2CPU.com » News » March 2002 » New Iwill 760MPX Motherboard

Several people have sent in linkage to the announcement of a new Iwill 760MPX dual board, the MPX2. There's no mention of it as yet at the Iwill site but I imagine that this is the 760MPX board that is supposed to have working integrated USB 1.1.

Anyway, to quote X-bit:

This mainboard has rather elementary characteristics. Unlike any other product of the kind MPX2 it has neither integrated SCSI nor IDE RAID, nor LAN controllers. It is an AMD-760MP based mainboard with two Socket A, four DDR DIMM slots for registered or unbuffered PC2100 DDR SDRAM, one AGP Pro, two PCI 64/66 and four PCI 32/33 slots.

Looks like this might be a good choice for those who like to supply all their own peripherals.

Oh, and while X-bit refers to the Iwill MPX2 as being based on the 760MP chipset, we all know that the MP didn't support 64-bit/66 MHz PCI, the presence of which on the MPX2 clearly marks this as a 760MPX motherboard.

Update: Yes, yes, so Iwill does have some information on their page about this after all. Thank you all for (repeatedly) pointing it out :-)

Jizzler Multi-Core Zealot Posts: 2040 Joined: 2000-10-28

#14379 Posted on: 03/04/2002 11:38 AM http://www.iwill.net/whats_new/SeeMore.asp?ID=214#2 Still doesn't say if it has working USB... :|

jonykaos SMP savy Posts: 167 Joined: 2002-01-29

#14380 Posted on: 03/04/2002 11:52 AM This may sound like a really dumb question but you mention the 760MP chipset doesn't support 64-bit PCI (only the 760MPX) but the Tyan Tiger MP has 4 of them. You can even see them in the pictures of your review of this motherboard: http://www.2cpu.com/Hardware/tiger_mp/ I'm a bit confused, can someone explain? Thanks "Where a calculator on the ENIAC is equipped with 18,000 vacuum tubes and weighs 30 tons, computers in the future by the year 2000, may have only 1,000 vacuum tubes and weigh only 1.5 tons" - Popular Mechanics, March 1949 heatware ebay

Jim_ Administrator Posts: 3574 Joined: 2000-03-15

#14381 Posted on: 03/04/2002 11:59 AM Originally posted by jonykaos I'm a bit confused, can someone explain? Sure can. The Tiger MP does in fact have 64-bit PCI slots. However, they run at 33 MHz / 5 volts. The MPX chipset (really the 768 Southbridge) added support for 64-bit / 66 MHz / 3.3 volt operation. Increasing PCI bandwidth substantially. It should be noted that the majority of 5 volt, 33 MHz PCI devices won't work in a 3.3 volt keyed slot. [url="http://www.2cpu.com"][size=1]2CPU.com[/url] - Because two are always better than one! [url="http://www.jimkirk.org"]jimkirk.org[/url] - Not a Myth any Longer. Just a Dad.[/size]

jonykaos SMP savy Posts: 167 Joined: 2002-01-29

#14382 Posted on: 03/04/2002 12:14 PM So it seems to me the 64-bit/33Mhz slots won't interfere with the use of standard 32-bit/33Mhz decives. And the benefit of the 64-bit/66Mhz slots (on 760MPX systems) will only be seen using higher-end devices, such as 64-bit SCSI and RAID controllers, but you still are able to use 64-bit devices but only at 33Mhz (on 760MP systems). Thanks "Where a calculator on the ENIAC is equipped with 18,000 vacuum tubes and weighs 30 tons, computers in the future by the year 2000, may have only 1,000 vacuum tubes and weigh only 1.5 tons" - Popular Mechanics, March 1949 heatware ebay

Fusion777 Unregistered

#14383 Posted on: 03/04/2002 01:26 PM One reason why high bandwidth PCI interests everyone: Gigabit Ethernet 'nuff said

Schwein No Avatars for me, nooo! Posts: 310 Joined: 2000-07-13

#14384 Posted on: 03/04/2002 03:56 PM Did anyone notice the power connectors? HMMMM. /I-Will gets struck off the list. BOXEN: I-Will DH800|2.4 Xeons|1024MB PC3200 TwinXLL|73GB 15K.3|Radeon 9800Pro|

anonymous Unregistered

#14385 Posted on: 03/04/2002 05:57 PM it looks like the USB problem is solved http://www.iwill.net/whats_new/SeeMore.asp?ID=214#2 http://www.iwill.net/products/spec.asp?ModelName=MPX2

Grusic Removed from forum Posts: 100 Joined: 2001-11-14

#14386 Posted on: 03/04/2002 06:33 PM Lawd Jesus Chile, Them folks over at Iwill so 'nough been busy lately Latah, Grusic Sys 1:Tyan Tiger MP, 2x1Ghz Duron, Corsair ECC 512MB PC2100, Maxtor ATA100 40GB, Aopen 2440 CDRW, Gainward GF2 MX400 32MB, Creamw@re Pulsar I, SBLive Platinum, 2xNEC XP17-Black, Belkin Kbd/Mouse-Black, Procase SF860 w/350W-Black Sys 2:Abit BP6, 2xC366@530Mhz, 256MB PC133, WD 3GB, Fujitsu 3GB, Daimond Data 24xCD, Riva 128ZX 8MB , SB16PCI, NEC XV15, Inwin Mid w/250W

Jackal677 Registered User Posts: 3 Joined: 2002-01-25

#14387 Posted on: 03/04/2002 06:46 PM http://www.iwill.net/products/spec.asp?ModelName=MPX2 On this page they claim to have PCI-X support. Am I missing something here? or do they not even have a clue? Maybe it's because I just woke up. Windows 2000 Pro SP3 running on Tyan MPX Motherboard, Dual AMD 1800+'s, 1 Gig Kingston ECC RAM, Geforce3 TI200, 3 - 18 Gig Segate 10k RPM Hard Drives in RAID-0, 2 - 80 Gig WD EIDE Hard Drives, DVD-R/RW

grindles SMP Duck Posts: 365 Joined: 2000-06-03

#14388 Posted on: 03/04/2002 09:07 PM Looks like the thunder, same size, same power supply, just different bits. Why oh why didn't they put onboard LAN on this board? The only thing I want onboard is LAN. Sound sucks, since you never get onboard sound with SPDIF out, let alone in. Onboard video is also useless for anyone who does anything other than server/office tasks. But LAN is LAN, a decent fast 10/100 device would satisfy 99% of people right? It would free up a PCI slot, and would not cost that much to add to a motherboard. Crazy I tell you, crazy. Sorry for off topic rant.

peteb solittletimesomuchtodo Posts: 330 Joined: 2001-12-06

#14389 Posted on: 03/04/2002 09:53 PM I think the page is from the mkting dept., not the engineering one, unless AMD just did something funny with the MPX specification! Originally posted by Jackal677 http://www.iwill.net/products/spec.asp?ModelName=MPX2 On this page they claim to have PCI-X support. Am I missing something here? or do they not even have a clue? Maybe it's because I just woke up. Lian-Li PC-76|Tyan S2466N|2xXP1700|2GB Reg ECC|Enermax651/301 Dual PSU|5x36ES Raid5 ICP Vortex GDT8623RZ|3Ware 7500-8|4xWD1000JB Raid5, 2xMaxtor80GB Raid0|SB Audigy|WinXPSP1|More PCs

JEC252 Too much time on my hands Posts: 3697 Joined: 2001-05-23

#14390 Posted on: 03/04/2002 11:35 PM Originally posted by peteb I think the page is from the mkting dept., not the engineering one, unless AMD just did something funny with the MPX specification! To add to that, there's no PCI-X logo, just PCI. Did anyone else notice that the PCI slots are not next to each other? Thank God for that. I hate having them next to each other, too many overheating problems can be caused by that as most of the 64/66 or PCI-X stuff I use (PCI-X stuff is on order for testing) is high-bandwith FC-AL and whatnot which produce tons of heat. As for gigabit ethernet, a standard 33/32 PCI bus can handle all of that bandwith just fine at half duplex ... but won't have room for much else. 1000FX/TX pushes 100 Mb/s, tops. That's the same as ATA/100, but I digress. The really neat think about the MPX having 64/66 PCI slots is fairly simple, that netgear 1000TX card. It costs as much from their site as purchasing a 3c905C card did about a year ago, and does 32/66/3.3 PCI for quite an advantage. Another feature of the MPX 768 southbridge is dual peer PCI busses. The 66 MHz bus is seperate from the 33 MHz bus. On the MP southbridge, it was all one 33 MHz 64 bit bus. Once again we've saved civilization as we know it. And the good news is, they're not gonna prosecute!

JEC252 Too much time on my hands Posts: 3697 Joined: 2001-05-23

#14391 Posted on: 03/04/2002 11:48 PM While I'm here ... does anybody think we're going to see a Serverworks Athlon MP board, ever? That would rock ... PCI-X, Enterprise Chipkill, online memory expansion ... Once again we've saved civilization as we know it. And the good news is, they're not gonna prosecute!

Brad 30105 in 3dmark 03 Posts: 3646 Joined: 2000-12-06

#14392 Posted on: 03/04/2002 11:51 PM schwein, and others, don't complain about power connectors. We've heard about 5v issues with single athlons and a 20 pin connector, so would you honestly buy a dual athlon with a 20 pin power connector? I think not. The Asus has 20 + 6 + 4, which is fairly good, while the Iwill has 24 + 8 + 4, which is really awesome, it also has 2x 3 phase vrm's, with full sized mosfets not half size like on the asus board. add that to the fact there is a huge amount of room around the cpu sockets for up to 100 mm x 60mm, and 6 pci slots, with the 64bit 66mhz slots spread apart, this is quite possibly the best 760mpx board yet, based on the board itself. I just hope it doesn't have any issues (and that it overclocks well) Clevo D870P Notebook, P4 3.4ghz NW, 1gb DDR400, Intel 865PE, ATI 9700 Pro 256mb, 60gb, 80gb, DVDRW, 17" LCD, TV Tuner, 1 hour battery life Athlon 64 3700 Sandy @ 9x315 with XP-120, Asus A8N32-SLI, 2x 512mb PC3200 @ 315mhz 2.5/3/4/8, 2x 7800GTX @ 490/1325, 1x 74gb Raptor, 3x 160gb SATA, Audigy 2 ZS, Silverstone TJ-03, Zippy 700w. P4 3.46 Gallatin EE at 12x300, Supermicro PDSGE, 2gb DDR2 @ 600, 6x 250gb, 6x 200gb, Promise SX6000, Adaptec 2610SA, Acbel 550w 7800GTX 512mb's on their way

grindles SMP Duck Posts: 365 Joined: 2000-06-03

#14393 Posted on: 03/05/2002 12:14 AM Brad, TYAN seem to have coped quite well with a single standard 20pin ATX power supply for my dual athlon setup. If you want a smooth reliable power supply to the CPUs, would you: A: Go against the internationally used ATX standard, forcing customers to pay for a special power supply. B: Design the Voltage Regulation Circuitry correctly. I have admitedly never designed any motherboard, let alone a dual athlon board, but one day I might, and I would choose option B.

Brad 30105 in 3dmark 03 Posts: 3646 Joined: 2000-12-06

#14394 Posted on: 03/05/2002 12:22 AM the vrm matters for sure, but the area where the biggest loss is the connectors themselves over time losing contact. The Tiger MP had issues, that had one 20 pin connector, the Tiger MPX doesn't have an issue, but it has 20 + 4 + 4 connector setup. Clevo D870P Notebook, P4 3.4ghz NW, 1gb DDR400, Intel 865PE, ATI 9700 Pro 256mb, 60gb, 80gb, DVDRW, 17" LCD, TV Tuner, 1 hour battery life Athlon 64 3700 Sandy @ 9x315 with XP-120, Asus A8N32-SLI, 2x 512mb PC3200 @ 315mhz 2.5/3/4/8, 2x 7800GTX @ 490/1325, 1x 74gb Raptor, 3x 160gb SATA, Audigy 2 ZS, Silverstone TJ-03, Zippy 700w. P4 3.46 Gallatin EE at 12x300, Supermicro PDSGE, 2gb DDR2 @ 600, 6x 250gb, 6x 200gb, Promise SX6000, Adaptec 2610SA, Acbel 550w 7800GTX 512mb's on their way

JEC252 Too much time on my hands Posts: 3697 Joined: 2001-05-23

#14395 Posted on: 03/05/2002 02:38 AM It's called oxidation through electrolysis. This isn't ALWAYS an issue, but it occurs when you have contacts that are of two different metals, usually gold and tin. These are the most commonly used, and while tin is cheap it's also much more difficult to electroplate, but I digress. Tin and gold are the most common examples, so I will continue. Over time the differences in electrical potential will actually cause the tin to oxidize at the point of contact which is ... not good. Gold does not oxidize period, so while the gold contacts remain fine the tin ones do not. By splitting the +5/-5 and +12/-12 over additional lines, this eleminates this problem by having less current pass through each individual connection. This is one reason why I buy the cheap cables, the ones with the tin connectors. It's the only side to oxodize, and 99% of the time I do not have a gold connecter on both ends ... cables are relatively cheap, and I'd rather have to replace a USB cable than a motherboard. Once again we've saved civilization as we know it. And the good news is, they're not gonna prosecute!

fig_wright SMP Fresher Posts: 733 Joined: 2002-02-05

#14396 Posted on: 03/05/2002 03:28 AM Originally posted by Brad The Asus has 20 + 6 + 4, which is fairly good, while the Iwill has 24 + 8 + 4, which is really awesome, it also has 2x 3 phase vrm's, with full sized mosfets not half size like on the asus board. What power supplies will have these connectors on? I am waiting for a USB fixed MPX to buy. I was going to put with it with an Enermax EG465P-VE 431W ATX Power Supply in a Globalwin GW-802 Midi Tower ATX. This Iwill board looks just the ticket with it's overclocker options and *no* onboard sound. Does the Enermax have both types of power connectors, or would I have to look for some niche market real expensive power supply? Cheers, Mark MSI K7D-L|XP1700x2 @1584MHz|TaiSol CGK760092x2|Crucial 1792MB PC2100 ECC CAS-2.5 @140MHz|Enermax EG465P-VE 431W|Abit Siluro GF3 Ti-200 128MB DVi/TV-out|SBLive! 5.1|NEC USB 2.0|Seagate 7200RPM Barracuda 30GB|Win XP & Ubuntu Hardy

peteb solittletimesomuchtodo Posts: 330 Joined: 2001-12-06

#14397 Posted on: 03/05/2002 04:41 AM But it all smells very much of pre-production/uninformed specs by iWill. We will have to wait and see if USB indeed works. The timing is _about_ right from what we were told, but then the whole MPX line arrives late, so who knows? I doubt this board will be head and shoulders above any others - if it is, I'll probabaly upgrade - but I expect it will be tightly grouped around average, depending on your priority of slots/layout/onboard LAN/USB/power conn. etc. The photo appears to be roughly an E-ATX layout and W-ATX power supply connectors - I see no P4/Molex supply connector on the board? Lian-Li PC-76|Tyan S2466N|2xXP1700|2GB Reg ECC|Enermax651/301 Dual PSU|5x36ES Raid5 ICP Vortex GDT8623RZ|3Ware 7500-8|4xWD1000JB Raid5, 2xMaxtor80GB Raid0|SB Audigy|WinXPSP1|More PCs

Jeffman12 Registered User Posts: 73 Joined: 2002-02-01

#14398 Posted on: 03/06/2002 08:33 AM Does the iWill MPX2 support overclocking. I'm looking at the Asus, or the Tyan S2466 but I don'r like how the asus only has 5 PCI slots. Thanks Jeff

Attiq ASMP -Bring it on! Posts: 32 Joined: 2001-06-17

#14399 Posted on: 03/07/2002 04:52 AM Crikes,:rolleyes: :rolleyes: 2cpu :rolleyes: on a high Enterprise 512k is The machine to die for, got it off a bloke who almost died when he was given one.

Funkstar Registered User Posts: 33 Joined: 2002-02-03

#14400 Posted on: 03/07/2002 10:36 PM amazingly this has actually hit the streets in the UK! http://www.scan.co.uk/today.htm scroll down about 2 3rds and it is there somewhere it is slightly cheeper than the Asus ans the Tyan, and only a few

peteb solittletimesomuchtodo Posts: 330 Joined: 2001-12-06

#14401 Posted on: 03/08/2002 03:07 AM They do not appear to carry any IWill boards on a regular basis. Originally posted by Funkstar amazingly this has actually hit the streets in the UK! http://www.scan.co.uk/today.htm scroll down about 2 3rds and it is there somewhere it is slightly cheeper than the Asus ans the Tyan, and only a few Lian-Li PC-76|Tyan S2466N|2xXP1700|2GB Reg ECC|Enermax651/301 Dual PSU|5x36ES Raid5 ICP Vortex GDT8623RZ|3Ware 7500-8|4xWD1000JB Raid5, 2xMaxtor80GB Raid0|SB Audigy|WinXPSP1|More PCs

2CPU.com » News » March 2002 » New Iwill 760MPX Motherboard