ASUS P4R800-V Deluxe Review

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Looking for a new Home Theater PC (HTPC) solution? ASUS might just have the answer with their new P4R800-V Deluxe. This motherboard comes with one heck of a bundle, and just about every connector you're likely to need. Should this sub $130 motherboard be at the core of your next computer?

Today we're looking at an interesting new motherboard for the Pentium IV released by ASUS. What makes the board interesting is that it's based on ATi's 9100IGP chipset. ATi has incorporated a slimmed down version of the RADEON 9200 core into the North Bridge. Initial reports on this chipset showed video performance being great for an integrated solution. However, the chipset didn't have all the features of Intel's i865 or i875 chipsets, causing it to recieve some less than stellar reviews. This is where ASUS comes in with the P4R800-V Deluxe. ASUS has taken the outstanding integrated graphics performance of the 9100 IGP and added Serial ATA and Firewire (IEEE 1394) support.

The P4R800-V appears to be aimed at the Home Theater PC (HTPC) market, as well as system builders with a budget or systems for people that don't necessarily need a $500 video card, but would still like to occasionally play a game, watch a DVD, or use TV out functionality from their PC. ASUS and ATi have thought ahead here as well; the motherboard is equipped with an 8x AGP slot for future upgrades and can be used with ATi's SurroundView (once driver's are released). SurroundView allows for three head monitor operation, a feature similar to what the Matrox Parhelia offers.

Specifications

CPU	- Socket 478 for Intel Pentium 4/ Celeron - On-die 512KB/256KB L2 Cache with full speed - Intel Hyper-Threading Technology ready - New power design supports Intel next generation Prescott CPU!
Chipset	ATI RADEON 9100 IGP ATI IXP150
Front Side Bus	800/533/400 MHz
Memory	4 x 184-pin DIMM Sockets support max. 4GB PC2700/PC2100 non-ECC DDR SDRAM memory; ( PC3200 up to 2GB with 1 DIMM module each channel) Dual Channel Memory Architecture
Expansion Slots	- 1 x AGP8X/4X (1.5V only) - 5 x PCI - 1 x ASUS WIFI Connector for optional wireless LAN upgrade
VGA	- Integrated ATI Radeon 9200-based 2D/3D graphics engine - Max. 128 MB of main memory configurable as display memory - 3D texture Microsoft DirectX 8.1 and OpenGL Support - Integrated TV encoder
Storage	South Bridge: 2 x UltraDMA 100/66 SIS 180 RAID Controller: 1 x UltraDMA 133 supports two hard drives 2 x Serial ATA RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0+1
Audio	ADI AD1888 SoundMAX 6-channel CODEC S/PDIF out interface
LAN	MARVELL Gigabit LAN PCI Controller supporting 10/100/1000 BASE-T Ethernet
IEEE 1394	VIA 1394 controller with 2 1394 ports
USB 2.0	Integrated 6 USB2.0 ports
Special Features	Power Loss Restart Support TV-out interface Support S/PDIF out interface ASUS C.P.R. ASUS MyLogo2 ASUS CrashFree BIOS 2 ASUS Q-Fan Multi-language BIOS (English, German, Japanese) ASUS Instant Music
Back Panel I/O Ports	1 x Parallel 1 x PS/2 Keyboard 1 x PS/2 Mouse 1 x VGA 1 x TV-out S-VHS port 1 x TV-out Composite port 1 x Audio I/O 1 x RJ45 1 x IEEE 1394 4 x USB 2.0/1.1
Internal I/O Connectors	- 1 x USB 2.0 connector supports additional 2 USB 2.0 ports - CPU / Power / Chassis FAN connectors - 20-pin ATX Power connector - 4-pin ATX 12V Power connector - 20-pin Panel connector - S/PDIF out connector - CD / AUX audio in - GAME/MIDI connector - 2 x COM port connector - Front panel audio connector
BIOS Feature	4 Mb Flash ROM, AWARD BIOS, PnP, DMI2.0, WfM2.0, SM BIOS 2.3, ACPI, ASUS MyLogo2
Industry Standard	PCI 2.2, USB 2.0
Manageability	WfM 2.0,DMI 2.0
Support CD	- Drivers - ASUS PC Probe - Trend Micro PC-cillin 2002 anti-virus software (OEM version) - ASUS LiveUpdate Utility
Accessories	Intervideo WinDVD Suite User's manual UltraDMA cable FDD cable COM cable SATA cable * 2 SATA PWR cable S/PDIF out bracket (Optical& Coaxial) 2-port USB 2.0/Game Port Module Instance Music I/O shield
Form Factor	ATX Form Factor, 12"x 9.6"(30.5cm x 24.5cm)

Next: What's in the Box? >>
 

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