 233 |
RAM: | 2 - 32MB Advanced
Megatrends SDRAM DIMMs 1 x 32MB SmarTech SDRAM DIMM for 96MB tests |
Hard Drive(s): | Western Digital Caviar AC21600H |
Video Card: | Matrox Millennium (2MB WRAM) |
Busmaster EIDE Drivers: | Intel v3.01 |
Video Card Drivers: | MGA Millennium 4.03.00.3410 |
OS: | Windows 95 Service Release 2 |
Notes: |
Windows 95 Performance of the Shuttle HOT-569
CPU | Business Winstone 97 | Business Graphics Winmark 97 |
AMD K6-PR2/200 | 53.0 | 102 |
AMD K6-PR2/208 | 56.4 | 110 |
AMD K6-PR2/225 | 56.6 | 110 |
AMD K6-PR2/233 | 55.7 | 108 |
Intel Pentium MMX - 200 | 51.5 | 99 |
Intel Pentium MMX - 233 | 53.7 | 102 |
Intel Pentium MMX - 290.5 | 57.6 | 115 |
And you thought the HOT-565 was an awesome board, check out these benchmarks!!! From now on I will try to include benchmarks of the Pentium MMX at 290.5MHz with any board that allows me to do so.
64MB vs 96MB on the Shuttle HOT-569
CPU | 64MB of SDRAM (all Cached) | 96MB of SDRAM (66% Cached) |
AMD K6-PR2/233 | 55.7 | 52.7 |
As you can tell by these Winstone scores, when you exceed the 64MB cacheable memory limit of the TX chipset, the performance drop isn't that severe. The performance of my K6/233 dropped to that of an average Pentium MMX-233 when I used 96MB of SDRAM (32MB more than the 64MB limit of the TX chipset). If you really need more than 64MB don't be too afraid of the performance hit, since it is almost non-existent.
The HOT-569 lives up to the expectations of every die hard computer user, and then some! If you want a TX motherboard, regardless of the style of case you have (AT or ATX) the HOT-569 is the perfect solution for you.