| Product: |
Asus A7V8X-MX SE |
| Date: |
11.07.07 (75 review reads) |
| Rating: |
 |
Advantages: Low cost reliable integrated motherbaord
Disadvantages: DIP Switches and no support for a 400Mhz FSB
I bought this board about 18 months ago to build a fairly cheap upgrade computer for a friend of mine, they are a very basic user and so as most of the required devices are on-board e.g graphics / sound, this was a good choice for the price
On opening the box you are presented with the manual, a driver cd-rom, motherboard back plate, Asus Case sticker and the usual HDD and floppy cables. Oh yes did I mention the board too, nicely wrapped in an anti-static bag.
I suppose it's at this point that I should list some of the features:
333 MHz FSB
2GB Max Memory
VIA KM400 Chipset
Socket A - Athlon XP Support up to 2.25 GHz
USB 2.0
Integrated Graphics, LAN and Sound.
The A7V8X-MX SE is a good choice in my opinion, I have built numerous machines over the years and found this board very easy to work with as there is ample room, this board takes full advantage of the Micro ATX board width and is not at all cramped. Its also good value for money and from a good quality manufacturer.
So after a brief stint with the screwdriver the board was installed
I set the DIP switches to support 166 MHz CPU Bus as I was installing an AMD Athon XP 2600+ I do have a problem with DIP switches as this option can easily be set in the BIOS on many other boards. I have seen in the past some people who fail to set switches or even jumpers and wonder why the performance suffers. Ive even pointed somethin like this out aftery they have been using a system for years!
Ok processor installed, then the memory, Floppy Disk, Hard Disk, DVD-Rom, plug in the cables for each device and presto, the PC works fine first time.
I was able to install Windows XP without a hitch and the drivers provided were more than adequate for the job.
(one point to make here, standard AMD CPU coolers and most regular coolers will fit here fine, but large overclockers coolers will not due to the location of capacitors on the motherboard) not that anyone would seriously ever overclock a board liek this anyway.
So moving on, this board provides the user with support for all of the AMD Duron, Athlon, Athlon XP, and Sempron processor ranges, up to 2800+ running on a Front Side Bus speed of 333 MHz. This does however prevent the user from upgrading in the future to an Athlon XP 3000+ or 3200+ which both require a 400 MHz Front Side Bus.
These are valid reasons why some users might want to avoid buying this board. But in this instance the requirement for a cheap upgrade computer that most likely won't be upgraded it ticked the boxes.
That aside the board offers 5.1 surround sound, 6x USB (if your case or back plate has a cable support) Front Panel Audio if supported by your case, Integrated graphics along with an AGP 8x slot for future expansion and full support for AMD processors ftom Duron to Sempron 2800+ on Socket A.
It can support up to 2GB of RAM and up to 4 IDE devices.
With 3x PCI slots there is also room to fit upgrades such as SATA support. TV Card or even a Wireless LAN Card.
This board is not aimed at the PC enthusiast despite coming from brand such as ASUS but that said it is well made and has some great features.
I have had this board running in my friends PC now for over 18 months and its still going strong. If this board had FSB 400 support and done away with the dip switches I would score it higher, but if things such as that dont bother you and you are looking for reliable board thats easy to work with then this is the board for you.
Summary: Works really well and easy to install, good for most basic users
| Processing/Quality: |
|
 |
| Reliability: |
|
 |
| Installation: |
|
|
| Speed: |
|
 |
| Features: |
|
|
|
|
