BH6 Unavailabililty :-(

Hey All, I'm ordering 2 new PC's (for work :-) Are there 6 of you that would care to join me in St. Paul, MN for some N2/SODA LAN, or 3 more for GPL LAN (If more bring 3D cards we can up that too!) (Bring a wheel, I've only got 3.) and spec'd the Abit BH6 MB. My assembler informed me that /per Abit/: They are on a production hold due to a forecast price drop in the chipset with a backorder log of 70,000 units right now. Huh? I'm not going to argue the logic of that decision here, but rather ask for alternatives. Anyone dealt with Impression MB's? The last machine I spec'd has the Asus P2B, Celeron 300A, but only ;-) up to 375 mhz reliably without using fingernail polish :-P. I really want that BIOS settable CPU voltage. Any alternatives to the BH6/BX6, or sources for them?? Thanks! Happy Lappin', Wade Tschida

I am a reseller and have been waiting for almost two weeks for my distributor to receive their shipment of Abit BH6 motherboards. Luckily, they arrived Monday and I should have them tomorrow. I was told that the production plants shut down for two weeks around Christmas time, although I wasn't told what for. Anyway, seems as if production may be back up again, so someone in your area should have some in soon. My distributor is also one of the main distributors of the Impression brand of products. The motherboards are generally made by another company and Impression puts their name on them. I use to sell some of their boards, but generally had too many go bad to continue using them. I would check out anandtech.com to see what other boards that are easy to overclock are available. Or, just wait for the Abit's to be in stock again! Eric Giles

Quoted text (15 lines)

>Hey All, > I'm ordering 2 new PC's (for work :-) Are there 6 of you that would care >to join me in St. Paul, MN for some N2/SODA LAN, or 3 more for GPL LAN (If >more bring 3D cards we can up that too!) (Bring a wheel, I've only got 3.) >and spec'd the Abit BH6 MB. My assembler informed me that /per Abit/: They >are on a production hold due to a forecast price drop in the chipset with a >backorder log of 70,000 units right now. Huh? I'm not going to argue the >logic of that decision here, but rather ask for alternatives. Anyone dealt >with Impression MB's? The last machine I spec'd has the Asus P2B, Celeron >300A, but only ;-) up to 375 mhz reliably without using fingernail polish >:-P. I really want that BIOS settable CPU voltage. Any alternatives to the >BH6/BX6, or sources for them?? Thanks! >Happy Lappin', >Wade Tschida

A note I have on the 300A : On the front of the CPU circuitboard is some logo/text (on the side where the CPU is mounted). Does it look like one of these two? 1- (logo) NM2 9839 ,where (logo) is like a 4 leaf clover in an eye 94V-O 2- (logo) RU M1 ,where (logo) is the word COMPEQ in an oval RU is reversed and tilted to the left on the CPU 94V-O 9843 Most 300A's with the no.1 marking will happily be oc'ed to 450. Many even on 2.0V . Most of the 300A's with the no.2 marking will probably not run on 450. Some might at 2.3V, which is way too high. Got this info from http://www.anandtech.com/ -- Ren van Lobberegt, The Netherlands. Cheetah Racing : http://renevanl.www.cistron.nl/cheetah/index_nl.html Personal site : http://www.toptown.com/INNERCIRCLE/1846/ AMCA webmaster : http://www.amcaracing.nl/

Thanks to all for info! Wade Tschida

The Soyo SY-6BA+ is every bit as good or better than the Abit or Asus boards. It has SoftSet for configuration, and matches or exceeds these other popular boards feature for feature. Sharky Extreme (web site) loved this board. See: http://www.sharkyextreme.com/hardware/soyo_6bap Soyo also has a Baby AT form factor intel BX based board, the SY-6BB that fits in a regular AT style case (ie: if your are upgrading from Socket 7 etc. , you don't have to buy a new ca$e). I can attest to the SY-6BB being a very stable platform for the Celeron 300A. Mine is clocked to 464mHz on this board and has never (ever) locked up since I started it for the first time about a month ago.. best luck, =rez=

Quoted text (15 lines)

>Hey All, > I'm ordering 2 new PC's (for work :-) Are there 6 of you that would care >to join me in St. Paul, MN for some N2/SODA LAN, or 3 more for GPL LAN (If >more bring 3D cards we can up that too!) (Bring a wheel, I've only got 3.) >and spec'd the Abit BH6 MB. My assembler informed me that /per Abit/: They >are on a production hold due to a forecast price drop in the chipset with a >backorder log of 70,000 units right now. Huh? I'm not going to argue the >logic of that decision here, but rather ask for alternatives. Anyone dealt >with Impression MB's? The last machine I spec'd has the Asus P2B, Celeron >300A, but only ;-) up to 375 mhz reliably without using fingernail polish >:-P. I really want that BIOS settable CPU voltage. Any alternatives to the >BH6/BX6, or sources for them?? Thanks! >Happy Lappin', >Wade Tschida

But does the Soyo SY-6BA+ allow you to set the CPU to AGP busspeed to 2/3 like the Abit and does the Soyo allow you to set the voltage? >The Soyo SY-6BA+ is every bit as good or better than the Abit

>But does the Soyo SY-6BA+ allow you to set the CPU to AGP busspeed to 2/3 >like the Abit and does the Soyo allow you to set the voltage? IIRC...<WHISK...WHISK...thumbing through webpages> The voltage is BIOS settable. As for AGP to 2/3...<shrug> Is that important? Why? Happy Lappin', Wade Tschida

>Very important if you have AGP/PCI/ISA components that don't like to be >overclocked. For example overclocking an AGP card can shut down its ability >to run 2X. Some sound cards don't like to run higher than spec. If you >overclock without resetting the ratio you are overclocking the AGP and PCI >bus by 33%. How do I tell if my AGP isn't using multiplier? Benchmark utility? Or does it just blank out? In my current 300A/Asus P2B/Diamond Stealth AGP/Monster II, PCI 10/100 NIC, Modem and sound. I'm set at 83.5 Bus (x4.5)=375MHZ. Been clicking along just fine for a couple months now, but could something be wrong & I don't know it <GASP> if I'm not using the 2/3 setting?? Thanks for any info. -- Wade Tschida General Manager, ConvenienTech www.skypoint.com/~ctech Technology tools for the C-Store and Service Station Industry On the weekends, find me here: On-line NASCAR racing in the Best League on the Internet: www.fsspro.com

:>But does the Soyo SY-6BA+ allow you to set the CPU to AGP busspeed to 2/3 :>like the Abit and does the Soyo allow you to set the voltage? :> : IIRC...<WHISK...WHISK...thumbing through webpages> The voltage is BIOS : settable. As for AGP to 2/3...<shrug> Is that important? Why? The SY-6BB AGP can be set to 2/3 but the voltage is not in BIOS. It is an AT form factor. Chuck

But we were discussing the SY-6BA+, which is something else altogether (non-AT), yes/no?? All help appreciated. <Yikes> Who'da thought I'd be figuring out "Form factors" just so I could "Hot Rod" my PC :-) ?!? "Let me show ya under the hood...mmmm...anodized heat sinks even." ;-)) Happy Lappin', Wade Tschida General Manager, ConvenienTech www.skypoint.com/~ctech Technology tools for the C-Store and Service Station Industry On the weekends, find me here: On-line NASCAR racing with the Best League on the Internet: www.fsspro.com

I wonder if the BX6-II will just replace the BH6 and that is the reason for the shortage. Jerry