Introduction

The Intel Pentium 4 platform over the last year has seen more changes than any other platform. AMD have stuck to their Socket 462 connector for nearly three years now and are continuing to do so with their latest processors. Intel Pentium 4 however, has seen socket, memory and core changes that really have pushed it up in price and along the market. We have seen RDRAM being replaced by SDRAM and then DDR SDRAM. Sockets changed from 423 pin to 478 pin and the core changed from Willamette to Northwood, all in the space of around one year.

The SiS 648 on its introduction in the mainstream market caused some speculations and some doubt to its potential as a true Pentium 4 solution candidate. Being able to top the fastest Intel and VIA chipsets while supporting new features as well as some controversial extras that few have dared to take on, the SiS 648 proved itself to us well and truly.

Now with the chipset taking full flight with many manufacturers, the time has come to test three potential overclockers/value market contenders for the SiS 648 motherboard crown. Let us now take you on a tour of the MSI 648 Max-L, ECS L4S8A and Gigabyte GA-8SG667 - Three brand new SIS 648 motherboards available on the market today.