The first overclockable SiS 748 is born. DFI 748-AL promises a overclocking friendly BIOS which allows users to tune their board to its maximum capability.  FSB is selectable from 100 ~ 250MHz. The latest version has it selectable up to 250Mhz FSB. Multiplier can be set from 5x ~ 21x. CPU Voltage Control up to 1.85v, DRAM Voltage from 2.50v ~ 2.80v, Chipset Voltage from 1.80v ~ 2.10v. Although the overclocking features are very complete, it is a pity that DFI chose to use a 2 phase design. If you really want to overclock well, a good PSU is definitely needed. We managed to squeeze 205MHz from our AXP3200+ using normal timings.

Compared to the Lanparty series of mainboards, the 748-AL looks more like an entry level board suited for OEMs but the interesting overclocking features on board makes it ONE UP from the rest of entry level SiS 748 boards we have seen so far. It would really be nice to have a SiS 748 board that has the Lanparty packaging. Although it lacks the bell & whistles, it has almost all the features needed by most users. AGP 8x, DDR400, 10/100Mbps LAN, 6 ch audio, USB 2.0. The thing lacking is the IEEE 1394 which could have been implemented by chipset if it chose to use 963 instead of 963L south bridge. As for performance, this board is just as good as the SiS offerings but lags behind the nForce2 boards out there in the market.

Installation was a breeze. There is ample space for most of the bigger heatsinks like the Coolermaster Aero7+. In our review, we used the Thermaltake Volcano 11+ and it works very well. The board could be improved by adding a South Bridge heatsink and replacing that double sided tape on the North Bridge heatsink with epoxy.

After fine tuning the BIOS together with DFI, we finally arrive with a BIOS with stability and performance in one. I am current running Distributed Folding Client and tested it with SuperPI to stress the board at CAS 2, 5-2-2,. The board is still as stable as a rock.

If you are looking for a SiS 748 board that has overclocking features, DFI 748-AL is one of the choices you have today.

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Pros 好处:

• 6 Channel audio
• USB 2.0 
• 10/100Mbps Ethernet
• Vcore, Vdimm, VDD, multiplier, FSB control

Cons 坏处:

• No 1394
• No SATA & IDE RAID 0 and  RAID 1
• Chipset's double sided tape

Ratings

Here are my ratings out of 10 stars.