ASUS P4C800 Deluxe Gold (i875P) Mainboard

• i875P chipset 

This is the first board of the new AI series. Let's see whether Artificial Intelligence is incarnated in this ASUSTeK's model indeed. 

Accessories: 

• Package of a new, effective and austere design; 
• Documentation: user manual in English, and brief installation manual in 12 languages; 
• Cables: FDD, 2 SATA, 2 ATA66/100/133; 
• Stickers for keyboard for Instant CD function; 

 




• Bracket for the rear computer panel;
• 2 CDs containing: 
• drivers; 
• DirectX 8.1; 
• Adobe Acrobat Reader; 
• 3Deep; 
• PC-cillin 2002; 
• ASUS Live Update; 
• ASUS HotKey; 
• ASUS Logo; 
• ASUS PCProbe; 
• ASUS Screensaver; 
• Winbond Voice Editor; 
• InterVideo WinDVD; 
• InterVideo WinRip; 
• InterVideo WinDVD Creator; 
• InterVideo WinProducer. 

The layout is not that bad, except maybe the audio-ins which are placed in front of the PCI, and connectors along the left side. It can be difficult to reach some jumpers when the board is already installed. Their functions are shown on the textolite. 

The 2-channel switching voltage regulator incorporates 7 capacitors of 1500 uF and 3 of 1200 uF. Also, there are voltage regulators for the AGP and memory buses. 

Integrated controllers: 
 

 




• network controller based on 3COM Marvell 940-MV00 chip supporting 10BaseT/100BaseTX/1000BaseT (Gigabit Ethernet); 





• SATA/ATA133 RAID controller based on Promise PDC20378 chip supporting RAID 0 and 1; 
• FireWire bus controller based on VIA VT6307 chip with 2 ports supported.  

Technologies: 

• AI Audio (automatic recognition of devices attached to audio connectors); 
• AI Overclocking (fast overclocking (up to 33%) and auto selection of optimal parameters); 
• AI Net (1Gbit network controller with VCT utility (Virtual Cable Tester) for error detection; network cable provided; 
• AI BIOS (CrashFree BIOS 2, ASUS Multi-Language BIOS, ASUS POST Reporter, ASUS MyLogo 2, ASUS Q-Fan, ASUS EZ Flash, ASUS Instant Music (for audio CD playback without OS booting)). 

+5 V supplied in the StandBy mode is indicated with the green LED. 

Non-unsoldered connectors: none. 

System monitoring is supported by Winbond W83627THF-A chip. It controls: 

• processor voltage, +3.3, +5 and +12 V; 
• speed of 3 fans; 
• temperatures of the processor (built-in sensor), the board (built-in sensor) and an external sensor connected to the board. 

There are 3 connectors for adjustable connection of fans. 

Brief board's characteristics: memory slots - 4 DDR SDRAM; expansion slots - AGP/ 5 PCI; I/O ports - 2 COM/ LPT/ 2 PS/2/ 8 USB 2.0 / 2 FireWire; dimensions - 305x245 mm. 

Settings: 
 

jumpers and switches	Jumper to clear up the CMOS
	Jumper for starting up computer with a PS/2 keyboard
	Jumper for starting up computer with USB keyboard/mouse
BIOS based on AMI v2.51	Setup of memory timings	+	Performance Acceleration Mode, CAS Latency, RAS to CAS Delay, RAS Precharge, Burst Length, Idle Timer, Refresh Rate
	Setup of memory frequency	+	DDR266 at FSB 100 MHz; DDR266 and DDR333 at FSB 133 MHz; DDR266, DDR320 and DDR400 at FSB 200 MHz
	Setup of AGP bus	-
	Setup of PCI bus	-
	Changeable scaler of AGP and PCI buses	+	AGP(PCIx2) = Auto, 66,66, 72,73 and 80 MHz
	Manual assignment of interrupts	-
	Changeable FSB frequency	+	100-300 MHz in 1MHz steps
	Changeable CPU multiplier	+	x8-x32
	Changeable core voltage	+	1.475-1.6 V in 0.0125V steps
	Changeable memory voltage	+	Auto, 2.55, 2.65, 2.75, 2.85 V
	Changeable chipset voltage	-
	Changeable AGP bus voltage	+	Auto, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8 V

The first time when we tested it we used the BIOS 1002 beta 021. In the second time it was BIOS 1004, the latest version available at the moment of tests. The new firmware version raised the performance by 20% in some tests. I'm looking forward to see newer versions. :) 

It's clear that the hi-end board has perfect functionality and a rich set of accessories. Also, I must say that this board justifies its name thanks to some really intellectual capabilities :). 

Test results: 

• Pentium 4 on FSB 800 MHz, and new flagship i875P (BIOS 1002 beta 021) 
• i865 Family (Springdale) replaces i875P (BIOS 1004) 
• 6 i875P Mainboards Roundup
• Intel 865 based Mainboards Roundup: Part 1
• 11 motherboards on the Intel 865 and 1 on the Intel 875P: Part 2
• AMD Athlon 64 3400+ compared to other top processors from Intel and AMD