Abit ZM6 Review

Reinforcing the notion of Celeron as a low end only solution, Intel has released the 440ZX chipset, a "low-cost," low-feature version of the BX designed for the Celeron's eventual move to 100Mhz. Intel's certainly got the 'divide and conquer" scenario down to a science - flood the market with enough choices to fill every niche, and nobody has time to worry about other options (such as your competitors' products).

While it's clear that the ZX is a crippled version of the standard 440BX, It's safe for us to say that from a cost-of-implementation standpoint, ZX will be implemented by motherboard manufacturers. It's sold at a cheaper price, which can directly translate into a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Abit, long known for their intolerance of the status quo, is the first motherboard maker to adopt the ZX chipset, but as always, they do so only on their own terms. With the ZM6, you'll find features not supported through the original Intel spec, and some additional options not usually reserved for low-cost parts.