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Gone are the days when the average consumer could go to a local computer hardware store and pick up the i440BX board that most closely suited their needs. We're now in an age of choices, where systems are more specialized to appeal to a certain breed of user. While this is generally positive, it also introduces room for misunderstanding and confusion. Just like your neighborhood policeman, we're here to help.

We'd first like to issue a word of warning to those who are looking to buy but aren't yet clear on the specifics of each chipset. By accidentally requesting an 'i810' instead of an 'i820,' you would be going home with a budget board instead of a high powered workstation. Worse yet, by omitting the 'e' from '810e,' the brand new Coppermine 733 you just purchased will be running at 550MHz due to the absence of 133MHz FSB support on the i810 platform.

As we can see, it's very important to understand the features of each chipset in order to make an informed purchasing decision. Today we'll be looking at the features of FIC's latest i810e-based offering from the budget gamer's point of view.

More often than not, if you presented a hardcore gamer with a system based on the i810e chipset, he'd politely hand it back to you with a terse "no thanks." Why? Quite simply, the i810e has never been marketed as a performance solution. With integrated sound and video, FIC's KW15 has "budget friendly" written all over it.