DFI P2XBL Slot 1 Motherboard
Reviewed by Vijay Anand (20 Oct 98)

<Introduction><The Good><The Bad><Conclusion><Rating>

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Introduction

When the 440LX chipset was first introduced, DFI quickly took the opportunity to make the P2XLX which was at its time known as a stable, fast product but was unable to overclock easily. Nonetheless, it earned a god name. With the arrival of the 440BX chipset, DFI has launched a wider range of boards to cater to many people's needs. There is the P2XBL which is a single-slot1 mainstream motherboard, the P2XBL/S which has built in SCSI & the P2XBL/D which is a dual-slot1 motherboard. SHZ has chosen to review the P2XBL because it is a mainstream motherboard. These are just a few of the awards it received:

The contents of the box include the following: 1 P2XBL motherboard, 1 packet of FDD & HDD cable, 1 Drivers+Utility-CD, 1 sticker of settings, 1 motherboard-manual & 1 Guarentee Card. Lets take an in-depth look at its features & what it has to offer.

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The Good

The board comes in a 4/3/1(PCI/ISA/AGP) expansion slot configuration. All the needed connectors like the FDD, HDD, Power & various LED connectors are all easily accessible as they are located in front of the board. The various LED & all other connectors are clearly labeled on the board. The 3 DIMM slots and ATX power connector are also easy to reach because of their up-front location. The ATX power connector, being in front, reduces a lot of clutter inside & does not disturb the air flow path of the slot-1 processor.
All the above mentioned connectors are easily accessible even though all the components and connectors have been installed in the casing. Overall it's very convenient & easy to maintain. There are many boards out there that put the Power connector behind the slot-1 processor, which contributes to clutter, heat & difficulty.

It's nice to know that the board includes a golden-coloured heatsink over the 440BX chipset. This helps to dissipate heat better & is even better if one is overclocking the board. Speaking of cooling, there are three 3-pin power connectors for CPU, Chassis & AGP fan installation. Should you need the SB-link connector for some PCI sound-cards, you'll be content to know that one is provided, although the Creative PCI sound-cards(which the SB-link was 1st intended for usage) are engineered in a different way that you don't require this connector to get full DOS sound support.

A nice feature of the motherboard is that it detects the kind of CPU you have and automatically detects the appropriate FSB, but should you want to change or overclock the processor, you can manually select the FSB needed from the BIOS given settings of 66, 75, 83, 100, 103, 112, 133MHz. But the odd part is that you can't set the multiplier setting from the BIOS but is controlled by a small DIP switch block on the motherboard. Considering that I used a multiplier-locked chip for testing, I need not even have to set anything in the BIOS or the motherboard & would run at it's rated speed. Anyway the DIP switch settings are printed on the motherboard, manual & the sticker.

Within the Bios & given DFI monitoring software, both can monitor fan-speed & failure, Cpu-temp & overheating, Incoming voltage & fluctuations. The DFI temperature sensor is one of the most accurate sensors I've encountered to date. They reflect the real value & does it fast.

The Manual is of the usual DFI caliber & has the most frequently needed information. If you do need more information, the manual provided on the CD has all the info & is more than enough. Drivers & utilities are very easy to install due to the simple but well arranged start-up screen.

The sticker of settings can be pasted inside of the casing & contains useful quick information such as the multiplier-DIP-switch settings, the names & locations of various connectors & a drawing of the motherboard to show where all the important parts/connectors are. This is a very nice feature! One does not need to dig up the manual & find the right pages anymore as all is on the sticker.

The Test

The processor used for this test is a P2-300 (0.25 micron ver.) which is very overclockable. But I'm heavily limited in my processor speed choices as it is multiplier-locked at 4.5x. I could not use the 75 or 83MHz FSB as the system would hang on Windows boot-up, most likely due to AGP card being overclocked by the faster AGP bus. At 103MHz, the system did work a short period before it restarted by-itself & after that it furiously restarted after loading windows. I attribute this to inadequate cooling for the chip & because it's 300Mhz chip.(300 to 450 is already great & you want 463 to work perfect!? Not so much a chance!).

Wintune 98 Result for Intel Pentium II 300 Mhz @ 4.5 x 66 Mhz

Wintune 98 Result for Intel Pentium II 300 Mhz @ 4.5 x 100 Mhz

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The Bad

The P2XBL could have been a better overclocker if a CPU voltage setting is available in the Bios or on the motherboard as DIP switches. Currently, the CPU core voltage is automatically detected using the Pentium II VID function. The DIP switch block for multiplier settings is situated behind the Slot-1 processor, which make it difficult to change multiplier settings after the system is set-up.If the multiplier settings were incorporated in the BIOS, it would be even more convenient for setting up or overclocking. Also, the jumper for the clearing of CMOS data can be located in a more convenient place instead of at the back of the expansion slots. That would greatly convenient overclockers or others who have messed up the system.
The board only supports up to 384mb of memory & would have helped to have a 4th DIMM slot. It's more than enough for now, but for some power-users, it won't cut in & this is where DFI's other BX boards come in to help with more expandability features.

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Conclusion

Overall, it's a well-done board with a few comfort-feature shortcomings. Other than that it's fast, stable & it does decent overeclocking. It is NSTL & Novell certified, has a 1 year 1 to 1 exchange warranty & is known to have the lowest return-rate of all motherboards. You won't make a mistake by choosing this board!

MOTHERBOARD RATING

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