Introduction

About two years ago, Intel released the 440BX chipset for their processors running at 100MHz with everything people could possibly ask for.  The 440BX was the standard by which other chipsets were measured and has survived a lot longer than originally expected.  That’s because last year, Intel released the i820 chipset, which backfired severely for them.  The extremely high price of RDRAM coupled with no noticeable performance gain on today’s applications simply drove people away.  Intel tried to push the i820 chipset again, this time with SDRAM support, but problems with the Memory Translator Hub (MTH) forced a recall of these boards, tarnishing Intel’s reputation again.  As a result, not many manufacturers actually dived into the i820 market, but rather decided to stay with the 440BX chipset a little longer, tweaking and enhancing their designs a number of times.

A couple of months ago, Intel released their i815 / i815E chipset, claiming that it would replace the old 440BX.  It is still premature at this point to say whether or not the i815 can replace the 440BX, but from our Intel i815 chipset article, two things are clear: the 440BX’s days are numbered, and the i820 is out of the equation because of the expensive RDRAM.  Since the performance of the i815 is comparable to that of the 440BX and uses SDRAM, it has the ability to compete with the 440BX technically and economically.  With this in mind, manufacturers started to release their i815 / i815E solutions. 

Among these manufacturers is Chaintech, who's latest i815E solution is the CT-6OJV2.  Even though Chaintech is not as large as some manufacturers, they have always delivered motherboards with decent performance and superior stability.  Can Chaintech still maintain that level of quality with the CT-6OJV2? Let's take a look.

The Good

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The Chaintech CT-6OJV2 uses a moderately sized PCB of 12 by 8.5 inches.  The layout of components is quite standard, probably because Chaintech does not include many extra features on the board, where the routing of traces might have changed the position of components.  The power supply connector, however, is placed next to the serial / parallel ports and the Socket-370, meaning that the power cable will have to run over the memory and the CPU.  Since current CPU’s all generate a considerable amount of heat, the power cables may block the airflow around the CPU and potentially pose a cooling problem.  Ideally the best place to put the connector would be the right edge of the motherboard, so the cables can avoid running over the CPU.  Unfortunately, we've only seen a handful of motherboards with this design, so we suspect that manufacturers are having trouble putting the connector there.

In order to maintain stability, Chaintech puts nine 1200uF capacitors around the socket.  Some of the capacitors are quite close to the socket; therefore, you may not be able to install larger heatsink/fans.  It also implies that the oversized FC-PGA-C coolers, which are required for 1GHz and above processors, will not work with this motherboard.

The Intel 82815 Graphic and Memory Controller Hub (GMCH) sits to the left of the CPU socket.  Finally, after waiting for two years, we have a decent chipset that officially supports both 133MHz FSB and PC133 SDRAM.  The Chaintech CT-6OJV2 has 3 DIMM slots, capable of holding up to 512MB SDRAM.  This can be a problem for users who need more than 512MB RAM, but this is a limitation of the i815’s GMCH, not Chaintech's design.  Another strange limitation of the chipset is that you can only (officially) use two DIMMs if they want to run the memory at 133MHz.  If you use all three DIMMs, the timing is supposed to be set to 100MHz.  Although Chaintech and many other manufacturers have included the option to force the memory to 133MHz, the ASUS CUSL2 is the only board we've seen that can handle three DIMMs running at 133MHz on i815 platform without compromising stability. 

The 82815 GMCH also features the integrated i752 on-board 3D graphics, something many AnandTech readers probably will not make use of except in basic systems.  It is clear that Intel's intention to include on-board video is to attract OEMs.  Since on-board video is usually not up to par with high-end video cards like the GeForce GTS we use for testing (for a comparison between the i752 on-board video and other AGP video cards read our Intel 815 Chipset article), Intel offers an AGP 4X slot for users who want better 3D performance. 

The AGP slot on the CT-6OJV2 is a "universal" AGP slot, so users can use almost all 4x and 2x/1x AGP video cards out there.  To accommodate the integrated i752 video, one of the serial ports at the back of the motherboard has been replaced by a VGA connector.  For users who have more than one device requiring a serial port, Chaintech puts the second serial port header right beside the power supply connector.  With the serial port bracket included with the motherboard, users can easily hook up the second port.

The CT-6OJV2 also uses the Intel 82810BA I/O Controller Hub 2 (ICH2), which is what differentiates the i815E from the i815 chipset.  Standard i815 motherboards utilize the Intel 82810AA I/O Controller Hub (ICH1) instead.  The ICH2 has all the features of ICH1, such as 6 bus mastering PCI slots and AC’97 host-based audio, but the ICH2 also adds an integrated Intel 82559 network controller, an Ultra ATA 100 IDE controller, and a second USB controller.  The integrated network controller supports 10Mbps Home PNA 2.0 or 10/100 Ethernet depending on the CNR card that is plugged in.

We have yet to see hard drives having a sustained transfer rate of higher than 40MB/sec, so the Ultra ATA 100 support is not that useful right now.  Chaintech takes advantage of the two extra USB ports offered by the ICH2 by putting a USB header at the front of the motherboard.  Unfortunately, Chaintech does not include the necessary USB expansion bracket, something that ABIT and ASUS have begun to do.  ICH2 still supports USB 1.1, so we'll have to wait a bit longer for USB 2.0 support (most likely with ICH3).  The 6/0/1/1 (PCI / ISA / CNR / AGP) configuration takes full advantage of the ICH2's expansion capabilities and should be more than enough for most users.  

It seems that motherboard manufacturers have put more of an emphasis on sound quality these days than they used to.  In the past, the AC’97 CODEC was the standard on-board sound solution, but now you have more choices for higher quality on-board sound.  Chaintech, just like on some of their other boards, uses the C-Media 8738 3D 4.1 Hardware Sound for the CT-6OJV2's on-board audio.  Note that this chip is optional, and the board will likely come equipped with an AC’97 CODEC if the C-Media chip is not specified specifically.

The C-Media 8738 has much better sound quality than the AC’97 CODEC and the controller supports a 4.1 speaker setup (front/rear + subwoofer).  It uses a technology from CRL 3D Audio, a 32-voice HRTF-based 3D positional audio, which helps to position sound sources when using 4.1 speaker systems.  This technology supports Microsoft Direct Sound 3D and Aureal’s A3D 1.0 API’s, so games and applications software that utilize these API’s will be able to take advantage of the HRTF 3D positional audio.  For example, when users play games with A3D support, the sounds that physically occur behind your character in the game will be produced more prominently from your rear speakers in a 4.1 setup. 

The onboard sound should be enough for users who just need some decent, entry-level 3D sound.  But if you want to have the best 3D sound quality, you will probably want to go get a dedicated PCI sound card. 

The CT-6OJV2 uses the Award Modular BIOS 6.00PG, and Chaintech includes what they call "SeePU Setting," which is just the name for their jumperless CPU setup utility.   The available FSB settings are 66 / 100 / 133 / 138 / 140 / 144 / 147 / 150 / 157 / 160 / 165 MHz.  Unfortunately, these options vary based on what the SDRAM clock is set to.  When the SDRAM clock is set to 100MHz and a 133MHz CPU is installed, settings available are 133 / 140 / 144 / 147 / 150 / 157 / 160 / 165 MHz.  With the same CPU and the SDRAM clock set to 133MHz, the settings available are down to 133 / 138 / 140 / 150 MHz only.  This really hurts when we come to overclocking, where basically everyone expects to have as many FSB choices as possible in order to push their CPUs to the limit.

From the PC Health section of the BIOS, you can take a look at the temperature of the CPU and the system.  Users are also able to read off the speed of 2 fans in the system as well as the CPU core voltage.  The AGP core voltage is not shown though.

Gigabyte was the first motherboard manufacturer to put two BIOS’s on a motherboard, and they named this setup "Dual BIOS."  Chaintech followed with the introduction of their "3 BIOS" setup.  This does not mean that there are three BIOS chips on the motherboard.  There are only two BIOS chips, one of which provides a backup - this is the first piece of the 3 BIOS technology. The next piece is the inclusion of the Award flash utility in the BIOS itself, which can come in handy when trying to fix a corrupt BIOS or if you don’t have access to a true DOS prompt. The last piece of the puzzle is "Flash Safety," allowing you to write-protect the BIOS to prevent a virus attack. This is not significantly different from what Gigabyte is offering, but Chaintech’s name for it is really misleading.

One interesting setup found on the CT-6OJV2 is the ISO 7816 compliant Smart Card reader interface located between the first and second PCI slots.  When connected with an optional Smart Card reader, you can use an ITE GSM SIM card editor for telephone book accessing and editing.  This will be most useful outside the US where Smart Cards are much more common.

Right next to the power supply connector, Chaintech puts in the LTI-II815 slot for Panel Link LCD monitor and TV-out.  Chaintech decided not to use the popular Winbond W83627HF I/O controller chip this time around, opting instead for the ITE 8712 LPC I/O chip. 

Once again, there was no manual included with our evaluation sample, even though we are able to find the manual on the Chaintech website.  The manual has detailed information on all the jumpers and connectors, but it lacks instructions on motherboard installation, driver setup, and software installation.  This could be trouble for first-time system builders who may not know how to install or configure their board properly. 

Nonetheless, the CD included with the package contains all the drivers for the motherboard, as well as the audio and video software so that users can take full advantage of these features straight out of the box.  Chaintech also includes the Value Pack 2000, which includes software like Norton AntiVirus, Trend PC-cillin, Shepherd 2000, Xstore Pro, etc. You can install individual software according to personal preference.

The Bad

The Chaintech CT-6OJV2 was only average in our stability test.  Generally that should not be in the "Bad" section, but if we consider that previous Chaintech motherboards have all had outstanding stability, it becomes noteworthy.

The placement of the power supply connector may impede airflow and should have been placed on the right edge of the board.

Chaintech did not include the necessary cables to take advantage of the 2 extra USB connectors on board.

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

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 should not 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.

Click Here to learn about AnandTech's Motherboard Testing Methodology.

The Chaintech CT-6OJV2 is an average i815E motherboard.  It has decent performance, but it isn't as stable as Chaintech’s previous products.  The 3 BIOS feature is useful in protecting the system from either a virus attack or BIOS corruption.  The LCD monitor and smart card interface is something nice to have, though they might not be that useful for most users.  In short, with the CT-6OJV2, Chaintech provides a fair i815E solution for users who want to take advantage of their PC133 SDRAM to run with their 133MHz Intel CPU.

How it Rates