Computex 2000 Coverage Day 2: Motherboards

AOpen

AOpen was showcasing pretty much what every other motherboard manufacturer had at their booths with a few exceptions, but first let's start with their 815E solution:

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The AX3S Pro seems to be your ideal configuration i815E motherboard and there doesn't seem to be anything too special about the board but then again we have not had a chance to test it just yet. We'll be able to tell you more in our upcoming i815E Motherboard Roundup.

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AOpen has also jumped on the Dual 133A bandwagon with their DX34 Plus. This board will actually join the ranks of the DX6G Plus and the DX2G Plus as one of only a handful of dual processor AOpen motherboards. Hopefully the DX34 Plus will enjoy a greater success than the latter two as they never really gained the popularity of some of AOpen's single processor motherboards.

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The only other dual processor solution AOpen had on display was the DX3R Plus which made use of the ServerWorks ServerSet III LE chipset (formerly known as the RCC Champion III LE chipset). Note the four 64-bit PCI slots and the remaining 2 32-bit PCI slots, this is definitely a motherboard that's geared towards the high end workstation/server market and not simply a dual processor desktop board.

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Our AOpen coverage would not be complete without any mention of their upcoming Socket-A/KT133 products including the microATX MK33. We weren't overly impressed with their KX133 motherboard not because of anything regarding stability (it was just as stable as the competition) but because it was essentially a reference board with nothing to differentiate it from the rest of the pack. Let's hope the MK33 and its ATX sibling, the AK33, aren't the same way.

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We just mentioned the AK33 above, it is the ATX version of their Socket-A/KT133 MK33.