Gainward 6IBA i440BX ATX Slot-1

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.

AnandTech Motherboard Testing Methodology

The Final Decision

Gainward's i440BX board, the 6IBA, is a great improvement over their first entry at AnandTech with much improved performance and stability. Unfortunately, that improvement and stability only brings them up to par with other average boards. If you don't demand too much from your computer, the Gainward 6IBA will get you by just fine. However, unless you get an incredible deal, there's really no reason to pick the merely average Gainward over more stable, higher performing, and more feature packed motherboards.

The 6IBA makes Gainward look a lot more credible as a motherboard manufacturer. However, in such a competitive market, its hard to become known by offerring simply average products. What they really need to do is come up with something to make them stand out above everyone else. Merely producing average boards will leave Gainward competing on price for vendors, OEM's, and VAR's who pick the cheapest board that meet a particular set of specifications.

How it Rates