OK! This is the news we have been waiting for! I have just received the complete specifications of ABIT's seven new motherboards which will be displayed at Comdex. You should know the specifications of ABIT's soon-to-be-shipped dual processor VP6 motherboard. But do you know about the specifications of the SA6PR, the SA6R-1394 and the SV6? Or their OEM-only DDR-SDRAM motherboards - the VR-20 and the KG-20?

According to ABIT, these boards haven't been announced yet so this should be the first news posts about these boards. Here's a brief summary of each motherboard :-

ABIT VP6

• Dual FC-PGA processor motherboard based on the VIA Apollo Pro 133A chipset
• 4 SDRAM DIMM slots (up to 2GB)
• 4 Bus Master ATA/100 IDE controllers (2 supporting RAID)
• 1 AGP / 5 PCI slots

ABIT SA6PR

• FC-PGA processor motherboard based on the Intel i815EP chipset
• no integrated graphics core
• 4 SDRAM DIMM slots (up to 512MB)
• 4 Bus Master ATA/100 IDE controllers (2 supporting RAID)
• 1 AGP / 6 PCI / 1 CNR slots

ABIT SA6R-1394

• FC-PGA processor motherboard based on the Intel i815E chipset
• 4 SDRAM DIMM slots (up to 512MB)
• 4 Bus Master ATA/100 IDE controllers (2 supporting RAID)
• 2 P1394s fully compliant cable ports (100/200/400 Mbits/s)
• 1 AGP / 6 PCI / 1 CNR slots

ABIT SV6

• Similar specs to the SA6R-1394 except for the following :-
• only 3 SDRAM DIMM slots (up to 512MB)
• 6 channel audio connector card and codec included
• only 4 PCI slots instead of 6 PCI slots

ABIT VH6-II

• Socket 370 processor motherboard based on the VIA Apollo Pro 133A chipset
• 3 SDRAM DIMM slots (up to 1.5GB)
• 2 Bus Master ATA/100 IDE controllers
• 1 AGP / 5 PCI / 1 ISA / 1 AMR slots

ABIT VR-20

• FC-PGA processor motherboard based on the VIA Apollo Pro 266 chipset
• 3 DDR-SDRAM DIMM slots (up to 3GB)
• 2 Bus Master ATA/100 IDE controllers
• 1 AGP / 3 PCI / 1 CNR slots

ABIT KG-20

• Socket A processor motherboard based on the AMD 761 chipset
• 2 DDR-SDRAM DIMM slots (up to 2GB)
• 2 Bus Master ATA/100 IDE controllers
• 1 AGP / 3 PCI / 1 CNR slots

As you can see, the SA6PR is merely a SA6R with the cheaper i815EP chipset. Since the i815EP lacks the graphics core and there's no longer a need to attach a VGA connector, ABIT says that there will be quite a substantial price difference between the SA6PR and the SA6R but couldn't confirm just how much the difference would be.

The SA6R-1394 is a SA6R motherboard with an integrated IEEE-3194 controller. The next further evolution of the SA6R is the SV6. Although the completely unrelated name may suggest a radically different motherboard, the SV6 is actually an ABIT SA6R with a 6 channel audio connector card and codec; and only 3 SDRAM and 4 PCI slots.

On the lower end, you have the ABIT VH6-II. Based on the VIA Apollo Pro 133A chipset, it offers an affordable solution for Socket 370 processors like the Intel Celeron and the VIA Cyrix III.

Now for the OEM-only motherboards. Since DDR-SDRAM will be hard, if not impossible, to come across in the market when DDR-SDRAM motherboards are released, it's natural that ABIT would start off by manufacturing only DDR-SDRAM motherboards for OEMs. Only the OEMs will be able to get their hands on the limited supply of DDR-SDRAM DIMMs. For these OEMs, ABIT offers a motherboard each for the Intel camp as well as the AMD camp.

The DDR-SDRAM motherboard for Intel processors is the ABIT VR-20. It is powered by the VIA Apollo Pro 266 chipset. Offering up to 3 DDR-SDRAM DIMM slots, it is almost similar in specifications to the DDR-SDRAM motherboard for AMD Socket A processors - the ABIT KG-20. The only notable differences between the two motherboards are, of course, the different chipset and processor socket; and number of DDR-SDRAM DIMM slots (there are only two in the KG-20).

Well, that's the end of my commentary on the motherboards that you will see displayed at Comdex by ABIT. For more details, click on the highlighted motherboard names. They will bring you to the complete specifications of each motherboard as issued by ABIT.

Here are some points I forgot to mention in the earlier post :-

• All ABIT motherboards that have a -20 in their model number (eg. KG-20) are only for OEM customers and will not be available for retail sales. So, you won't be seeing their new DDR-SDRAM motherboards - the VR-20 and the KG-20 for sale.
  
  However, this isn't really a problem since -20 motherboards were designed exclusively for the OEM market and aren't really attractive solutions for hardware enthusiasts. You can expect ABIT to come up with more feature-packed DDR-SDRAM motherboards for the retail market.
  
• the ABIT VP6 will be shipping first while the other motherboards will most probably ship some time after that. ABIT could not even tell me the rough ETR (estimated time of release). But as they succinctly put it, the other motherboards will be out "later." :)

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