Overclocker Cafe - Foxconn WinFast 6150K8MA Mainboard

Foxconn WinFast 6150K8MA Mainboard

Expansion slots are limited by the micro ATX form factor. In the case of the Foxconn we have one PCI-E x 16 slot and three standard PCI slots. Underneath these are the CD in, space for an optional Aux-in header and the S/PDIF connection posts.

The rear I/O area is shown below with some of what you would expect to find here and some you would not. Beginning at the left are the PS/2 mouse and keyboard ports, Parallel port, COM1 port, VGA out port, Firewire, four USB 2.0 ports, Integrated Gigabit Ethernet jack and the 7.1 channel sound provided by the Realtek controller. Don't forget that you have the S-Video out on an add in bracket.

The Chipsets

We have mention the GeForce 6150 and the nForce 430 MCP (Media and Communications Processor) throughout the review thus far. Here is a blurb off Foxconn's website about the pairing.

The WinFast 6150K8MA-8EKRS maximizes end user value and experiences by fully leveraging NVIDIA's programmable, Shader Model 3.0, DirectX 9 graphics processor (GPU), NVIDIA’s PureVideoTM CE-quality video processor, and the balance of NVIDIA's renowned and latest generation core logic feature set. The NVIDIA GeForce 6150 GPU is paired with NVIDIA's fifth generation media and communications processor (MCP), the nForce 430, to provide a comprehensive set of most-in-demand features - including support for a future PCI Express x16 graphics card, TV-out, SATA II/300 storage solutions, fast ATA/133 IDE, 7.1 channel audio, Gigabit Ethernet network communications, IEEE-1394, and up to 8 USB 2.0 interface ports. Additional, unique, NVIDIA-developed features include NVIDIA ActiveArmor, Firewall, MediaShield, and nTune.

Here are the GeForce 6150 and nForce 430 MCP features listed out of the on the NVidia website. The most interesting of these in my opinion is NVidia’s Pure Video. With the GeForce 6x and 7x GPUs, the burden of video decoding operation is removed from the processor. Makes since when you think about it, who frags and watches movies at the same time? But watching movies and doing some productivity work is far from unheard of which can cause some choppy video; enter NVidia Pure Video. Before we move on to the BIOS let me clarify for you that the onboard video is a GeForce GPU but one with only two pipelines so Half Life 2 at full bore is out of the question without an add in card.

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Pg 1 - Introduction
Pg 2 - What you get and the board
Pg 3 - More of the board
Pg 4 - BIOS
Pg 5 - Testing setup and PC Magazine benchmarks
Pg 6 - Super Pi and SiSoft Sandra 2005 Pro
Pg 7 - Half Life 2, Quake 4, Far Cry benchmarks
Pg 8 - Overclocking and Conclusion