Computex 2002 Day 1 - Part II: KT400, Dual Channel DDR & More

Iwill - Bringing Serial ATA to the masses

For the past three years the first motherboard manufacturer we've stopped by has been Iwill and this Computex was definitely no exception.

Just like Gigabyte and a handful of other manufacturers, Iwill had a KT400 board on display; and just like all of the other manufacturers, Iwill was waiting on VIA to provide stable KT400 samples before committing to a launch date for their board.

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We saw the usual collection of 845E, 845G and 850E motherboards at Iwill's suite but what was most interesting was Iwill's insistence on including Serial ATA support with some of their boards. Despite the fact that drives are still not available, Iwill is offering support for the standard this early in the game.

Another, more useful, feature is Iwill's on-board analog 5.1, SPDIF and Optical outputs for 6 channel audio driven by Avance Logic/Realtek AC'97 codecs. By replacing the second serial port with a pair of 1/8" jacks and a toslink optical output you are given a very flexible 6-channel audio solution without any extra brackets.

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As we mentioned before, Iwill showed us their 845G motherboard which they claim is one of very few 845G boards that will run DDR333 memory with both banks populated. We're working on our 845G roundup and we'll be able to put that to the test as soon as we get back from Computex.