ASUS A8R32-MVP Deluxe

Review Pages

1. Introduction
2. A Closer Look
3. Test System - Configuration
4. 3DMark2005
5. 3DMark2003
6. Codecreatures
7. Aquamark - 3DMark01
8. Half Life 2
9. Quake 4
10. F.E.A.R.
11. Need For Speed - Most Wanted
12. Performance Test v5.0
13. PCMark04 - 05
14. Overclocking
15. Bios - Page 1
16. Bios - Page 2
17. Software CD
18. PC Probe II
19. Conclusion

Very recently, we had received from ASUS their first NVIDIA based system, with dual PCI Express at 16X for the AMD processor. And now, we have received another dual PCI Express at 16X, however this time an ATI based system, the A8R32-MVP Deluxe, which is equipped with the ATI™ CrossFire™ Xpress 3200 chipset.

- Features

Overclock HT by 60% and PCI Express x16 by 35%

The A8R32-MVP Deluxe supports dual PCI Express x16 slots running at full speed to liberate graphics cards through ATI's™ CrossFire™ Xpress 3200. Additionally AI Life Series features such as Precision Tweaker, AI NOS and PEG Link etc. are also inherited. For easy overclocking, the board comes with Q-Fan2 and Stack Cool2 to ensure quiet yet efficient cooling. With exclusive innovative designs that bring out the real potential of the ATI™ CrossFire™ Xpress 3200 chipset, gamers can experience faster graphics performance and higher video quality today, and ready for video technology advancements of tomorrow.

- Unique Features

	AI Life AI Life Series motherboards combines lifestyle and personal computing. Several new and improved innovations are included to create a peaceful environment, by reducing noise and temperature. Don' t change your way of life for a computer. Instead, let the ASUS Life Series improve the quality of your life.
	ATI™ CrossFire™ Xpress 3200 The ATI™ CrossFire™ Xpress 3200 Northbridge supports simultaneous operation of two external PCI Express x16 graphics cards and delivers the best performance for overclocking. It's simply the fastest graphics platform solution to date.
	ATI CrossFire Technology ATI's CrossFire boosts image quality along with rendering speed, eliminating the need to scale down screen resolutions to get the high image quality you want. CrossFire ignites with the higher antialiasing, anisotropic filtering, shading, and texture settings you desire. Adjust your display configurations, experiment with your advanced 3D settings, and check the effect with a real-time 3D-rendered preview within ATI's Catalyst™ Control Center to rule your CrossFire system.
	Fanless Design Cooling fans, though a popular thermal solution, also come with noise and malfunction likelihood. ASUS Motherboard's fanless concept is specifically created to provide a cool environment without all the baggage. ASUS has devoted special efforts to address the thermal issues across the motherboard, and most notably the areas that reside the CPU, power, Northbridge and Southbridge. The heat sinks and strategic board layout are tailor made to dissipate heat in the most efficient manner. With the addition of Stack Cool 2, users can even overclock without a noisy, bulky fan.
	AI NET2 ASUS AI NET2 remotely detects cable connection the second you turn on the system, and any faulty connections are reported back up to 100 meters at 1 meter accuracy.

- CPU Features

Supports AMD Socket 939 Opteron / Athlon 64 X2 / Athlon 64 FX / Athlon 64
The motherboard supports AMD 939-pin single-core Athlon 64 FX / Athlon 64 / Opteron and dual-core Opteron / Athlon 64 X2 processors with 2MB / 1MB / 512KB L2 cache, which is based on 64-bit architecture. It features 2000 / 1600 MT/s HyperTransport Bus, dual-channel un-buffered DDR400 memory support and AMD Cool 'n' Quiet! Technology.

64-bit CPU support
64-bit computing, the next generation technology to replace the current 32-bit architecture, delivers advanced system performance, faster memory access and increased productivity. This motherboard provides excellent compatibility and flexibility by supporting either 64-bit or 32-bit architecture.

- Maximizing Gaming Performance

	Precision Tweaker Designed for serious overclockers It offers ways to raise system performance inch-by-inch and step-by-step to achieve maximum performance! This is about getting the most out of your machine and taking pride in your customized computer. vDIMM - Take control of how much power is going into the memory modules. ASUS gives you 12-step voltage control to the DIMM vCore - Find out "exactly" how much power your CPU needs. Fine-tune it with 0.025 volts at a time! vNB - Northbridge provides independent voltage adjustment at 0.1 V increment for core power, HT bus and PCI Express bus. SFS (Stepless Frequency Selection) allows - FSB tuning from 200MHz up to 400MHz at 1MHz increment - PCI Express frequency tuning from 100MHz up to 150MHz at 1MHz increment
	AI NOS™ Boost performance when you need it the most! Applications such as 3D games and video editing demand a huge chunk of system resource. Inject "nitrous oxide" into your CPU! The patented AI NOS™ (Non-delay Overclocking System) technology intelligently detects system load and automatically boosts performance for the most demanding tasks. Unlike other dynamic overclocking techniques, AI NOS™ reacts much faster to satisfy your unending need for speed.
	PEG Link for dual VGA cards This latest technology, PEG (PCI Express Graphics) Link Mode, is a unique feature that enables users to boost graphics card performance for superior video quality. PEG Link allows users to raise GPU and VGA memory throughput via the motherboard BIOS the same way system bus and memory bus are tweaked. PEG Link Mode enables powerful video performance on DX8 and DX9 applications. ASUS engineers carefully fine-tuned the parameters for every single PCI-Express card to provide system stability during high-speed graphics operation.
	AI Clock Skew AI Clock Skew optimizes this motherboard's memory overclocking capability and provides users the fastest computing speed possible. When users overclock memory frequency, AI Clock Skew automatically skews the memory clock signal timing, thus improving memory overclocking capability by 10 to 15%, depending on the memory features. AI Clock Skew also allows users to separately adjust each memory channel's clock signal to reach the highest memory frequency.
C.P.R.(CPU Parameter Recall) When the system hangs due to overclocking failure, there is no need to open the case to clear CMOS data. Just simply restart the system, the BIOS would show the previous setting and then users can amend the CPU setting again.

- Acoustic Features

AMD Cool 'n' Quiet! Technology
Supports AMD Cool 'n' Quiet! Technology, which monitors system operation and automatically adjusts CPU voltage and frequency for a cool and quiet environment.

ASUS Q-Fan 2
ASUS Q-Fan2 technology intelligently adjusts both CPU fan and chassis fan speeds according to system loading to ensure quiet, cool and efficient operation.

- Network features

Dual Gigabit LAN
The integrated dual Gigabit LAN design allows a PC to serve as a network gateway for managing traffic between two separate networks. This capability ensures rapid transfer of data from WAN to LAN without any added arbitration or latency.

- Interface Features

	PCI Express Architecture PCI Express is the latest I/O interconnect technology that will replace the existing PCI. With a bus bandwidth 4 times higher than that of AGP 8X interface, PCI Express x16 bus performs much better than AGP 8X in applications such as 3D gaming. PCI Express x1 and x4 also outperforms PCI interface with its exceptional high bandwidth. The high speed PCI Express interface creates new usages on desktop PCs e.g., Gigabit LAN, 1394b, and high-speed RAID systems.
	SATA on the Go The motherboard supports the next-generation hard drives based on the Serial ATA (SATA) 3Gb/s storage specification, delivering enhanced scalability and doubling the bus bandwidth for high-speed data retrieval and saves. The external SATA port located at the back I/O provides smart setup and hot-plug functions. Easily backup photos, videos and other entertainment contents on external devices.
Serial ATA 3Gb/s The motherboard supports the next-generation hard drives based on the Serial ATA (SATA) 3Gb/s storage specification, delivering enhanced scalability and doubling the bus bandwidth for high-speed data retrieval and saves.
Dual RAID The Uli chipset enables four Serial ATA and two parallel ATA connections. The four Serial ATA controllers provide high performance RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 5 and JBOD functions. The Silicon Image controller provides another two Serial ATA connectors for RAID 0, 1 and External RAID functions. This motherboard is the ideal solution for enhancing hard disk performance and providing data backup without the extra cost of add-on cards.
IEEE 1394a interface IEEE 1394a interface provides high speed digital interface for audio/video appliances such as digital television, digital video camcorders, storage peripherals & other PC portable devices.
S/PDIF-out on Back I/O Port This motherboard provides convenient connectivity to external home theater audio systems via an coaxial S/PDIF-out (SONY-PHILIPS Digital Interface) jack. It allows digital audio transfer without converting to analog format and keeps the best signal quality.
Max. 8 USB 2.0 ports USB 2.0 is the latest connectivity standard for next generation components and peripherals. Backwards compatible with current USB 1.1 peripherals, USB 2.0 delivers transfer speeds up to 40 times faster at 480Mb/s, for easy connectivity and ultra-fast data transfers.

- BIOS Features

Multi-language BIOS
The multi-language BIOS allows you to select the language of your choice from the available options. The localized BIOS setup menu helps you configure your system easier and faster.

ASUS CrashFree BIOS2
The CrashFree BIOS2 feature now includes the BIOS auto-recovery function in a support CD. Users can reboot their system through the support CD when a bootable disk is not available and go through the simple BIOS auto-recovery process. ASUS motherboards now enable users to enjoy this protection feature without the need to pay for an optional ROM.

ASUS EZ Flash
With ASUS EZ Flash, you can update BIOS before entering operating system. No more DOS-based flash utility and bootable diskette required.

ASUS MyLogo2
You can convert your favorite photo into a 256-color boot logo for a more colorful and vivid image on your screen.

- Bundled

InterVideo Media Launcher
ASUS motherboards, a front runner in the IT industry, now bundle the versatile InterVideo Media Launcher. This multifaceted software set includes the latest multimedia software, bringing out the best in multimedia features from ASUS motherboards! (OEM version).

The specifications are given in the table below:

CPU	Socket 939 for AMD® Opteron™/Athlon™ 64 FX/ Athlon™ 64 X2/ Athlon™ 64 AMD64 architecture enables simultaneous 32-bit and 64-bit computing AMD Cool 'n' Quiet!™ Technology AMD HyperTransport Technology
Chipset	ATI™ CrossFire™ Xpress 3200/ULI M1575
Front Side Bus	2000/1600 MT/s
Memory	4 x DIMM, max. 4GB, DDR 400/333/266, ECC and non-ECC, un-buffered memory Dual Channel Memory Architecture
Expansion Slots	2 x PCI Express x16 slot with CrossFire support at full x16, x16 mode 1 x PCI Express x1 3 x PCI
CrossFire	Support ATI CrossFire graphics cards (both at x16 mode)
Storage/RAID	ULi M1575 South Bridge: - 2 x UltraDMA 133/100/66/33 - 4 x Serial ATA I/II 3.0Gb/s with RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 5 and JBOD support Silicon Image® 3132 SATA controller supports - 1 x Internal Serial ATA 3 Gb/s hard disk - 1 x External Serial ATA hard disk (SATA On-the-Go) - Support RAID 0, 1
LAN	Marvell 88E8053 PCIe Gigabit LAN Controller, featuring AI NET2 Marvell 88E8001 Gigabit LAN Controller, featuring AI NET2
Audio	Realtek ALC882 8-channel CODEC Universal Audio Jack Multi-Streaming Coaxial / Optical S/PDIF out ports on back I/O
IEEE 1394a	TI® 1394a controller supports: - 2x IEEE 1394a connectors at midboard
USB	Max. 8 USB 2.0/1.1 ports
ASUS AI Life Features	Stack Cool 2 SATA on the Go (External SATA on back I/O port)
Overclocking Features	Intelligent overclocking tools: - AI NOS™ (Non-delay Overclocking System) - AI Overclocking (intelligent CPU frequency tuner) - ASUS PEG Link - Automatically performance tuning for single/dual graphics cards Precision Tweaker: - vDIMM: 12-step DRAM voltage control - vCore: Adjustable CPU voltage at 0.025V increment - vNB:Northbridge provides independent voltage adjustment at 0.1 V increment for core power,HT bus and PCI Express bus. SFS (Stepless Frequency Selection) - FSB tuning from 200MHz up to 400MHz at 1MHz increment - PCI Express tuning from 100MHz up to 150MHz at 1MHz increment Overclocking Protection: - ASUS C.P.R.(CPU Parameter Recall)
Special Features	ASUS MyLogo2 Multi-language BIOS CrashFree BIOS2 ASUS AI NET2 ASUS Q-Fan2 Technology ASUS EZ Flash
Back Panel I/O Ports	1 x PS/2 Keyboard 1 x PS/2 Mouse 1 x Parallel 1 x Coaxial S/PDIF Out 1 x Optical S/PDIF Out 1 x External SATA 2 x RJ45 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 8-Channel Audio I/O
Internal I/O Connectors	2 x USB 2.0 connector supports additional 4 USB 2.0 ports 2 x IEEE1394a connectors 5 x SATA connectors 2 x IDE connectors 1 x Floppy disk drive connector 1 x GAME/MIDI connector 1 x CPU/ 2 x Chassis/ 1 x Power FAN connectors 1 x COM connector 24-pin ATX Power connector 4-pin ATX 12V Power connector Chassis Intrusion CD audio in connector Front panel High Definition Audio connector System panel connector
BIOS	8Mb Flash ROM, AMI BIOS, PnP, DMI2.0, SM BIOS 2.3, WfM2.0
Manageability	WfM 2.0,DMI 2.0,WOL by PME,WOR by PME, Chassis Intrusion, PXE and RPL
Support CD	Drivers ASUS PC Probe II ASUS Update Anti-virus software (OEM version)
Accessories	User's manual 5 x Serial ATA cables 2 x 2-port Serial ATA power cables 1 x 1-port Serial ATA power cable 2-port IEEE1394 module 1 x 2-port USB2.0 / Game module COM port module 1 x UltraDMA 133/100/66 cable IDE cable FDD cable I/O shield InterVideo Media Launcher
Form Factor	ATX Form Factor, 12"x 9.6"(30.5cm x 24.5cm)