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ASUS P4B266-E (i845D) Mainboard



The board has an excellent package of the new design. The P4B266 board was redesigned as well.

Accessories:

  • Package: a new design for this company;
  • Documentation: a user manual in English; a short installation manual - in 11 languages, a sticker with brief description of functional connectors and switches;
  • Cables: 2 ATA66/100 and 1 FDD;
  • Bracket with two USB ports and a game port;
  • Bracket with two USB ports;
  • Bracket with gold-plated SPDIF connectors;
  • Bracket for the rear panel;
  • CD with software including:
    • drivers;
    • Adobe Acrobat Reader;
    • Winbond Voice Edit;
    • ASUS Update - for downloading a new BIOS version and updating it from the Windows;
    • ASUS Logo;
    • PowerPlayer SE;
    • PowerDVD;
    • VideoLive Mail;
    • ASUS Hotkey;
    • Intel LDCM (LANDesk Client Manager);
    • PC-Cillin 2000;
    • ASUS PCProbe;
    • Screensaver.

The layout is not the best. There is a great deal of elements in the lower left-hand corner which also worsens air circulation. Audio-ins, SPDIF connectors and a joystick port are unfortunately located in front of PCI slots. It's also not easy to reach certain jumpers and switches.

The 3-channel switching voltage regulator incorporates 6 capacitors of 3300 uF and 3 of 1200 uF.

The following controllers are integrated: C-Media CMI8738/PCI-6ch-MX audio one supporting a 5.1 acoustic system; a network one based on the chipset supporting 10 BaseT/100 BaseTX; IDE RAID one based on the Promise PDC 20276 with ATA 33/66/100/133 and RAID 0 (striping) and 1(mirroring) support; USB 2.0 bus one on the NEC D720100AS1 having 4 ports and back compatible with USB 1.1 devices. The ITE I/O controller (IT8708F-A) provides for smart card and MMC and SD card readers. Besides, there are connectors for iPanel and front audio-outs.

The board incorporates the following ASUS technologies: MyLogo (changes backdrops); EZ Plug (created for power units which do not comply with the ATX 2.03 standard and allows applying additional +12 V); POST Reporter (reports about problems occurred in course of booting; there are 9 languages available, and it's possible load WAV files into the EEPROM).

Non-unsoldered connectors: none. This is the top model among those based on the same PCB.

The system monitoring is supported by the ASIC ASB100 Bach chip. Processor voltage (+/-3.3, +/-5 and +/-12 V), speed of 3 fans and temperatures of the processor (a built-in sensor) and the board (a built-in sensor) can be controlled. There are 3 connectors for adjustable connection of fans.

Brief characteristics of the board: memory slots - 3 DDR SDRAM; expansion slots - AGP/ 6 PCI/ CNR; I/O ports - 2 COM/ LPT/ 2 PS/2/ 4 USB 1.1/ 4 USB 2.0; dimensions - 305x245 mm.

Adjustment can be carried out with:

jumpers and switches Jumper to choose an operating mode Jumper/JumperFree
Jumpers to change a CPU multiplier x8-x24
Switches to change a FSB frequency 100, 105, 111, 120, 125, 133 MHz
Jumper to enable/disable IDE RAID
Jumper to make possible to start up a computer with a PS/2 keyboard
Jumper to choose memory voltage 2.5, 2.6, 2.7 V
OverVoltage jumper to enlarge the range of CPU voltages
Jumper to make possible to start up a computer with USB devices
Jumper to choose an integrated speaker or LineOut for POST Reporter
Jumper to enable an auto choice of audio-outs
Jumper to adjust a Bass/Center channel
Jumper to enable/disable a USB 2.0 controller
BIOS based on v6.00PG from Award Setup of memory timings + CAS Latency, RAS to CAS Delay, RAS Precharge Delay, Active Precharge Delay, Idle Timer
Setup of memory frequency + DDR200/DDR266
Setup of AGP bus +
Setup of PCI bus +
Changeable scaler of AGP and PCI buses -
Manual assignment of interrupts +
Changeable FSB frequency + In 1 MHz increments, 100-200 MHz
Changeable CPU multiplier + x8-x50
Changeable core voltage + Normal:
Willamette 1,75-1,85 B
Northwood 1,5-1,7 B
OverVoltage:
Willamette 1,75-2,1 B
Northwood 1,5-1,75 B
Øaã 0,025 B
Changeable memory voltage -
Changeable chipset voltage -
Changeable AGP bus voltage -

We used the latest available version of the BIOS - 1001.

We liked the board thanks to its good performance and a rich set of functions. The only drawback is its price.

Test results:


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