RIOWORKS XDG-LS Dual Slot-2 GX

The Bad

While the XDG-LS does support 6 fan connectors, they are scattered all over the motherboard.  The two CPU fan connectors are closer to the on-board IDE connectors than either of the SC330 slots, meaning you better pray that your CPU fans have long power cables on them, or you'll be looking for some extension cables. 

The AMI BIOS setup of the RIOWORKS XDG seems to pale in comparison to the latest releases from Award, including their newest 4.60PG utility.  For years AMI has been used for server platforms, however it seems that unless some changes are implemented in AMI's standard BIOS setup utility, Award's utility may be a better option. 

As with all RIOWORKS boards (something that can be expected), the XDG is going to be much more difficult to find than competing motherboards.  In fact, AnandTech's searches revealed that the RIOWORKS boards could not be found for sale anywhere, translating into a bit of a problem if you're even remotely interested in the motherboard.  When it comes to presence in the industry, there is still no beating Supermicro/Tyan, it'll take some time before that changes, much longer than the 3 months RIOWORKS has been working on motherboards.

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: 2 x 64MB Mushkin PC100 SDRAM; 2 x 64MB 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