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ASUS P4S533 (VIA KT333) Mainboard



The first (in our lab) production board on the SiS 645DX chipset doesn't differ much from its predecessor on the SiS 645. The Flash EEPROM is in another place, an ACR slot is lacking etc. - but these are insignificant differences.

Accessories:

  • Package: a standard design;
  • Documentation: a user manual in English and a brief installation manual in 11 languages;
  • Cables: 1 ÀÒÀ66/100/133, 1 ATA33 and 1 FDD;
  • Bracket with two USB ports;
  • Bracket for the rear panel;
  • CD with software including:
    • drivers;
    • Adobe Acrobat Reader;
    • 3Deep;
    • Power Player SE;
    • VideoLive Mail;
    • DirectX 8.1;
    • PC-Ñillin 2000;
    • Winbond Voice Editor;
    • ASUS Update;
    • ASUS Hotkey;
    • ASUS PCProbe;
    • ASUS Screensaver;
    • ASUS MyLogo.

The layout has typical drawbacks: audio-ins which are located in front of the PCI slots, and when a video card in installed it's not easy to handle the memory modules. It's not difficult to reach jumpers even when the board is already installed. Functions of almost all jumpers and switches are shown on the textolite.

The 2-channel switching voltage regulator incorporates 5 capacitors of 3300 uf and several less capacious ones. 

The following controllers are integrated: an audio one based on the CMI8738/PCI-6ch-MX chip from C-Media with 5.1 audio system support, a SPDIF connector and an output for front audio connectors; a network one based on the chipset's capabilities. The ITE IT8707F I/O controller provides for installation of connectors for readers of smart cards and flash cards of the MS and SD formats. 

The board incorporates ASUS POST Reporter (reports about problems during booting), ASUS MyLogo (for displaying your images when the system boots), ASUS EZ Plug (allows using a power unit which doesn't comply with the ATX 2.03 standard - +12 V signal is applied via a standard HDD power connector) and ASUS Q-Fan (auto fan speed control).

Non-unsoldered connectors: AMR slot, WOL1, WOL2, WOL3 and VPANEL1 connectors and 1 chip (probably, IEEE1394 controller).

The system monitoring is supported by the ASB 100 Bach chip from ASUS. Processor voltage (+3.3, +5 and +12 V), speed of 3 fans  and temperatures of the processor (a built-in sensor), the board (a built-in sensor) and an external 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; I/O ports - 2 COM/ LPT/ 2 PS/2/ 6 USB 1.1; dimensions - 305õ220 mm.

Adjustment can be carried out with:
 

jumpers and switches Jumper to clear up the CMOS  
Jumper to choose a JumperFree mode Enable/ Disable
Switches to choose a frequency of the FSB and memory 100/100, 100/133, 100/150, 100/160, 100/166, 105/140, 108/144, 112/149, 133/133, 133/166, 100/200 MHz
Jumper to choose memory voltage 2.5, 2.7 and 2.9 V
Jumper to make possible to start up a computer with PS/2 keyboard
Jumper to make possible to start up a computer with USB devices
Jumper to choose a mode of Bass/Center channels Bass/Center, Center/Bass
Jumper to choose a device as a standard PC Speaker Buzzer/ Lineout
Jumper to change CPU voltage +0.2 V/ Normal
BIOS based on v6.00 from Award Setup of memory timings + CAS Latency, RAS to CAS Delay, RAS Precharge Time, RAS Active Time, Command Lead-off Time
Setup of memory frequency + FSB:MEM: at the FSB from 100 to 132 MHz - Auto, 1:1, 3:4, 3:5 and 3:6, at the FSB from 133 to 160 MHz - Auto, 1:1, 4:3, 4:5 and 4:6 MHz, at the FSB from 161 to 166 MHz - Auto, 1:1 and 4:3
Setup of AGP bus +
Setup of PCI bus +
Changeable scaler of AGP and PCI buses -
Manual assignment of interrupts +
Changeable FSB frequency + 100-227 MHz in 1MHz steps
Changeable CPU multiplier + x8-x50
Changeable core voltage + 1.5-1.85 V in 0.025V steps
Changeable memory voltage -
Changeable chipset voltage -
Changeable AGP bus voltage -

We used the latest available version of the BIOS - 1006.

The board is traditional: it has good functional capabilities and DDR400 support - although the latter is not certified yet it scores good results.

Test results:


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