VIA P4PB
Ultra P4X400 Based Mainboard
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This is a very interesting board on the disgraced chipset, it's well equipped
and has a lot of various controllers and tweaking/overclocking settings.
Accessories: - Package of an original design with a handle;
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Documentation: user manual in English, brief installation manual in 10 languages;
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Cables: FDD, ATA66/100/133 (both are covered with red cambric to improve ventilation
inside the case);
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Adapter for power supply units not complying with the ATX 2.03 standard;
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MS and SD Card Reader;
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Bracket with 4 USB ports;
- Bracket for the rear computer panel;
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CD containing:
- drivers;
- VIA FliteDeck (for
system monitoring, overclocking and BIOS flashing from Windows).
Some downsides on such tightly packed board are inevitable: audio-ins are in
front of the PCI, the IDE RAID and USB are behind them, and an inserted video
card and numerous connectors near the board's edge will lock the memory modules.
It can be difficult to reach some jumpers when the board is already installed.
Their functions are not shown on the textolite. The 3-channel switching
voltage regulator incorporates 9 capacitors of
3300 uF and 4 of 1500
uF. The following controllers are integrated: - audio controller
based on the chipset's capabilities and C-Media CMI8738/PCI-6ch-MX chip supporting
5.1 audio systems and having connectors for front audio outputs and for SPDIF;
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network controller based on the chipset's capabilities and supporting 10BaseT/100BaseTX;
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IDE RAID controller based on the Promise PDC20276 chip supporting RAID 0 and 1
on the ATA133 protocol;
- USB 2.0 bus controller based on the
VIA VT6202 chip.
Thanks to the Winbond W83L518D Smart I/O controller
the board supports (and have connectors) SD/MS Card Readers. Non-unsoldered
connectors: none. The system monitoring is supported by the Winbond W83627HF-AW
chip. What is controlled: - processor voltage, memory, +3.3, +5
and +-12 V, VBAT and +5 V Standby
- speed of 2 fans;
- temperatures
of the processor (a built-in sensor).
There are 2 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/ 10 USB 2.0; dimensions - 305x245 mm.
Adjustment
can be carried out with:
| jumpers and switches |
Jumper to clear up the CMOS |
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| Jumper to set a FSB frequency |
Auto/133 MHz |
| Jumper turning the audio controller on/off |
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| Jumper to select an audio controller |
CNR/Onboard |
| Jumper turning the external USB 2.0 controller on/off |
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| Jumper turning the IDE RAID on/off |
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| BIOS based on Award WorkstationBIOS 6.00PG from
Phoenix |
Setup of memory timings |
+ |
CAS Latency, Bank Interleave, Precharge to Active, Active to
Precharge, Active to CMD, Burst Length, Command Rate |
| Setup of memory frequency |
+ |
Auto, DDR200, DDR266, DDR333, DDR400 |
| Setup of AGP bus |
+ |
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| Setup of PCI bus |
+ |
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| Changeable scaler of AGP and PCI buses |
- |
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| Manual assignment of interrupts |
- |
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| Changeable FSB frequency |
+ |
100-200 MHz in 1MHz steps |
| Changeable CPU multiplier |
+ |
x8-x50 |
| Changeable core voltage |
+ |
from -0.1 to +0.1 in 0.025 V steps |
| Changeable memory voltage |
+ |
2.5-2.8 V in 0.1 V |
| Changeable chipset voltage |
- |
|
| Changeable AGP bus voltage |
+ |
1.5-1.8 V in 0.1V steps |
We used the BIOS of 1.09 as the latest available
version. The board doesn't impress by its overclockability and speed
which are on account of this chipset. But its has perfect accessories, functionality
and price, that is why it must attract attention of potential buyers. Test
results:
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