Chaintech CT-6OJV2 Socket-370 i815E ATX

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  To accommodate the integrated i752 video, one of the serial ports at the back of the motherboard has been replaced by a VGA connector.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.