Affordable yet limited Motherboard (Jetway V333U)

Member Name: mvwmail

Product:	Jetway V333U
Date:	05/02/03 (4839 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap, USB2, Very stable

Disadvantages: Does not fully utilise PC2700 and above RAM, Had to change some jumpers on motherboard

OK folks, my first hardware review. Hope you find it useful, especially if you are looking to build a new machine or upgrade your latest motherboard. Where possible I have expanded on some terms to try to make this more understandable, and have included some general PC longevity tips.

Why choose Jetway
+++++++++++++++++

JET WAY Information Co.,Ltd.is a professional manufacturer of M/B and peripheral device with over 15 years experience. They produce Motherboards, VGA cards ,and Modems. Their products are designed to meet all international standards,and all the procedures are complied with ISO demands as well.

Jet Way has introduced the "Magic Install" utility to simplify setup procedure, single board with Slot 1 and Socket 370 processor interface combination. And according to Jetway themselves, the technical support team have extensive experience and up to the minute knowledge of computing, so to be able to speed up all the support to their customers. However due to the ease of setting up this board, I did not have to use them.

Jet Way is not only a leading main-board manufacturer in computer industry; they pride themselves in delivering the highest possible quality and value to their customers.

OK Enough of the propaganda, can this cheap motherboard deliver the goods?


Me and Jetway
+++++++++++++

I have been shopping around for a motherboard for ages, and wanted one that could support high-end Athlons, plenty of RAM and had USB 2. After much searching, I discovered the Jetway V333DU. It supports all the lastest hardware at a nice competative price.. around 50-60 GBP


BIOS setup
++++++++++

The interface is laid out in the standard AWARD fashion, with a nice easy menu system controlled using cursors and PGUP and PGDOWN. There are a few nice features such as the PC healh check where the fan speed, system and CPU temperature can be monitored. It is possible
to force the system to shut down if certain temperatures are reached.

CPU choice can cause a few problems. As opposed to simply choosing the type / speed of CPU from a selection box, you must specify the CPU ratio and clock speed... so Athlon XP 1900 (1.6mhz clock speed) is 12 x 133mhz. I had a few problems here, see DISADVANTAGES below.

Specifications (technical)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Processor Support : Socket-A for AMD Athlon / Duron TM uni-proccessor at 266MHz (FSB) Front Side Bus with DDR (double data rate) Up to Athlon 2700 XP +

RAM : 3 slots Up to 3gb PC1600/PC2100/PC2700 184 pin DDR SDRAM

Chipset : VIA Apollo KT333 System controller

CPU Bus Frequency : Choose One Step Add 1MHz From 100MHz Up to 200MHz in BIOS Setup (Frequency Magic Setting)

Jumpless : Support Jumpless Function by BIOS SETUP Let Users More Easier to Change The Frequency

Expansion Slots : Five 32-bit PCI Bus Master slots, One CNR (Communication Network Raiser for modems) Slot

On Board IDE : Support 2 X IDE Connectors for up to 4 IDE Drives
Support PIO Mode 3 and Mode 4 and Bus Master IDE DMA (direct mempry access i.e. HDD to RAM without using CPU), Mode 4 Timing for up to 16M Bytes/s
Support UTRA DMA-133 Bus Master IDE, Provide faster transfer rate up to 133M Bytes/s
Support LS-120 (floppy drive that has disks with 120mb capacity) / ZIP Device

AGP SLOT : Support 4X AGP VGA Mode for 266MHz of AD and SBA signaling (the latest maximum is 8x)

On Board AC97' 3D Audio (16bit)
Support 3D Surround
Support 3D Positioning
Full Duplex Operation For Simultaneous Record And Playback

On Board Ultra I/O
2 X Serial Ports (16550 Fast UART Compatible) (becoming fast outdated, but still used with external modems and some PDA)
1 X Parallel Port (EPP and ECP capabilities) (again, rapidly going out of fashion, used mainly for printers and scanne
rs)
1 X Floppy Disk Connector (Supports 2 Floppy Drivers)
1 X PS2 Mouse Connector
1 X Keybord Cnnector
2 X Three Wire FAN Connector (Include CPU FAN)
1 X LINE IN / LINE OUT / Microphone Connector
1 X Game Port Connector (Support Two Joysticks)
2 X Analog Audio CD Music line Connectors (different connector)
1 X Consumer IR Connector
1 X Standard IR Connector (Infrared)

Winbond Hareware Doctor
Winbond Hareware Doctor to Track CPU & SYSTEM Temperature, Voltage, Fan speed, Monitoring your Computer

On Board USB
4 X USB Ports Connector (two built onto board) USB2 which is exceptionally fast, but not as fast as Firewire
Support USB Keyboard & USB Mouse

Power Saving
ACPI/APM Power Management
Modem Ring remote wake up
RTC Alarm Wake up
Support Software Suspend & Power off
Wake on LAN For OS
Support Power Button Ride (Instant off or Delay 4 second power off)

Power Supply
Support 20-pin ATX power supply (ATX-PW)

BIOS
Award BIOS , Support Green function, Plug and Play Function
2MBit Flash ROM

Dimension
ATX Form Factor with 30.5cm X 21cm



Disadvantages of this board
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

1) This board is not for the serious overclocker, as it can only attain 12.5 x 166mhz (2075mhz), and the RAM cannot work over 166mhz, which fails to utilise the new 333mhz RAM.

2) Regardless of the manufacturers claims, I did have to change one jumper setting on the motherboard to get the CPU to the right speed. However considering the positioning of the jumpers and the detailed schematic in the manual this is easily done.

3) Theorectically, unless the BIOS changes, the MB will only hold up to ATHLON XP 2400+, as anything above that cannot be fully utilised by the system. However the product brief does state that anything up to Athlon 2700+ is acceptable.

>4) The Ac'97 sound system is too be honest totally crap, and not worth using for any modern games. Best to get this disabled and pick up a 128 bit sound card for a tenner.


Should I upgrade from the Jetway v266
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

In all honesty, due to the fact that this v333 motherboard does not fully utilise the power of the new PC2700 ram it is not much different than the c266. You may as well stick with your 266, or wait for the new Via400 chipset

In benchtest's the V333 motherboard 'beat' the v266 in only one test, and only by a tiny amount. For those in the know the test was

SiSoft Sandra - Float FPU / RAM in MB/S up from 804 to 892


General tips for PC Longevity
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

1) Overclocking your CPU is usually a norm these days, however if you CPU hits 70 degree celcius you are risking a burn out. The HW Doctor software with this motherboard allows you to specify PC shut down when CPU hits a certain temperature. Set this at 69 degrees celcius and your CPU should last as long as the maufacturer says it will.

2) When installing any new hardware you should beware of static. Either treat your self to an anti-static mat to stand on whilst working on your machine, or simply touch a piece of metal well away from your PC regularly to discharge yourself.

Summary: