Soltek Qbic EQ3401M: More Expansion & A New Standard in Quietness
by Wesley Fink on October 6, 2003 12:12 AM EST- Posted in
- Systems
Soltek Qbic EQ3401M: SL-B8E-F Motherboard
| Motherboard Specifications | |
| CPU Interface | Socket-478 |
| Chipset | Intel 82865PE MCH (North Bridge) Intel ICH5 (South Bridge) |
| Bus Speeds | 100 MHz to 350 MHz (in 1MHz increments) |
| AGP/PCI Speeds | Disabled, Fixed at 66 |
| Core Voltages Supported | Auto, 1.425 to 1.6 in 0/0125v increments |
| AGP Voltages Supported | Default, 1.5V to 1.8V in 0.1V increments |
| DRAM Voltages Supported | Default, 2.6 to 2.9 in 0.1V increments |
| Memory Slots | 2 x 184-pin Dual-Channel DDR DIMM Slots |
| Expansion Slots | 1 AGP 8X Slot 1 PCI Slot |
| Onboard Graphics | Intel 865G Extreme Graphics |
| Onboard RAID | None |
| Onboard USB 2.0/IEEE-1394 | Eight USB 2.0 supported through ICH5 Agere FW323 FireWire Controller |
| Onboard LAN | Realtek 8100B 10/100 |
| Onboard Audio | Realtek ALC650 5.1 Digital Audio With SPDIF Optical |
| Onboard Serial ATA | Two Standard SATA connectors ICH5 |
The Soltek SL-B8E-F may be small in size, but it compares in features very favorably to other Intel 865 motherboards we have reviewed. With the larger 250W power supply and extra 5-1/4” bay, we really wish Soltek had used the ICH5R Southbridge to provide the option of fast SATA RAID. Like the other SFF 865 systems that we have evaluated, Soltek does not enable PAT on the Qbic EQ3401M, but the performance is still quite good.
The small motherboard size does limit memory to 2 DIMMs, but the 2 DIMMs are dual-channel to make the most of the 865PE chipset. Memory is limited to a maximum of 2GB, which should be enough for any use of this small, quiet system.
While it is difficult to see in this picture because of the component density, the Soltek is a high-quality 3-phase power design. With a 250 watt power supply and a 3-phase board, we would expect the Soltek to handle most anything you would likely want to do with this Small Form Factor system.
Like the Shuttle SFF we tested a few weeks ago, Soltek surprised us with the range of available overclocking options. The vCore, vDIMM, and vAGP ranges are the widest we have seen on an SFF system, and would be right at home on a top full-size motherboard. With the larger Power Supply and very effective cooling, we expect some significant overclocks with the Soltek Qbic EQ3401M.
In our recent Biostar review, we were impressed that you could assemble, upgrade, and change memory without having to remove the drive cage from the case. The Soltek, mainly because of the additional 5-1/4" bay, is at the opposite end of the spectrum. You have to remove the drive cage even to change memory. Once assembled, the Soltek is a joy to work with, but adding, removing, or upgrading components is more difficult in the Soltek than other SFF systems. Therefore, you should plan your installation carefully.
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ducsauce - Saturday, January 24, 2004 - link
Does anyone know whether this would accomodate the upcoming Prescott? I have one that's been sitting around for months. I've been waiting for the new 90nm procs but wonder whether it'll be compatible.thanks
Anonymous User - Friday, October 17, 2003 - link
www.newegg.com carry it, but not in stock till oct 31,Anonymous User - Wednesday, October 15, 2003 - link
U. S Suppliers please??Anonymous User - Tuesday, October 7, 2003 - link
2 5.25" bays? woohoo - this means that I can now get my 4 drive raid 10 array in one :)What do you lot think? 2 drives in the 5.25s, one in the floppy 3.5 and one normal drive bay. The raid card in the pci slot, a Radeon 9700 pro in the agp and a DVDRW/CDRW combo in an external case on the USB2.
Lan is already in, sound too - what else do i need? (a P4 2.4c and a pair of geil platinums)
My only reservation is the power supply - I know for a fact that (using an extenal meter that measures power drain) my rig pulls 220W when running 3dmark2001 and copying 2 files simultaniously and the only real difference is an SB live and my p4 is a 2.4b. Im just not sure that even 250w will be enough.
Anonymous User - Tuesday, October 7, 2003 - link
I still would get the Shuttle SB65G2 or SB75G2 , who cares about quiet? I need colling and performance. What y'all think?Anonymous User - Monday, October 6, 2003 - link
Put anything next to an 800W amp in a cramped stereo rack and you will have cooling problems.Anonymous User - Monday, October 6, 2003 - link
I agree. Could we have some temp. readings of the case and of the rear exhaust. I currently have an older Shuttle SV25 and the case gets really hot at times. I already burned out one powersupply. I am mostly concerned about temperature since I use these SFFs as stero components along with the rest of my stero equipment. Put a little computer next to a 800W amplifier in a cramped stero rack and you will have cooling problems.Anonymous User - Monday, October 6, 2003 - link
Apple introduced the Cube back in July 2000, if I recall correctly. But then again, the Next Cube came out long before that (Oct. 1988!). It was a fairly big cube, though. Of course, if you go really far back, things like the Sinclair were, um, small, too.Anyway, it seems like the Shuttle, Biostar and Soltek (that were recently reviewed) are all good PCs. Praising the Soltek for having more capacity is a little odd, though, since I thought the whole point is for these to be small.
I'm shopping for a new system right now and have gone back and forth between mid tower, laptop, and SFF, and between Shuttle, Biostar, and Soltek. I think I've settled upon the Shuttle, though, since it's the smallest while still being full featured. (And it will take an ati 9800xt, unlike a laptop. Sweet!)
Anonymous User - Monday, October 6, 2003 - link
#9 I'm no apple lover by any means but #6 is right the apple launched the Apple ICube quite a while before shuttle started making sff computers.Anonymous User - Monday, October 6, 2003 - link
#9 what do you consider to be a sff?i remember some macs being very small(compared to hulking pc's at the time).
while i cant say for a FACT that they were the 'first' to make a sff, i can say that i have seen similar sff-like-macs many, many years ago.
btw, i am not #6, i am some other person.