Manufacturer Shuttle
Retail Price $100

Expansion Slot : 4/3/1 

The Shuttle HOT-661P is one of those slim, sexy motherboards that come along every once in a while. No wasted space on this board- Shuttle have made good use of every inch, squeezing in 4 DIMM slots together with the old 4 PCI/3 ISA/1 AGP (including 1 shared PCI/ISA slot) configuration. Well, I suppose 4 PCI slots should satisfy most people, but those of us who want the extra slot will just have to look elsewhere...no shortage of 5 PCI slot boards around here. This is also one of those almost-jumperless setups. That is, you have to adjust jumper settings to override the factory specifications and tweak settings from the BIOS. Available FSB settings are 66/ 75/ 83/ 100/ 103/ 112/ 133MHz; clock multipliers from 1.5x-5.5x. 
 

The board (actually the Intel BX remake of Shuttle’s HOT 661V, which was based on the VIA Apollo Pro chipset) comes bundled with a driver CD, quick reference chart and all necessary cables.  As for overclocking, stability is the name of the game as far as the 661P is confirmed. There were no stability-related problems at all, which overclockers in particular will find reassuring. In terms of performance, the 661P lags a little behind the leaders, but considering that (We’ve heard this one so many times we’ll all probably start muttering it in our sleep) differences in performance of BX boards is virtually negligible, this is no disgrace. And when I say it lags behind the leaders,  I don’t mean it’s below average,  I mean it’s above average and only just below that final elite level. Nothing to be disappointed about there. Actually, there’s little to do with this board that could reasonably disappoint you- it’s performance is only a shade below the best, it’s rock-solid stability is highly commendable and it has most features you could ask for.

 

If at all, the only snag would be the 4/3/1 expansion slot configuration. With the boom in PCI peripherals, one tends to be somewhat uneasy around the classic 4/3/1 setup. By no means are 5 PCI slots a requirement now, of course, but it’s no longer unreasonable to assume that you may want to use five PCI peripherals at some point. Remember, this  is the computer industry –always keep one eye, if not two, on the evolutionary horizon. (Don’t forget to keep your feet firmly planted on the ground while you do so, of course. Goes without saying.) Basically it comes down, like most things do, to personal preference. If you do feel you will eventually need  the five slots and don’t want to have to upgrade your motherboard at that point, then set your sights elsewhere. Otherwise, if you feel that 4 PCI slots  are more than enough for you, this board deserves serious consideration.