This first board based on the new VIA's chipset is quite intriguing: it's rich
in various controllers, some are of new standards.
Accessories:
- Package of a standard design;
- Documentation: user manual
in English;
- Cables: 2 ATA66/100/133, 1 ATA33, 2 Serial ATA
and FDD;
-
Bracket with 2 IEEE1394 ports;
- Bracket with 2 USB and a Game ports;
-
Bracket for the rear computer panel;
- CD containing:
- drivers;
- ASUS Live Update;
- ASUS HotKey;
-
ASUS MyLogo;
- ASUS PCProbe;
- ASUS Screensaver;
-
Adobe Acrobat Reader;
- 3Deep;
- DirectX 8.1;
-
Winbond Voice Editor;
- InterVideo WinDVD;
- InterVideo
WinRip;
- InterVideo WinCoder;
- InterVideo WinProducer.
The layout is typical: the left raw of connectors doesn't look very good, audio-ins
are int front of the PCI slots and when a video card is installed it's difficult
to handle memory modules. It can be difficult as well to reach some jumpers when
the board is already installed. Their functions are shown on the textolite.
The
3-channel switching voltage regulator incorporates 6 capacitors of 3300 uF and
4 of 1200 uF.
The following controllers are integrated:
-
audio controller based on the chipset's capabilities and Avance Logic ALC650 AC'97
codec supporting 5.1 audio systems and having connectors for front audio inputs/outputs
and for SPDIF;
- network controller based on the Broadcom BCM5702CKFB
chip and supporting 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T;
-
IDE RAID controller based on the Promise PDC20376 chip supporting RAID 0 and 1
on the ATA133 and ATA133 and Serial ATA150 protocols;
-
IEEE1394 bus controller based on the VIA VT6306; 3 ports are supported.
Thanks
to the ITE IT8708F-A I/O controller the board supports (and have connectors) smart
card readers. The board incorporates ASUS Multi-Language BIOS, ASUS POST
Reporter (reports about problems during booting), ASUS MyLogo2 (for displaying
your images when the system boots), ASUS C.O.P. (protects the processor from overheating),
ASUS Q-Fan (auto fan speed control) and ASUS EZ Flash BIOS (for flashing new BIOS
without loading the system from a diskette).
+5 V supplied in the StandBy
mode is shown by the green LED, and when a 3.3V card is inserted into the AGP
slot you will see the red LED which means that the card is incompatible (it's
impossible to turn on the computer even with the Power button).
Non-unsoldered
connectors: none.
The system monitoring is supported by the ASUS ASB100-A Bach
chip. What is controlled:
- processor voltage, +3.3, +5 and +12
V;
- speed of 3 fans;
- temperatures of the processor
(a built-in sensor), the board (a built-in sensor) and an external sensor connected
to the board.
There are 3 connectors for adjustable connection of fans.
Brief characteristics of the board: memory slots - 3 DDR SDRAM; expansion
slots - AGP/ 6 PCI; I/O ports - 2 COM/ LPT/ 2 PS/2/ 6 USB 2.0 / 2 IEEE1394 (the
controller supports up to 3 ports); dimensions - 305x245 mm.
Adjustment
can be carried out with:
| jumpers and switches |
Jumper to clear up the CMOS |
|
| Jumper for starting up computer from PS/2 keyboard |
|
| Jumpers for starting up computer from USB keyboard |
|
| Jumper for making Vcore voltage range wider |
Disable/Enable |
| Jumper to make settings of the chipset's registers |
Hardware/Software |
| Jumper for setting the mode of the 6th PCI slot |
ASUS Wireless Card/ Normal |
| BIOS based on the 6.00 version from Award |
Setup of memory timings |
+ |
CAS Latency, Active To Precharge Delay, RAS to CAS Delay, RAS
Precharge Delay, 1T Command Control, Bank Interleave |
| Setup of memory frequency |
+ |
Auto, DDR266, DDR333, DDR400 |
| Setup of AGP bus |
+ |
|
| Setup of PCI bus |
+ |
|
| Changeable scaler of AGP and PCI buses |
- |
|
| Manual assignment of interrupts |
+ |
|
| Changeable FSB frequency |
+ |
100-227 MHz in 1MHz steps |
| Changeable CPU multiplier |
+ |
x5-x22.5 |
| Changeable core voltage |
+ |
1.5-2.05 V in 0.025V steps |
| Changeable memory voltage |
+ |
Auto, 2.55, 2.65, 2.75, 2.85 V |
| Changeable chipset voltage |
- |
|
| Changeable AGP bus voltage |
+ |
1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8 V |
We used the latest available version of the BIOS -
1004.
This board leaves an impression that most top models from different
manufacturers will look exactly the same - it lacks for a specific conception
of the "MAX" series of ABIT, but at the same time the A7V8X opens a door to the
near future with new technologies.
Test results:
