Freetech P5F110 MVP4 Super7

The Bad

Although the P5F110 makes use of the VIA 686A Super South Bridge controller which supports Ultra ATA/66 hard drives, Freetech failed to include the 40-pin 80-conductor IDE cable necessary for Ultra ATA/66 operation, leaving you with the obligation to buy the cable on your own if you wish to use an Ultra ATA/66 hard drive.  If you don't plan on using an Ultra ATA/66 drive, then Freetech's decision is more of a money saver for you. 

Freetech's decision to include only a quick start guide, rather than a full fledged user's manual is a bit disappointing, and is unfortunately a money saving move many motherboard manufacturers are implementing.  For the user that already knows just about everything there is to know about installing/setting up a motherboard, this is another welcome money saver, otherwise, it is stripping you of a potentially helpful tool. 

The general configuration and layout of the P5F110 will keep it among the more expensive MVP4 based motherboards, simply because it features a larger PCB footprint and will cost more to make than most MicroATX MVP4 boards.  While Freetech's prices are usually considerably lower than those of the competition, the P5F110 could've been better targeted towards potential MVP4 users had it been based on a MicroATX design instead of the standard ATX layout. 

Another bone to pick with the P5F110 exists with the intrusting BIOS setup Freetech chose for use with the motherboard.  The otherwise familiar Award BIOS setup featured very few options for memory configuration, and the actual columns in the BIOS menu were reversed from their normal positions.  The BIOS setup isn't too incredibly helpful and probably won't please too many tweakers, however hard core hardware enthusiasts will probably be staying away from a MVP4 solution in the first place.

The lack of a heatsink on the MVP4's North Bridge controller is a bit disconcerting as well.  The job of the North Bridge of the MVP4 chipset is much more complex than that of its predecessor with the MVP3, as the North Bridge now houses an actual graphics accelerator.  In AnandTech's first experiences with the MVP4 chipset revealed that heat could potentially be an issue that contributes to long term stability/reliability, so to be on the safe side, you may want to stick a small 486 heatsink on the surface of the MVP4 North Bridge controller. 

The support Freetech has been known to offer for their motherboards hasn't always been the greatest, when you buy a Freetech motherboard you're usually not buying it for their first class marks in support and service.  You get what you pay for, and with the Freetech P5F110, you aren't buying first class service and support, you're buying a motherboard, that's all.  

USB Compatibility

• Number of Front Universal Serial Bus Root Ports: 0

• Number of Rear Universal Serial Bus Root Ports: 2

• USB IRQ Enable/Disable in BIOS: Yes

• USB Keyboard Support in BIOS: Yes

Recommended SDRAM

Recommended SDRAM: Mushkin SEC -GH PC100 SDRAM; Memory Man SEC -GH PC100 SDRAM
SDRAM Tested: 1 x 128MB Mushkin PC100 SDRAM; 1 x 128MB Memory-Man PC100 SDRAM; 1 x 256MB Corsair PC100 SDRAM DIMM (for compatibility testing only)

Manufacturer: The Memory Man
Purchase Web-Site: http://www.memory-man.com

Manufacturer: Mushkin
Purchase Web-Site: http://www.mushkin.com

The Test

In recent times, choosing a motherboard cannot be completely determined by a Winstone score. Now, many boards come within one Winstone point of each other and therefore the need to benchmark boards against each other falls. Therefore you shouldn't base your decision entirely on the benchmarks you see here, but also on the technical features and advantages of this particular board, seeing as that will probably make the greatest difference in your overall experience.

AnandTech Motherboard Testing Methodology