Asus A8V motherboard preview

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ASUS A8V Preview - Page 1

ASUS is one of the first companies that announced support for the upcoming AMD Athlon 64/64FX socket 939 processor. Among the very interesting new features, the motherboard is based on the new VIA K8T800Pro+VIA8237 chipset.

The new Athlon 64 processor codenamed "Newcastle" with 939 pins (socket 939), supports dual channel DDR memory and integrates 512KB of L2, only half of the size incorporated into today’s 754-pin chips. However, the Newcastle series will benefit from very efficient dual-channel memory controller that is likely to decrease the impact of cut-down cache and even improve performance of 939-pin chips over 754-pin processors with 1MB on-die secondary-level cache. The AMD Athlon 64 FX parts will continue to have 1MB of L2 cache after the transition to Socket 939.

The available processor speeds vary from 1.8GHz to 2.4Ghz. AMD has announced the release of another 939-pin processor (codename Winchester), later in September-November timeframe. The Winchester will be build upon a 90nm process, while for the Newcastle series AMD used the 0.13-micron process .

The new CPU uses the AMD HyperTransport technology at 1000MHz, which is faster by 200 MHz than the usual clock speed currently found at 754 socket motherboard kits. Another interesting feature of the new 939 socket motherboard is that VIA's K8T800 PRO allows user to change the AGP/PCI values, which means that the board would be ideal for overclockers. On the other hand, the Athlon 64/64FX CPU multipliers are locked.

AMD will demonstrate the new Athlon 64/64FX in the upcoming Taipei Computex next month, according to online sources.

- ASUS A8V Deluxe Specifications Summary

CPU	Socket 939 for AMD Athlon 64/64FXS Supports AMD 64 architecture that enables simultaneous 32-bit and 64-bit computing Supports AMD Cool 'n' Quiet! Technology
Chipset	VIA K8T800Pro VIA VT8237
System Bus	2000/1600 MT/s
Memory	Dual-channel memory architecture 4x184-pin DDR DIMM sockets for up to 4GB unbuffered ECC and non-ECC PC3200/2700/2100/1600 DDR DIMMs
Expansion slots	1 x AGP 8X/4X 5 x PCI
Storage	SouthBridge Supports - 2 x UltraDMA 133 Connectors - 2 x Serial ATA with RAID 0, RAID 1 and JBOD Promise PDC20378 RAID controller - 1 x UltraDMA 133 connector - 2 x Serial ATA connectors - support for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0+1 and Multiple RAID configurations
AI Audio	Realtek ALC850 8-channel CODEC Audio Sensing and Enumeration Technology S/PDIF out interface support
AI Net	Marvell 88E8001 Gigabit Ethernet controller Virtual Cable Tester (VCT) Technology support
IEEE 1394	VIA VT6307 IEEE1394 controller supports 2 x 1394 ports
USB	Maximum of eight USB 2.0 ports
AI BIOS	ASUS CrashFree BIOS 2 ASUS Q-Fan 2 Technology ASUS POST Reporter
AI Overclocking features	CPU, Memory, and AGP Voltage adjustable SFS (Stepless Frequency Selection) from 200MHz up to 300 MHz at 1 Mhz increment ASUS JumperFree ASUS C.P.R (CPU Parameter Recall)
Special features	ASUS AI NET ASUS AI BIOS ASUS POST Reporter ASUS C.P.R (CPU Parameter Recall) ASUS EZ Flash ASUS CrashFree BIOS 2 ASUS MyLogo 2 ASUS Instant Music ASUS Q-Fan2 Technology AMD Cool 'n' Quiet! Technology Multi-Language BIOS Supports S/P DIF out interface
Back Panel I/O	1 x Parallel port 1 x Serial port 1 x PS/2 keyboard port 1 x PS/2 mouse port 4 x USB 2.0 ports 1 x IEEE1394 port 1 x Optical S/PDIF output port 1 x Coaxial S/PDIF output port 1 x RJ-45 port 1 x 8-channel audio ports
Internal I/O	2 x USB 2.0 connector for 4 additional USB ports CPU/Chassis/Power fan connectors 20-pin/4-pin ATX 12V power connectors CD/Aux connectors GAME/MIDI connector IEEE 1394 connector COM2 connector
BIOS features	4MB Flash EEPROM AMI BIOS with enhanced ACPI, PnP, DMI2.0, Green
Industry standard	PCI 2.2, USB 2.0/1.1
Manageability	DMI 2.0, WOL by PME, WOR by PME
Power Requirement	ATX power supply (with 4-pin 12V plug)
Form Factor	ATX form factor: 12in x 9.6 in (30.5cm x 24.4 cm)

- The package

Below you can see the ASUS A8V Deluxe retail package:

Information for the Asus features and technology patterns used for the motherboard are available on the back of the package.

The speed benefits of the DUAL DDR memory channels are yielded in the corresponding graphical presentation:

The contents of the retail package are the following:

The board itself (A8V)
ASUS motherboard support CD
4 x Serial ATA cable
2 x 2-port Serial ATA power cable
1 x 2-port USB2.0/Game module
1 x IEEE1394 cable
2 x 80-conductor ribbon cable for Ultra DMA 133/100/66 IDE drives
1 x 40-conductor IDE cable
1 x Ribbon cable for a 3.5-inch floppy drive
WinDVD Platinum
Instant Music Lable
I/O shield
Bag of extra caps
User guide

The software CD-ROM includes:

Drivers (AMD Cool&Quiet, Audio, Lan, Promise, VIA USB2, VIA 4in1, VIARAID)
Software (Acrobat, BIOS Flashers, ASUS Update, DirectX, I'm InTouch Remote Access Application)
Manual (FastTrak 378, SATA 378, VIA8237 SATA Quick setup guides)

In addition we really enjoyed the attached ASUS Wi-FI 802.11g PCI (WL-130g) card with an external antenna kit.