Asus A8V Deluxe "Wireless Edition" (Socket 939)
Introduction, Specifications & Bundle
It has been barely over a week since we first took a look at AMD's new Socket 939 Athlon 64s, and motherboards equipped with the new socket have already started to arrive in the HotHardware Labs. The first motherboard to land on our test bench is the fully-loaded Asus A8V Deluxe "Wireless Edition". The A8V Deluxe is powered by VIA's excellent K8T800 Pro chipset, and sports a host of useful features like SATA RAID, Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi and 8-Channel audio with digital outputs. It's also "Cool 'N Quiet" capable and has wide array of BIOS options geared towards novice and advanced overclockers alike. Looking at the feature set, it seems like Asus is trying to make a big splash in the Socket 939 market from the get go. However, as we've said many times before, features, bells and whistles are great but stability and performance are king. So, let's fire her up and see what this baby is made of.
|
CPU Socket 939 for AMD Athlon 64 FX / Athlon 64 AMD64 architecture enables simultaneous 32- and 64-bit computing Supports AMD Cool 'n' Quiet Technology Chipset VIA K8T800Pro VIA VT8237 System Bus 2000 MT/s Memory 4 x 184-pin DIMM Sockets support max. 4GB DDR400/DDR333/DDR266 non-ECC un-buffered DDR SDRAM memory Dual Channel Memory Architecture Expansion Slots 1 x AGP8X (1.5V only) 5 x PCI Storage South Bridge 2 x UltraDMA 133/100/66/33 2 x Serial ATA, support RAID 0, RAID 1, and JBOD Promise 20378 RAID controller 1 x UltraDMA 133/100/66/33 2 x Serial ATA Support RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0+1, and Multiple RAID AI Audio Realtek ALC850, 8-channel CODEC Audio Sensing and Enumeration Technology Three Universal Audio Jack (UAJ) Coaxial/Optical S/PDIF out ports on back I/O IEEE 1394 VIA 1394 Controller supports 2 x 1394 ports USB 2.0 8 USB2.0 ports AI BIOS CrashFree BIOS 2 Q-Fan 2 Post Reporter AI Overclocking ASUS JumperFree CPU, Memory, and AGP voltage adjustable SFS (Stepless Frequency Selection) from 200MHz up to 300MHz at 1MHz increment ASUS C.P.R.(CPU Parameter Recall) BIOS Feature 4 Mb Flash ROM AMI BIOS PnP DMI2.0 WfM2.0 SM BIOS 2.3 |
Special Features ASUS Wi-Fi@Home ASUS MyLogo2 ASUS Multi-language BIOS ASUS Instant Music ASUS EZ Flash Back Panel I/O Ports 1 x Parallel 1 x Serial 1 x PS/2 Keyboard 1 x PS/2 Mouse 1 x 8-channel Audio I/O 1 x RJ45 1 x Optical S/PDIF Output 1 x Coaxial S/PDIF Output 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 1 x IEEE1394 Internal I/O Connectors 2 x USB 2.0 connector supports additional 4 USB 2.0 ports CPU / Chassis / Power FAN connectors 20-pin ATX Power connector 4-pin ATX 12V Power connector Chassis Intrusion CD / AUX audio in IEEE1394 port GAME/MIDI connector COM connector Front panel audio connector Manageability WfM 2.0,DMI 2.0,WOL by PME,WOR by PME, Chassis Intrusion Support CD Drivers ASUS PC Probe Trend Micro PC-cillin 2002 anti-virus software (OEM version) ASUS LiveUpdate Utility Accessories ASUS WiFi-g card (on Wireless edition only) InterVideo WinDVD Suite Platinum User's manual 2 x UltraDMA cables IDE cable FDD cable 4 x Serial ATA cables 2 x 2-port SATA power cables 2-port USB2.0 / Game module I/O shield IEEE1394 cable Form Factor ATX Form Factor, 12"x 9.6"(30.5cm x 24.5cm) |
Asus bundled a nice assortment of software and accessories with the A8V Deluxe "Wireless Edition." Along with the board, we found two very complete user's manuals, one for the board and the other for the WiFi controller, two driver CDs, a sticker that spotlights all of the board's important connectors and components, and a small cardboard binder the held a copy of InterVideo's WinDVD Suite Platinum. There was also a full compliment of cables bundled with the board, including a single floppy cable, one 40-Wire IDE cable, two 80-Wire IDE cables, two SATA power adapters and four SATA cables. Along with the 802.11g wireless WiFi card, we also found a detachable omni-directional antenna. And two case brackets with a joystick port, 2 USB ports, and a single firewire connector were included as well. The last batch of goodies consisted of a custom I/O shield, a bag of jumpers, and some stickers to compliment the A8V's "Instant Music" feature. With "Instant Music" enabled, users can play audio CD's without having to power up the entire system.