ASUS AV8-MX versus MSI RS482M4-L
Author:
Date: 14.04.2006
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In the niche of value motherboards, the major portion is taken by solutions with integrated graphics. That is not at all a surprise since for most work computers the video card is needed merely to display image on the screen. What's the point of spending for a separate video accelerator, albeit of the low-end class, which is most cases is not a must. In view of the strong impetus given by engineers at the integrated graphics for the past years, such solutions have gained more popularity. Today, there is no motherboard manufacturer whose assortment does not offer models using graphics by Intel, NVIDIA, ATI, VIA, or SIS. It's hard to give a one-one answer who is a sure leader on this arena. However, among all the offerings it's solutions by NVIDIA and ATI which stand out and are able implementing not only the display of 2D image on the screen without using an external accelerator, but something really more than that. Among the latest developments by the companies are GeForce 6100/6150 and ATI XPress 200 (Radeon X300) which offer not only extended multimedia features but good enough performance. In fact, VIA is also trying to catch up with the others. Recently, this company finally presented its graphic chip Chrome9 HC IGP with support for DirectX 9.0. Motherboards on its base will be available on sale very soon.
Today we're reviewing two motherboards: one by ASUS built on the VIA K8M800 in combination with the south bridge VIA VT8251, and Micro-Star (MSI) built on the base of the ATI XPress 200 chipset.
Both the motherboards are aimed AMD Socket 939 processors are thus are equipped with onboard graphics.
A few words on the chipset combination - VIA K8M800 and VIA VT8251. At first glance, ASUS AV8-MX arouses surprise. It offers the AGP8x graphics port onboard, which is meant to install peripherals. In this case, the north bridge VIA K8M800 does not support the PCI-Express bus. To plug in a monitor apart from the capability of using the integrated UniChrome Pro core, it allows installing an external AGP8x video card without any restrictions. But the south bridge VT8237 offered by VIA for the chipset K8M800 is not used on this board. There is a VT8251 instead. For the purpose of increasing the board's capabilities, ASUS has implemented a more advanced version of the south bridge installed with the higher-end chipsets VIA K8M890 and K8T900. Therefore, there has been produced a motherboard with native support for AGP8x by the north bridge and two PCI-Express lines by the south bridge. Besides, there has been added the possibility to implement four SATA-300, instead of two SATA-150, which also makes the user happy.
There is nothing special to say regarding ATI XPress 200. Motherboards built on its base has been repeatedly tested in our lab, so there is nothing new to add. Let's now move on to the motherboards' specifications.
ASUS A8V-MX
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Motherboard:
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ASUS A8V-MX
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Supported processors:
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- Socket 939 for AMD Athlon™ 64 FX / Athlon™ 64/Sempon
- Supported processors 3800+ Athlon 64, FX 57 and higher.
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Chipset:
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- North bridge VIA K8M800;
- South bridge VIA VT8251;
- Interbridge communication via the bus Ultra V-Link.
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Graphics:
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- Graphic core VIA UniChrome Pro;
- Graphic port AGP8x.
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Memory:
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- Support for the dual-channel DDR266/333/400 MHz memory,
- Two 184-pin DDR DIMM memory modules.
- Maximum memory capacity 2 GB.
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Expansion connectors:
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- One connector for AGP8x;
- One PCI Express x16 connector (support for PCI Express v1.0a bus)
- Two PCI v2.3 32-bit Bus Master connectors (support for the PCI bus supply voltage 3.3 V/5 V).
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Integrated IDE controller:
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- Integrated IDE controller on the south bridge VIA VT8251 provides the functioning for IDE HDD/CD-ROM devices in the PIO, Bus Master, and Ultra DMA133/100/66 modes.
- Up to four IDE devices can be plugged in.
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Integrated SATA controller:
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- 4 ports for SATA II (SATA 1 - 4) at data transmission speed up to 300 MB/s.
- Support for RAID 0 or 1, 0+1, JBOD.
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Audio:
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- Integrated audio on Realtek ALC653 chip.
- Support for 5.1 audio channels, surround system.
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Network Card (LAN):
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- 10/100 Fast Ethernet with Realtek RTL8201CL.
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WLAN and Bluetooth:
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-
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IEEE1394 controller:
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-
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Overclocking options
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- HTT adjustable in 1MHz increments;
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BIOS:
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- 4MBit Flash ROM;
- Award BIOS with support for Enhanced ACPI, DMI, Green, PnP Features, and Trend Chip Away Virus;
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Miscellaneous:
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- One port for FDD, one serial and one parallel ports, ports for PS/2 mouse and keyboard;
- STR (Suspend to RAM);
- SPDIF InOut.
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Power management:
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- Wake-up from modem, mouse, keyboard, LAN, timer and USB;
- Main 24-pin ATX power connector;
- Additional 4-pin power connector.
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Monitoring:
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- Processor temperatures, rotational speeds of the two fans are all monitored;
- Q-FAN.
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Dimensions:
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Micro-ATX form factor.
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The package bundle is up to the mark of the pricing sector and is very scarce. Besides the board itself, we found:
- One 80-core IDE cable;
- One FDD cable;
- One SATA cable;
- One adapter for the power supply of SATA hard disks;
- Cap on the rear panel of the ports;
- Operating Instructions;
- RAID array setup manual;
- Proprietary software & drivers CD.
MSI RS482M4-L
In its turn, Micro-Star motherboard offers the following specifications:
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Motherboard:
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MSI RS482M4-L
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Supported processors:
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- Socket 939 for AMD Athlon™ 64 FX / Athlon™ 64/Sempon
- Supported processors 3800+ Athlon 64, FX 57 and higher.
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Chipset:
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- North bridge ATI XPress 200;
- South bridge SB450.
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Graphics:
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- Integrated core ATI Radeon X300 with hardware support for DirectX 9.0;
- Graphic port PCI-Express x16.
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Memory:
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- Support for the dual-channel architecture of DDR266/333/400 MHz memory;
- Four 184-pin DDR DIMM memory modules.
- Maximum memory capacity 4 GB.
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Expansion connectors:
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- One PCI Express x16 connector (support for PCI Express v1.0a bus).
- One PCI Express x16 connector (support for PCI Express v1.0a bus)
- Two PCI v2.3 32-bit Bus Master connectors (support for the PCI bus supply voltage 3.3 V/5 V).
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Integrated IDE controller:
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- Integrated IDE controller on the south bridge SB450 provides the functioning for IDE HDD/CD-ROM devices in the PIO, Bus Master, and Ultra DMA133/100/66 modes.
- Up to four IDE devices can be plugged in.
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Integrated SATA controller:
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- 4 ports for SATA (SATA 1 - 4) at data transmission speed up to 150 MB/s;
- Support for RAID 0 or 1.
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Audio:
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- Azalia link controller integrated into the SB450 chipset;
- 8-channel audio codec Realtek ALC880;
- Compatible to Azalia 1.0 specifications.
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Network Card (LAN):
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- 10/100 Fast Ethernet with Realtek RTL8100C.
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WLAN and Bluetooth:
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-
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IEEE1394 controller:
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-
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Overclocking options
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- HTT adjustable in 1MHz increments;
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BIOS:
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- the BIOS supports the "Plug&Play" mode which automatically detects peripheral devices and expansion cards.
- There is the feature called Desktop Management Interface(DMI) which stores the settings of your motherboard.
- Support for boot-up from LAN, USB 1.1 and 2.0, as well as from SATA HDD.
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Miscellaneous:
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- One port for FDD, one serial and one parallel ports, ports for PS/2 mouse and keyboard;
- STR (Suspend to RAM);
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Power management:
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- Wake-up from modem, mouse, keyboard, LAN, timer and USB;
- Main 24-pin ATX power connector;
- Additional 4-pin power connector.
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Monitoring:
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- Processor temperatures, rotational speeds of the two fans are all monitored;
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Dimensions:
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- Micro-ATX form factor.
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The board's package bundle looks somehow richer:
- One 80-core IDE cable;
- One FDD cable;
- One SATA cable;
- One adapter for the power supply of SATA hard disks;
- Cap on the rear panel of the ports;
- Operating Instructions;
- Proprietary software & drivers CD;
- Module with additional audio ports;
- Module with one COM port;
- Module with TV-Out.
Since the price of the board is not high, the package bundle is sufficient.
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