Original Link: https://www.anandtech.com/show/96

Shuttle HOT-569

by Anand Lal Shimpi on December 9, 1997 10:57 AM EST


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


Motherboard Specifications

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

 


The Good

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 =)

The Bad

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!

 


IRQ Usage

  • 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

 


BIOS Settings

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

 

 


Recommended SDRAM

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 Final Decision

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.

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