Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C. May 20, 1999—Introducing a board specifically designed for the Celeron® line of processors and re-aligning Value PC standards, ABIT brings to the market the WX6. Based on Intel’s new 810 chipset the WX6 is poised to bring the greatest price to performance ratio yet.

The WX6 is designed for the PPGA (socket 370) processor which is the newest addition to the Intel^® Celeron^™ processor product line, and implements a Dynamic Execution micro-architecture and executes MMX^™ media technology instructions for enhanced media and communication performance. The processor also supports multiple low-power states such as AutoHALT, Stop-Grant, and Deep Sleep to conserve power during idle times.

"A New Design with Big Benefits"

Based on the new 810 chipset from Intel, what does the new WX6 give you? Fuller, richer, more integrated performance. The FW82801 of the 810 chipset, is also called the ICH chipset, the I/O Controller Hub. The ICH is a highly integrated multifunctional component supporting the following functions and capabilities:

• PCI Rev. 2.2 compliant with support for 33MHz PCI operations
• Supports up to 6 Req/Gnt pairs (PCI Slots), WX6 already share one Req/Gnt signal for PCI audio chipset.
• Integrated IDE controller with Ultra DMA/66 support
• USB host interface with support for 2 USB ports
• AC '97 2.1 compliant link for audio and telephony CODECs
• Firmware Hub (FWH) interface support

"At the core of the 810 chipset is a memory controller with built-in graphics technology. The 82810 chip optimizes system memory arbitration, similar to AGP technology, resulting in a more responsive and cost-effective system."

The 82810 Graphics Memory Controller Hub (GMCH)

The WX6 features native Intel® graphics technology and software drivers, using Direct AGP to render stunning 2D and 3D effects and images. Additionally, with the 82810 chip the WX6 features Intel’s integrated Hardware Motion Compensation to improve soft DVD video quality. The WX6 also utilizes Intel’s Dynamic Video Memory Technology (D.V.M.T.), an architecture of the Intel software drivers and intelligent memory arbiter that the system OS uses to support richer graphics applications with efficient memory utilization and Direct AGP bringing breakthrough performance for the Value PC segment.

The 82801 I/O Controller Hub (ICH)

The WX6 employs the Intel® Accelerated Hub Architecture to make direct connections between the graphics and memory to the integrated AC97 controller, the IDE controllers, dual USB ports, and PCI add-in cards. "The Accelerated Hub Architecture provides twice the bandwidth of the PCI bus at 266 MB per second. This allows a wider flow of rich information from the I/O controller to the memory controller, with optimized arbitration rules allowing more functions to run concurrently, enabling more life-like audio and video."

Integrated Audio-Aureal 3D and AMR

The 82802 Firmware Hub (FWH)

The Firmware Hub (FWH) component is part of several integrated Intel^® chipsets. The FWH is key to enabling future security and manageability infrastructures for the PC platform. The hardware features of this device include a Random Number Generator (RNG), five General Purpose Inputs (GPIs), register-based block locking, and hardware-based locking. An integrated combination of logic features and non-volatile memory enables better protection for the storage/update of platform code/data, adds platform flexibility through additional GPIs and allows for quicker introduction of new security/manageability features into the current and future Intel^® architecture platform. To eliminate a redundant nonvolatile memory component the WX6 uses the Firmware Hub (FWH) to store the system BIOS and video BIOS. Additionally, to better prepare for the changing landscape of ecommerce and internet privacy issues, the WX6 the Firmware Hub contains a hardware Random Number Generator (RNG). The Intel® RNG provides truly random numbers to enable fundamental security building blocks supporting stronger encryption, digital signing, and security protocols.

"Intel’s 810 chipset re-engineers the Value PC by providing a platform that will bring next generation features and great graphics performance to Value PC while reducing overall platform cost."

ATA/66 and Colors!

The WX6 is also among the first to proudly meet the coming PC99 specification. Connectors are color coded to be identified and hooked up easily. Equipped with 5 PCI slots and 2 DIMMs, the WX6 also adds support for the new Ultra DMA66 IDE devices, making the WX6 the most user friendly solution yet.

With Ultra ATA/66 (Also known as Ultra DMA/66) specification. The WX6 enhances existing Ultra ATA/33 technology by increasing both performance and data integrity. This new high-speed interface doubles the Ultra ATA/33 burst data transfer rate to 66.6 Mbytes/sec. The result is maximum disc performance using the current PCI local bus environment. Ultra ATA/66 hard drives are 100 percent backward compatible with both Ultra ATA/33 and DMA and with existing ATA (IDE) hard drives, CD-ROM drives, and host systems and the Ultra ATA/66 protocol and commands are designed to be compatible with existing ATA (IDE) devices and systems. Full Hardware Monitoring To give the user the maximum in security and stability, the WX6 has integrated the Winbond Hardware Monitoring chipset. With the Hardware Doctor, a self-diagnostic software program for the PC, the user can monitor the following hardware configurations under Microsoft Windows 95/98:

1. Power Supply Voltage
   Provide voltages for different devices such as CPU, Chipset, ISA Bus, PCI Bus
2. Fan Speed
   Includes CPU and System fan speed
3. Temperature
   Includes System temperature and a Thermal header for CPU or other hardware temperature monitoring. High Quality Thermistor

In order to provide accurate hardware temperature monitoring with the Hardware Doctor, the WX6 has two built-in Thermal sensors to detect both CPU and System Environment temperatures. The WX6 is also equipped with an additional Thermal header, so the user can buy a 10KW Thermistor to detect any hardware component’s temperature in the system.

SoftMenu^TM II

The WX6 of course uses the most famous advanced Jumperless technology, SoftMenu^TM II which provides ABIT’s customers the easiest and safest environment to achieve maximum performance Soft Menu^TM II ABIT’s patented technology increases future compatibility and gives users a convenient way to adjust CPU settings. SoftMenu^TM II setup in BIOS with the largest range of FSB settings that we have ever provided! (Above 66/100 MHz not guaranteed due to the CPU, PCI and chipset specifications.) And with the full range of Multiplier Factors up to 8 (The actual adjustable factor should be based on Intel CPU specifications.) Finally ABIT’s Soft Menu^TM II technology gives you the ability to adjust the CPU Voltage with a range from 1.30~2.30 V.

In addition there is a new clock generator that allows for a ¼ PCI divider for bus speeds higher than 100MHz as well as an AGP divider of 1/1 or 2/3 to keep the AGP as close to 66MHz as possible when above 100+MHz. Finally, included in the WX6’s Soft Menu^TM II features, is the ability to manually specify IRQ placement. This was a much sought after feature that greatly helps in keeping IRQ conflicts to a minimum.