Fast, but not furious!
Written: Oct 11 '01 (Updated Dec 23 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great performance, highly configureable and economical as well.
Cons: Doesn't support DDR SDRAM
The Bottom Line: Choosing the Shuttle AK-11 is a good choice for somebody who wants to make a significant gain in performance without making a significant dent in their wallet.
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| darkbreeze's Full Review: Shuttle AK11 Motherboard |
The first thing I'd like to do is clarify that this board, unlike the E-pinions product description states, does not support DDR SDRAM. It does however have a DDR front side bus speed allowing the system bus to run at 266mhz. I believe that may be where the confusion came from. DDR, in case you were unaware, stands for double data rate. This means the Front Side Bus actually runs at 133 MHz but can perform two instructions per clock cycle, effectively doubling the rate of data throughput. DDR SDRAM, which is a double data rate memory module and has 184 pins is not usable in non-DDR mainboards like the Shuttle AK-11 that use 168 pin SDRAM modules which generally run at 100, 133 or 150 MHz. That said, let's move on.
This board really is the all around best bet for anyone wanting to move up to an inexpensive but fast Athlon or Duron system. I purchased mine at computercomputer.com but you can get one cheaper through mwave.com. At around seventy dollars, this board far outshines any other board in its class for an overall combination of features and price. With support for up to 1.5 GB of PC100 or PC133 memory, 2MB Award BIOS (Flashable) version 6 and Ultra DMA 100 hard disk interface this board is quite capable.
As far as processor choices go you can use any socket A (Socket 462) AMD Athlon from 600 to 1200 MHz and any socket A (Socket 462) AMD Duron from 600 to 850 MHz. Further processor support was not outlined in any material I referenced although newer release versions of the AK-11 may have updated support. The board itself is of a jumper-less design, which makes things much simpler for the beginning home builder or upgrader. Most of the board settings for memory, voltage and cpu are configured in the system BIOS and seem to be fairly friendly towards over clocking. There are three DIMM slots that will accommodate a total of 1.5 GB of PC 100 or 133 memory. I believe this board is also capable of supporting the PC150 SDRAM although despite independent confirmations I haven't tried it yet myself.
Shuttle has included onboard AC '97 sound which is sufficient for the majority of users but more advanced users, gamers or audiophiles may want a quality sound card rather than settle for the onboard sound. There are also six PCI slots, one AGP slot and one CNR slot which can accommodate a special card for audio, modem or home PNA functions. The board features the VIA KT133A chipset which some performance enthusiasts have downplayed but which I've found to be perfectly solid to my experience. All the usual inputs are supported including 2 USB ports and the option to include an additional 2 USB ports.
Onboard controls for the hard drive support everything up to transfer speeds of 100 MB/sec (UDMA 100) which accommodates all but the very newest of IDE hard drives. As with all newer boards the BIOS allows for a good amount of tinkering and provides advanced features such as two function power button, wake-on-LAN, wake-on-modem act, adjusting the CPU clock and voltage core settings and component monitoring (Voltage, fan RPM and temperature.).
As the real heart of any system, the main or motherboard is often the true limiting factor in its speed and upgrade capabilities. Choosing the Shuttle AK-11 as that heart is a good choice for somebody who wants to make a significant gain in performance without making a significant dent in their wallet.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 79.00
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Epinions.com ID:
darkbreeze
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Member: Leonard Ratliff
Location: Pueblo, CO
Reviews written: 40
Trusted by: 21 members
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