AOpen
AX4R Plus (Intel E7205) Mainboard
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The board offers a rich suite of functions like other solutions built on expensive
E7205 chipset. Accessories: - Package of the standard design;
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Documentation: user manual and poster with brief installation steps in English;
-
Cables: SATA, ATA66/100/133, ATA33 and FDD;
- Bracket for the rear
computer panel;
- Diskette with drivers for SATA RAID;
-
2 CDs containing:
- drivers;
- user guides for
a number of company's boards in PDF;
- system monitoring utilities;
-
DirectX 8.1;
- Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.05;
- AOConfig;
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AOModify;
- AOpen EzSkin;
- Pro Magic 6.0;
-
DocuCom Reader (for reading PDF files);
- E-Color;
-
Norton Antivirus 2002.
The downsides are usual: audio-ins and Serial ATA connectors make it difficult
to plug in cables. IDE and FDD connectors placed behind PCI slots worsen ventilation
and prevent installation of full-sized PCI cards. A video card inserted may lock
memory modules. It can be difficult to reach some jumpers when the board is already
installed. Their functions are shown on the textolite. The 3-channel
switching voltage regulator incorporates 7 capacitors of 3300 uF and 2 of 2200
uF. Controllers integrated: - audio controller based on
the chipset and Avance Logic ALC650 AC'97 codec; 5.1 audio system supported, front
audio inputs/outputs and SPDIF connectors provided;
- Realtek RTL8100BL
based network controller with 10BaseT/100BaseTX;
- Serial ATA RAID
controller based on the Silicon Image Sil3112ACT144 chip with RAID 0, 1 supported
through SATA150 protocol.
Technologies supported: - AOpen
JukeBox (CD playback and FM tuner without the OS booted);
-
Die Hard BIOS (a connector for a back-up BIOS chip provided);
- Dr.Voice
II (voice messages on problems during the OS booting).
+5 V supplied
in the StandBy mode is indicated with the onboard LED. One more LED blinks while
the POST procedure is running and gives steady light on its completion. On
the back you can see a plate that prevents twisting of the textolite in case of
powerful CPU coolers.
Non-unsoldered
connectors: none. System monitoring is supported by Winbond W83627HF-AW
chip. It controls: - processor voltage, +3.3, +5 and +12 V;
-
speed of 3 fans;
- temperatures of the processor (built-in sensor)
and the board (two built-in sensors).
There are 2 connectors for
adjustable and 1 for unadjustable connection of fans (connected to a fan on the
MCH heatsink). Brief board's characteristics: memory slots - 4
DDR SDRAM; expansion slots - AGP/ 6 PCI/ CNR; I/O ports - 2 COM/ LPT/ 2 PS/2/
6 USB 2.0; dimensions - 305x245 mm.
Settings:
| with jumpers and switches |
Jumper to clear up the CMOS |
|
| Jumper for starting up computer from a PS/2 keyboard |
|
| Jumper turning PC Speaker on/off |
|
| Jumper selecting a mode of Die Hard BIOS function |
Rescue/Normal |
| BIOS based on Phoenix AwardBIOS 6.00PG |
Setup of memory timings |
+ |
CAS Latency, RAS to CAS Delay, RAS Precharge, Active to Precharge
Delay |
| Setup of memory frequency |
- |
|
| Setup of AGP bus |
- |
|
| Setup of PCI bus |
- |
|
| Changeable scaler of AGP and PCI buses |
+ |
AGP(PCIx2) = 66.5-80.8 MHz in ~1 MHz steps |
| Manual assignment of interrupts |
- |
|
| Changeable FSB frequency |
+ |
66-255 MHz in 1MHz steps |
| Changeable CPU multiplier |
- |
|
| Changeable core voltage |
+ |
1.1-1.85 V in 0.025V steps |
| Changeable memory voltage |
+ |
2.5, 2.55, 2.6, 2.65 V |
| Changeable chipset voltage |
- |
|
| Changeable AGP bus voltage |
+ |
1.5, 1.55, 1.6, 1.65 V |
We used the BIOS R1.04 as the latest available version.
This is a good board with decent functionality (though it yields to some competitors
on the same chipset) and it looks a good choice for those who want a high-performance
board at a relatively low price. Test results:
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