FIC needs your input to build the perfect DDR board...

[Zander8]

Hi Everybody,

I actually work for FIC and am really interested in hearing what you guys would like to see in the "perfect" DDR motherboard. We have the new AD11, which Anand explored a couple months back, hitting the streets now...some of them bundled with DDR from Smart. I'd like to see how close we came to building the motherboard that you guys want, and deserve. I'd appreciate any input you can offer.



Thanks!
Zander8

 

[Samster]

Yea, how about you guys just for once build a motherboard that is actually stable, and doesnt freak out on anyone.

I think that should be a good goal for FIC before they try anything fancy.

Geez, that AZ11 was a nightmare. I don't know if I want to know what the AD11 is actually like.

 

[RagingGuardian]

Samster, your making a complete fool of yourself by stating that the AZ11 wasn't stable. FIC motherboards IMHO are great boards sporting a nice balance between stability and performance.

In terms of the perfect DDR board here is my simple short list:
Multiplier adjustment through BIOS
FSB adjustment in 1MHz increments all the way to 180
760 or 760MP chipsets (the complete set not just the northbridge)
onboard SCSI
full voltage manipulation
STABILITY
Maybe RAID for IDE lovers
More as I think of it

 

[Donuts]

I have two FIC boards and love them. You could bring back the ISA slot. A lot of us still have to use modems and PCI modems seem to suck hard. Also 4 usb ports would be nice. Leave a lot of room around the CPU for Big fans. Oh ya, and make them so they will work with proc over 1.3g. Has to overclock like crazy!

 

[Adul]

Here is my list
[*]3 phase power
[*]jumperless setup
[*]voltage twaking in .25 volts
[*]Stability
[*]power connector locate in place where it does not obstruct airflow
[*]enough room for those larger heatsinks
[*]extra fan headers
[*]6 USB ports, with the extra 2 going to the front for case that can support it.
[*]Diagnostic LEDs
[*]Complete manual
[*]Dual BIOS ( just in case)

I have more that I want, but this is a start.

Zander was right about the az11 sucking, but that was for the first rev. later revision brought the board to pretty descent. Lets hope they start off at least descent and get better from there.

 

[Priit]

Yeah, one full-length ISA would be nice. I still want to use my beloved GUS MAX sndcard and I'm sure there's many users who has some old ISA perpiherials that they don't want to throw away. Perfect for me would be 5 PCI 1PCI/ISA shared slot configuration, no ARM.

 

[StickHead]

How about make a motherboard that can compete with the likes of ASUS, Epox, MSI, Gigabyte and others.

 

[Cyberai]

The AZ11 may not have been the cream of the crop but if you've ever had a chance to play with the FIC AZ11E then you would see that FIC isn't just listening but also implementing the features we want. The ease of overclocking is really nice, and the Audio Alert features demonstrate forward thinking.

I say keep listening, and keep up the good work FIC!

All I want from a DDR board is full support for 266FSB...none of that 200 limitation!

 

[Zander8]

Thanks for all the great input guys! I really appreciate it! Especially Adul, Raging Guardian, and Donuts...thanks for the detailed input. Keep the feedback coming...good or bad it definately helps me give feedback to the engineering teams.

What do you guys think about Firewire? Is it something that would be important on a high end board?

Thanks!
Zander8

 

[ZeroBurn]

firewire might be a good idea, but i think it's more of a marketing angle then practical- i don't know any that would jump to firewire, we're really looking at RAID and SCSI at the moment. definitely a RAID option as it's becoming much more practical.

the diagnostics LEDs in a convient place would be nice. also what i haven't seen that would be nice is an optional slot plate that you could plug in and read the diagnostics from the outside- much like an addon USB card, etc. i don't know about anyone else but i've always thought that'd be a good implementation, and since i've got so many extra PCI slots free i wouldn't mind losing one to a USB/dianostics plate. the USB plate is a must though, MORE USB =)

please try to include more fan headers- 2 near the CPU would be ideal for the aftermarket HSF we all use and the exhaust, one near the bottom for intake, etc.

most importantly i think would be organization- we need space for large heatsinks, not having to worry about capacitors or memory slots in the way. last thing i want to to worry about ripping off a capacitor while installing my alpha also a power supply near the top and lined out of the way, horizontal install of vertical and inbetween the CPU and memory (what the hell is w/ that MSI? )

full manipulation through the bios with an accurate temp reading would be ideal. this includes voltage/multiplier/fsb, etc. a good fail-safe secondary bios would be ideal in case something happens, most notably BIOS flash failures and bad configs.

that's all i can think off of the top of my head, i think. SCSI would be great but realistically i think that would make the board more expensive then i'd care to pay for, however i would prefer that over an onboard audio/video anyday. i think any onboard a/v just causes problems that no real hardcore user would consider paying for.

 

[RagingGuardian]

Well since I don't use Firewire I'd say no because it just adds to the cost of the board. I'm sure that there are people out there that would love a firewire port though.

Stickhead, how did you come to the conclusion that FIC boards can't compete with the big boys.? FIC is usually the first company to put a board out on the market which means the average review would be based on a 1.0 revision board. The AZ11E performs better than the AZ11 and it sure as hell is faster than the MSI pro2-a. It annoys me when people pass opinions as facts based purely on something they read from the net. There are other boards out there that are just as good if not better than Asus, Abit and MSI's offerings.

P.S. If you have worked with several KT133 boards and find that the other boards are generally better than FIC boards then I apologize.

 

[w9design]

First and foremost, stability.
Secondly, BIOS-level overclocking.... multiplier, VIO, voltage, FSB
No integrated audio, no AMR/CNR
6 PCI slots
Dual BIOS
Small board size
Adequate space between AGP & RAM slots
IDE RAID optional (Promise, not Highpoint)
integrated 10/100 NIC optional (preferably hardware-based)
The more USB the better. (idea: put USB ports in where the serial ports are on the ATX backplate and make the serial ports a breakout cable)
Thermal paste (correctly) applied on chipset heatsink

 

[Remedy]

Man you doods are make this board compete with the MSI Masters versions!

Let me list it all in one;

jumperless setup

voltage twaking in .25 volts

Stability(More compacitors for more stability)

power connector locate in place where it does not obstruct airflow

enough room for those larger heatsinks

extra fan headers

6 USB ports, with the extra 2 going to the front for case that can support it.

Diagnostic LEDs

Complete manual

Dual BIOS (Live bios updates over the net)
Secondly, BIOS-level overclocking.... multiplier, VIO, voltage, FSB
No integrated audio, no AMR/CNR
6 PCI slots
Dual BIOS
Adequate space between AGP & RAM slots
IDE RAID optional (Promise, not Highpoint)
Better placement of the Power supply adapter plug on the motherboard.
Small fan on the North Bridge

Add a firewire header onboard for future firehub support and this board will be up there with the MSI gang.

 

[Remedy]

Man this board will cost me a liver! But i would pay 200 tops for it.

 

[ZeroBurn]

all well and said it's easy to list all the crap we want, you've got the hard part- trying to figure out which of these are most important in order to keep the cost DOWN =)

 

[MGMorden]

VERY important: NO ONBOARD AUDIO!!!!! (that was meant to be in all caps ). Anybody shelling out the cash for a high quality board ain't gonna be using the crap audio included on these new boards. Other than that I just want a 760MP based dual-CPU board ASAP.

Plus all what Adul said .

 

[Tweakin]

And leave off the raid ... What a waste of space...

 

[Maniac9127]

I've only got a few things to say:
Use quality capacitors (I don't know if this acually matters to the designers or not)
IDE RAID, maybe optional. And use a promise controller if possible, the HPT370 is annoying. I got the KT7-RAID instead of the KT7 even though I don't use the RAID. Why? Just so have it as an option.
Power adjustment in 0.025 or smaller incraments. I shure as hell don't want 0.25, that'd be crappy as heck.
ISA! No crappy AMR crap, or maybe make that optional too. I know the OEMs don't like ISA. If you use AMR or CMR or whatever, then make something that can be used with it, like on-board LAN or modem or something.

Keep up the good work .

 

[ZeroBurn]

i don't think that an onboard RAID controller would be a waste of space, RAID is becoming much more available now, especially RAID 0 that is. using a quality controller would negate the need for people to get another promise 100 card and waste a pci slot, and the kt7-raid is doing very well. i personally got it especially for the raid, so i wouldn't need to waste a pci slot and convience. given raid isn't a big concept for most users but it depends who this board is going to be marketed toward, and i'm willing to bet most people interested in stability, more voltage and fsb settings, would like a shot at RAID as well.

 

[rominl]

here's my list:

on-board raid (make a an option, no necessarily a default, so capture more market)
better stability
tweaking in BIOS (multiplier, fsb, etc...)
firewire is good for future IMHO, but for today's application, it's not that common yet
more USB ports
more fan headers like the kt7a (4 in total)
better manual
include the usb headers / brackets
also, try to make the best layout, it's important

 

[Mark R]

ATX 2.03 cooling solution compatible (Through holes around CPU socket allowing mounting of Pentium 4 style large heatsinks)