It seems like the folks at Transcend
only came into the PC Motherboard scene within the
last year or so. However, they have been in
business making Memory Modules and Motherboards
since 1988. Perhaps the reason they seem so
new to us this year at HotHardware, is because
their product offering has been rounding out
nicely as of recent.
On our
first pass with a Transcend product, we showed you
one of their VIA based
offerings. This is a HotHardware look at
Transcend's efforts with Intel's very popular new
mainstream chipset, the i815E. Transcend's
VIA based boards seem like fairly solid
merchandise. However, as i815 boards go, how
does the Transcend TS-ASL3 stand up? All
this and more in the pages to follow.
Specifications
Of The ASL3
The
complete i815E package
Processor
Support
Intel Celeron FC-PGA 533A+ MHz (66MHz
FSB)
Support
Intel Pentium III FC-PGA 500~1000 MHz
(100MHz FSB)
Support
Intel Pentium III FC-PGA 533~1000 MHz
(133MHz FSB)
Chipset
Intel
815E (82815+82801BA) with ICH2
System Bus
:
66~166MHz
adjustable by BIOS
FSB
66/100/133 MHz guaranteed
System
Memory
3 x
168-pin DIMM sockets support up
to 512MB SDRAM at 100MHz and
133MHz
Graphics/Audio
Intel
Embedded VGA on board
Built-in
AC97 CODEC
On board
IDE
2
x Bus Master, support up to 4 devices
Supports
DMA mode 2, PIO mode 3/4 and Ultra DMA
33/66/100
Expansion
Slots
5
x PCI slots (32-bit Bus master with
PCI v2.2 compliant)
1
x CNR (Communicate Network Riser) Slot
1
x AGP (1x/2x/4x) Slot
Board
Dimensions
Four
layers, 8.5" x12" (21.5 cm x
30.5 cm)
ATX form
factor
ACPI
BIOS
Award
PnP 4Mb with ACPI support (Intel FWH)
Supports
multiple-boot from E-IDE / SCSI /CD-ROM / FDD / LS120 / ZIP/1
x FDD port ( 3 mode, 1.2/1.44/2.88MB)
Boot-up
Virus Warning
PnP
BIOS in 2Mbit Flash EEPROM)
Green
features
I/O
Port (PC99 Color Compliant)
1
x FDD port(3mode,1.2/1.44/2.88MB FDD,
LS120 )
1
x PS/2 Mini-Din keyboard port (6-pin)
1
x Parallel printer port (25-pin, SPP/EPP/ECP)
2
x RS-232 Serial (9-pin, 16550 UART
compatible
4
x USB Ports
Game/MIDI
connector
1
x Audio Line-out jack
1
x Audio MIC-in jack
1
x IrDA port (10-pin)
Boot-Block
Flash BIOS ( Intel 82802AB, FWH)
Award
PCI BIOS with green, ACPI, APM, plug
and play, DMI functions (Default )
Supports
multiple-boot from E-IDE / SCSI
/CD-ROM / FDD / LS120 / ZIP, and Year
2000 complaint
4 M bit
Flash Memory
System
Hardware Monitor
Voltage/Temperature/Fan
monitoring
on board
voltage monitors for CPU core, +3.3V,
+/- 5V, +/- 12V, VTT, 5VSB, VRTC
3 x fan
status monitors with F/W programmable
fan speed
CPU
overheat alarm
Other
Features
Keyboard
power on (hotkey/password)
Power on
by alarm
Modem
ring on
Software
power off control.PC99 Compliant
Boot-up
Virus warning
Wake-on-LAN
Suspend
to RAM (STR)
Power
failure resume
CPU Core
voltage Adjustable up to 10% buffer (Optional)
The
list of features and capabilities with this board
is comprised of the latest enhancements and
add-ons that the i815E chipset brings to the
table. For one, we really like seeing 6 PCI
slots. The CNR slot is conveniently cornered
at the end of the line, sharing an available bay
with the 6th PCI slot. There are also the standard on
board audio (via an AC97 Codec) and graphics
(courtesy of the not-so thrilling i752 graphics
core embedded in the chipset), ATA100 EIDE
Interfaces and Health Monitoring. Again
nothing out of the ordinary here but then again
the ASL3 doesn't miss a trick on features
either. (click images for full view)
The
ATX Power Connector (above left) is located in the
most perfect position it could be in. With
the placement of this bulky connector on the edge
of the board, one is left with the option of
tucking the ATX Power Cable away and out of the
airflow around the CPU cooler. Finally,
the Winbond Health Monitoring Chip, seen in the
above shot on the right, provides a detailed
analysis of the vital signs of your CPU, Voltages
and Cooling Fan functions.
Setup,
Installation, BIOS Settings and Over-Clocking
