Print this article

CeBIT 2002 Coverage


Date
: 03/31/02 – 11:04:01 PM

Author
:

Category
: Misc

Page 1 : Introduction

Introduction

Another year, another CeBIT to attend! Two weeks ago I and Steven paid a visit to the largest computer fair on the globe in Hannover, Germany. At CeBIT all the latest computer hardware is showed but also other stuff like telecom, networking, … is displayed. In fact, CeBIT houses everything that is technology related. Of course we were only interested in the computer hardware sections, covering everything from motherboards to processors to watercooling, power supplies and cases. Last year, March 2001, was our very first CeBIT visit, so we were a lot more prepared this year! What experiences did we go through? What hardware was on display? All these questions and more are answered in our "CeBIT 2002 Editorial".

Page 2 : Motherboards Part 1

Motherboards

With the release of the brand new VIA KT333 chipset, offering support for 333MHz DDR memory, most motherboard manufacturers were showing off their KT333 based motherboard for AMD based systems. This new chipset is looking very good and from what we saw and also from what first reviews are showing, this chipset will kick some serious butt! Apart from the VIA based motherboards, some manufacturers were also displaying boards using the SiS chipset. SiS is doing pretty well lately, especially in the Pentium 4 market, but they are doing a not too shabby job in the AMD market as well.

The above chipsets are targeted towards single CPU systems, but there is more to life than a single CPU box! Dual processor systems are on their way up and with AMD's MPX chipset being released few weeks ago, many brands are releasing boards based upon this great chipset. It will only be a matter of time before we are seeing cheap dual Duron systems showing up everywhere, and dual AthlonMP rigs for the power users! I am using a dual AMD box while writing this article, and let me reassure you: performance is top notch! EPoX, ASUS, MSI, ABIT, GIGABYTE, Chaintech, … and probably some others I forgot have (or will be soon) released dual AMD motherboards, so be on the lookout.

Something else that will make an interesting addition to the sweet overclocking/power user boards is High Point's new ATA133 RAID controller with support for eight devices. Expect to see motherboards with this controller onboard, thus supporting 8 IDE devices through the HP controller and another 4 through the motherboard. Isn't that great? Can't wait to get my hands on those :p. Now let's take a look at what some of the manufacturers were announcing …

GIGABYTE

Another one that is getting more popular: GIGABYTE. These guys announced a truckload of products at CeBIT, but I will only be discussing the most interesting of those.

The first board is the
GA-8IRXP
, a Pentium 4 socket 478 motherboard using the Intel 845 chipset supporting up to 2GB of DDR memory. The board has 3 DIMM's, and AGP 4X slot, 6 PCI slots and an onboard Promise RAID ATA133 controller. USB 2.0 is another feature that will interest many of you. Besides the onboard RAID controller, there is also an onboard 5.1 soundcard with SPDIF. The board also has that sweet Dual BIOS function, offering a great rescue when you had a bad BIOS flash!

GIGABYTE announced another Pentium 4 motherboard: the
GA-8STX
. Basically, it offers all the features from the GA-8IRXP, but it also supports Intel's latest 533MHz FSB Pentium 4 (running at 533MHz instead of 400MHz front side bus) and of course 333MHz DDR memory.

Of course there had to be a board based upon the SiS 645 chipset, and it goes by the name
GA-8SRX
. It is more or less a value board, again featuring the Dual BIOS and stuff but missing onboard RAID. There are 3 DIMM's supporting 3 DDR266 sticks or 2 DDR333 sticks. So this board does support the new 533MHz Pentium 4, but you won't be able to use 3 memory sticks (at least not officially).

With all this Pentium 4 madness, one would think that GIGABYTE totally forgot about AMD … well … they did not. Their
GA-7VRXP
board is based upon VIA's KT333 chipset and brings the AMD CPU's together with DDR333 memory. Again, the board comes with onboard ATA133 RAID, USB 2.0, Dual BIOS … An interesting feature: the board has rounded edges ;p. According to GIGABYTE this increases the solidness, handling and also the appearance. I wonder if other manufacturers will add this to their new boards …

EPoX

EPoX, one of my all time favorite motherboard-builders!! The past year, EPoX has built itself a reputation of designing rock stable motherboards with very interesting features and highly tweakable BIOS'. This was reflected on their CeBIT booth as well, as EPoX was displaying various powerful systems and a truckload of power user motherboards equipped with all the latest technologies and features.

One of the most interesting boards is the
EP-8K3A
, which is a VIA KT333 based motherboard for AMD processors. This is the new power board for AMD rigs, as it comes with onboard ATA133 RAID made by High Point, very sweet overclocking options (vcore up to 2.2v for example), 6-channel audio and more! EPoX also implemented their nice debug card onto this board, telling you what the problem is (if you encounter any) with the use of two LED's. I really really like this feature that can also be found on some ABIT boards if I remember correctly. Another cool feature is the Watch-Dog, which will automatically reset the CPU settings or any other setting back to default when the board refuses to booth (i.e. when you overclocked too high ;)). The board is already in the O² labs, running tests, and let me tell you: it kicks major arse!! Look for this baby @ O² soon.

Still remaining in the AMD section, EPoX announced the
EP-M762A
: dual AMD is in da house peepz! This AMD760 MPX based motherboard was running in some test boxes at their booth and from what I saw it was running extremely well and stable. Note that EPoX' board will be equipped with working USB ports (and not with a "FREE" USB hub card, making you loose a PCI slot). Definitely a board to put on your wish list!

The
EP-8S7A
is also intended for AMD CPU's, and is built around the SiS 745 chipset. DDR333 is supported and thanks to the three memory slots, a total of 3GB of memory is addressable.

Leaving AMD, we jump on the Intel bandwagon, arriving at the
EP-4BDA3+
. This piece of silicon is based on Intel's 845D "Brookdale" chipset, meaning it supports all socket 478 Pentium 4 CPU's teamed up with DDR memory. 6 PCI slots, 3 memory slots and 1 AGP 4x slot assure you that expandability isnt a problem. Next to that, there is onboard sound, onboard ATA133 RAID from High Point and also 6 USB ports. EPoX said that the FSB is changeable in 1MHz increments.

Another Pentium 4 board surfaced at the EPoX booth: the EP-4SDA2+. SiS had the honours to deliver the chipset, the SiS645DX. Supporting the new Northwood Pentium 4 using a 533MHz FSB, this cheap but good performing motherboard is ready for the future! Again, onboard ATA133 RAID, 6 USB ports and onboard sound are available.

That pretty much covers EPoX this year … if they continue to go strong like they did the past year, I am sure they will have an even bigger booth next year :).

IWILL

IWILL, a small but interesting motherboard manufacturer who has always been available for a new angle in the hardware community. An example of their "edge" is the
XP333+
, which offered DDR333 support months before the competition did (using the ALi chipset).

This year, IWILL was proud to present their brand new dual AMD motherboard called
MPX2
, obviously referring to the AMD760 MPX chipset. Of course they also had their dual Pentium 4 Xeon boards on display!!

Besides duallies, IWILL also had some single CPU solutions available: the
P4D
offers DDR to the Intel Pentium 4 thanks to the Intel 845D chipset. The
P4R
is using RDRAM … Next is the
P4DA
which uses the ALi-ALADDIN chipset and also offers DDR to the Pentium 4.

AMD is not left in the cold and with the
KK333
IWILL introduces their KT333 based motherboard, fitted with onboard 6-channel sound and also ATA133 RAID.

Page 3 : Motherboards Part 2

AOpen

AOpen was not forgotten during our adventure through CeBIT and here is what they showed us. As you probably know, AOpen does not focus on power user motherboards with a long list of overclocking options and stuff like RAID. Instead AOpen focuses on delivering its customers high quality motherboards that are very stable and still come with some good BIOS tweaks, just nothing extreme.

The
AX4T II-133
is AOpen's Intel 850E based motherboard using RDRAM, supporting the new Pentium 4 with a 533MHz FSB. 4 USB ports, onboard LAN (optional), onboard sound, AGP 4x and a max. total of 2GB of memory are the main specs.

Their next P4 board is the AX4B Pro – 533, based upon the Intel 845E chipset. This means it supports DDR memory and also that the board supports the 533MHz FSB CPU's. It comes with 6 USB ports and 5.1 onboard sound. The AX4B Max is basically the same board as the AX5B Pro – 533, but it comes with 8 USB ports and (officially) does not support the 533MHz FSB processors …

The
AX4G Pro
is to be expected as well, and is based upon Intel's 845G chipset. The difference with the 845D chipset is support for USB 2.0. The MX4G will be the Micro-ATX version.

AOpen also carries the AX45-V, running in our test lab at the moment, based upon the SiS645 chipset, supporting a total of 3GB DDR266 memory or 2GB DDR333 memory. 6 USB ports are available, offering great expansion options. In the future, AOpen is releasing the AX45 Max-533, which additionally supports the new Pentium 4 (so does the AX45-V as the review will show), comes with FireWire, onboard LAN, 8 USB ports and USB 2.0. It will be using the SiS645DX chipset.

As far as AMD motherboards, the list is a lot smaller: the most interesting board in this segment is the
AK77-333
,which as the name implies, uses the VIA KT333 chipset. It can handle 2GB of DDR333 memory or 3GB of DDR266 memory. The board has 4 USB 1.1 ports and 4 USB 2.0 ports, onboard 5.1 sound, 1MHz FSB increments, a CNR slot, Dr LED and the Die Hard BIOS. This board looks sweet doesn't it? Our sample will arrive shortly :).

Next stop: the AK77 Pro(A) 133. This is AOpen's KT266A motherboard, offering pretty much the same specs as their KT333 with the lack of USB 2.0. Still a good solution if you ask me.

Last is the AK75 Pro, based upon the SiS745 chipset. This board also supports DDR333 memory, comes with 6 USB ports, onboard FireWire, 1MHz FSB increments, Dr LED, Dr Voice and more!! Check it out if you feel like a good and well priced motherboard!

This pretty much covers AOpen's motherboard selection, and as you can see, AOpen has a terrific list of motherboards offering a wide variety of choices! Way to go AOpen! We'll hear more from them this year, no doubt about that.

Chaintech

Chaintech had several sweet motherboards on display but the one that got all my attention was the
7KDD
which is another dual AMD Athlon MP motherboard. This baby comes with onboard sound, onboard Promise RAID (one of the few dual AMD boards that comes with onboard RAID) and USB 2.0. This will be one of the most interesting duallie boards around IMHO!

ABIT

ABIT, long time favorite in the overclockers community, also showed us some sweet new motherboards that will get many peeps excited!

The first AMD board I want to discuss is the
AT7
, ABIT's KT333 based motherboard. This board is replacing the KR7A board in the high-end AMD segment. This is also the first ABIT "MAX" motherboard, with MAX refering to maximum power, speed, performance, stability, … all the good stuff :). The features of the AT7 are pretty cool: 4 DIMM's, 4 (!!) RAID connectors (yes, 8 RAID devices are possible), onboard FireWire, onboard LAN, onboard sound, AGP 4x, 2 USB 1.1 ports, 2 USB 2.0 ports, … and ONLY 3 PCI slots. ABIT figures that you will not need more PCI slots as the board already has everything you could possibly need onboard!! This board will be an interesting piece of hardware to review, there's no doubt about that one …

The next new AMD motherboard made by ABIT is the
WA-2A
, which is ABIT's dual AMD solution. The board is identical to most other MPX boards, meaning it does not have onboard RAID or other "gadgets". ABIT told me that they are targeting the server market with this board so they didn't see the need for that. Personally, I think they made a wrong decision here because ABIT is known for their highly overclockable and tweakable motherboards, and people turn to ABIT just for that. Let's hope there will be a more "tweakable" board in the future.

Now for the Intel side … ABIT introduces the
IT7
, which is ABIT's "MAX" board for the Pentium 4. It has all the features that can be found on the AT7, but it is intended for socket 478 CPU's :). Just like the AT7, this one will be a board to watch out for!

Next, ABIT was showing the
BD7II-RAID
, also a socket 478 board. This board is replacing the BD7-RAID, which is still a very good motherboard (which is why it won our O² Power Award). 3 DIMM's are available and of course High Point has taken care of the onboard RAID. USB 2.0 is around as well and the board also supports the 533MHz FSB Pentium 4 processors (the BD7 does so too, but you'd have to overclock the motherboard as it does not support it officially ;)).

The
SX7-533
is using the SiS 645DX chipset, again, intended to be combined with the new P4's with the higher FSB. 6 PCI slots are onboard, but RAID is nowhere to be found. Why? ABIT is targeting the value market with this board, and those folks won't use RAID anyway so why pay for it?

A not so new, but still interesting motherboard is the BD7m, which is the micro ATX version of the BD7 I like so much. You can expect a review of this sweet board soon, as it will be installed in a brand new Lian Li case which I will review as well! Look for that review soon.

Page 4 : CPU’s

CPU's

Not much to tell about processors that wasn't announced somewhere else … AMD launched their new Athlon MP 2000+ along with their Athlon XP 2100+. Backstage they were showing the upcoming Sledgehammer and Clawhammer processors, along with the Solo board (famous for the Intel song being printed on it). Unfortunately, the Intel song was removed because some people didn't like it ;). Oh well, it was fun while it lasted eh? Expect the "hammer" CPU's at the end of 2002, maybe even the Q103. From what I saw in AMD's presentation, these babies will kick muchos butt!!

AMD was also showing us their new "Thoroughbred" core, which will be replacing the current Palomino core very soon. It is basically the same core, but made with a manufacturing process of 0.13 micron instead of 0.18 micron used in today's core. This means a lower heat production and lower core voltages.

Intel was of course showing the new Pentium 4 "Northwood" cruising at 2.4GHz, but they also had an air-cooled 3GHz Pentium 4 on display. I heard they had a +4GHz Pentium 4 running as well, but I doubt they used air cooling on that one. Still, 3GHz is very sweet and you can bet speeds like this will be around by the end of the year …

Page 5 : Video Cards

Video Cards

Now that we covered the motherboards pretty well, it is time to look at some graphical power that was being showed in Hannover city … as expected the nVidia GeForce 4 cards were showing up everywhere, but ATI's Radeon was coming on strongly too! I think we'll see a good fight between both contenders the next few months, but for now let's see what's cooking?

Who had a GeForce 4 card? All the big players like Gainward, ABIT, ASUS, MSI, Chaintech, GIGABYTE and a lot more, but also smaller companies like InnoVision, ProLink and Sparkle. Basically all the boards were pretty much identical, and based upon nVidia's reference design. Gainward was probably one of the most innovating designers this year because they showed us a really cool GeForce 4 card, using their own design! I was also told that the card will be bundled with a pair of 3D goggles, a truckload of games and software and of course the good overclocking options that we got used to when dealing with Gainward cards. The card will be available real soon, so if you want the fastest card around this is what you have to look for!!

Although the GeForce 4 totally ruled the fair, ATI was coming on strongly too! With Hercules being one of the biggest manufacturers building ATI based video cards, there were others offering Radeon cards as well. As you know, the Radeon is not as fast in 3D gaming as a GeForce 4, but it offers a better solution for people who also care about other stuff like video editing, TV tuners, … the All-in-Wonder cards are definitely showing their skills in this market.

Page 6 : Other Stuff Part 1

Other Stuff

Several other cool things were on display at CeBIT!! One of those is the new Hercules ProphetView 920: a sweet 17" LCD monitor with an affordable price tag of $950/1000. Their 15" ProphetView, that will be reviewed very soon @ O², already impressed me, but this new kid on the block is even more impressive.

Something we saw everywhere were cases! There must have been enough cases at CeBIT to supply half the population of Hannover with a new case :). The most interesting cases were showed at Lian Li, and also Coolermaster. These two manufacturers offer high quality cases and come up with new designs all the time (whereas most other companies just copy their stuff). A cool thingie I saw @ Lian Li are the aluminium cd-rom covers: finally you can mod your cd-rom so it fits in well with your brand new Lian Li case, and without losing your warranty!

Plextor, which I'm sure you all know because of their very high quality cd-rewriter units, had a booth at CeBIT too. With Plextor being the only big Belgian manufacturer in the hardware community, we were proud to pay them a visit! We saw some interesting products in their booth: one you will know by now is the Plextor 40/12/40A, their fastest cd-rewriter that can burn cd's at 40x, read them at 40x and burn rewritable cd's at 12x. Of course it comes with BURNproof and more features to enhance your cd-writing experience.
Another great new unit that was introduced, was the Plextor 20/10/40/24. No, there is no mistype in that name :). This unit can write cd's at 20x, rewrite at 10x, read cd's at 40x AND read DVD's at 24x!! Cool huh? I was pretty fond on this new product and I hope to review it very soon. Plextor will also be releasing black-colored versions of their popular products, making them a nice fit with a black case.
They also showed us the PlexTalk, a prototype that records anything you want and then puts it onto a cd!! This will come in very handy at meetings or interviews!

Page 7 : Other Stuff Part 2

Another interesting new standard that was showed was serial ATA: we saw a running demo at Maxtor running at impressive speeds! It will still take some time before we'll find serial ATA in every system, but I'm sure it will be successful once it is released to the public!

This pretty much covers Overclockers Online @ CeBIT 2002. We had a great time with great people from all around the globe. Now, how many weeks till CeBIT 2003 starts :)??

Below are some pictures of other stuff that is self-explanatory, so just enjoy the pictures and don't forget to clean of that drool ;). Over and out …

Asus

Asus had some sweet boards on display … nothing new but still …

ATI

ATI showed their latest videocards and also the new IGP based motherboards!! This is ATI's answer to the nVidia motherboard chipset. Expect some serious competition from the IGP!

ECS

Hercules

Hercules was showing lots of cool stuff: LCD monitors, sound setups, video cards, … I liked the new gamers keyboard ;) yes, that's my hand you see there!

Page 8 : Other Stuff Part 3

InnoVISION

InnoVISION was also showing some new motherboards (looks like Soltek boards huh ;)). I'll have a look at these boards in a while …

Leadtek

ProLink

Soyo

Sparkle

Sparkle had a serious collection of video cards as well!! Just watch the pics …

VapoChill

This is a Pentium 4 2.4GHz running at 3.0GHz thanks to the VapoChill unit. I was told it also did 3.1-3.2 stable but to be 300% sure it wouldn't crash they kept it at 3000MHz.