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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Back Panel I/O | 1 x Parallel port |
| Internal I/O | 2 x USB 2.0 connector for 4 additional USB ports |
| 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.
