Behold the power of DDR
Written: Aug 17 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great stability and performance, "jumperfree mode", good heatsink clearence, it's an Asus
Cons: Core multiplier locked, useless AMR slot, above average cost
The Bottom Line: Not for the hardcore OC'er, but an excellent performer with the stability of the AMD761.
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| live4dreams's Full Review: ASUS AMD 761 Chipset A7M266 (A7M266/550/WOL/2DIM) ... |
After exhaustive research, I chose the A7M to bring together my t-bird powerhouse, and I have not been disappointed with its performance. Since this is the first computer I've built, I wasn't ready to get into the overclocking business, and I thought this board would meet my needs (and wants) despite the fact that the CPU core multiplier could not be adjusted.
Well, it turns out that after a few weeks of stable gaming bliss, I started to wonder how far I could really push things, but of course I did not have the ability to try for a real OC. I used the handy BIOS adjuster to push my AHYJA 1333 TBIRD up to 1450, before the OC'ed FSB(front side bus) started getting the best of my NIC.
The lack of true overclockability aside, the A7M is a well-built, all-around solid performer, as one would expect with the reputation of Asus. Even being a first timer, I had no trouble with installation, and my large heatsink had no problem clearing the capacitors around the CPU socket.
The board has two DDR-SDRAM slots, five PCI slots, an AGP Pro slot, and an utterly useless AMR(audio-modem riser)
slot. Only four of the PCI slots are useable, however, as the first one should be left empty to give adequate cooling to you graphics card. Someone building a system this advanced would not even consider using an out-dated AMR card (especially considering that it would block a PCI slot), so it's inclusion on the A7M is highly questionable.
The double speed memory only proves useful when running games, or software such as Adobe Photoshop, but with the proliferation of DDR, it doesn't cost much more than good old PC133. I probably paid too much for a motherboard, $180, also considering it came with on-board audio, which I don't use, but with the way my system runs, I don't regret my purchase.
Even with a 145Mhz FSB, I have had no problems with this board, and even though some better alternatives might be out there, I would still recommend it. However, currently one would be tempted to wait for the NVidia NForce boards, due out later this year.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 180
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Epinions.com ID:
live4dreams
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Location: Los Angeles, CA
Reviews written: 6
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
College student, sports fanatic, heavy metal addict, and computer wizard.
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