Anyone have experience with the Soltek SL-75DRV2

[markrb]

I was all set to buy the Epox. Then Tom's hardware guide had to go and do a 266a shootout. The Soltek SL-75DRV2 took the prize, followed by the Soyo board. Since the Soyo isn't a good overclocker I looked into the Soltek. After some hard searching I found a place in the US that sells it for $118.
I am seriously considering this board now. THG thought very highly of it's stability and overclocking ability.
Anyone have any experience with this board or the company?

Thanks,
Mark

 

[SaintAshlar]

Where were you able to find this board? I've been looking around and haven't found anything.

Thanks!

 

[kindlr]

www.ncix.com

I feel kinda bad posting this and I have a feeling I'm screwing myself out of getting one by showing where they are before I can get the funds for it, but oh well.

 

[Viki]

SaintAshlar: You can buy the Soltek MB for example here: www.ddcomputers.cz, but you have to visit us in Europe

 

[markrb]

www.ncix.com

They sell both to the US and Canada. Canada is the default, but just hit the US flag.


Anyone actually use this board?

Mark

 

[relbbircs]

Thanks for locating the board. I ordered one tonite, following Tom's review. Tho I've got to say, Tom may not be entirely right about his opinions. He said, for example, that the MSI KT266 Pro2 board won't overclock. That's flat wrong. It has as many options as other high overclockers -- but I think the earliest iteration wouldn't overclock if more than two memory modules were in place and, even now, when the options appear available it isn't terribly stable at high FSB speeds. I've got one in my main machine and it runs fine slightly overclocked. Slightly being the key word. Anywho, Tom says this Soltek board is stable, so I figure I'll give it a whirl in one of my boxes, replacing an older (but not that old) Asus A7V.

What I'd really like to know is whether trace tape over superglue would work to unlock the XP, and perhaps be a cleaner, easier solution than applying conductive paint?

 

[SaintAshlar]

I'm fairly new to all of this, but this is the gist of what I've gathered so far:

I believe the use of superglue is to essentially "fill up the gaps" burned into the ceramic to cut the bridges. The superglue is not conductive. Once these gaps are filled and evened out, it makes it possible to connect the bridge again. I'm guessing that any method to connect the bridges will work, assuming that you're able to overcome the resistance in the ceramic (that's why the pencil trick won't do it). As long as it's clean and your lines are only going from point A to B, then it should conduct and the bridges should be closed.

 

[classy]

Be forewarned. There were many issues with the first KT266 board from Soltek. And quite a few people said they recieved no support from Soltek. So I may be very cautious to say the least.

 

[markrb]

I have heard the same things about Soltek, but I bought the board anyway. I haven't recieved it yet.
I made sure that I could return the board and replace it with an Epox if I didn't like it. It will end up costing more money then just buying the Epox outright, but I want to take a chance on this board. The only thing is that nicx gave me only 7 days to decide if I liked the Soltek board or not or they would charge a restocking fee even if I went with another board from them. They will replace the board if defective for a year with another of the same type for free.

It really came down to the number of problems the Epox boards where having that pushed me to the Soltek. The Soltek may end up being worse, but I am a gambler by heart and I think it's worth the risk and with being able to exchange it for the Epox if I don't like the Soltek reduced the risk somewhat.

Mark

 

[sitka]

Just a heads, up push your memory in very gently. That was one of the reported issues with the earlier boards. Maybe even put them in and out a couple times to loosen em up little in the first couple days so you know the traces are sound, before it is on the standoffs, and for later you know you will be ok. Not huge on experience here but I have played with a couple Solteks. I like em and so does most of the world and via.

 

[Deanodarlo]

You know what guys; reviews of motherboards are A LOAD OF CRAP!

Each one seems to contradict what the last has said, each one comes to different conclusions, each one judges a motherboard within an hour when we know it takes more like 2 weeks.

If I didn't know any better, I'd say some of them were paid to give bias opinions.

I know it's natural to defend the motherboard you have purchased, so I'm going to act natural!

The latest review over at Toms Hardware goes on to promote the Epox 8KHA+ saying:




<< The board is the leader of the pack in performance, and takes the gold in several benchmarks. >>




Indeed, after looking at the benchmarks the 8KHA+ came first/joint-first or second/joint-second in 12 out of 17 tests!

In the others it's like 3rd and/or 0.1-1% different (meaningless) from the top - fantastic

The ONLY test it did badly in was compiling Linux:


Something weird is going on there, I mean 30+ seconds slower than the Asus KT266A and nearly the same as a KT266???? Erm, No.


Overall some of the tests are a joke and quite meaningless. Some of the boards are pulling in identical results or within 0.1-1% yet being placed right down the list???? What a load of crap, only a 2% or higher difference is worth mentioning, let alone plotting!


The difference is so marginal that the majority of ordered benches don't really mean anything at all, but for the sake of the review it seems to mean a lot!

Anyway, after giving the 8KHA+ a good intro with phrases like it's the " rage with particularly ambitious AMD users" they then rip it to pieces in the conclusion!




<< The Soltek is an ideal pick for any hardcore overclocker. Even at higher clock speeds (overclocking) and aggressive memory timing, the board runs much more stably than, say, the much-hyped Epox EP-8KHA+. >>




They make the above statement without any evidence - nowhere in the review do they mention testing stability at default or overclocked speeds. What's worse is that the above statement reads as though the Soltek is more stable at overclocked speeds than the Epox is at default!

Blasphemy! Another review said the Epox was one of the few boards that passed their 100 hour stability test, yet others make special mention of it?s stability and from using the board myself it certainly does not lack stability and that?s with Win ME!

Even at high-overclocked speeds, I may have the reboot issue but stability is still 100% in my tests.

To be fair, I think most the KT266A boards seem really stable ? the chipset rocks.

The lesson to be learned is don?t trust any one review. Read them all, have a read around the forums and you should get a good feel about what?s right for you

If anyone needs more evidence I've got about 5 more reviews of KT266A's to link. Each one showing contradicting benchmarks, different boards coming out on top and different conclusions.

The best way to bye a board is to judge features, price, customer service and read forums.

 

[markrb]

To say the reviews I have read had no effect of my decision would be wrong. They did to a point.
What had a bigger effect was reading the message boards both here and elsewhere. I have been seeing the kind of issues poeple have been having with each board and the number of DOA and otherwise defective boards. After narrowing my choices down to the Soltek or the Epox I made sure that I bought from a place that if I didn't like the final chosen board I could return it for an exchange for the other. This gave me a little leeway. I finally chose to try the Soltek over the Epox based mostly on the very large numbers of issues that have been reported in the Epox. I understand that a great many have been resolved, but there remains a few and it seems a higher rate of DOA boards then usual. Does this mean the Soltek is any better? NO, what it does mean is that I have not been reading about any major issues with this board. This could be due to the far fewer boards shipped, the vast majority of boards going to countries outside of North America or possibly that there are in fact fewer issues. In my mind it came down to the fact that I know there are issues with the Epox and I can't say that about the Soltek. If I gambled wrong then I am out a whopping $20 in shipping fees. For a chance to get a better board I am willing to risk it.

The problem with reviews on websites and other places are many. The biggest being anyone can open a website play with a board and write about it. With no standards in place the review is meaningless. The other big problem is that different places review different versions. A simple bios or driver update can have huge effects on results. The nice thing about a review like the one at THG was that they were all tested around the same time. It is a better comparision then say testing one board in Jan. and the the other a month later. The second has a huge advantage if they have had time to mature the bios. I am not defending the writting at THG they clearly gave no evidence or support to many of their claims.

I have made my choice to go with the Soltek board and if it's a lemon I will say it's a lemon.

Mark