ABIT SH6 Slot-1 i815E ATX

AnandTech Motherboard Rating

Performance

The SH6 performs very well among all i815E motherboard.

Price

Price has always been a bit high for ABIT products, and the SH6 is also priced a bit above average. Then again, it is the only Slot-1 i815E solution out there so if that's what you need, this is your only option and certainly cheaper than buying a new CPU and motherboard.

Stability

ABIT has been improving in this department quite a bit since their first i815E motherboard. The SH6 is the third ABIT motherboard in this line and we finally see some outstanding stability. Running memory at 133MHz CAS2 settings, the system crashed three times in 24 hours, which is quite impressive.

Although its stability is not as good as the ASUS CUSL2, the SH6 is still considered very stable among all i815e solutions.

Quality

Remember how many times we criticized ABIT for their quality? That's all changing now. The SH6 we received is a very high quality motherboard.

Features

Without a doubt, the CPU slot is the biggest feature of the board for those that need it. But don't forget about the fact that Ultra ATA 100, AGP 4X, and official 133MHz FSB support are all missing from the old i440BX motherboards.

The inclusion of the extra USB header as well as the thermistor allows users to take advantage of the extra features out of the box.

Layout

The layout of the board is virtually perfect. There are no major obstacles around the CPU slot, so users should have no problem installing CPUs with super sized HSF units. There should also be plenty of space for airflow. Most of the major connectors are located close to each other; therefore no cables will block the CPU or any expansion cards.

Availability

It is never hard to find ABIT motherboards. Most online stores and many local computer stores always have them in stock. Even some large retail stores like Microcenter, Fry's Electronics, and CompUSA have begun to carry them.

Documentation & Software Bundle

The manual bundled with the SH6 is very well written. It contains just about everything you might need to get going, including actual motherboard installation instructions. The CD that comes with the motherboard contains all the drivers and utilities users would need to get up and running as well.