ABIT SH6 Slot-1 i815E ATX

ABIT Remembers Overclocking

When you want to overclock, heat is one of the biggest concerns. As processors run faster and faster, keeping the processor cool is very important in making the system stable. To do that, you might choose to install a larger HSF unit. With certain motherboards, space becomes a major issue for those HSF units and many times we've found capacitors, power supply connectors, and DIMM slots to be the obstacles for installing these cooling units. With the SH6, ABIT has done a very good job of making sure there is nothing around the CPU slot that could prevent you from using a large HSF unit.

ABIT is famous for their SoftMenu III setup, which provides easy jumperless setup under the BIOS for all hardware enthusiasts. With their first i815E solution, the SE6, ABIT failed to offer this tool in the BIOS. Instead they offered SoftMenu II, which lacks quite a few features that the 3rd iteration does have.However, starting with their second attempt at an i815E board, the SA6R, they have included SoftMenu III. So it comes as no surprise that the SH6 also features the same SoftMenu III setup as the SA6R.

Probably the most unbeatable feature of SoftMenu III is the FSB support, which includes speeds all the way from 50MHz to 250MHz in 1MHz increments. This wide range of FSB speeds provides all the possible clock speeds you could ask for to help overclock your CPU to the maximum. While you are choosing the FSB, ABIT uses the CPU:SDRAM:PCI ratio to inform users what clock speeds their SDRAM and PCI buses will be running at. With a ratio of 2:3:1, users can choose FSB speeds between 50MHz and 96MHz. This range is suitable for users with Intel Celeron processors, where the CPUs are defaulted to run at 66MHz. With a ratio of 3:3:1, the available FSB settings are 50MHz to 140MHz. These settings are good for processors designated as 100MHz FSB from the factory. With a ratio of 4:3:1 or 4:4:1, you can choose FSB speeds between 50MHz and 250MHz. This is suitable for processors designed for 133MHz FSB operation. The 4:3:1 setting allows you to run your processor at 133MHz while running the memory bus at 100MHz. On the other hand users with PC133 memory can use the 4:4:1 ratio to take advantage of the increased memory bus speed. Note that the default CPU:SDRAM:PCI ratio used when running an 133MHz FSB CPU is 4:3:1, even if you put in a PC133 memory. So don't forget to go into the BIOS and change the ratio back to 4:4:1 when you first set up your system.

Beside the FSB settings, SoftMenu III also allows users to change the core voltage for the CPU. The available settings are from 1.30V to 1.90V in 0.05V increments. This is a wide range of voltages, and should be enough for most overclocking. However, unlike some other motherboards, the SH6 does not have any I/O voltage tweaking.

ABIT has begun using the Winbond W83627HF Super I/O controller, which includes integrated hardware monitoring support. Within the BIOS, you can go to the PC Health panel to check the CPU core voltage as well as the I/O voltage. The temperature of the CPU (via the CPU's on-die thermal diode) and system temperature are also displayed. One additional temperature reading is also supported by an external thermistor header located at the top left hand corner of the CPU slot. This time around, ABIT includes the thermistor cable, so users can take advantage of the third temperature reading on any device they want. Finally, there are three fan connectors on the motherboard, which can also be monitored through the PC Health panel. Two of the fan connectors are located close to the DIMM slots, and the third one is located at the bottom left hand corner of the board.

The SH6 is ABIT's third i815E solution and they have been doing an incredible job in improving the stability of the motherboard. If you remember, the stability of their first solution, the SE6, was far from satisfactory. Even using CAS2 rated PC133 memory, the motherboard could not maintain any semblance of stability when running the memory at those speeds. The SA6R surprised us by running 133MHz on the memory bus without any problems, but the CAS 2 133MHz setting was still relatively unstable.

Now with the SH6, which is virtually a new design of the CPU side of the board, everyone wonders if the board is more stable or not. Surprisingly, ABIT takes yet another step in stability. The board was rock solid under our stability tests, even when we ran with a 133MHz memory clock and enabled the CAS2 setting. ABIT puts a total of seventeen 1500uF capacitors around the CPU slot and the 82815 Graphic and Memory Controller Hub (GMCH) to ensure clean and stable signals, but rather it is the redesign of the board that makes the board so solid.