Finding systems that can support legacy frameworks is difficult, especially when your application requires Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) slots. The MB800V is a system designed for exactly these scenarios, letting you get more work out of your existing hardware without a massive overhaul.

What is the Purpose of ISA Slots?

Before the advent of PCI Express – or Peripheral Component Interconnect Express – the ISA bus was the standard method of expanding the capabilities of the motherboard. This was the first technology to allow plug-and-play (PnP) attachment of peripheral devices and became very popular for industrial systems.

The expansion cards include things like modems or soundcards, which often come built-in by default in a more modern motherboard. This is why ISA was superseded by the PCI-e, offering a faster bus for more advanced peripherals like GPUs or ethernet cards.

But many industrial setups still use ISA-based peripherals, making it important to find motherboards that still sport an ISA bus. And that’s where the MB800V comes in.

Features of the MB800V Motherboard

As you might expect, the MB800V isn’t exactly a motherboard supporting the latest specifications. This means an older processor, older memory, and an older version of Windows.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean it is outdated. The clock speed of the supported Celeron CPU can go up to 3.06 GHz, which is on par with the single-core performance of the best processors of today.

Even more, interestingly, the MB800V comes with three PCI-e slots, along with three ISA slots for legacy hardware. This lets you leverage newer components alongside your older peripherals, gradually upgrading your systems.

Applications Suitable for the MB800V Motherboard

Server Racks

Many old servers still use ISA-based modules with aging motherboards. With the MB800V they can be upgraded without ditching the functioning modules while using the PCI-e slots to add more functionality to them.

The lack of HDMI support is also not a detriment in this case, as server racks are seldom intended to run displays. The key feature for servers is storage, and with the

three ISA and three PCIe slots, you can easily add as many additional units as you need.

Industrial Systems

Industrial computers are where ISA motherboards first got popular, so it is not uncommon to find many setups that still rely on these old systems. You can replace these motherboards with the MB800V, keeping backward compatibility while opening up the potential of PCIe-based expansion cards to modernize the systems.

And since most industrial applications do not utilize multi-threading, the single-core Pentium (or Celeron) processor actually works quite well. Its operating temperature range is also designed for industrial environments, working smoothly up to 60℃.

Smart Kiosks

Depending on the functionality, a smart kiosk may not need cutting-edge memory or CPU performance. Many kiosks are only intended to display basic information and can work just fine on a Pentium processor with any additional modules attached through an ISA slot.

Of course, that is not the case for more graphics-heavy applications, where you would also need a discrete GPU to maintain a smooth framerate. But the MB800V features PCI-e slots as well and can be outfitted with a basic graphics card for such situations.

Conclusion

Industrial motherboards have come a long way since the era of Industrial Standard Architecture (ISA). Common peripherals like soundcards now come integrated into the motherboard by default, leaving the PCI-e slots free to expand upon other capabilities.

But if your systems are still running on legacy hardware, you don’t have to throw it all away. You can utilize the MB800V motherboard, upgrading the performance of the system while keeping your ISA components.

You can even start building additional functionality into your computers by leveraging the PCI-Express slots to include newer expansion cards, while still getting the maximum value out of your existing hardware.