CUBX - MAME machine

Motherboard published 26 years ago:

CUBX © 2000 Asus.

The CUBX is a high-performance ATX motherboard that defied the market trend of the time. By 2000, Intel was pushing its problematic i820 ("Camino") chipset, but many enthusiasts found the older, rock-solid Intel 440BX to be significantly faster and more stable. ASUS took the 440BX chipset—which was originally designed for Slot-1 CPUs—and successfully adapted it for Socket 370, allowing users to run the latest (at the time) Intel Pentium III "Coppermine" processors on a platform that was widely considered the most reliable chipset Intel ever made.

TECHNICAL
Chipset: Intel 440BX (North Bridge) + PIIX4E (South Bridge).

CPU Support: Socket 370 (FCPGA) for Intel Pentium III and Celeron processors.

Expansion: 5 PCI slots, 2 ISA slots, and 1 AGP 2x slot.

Memory: 4 x 168-pin DIMM sockets supporting up to 1GB of PC100/PC133 SDRAM.

IDE Controller: Integrated dual-channel UltraDMA/33 (on the CUBX-L) or added CMD/Silicon Image UltraDMA/66 controller (on the CUBX-E).

Form Factor: ATX.

TRIVIA
The Name: The name "CUBX" was a bit of a play on words, often interpreted as "See You, BX"—a nod to the fact that this was one of the last major retail boards built around the legendary 440BX chipset before it was finally retired in favor of newer (and often less reliable) architectures.

"JumperFree" Magic: This board featured ASUS's "JumperFree" technology, allowing users to configure CPU speed, multiplier, and voltage directly through the BIOS or DIP switches. It was a massive hit for overclockers, as the 440BX chipset was notoriously capable of running at 133 MHz FSB (or higher) despite being officially rated only for 100 MHz.

The "E" vs. "L": The CUBX-E was the "feature-rich" model, including an additional IDE controller chip (CMD) to support UltraDMA/66 and extra USB ports. The CUBX-L was the more budget-conscious, standard-feature version.

CONTRIBUTE
Edit this entry: https://www.arcade-history.com/game/384290/?o=2