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ASRock 939SLI32-eSATA2 Review
[Abstract]
IntroductionWhen ULi first unveiled their M1695 HyperTransport PCI Express Tunnel Chip, we were very impressed with its flexible options to deliver platform solutions from the mainstream to per...
[Content] PCDigitalMobileGame
Introduction
When ULi first unveiled their M1695 HyperTransport PCI Express Tunnel Chip, we were very impressed with its flexible options to deliver platform solutions from the mainstream to performance. ULi then released their single-chip PCI Express M1697 chipset that was all set to rival NVIDIA's nForce4 SLI in terms of features and performance. Of course, we all know the story of ULi being acquired by NVIDIA not long after, but ULi has since successfully carved a niche for themselves with mainstream players like EPoX, ASRock and even ABIT making ULi-based AMD solutions.
Till now, we've seen reference implementations of ULi's M1695 Triple Graphics Interface setup and the M1697 SLI alternative. Today however, we may have the ultimate ULi configuration that truly shows off the power of these chipsets. Much like how the nForce4 SLI X16 is a combination of the original nForce4 SLI and a PCI Express tunnel chip, ASRock has combined the ULi's M1695 with the single chip M1697 into one motherboard, creating a monster feature-rich PCI Express motherboard that is no less as exciting as your average top-of-the-line nForce4 SLI X16 solution and at a third of the price.
The ASRock 939SLI32-eSATA2 motherboard. |
The ASRock 939SLI32-eSATA2 looks to be a very promising board, but true to ASRock's nature as a budget motherboard manufacturer, it comes with a frugal bundle of the basic necessities, including storage cables, driver CD and manual. Interestingly however, ASRock has also included an SLI bridge among the bundle advocating SLI support on the board, but we will go into more details in a later part of the review. Let's take a look at the motherboard features and specifications first.
4 x SATA data cables
2 x SATA power converter cables
1 x 80-conductor Ultra ATA data cable
1 x floppy drive data cable
SLI high-speed digital link interface bridge
I/O shield
Driver CD
User's manual
ASRock 939SLi32-eSATA2 Technical Specifications
| CPUSupport | - Supports AMD socket939 Athlon 64 / Athlon 64 X2 / Athlon 64 FX CPU
- Supports AMD Cool 'n'Quiet Technology
| | Chipset | - Northbridge: ULi M1695
- Bi-directional1GHz (2000MT/s) HyperTransport interfaceto processor
- Supports one PCIe x16 or two PCIe x8 graphicsinterfaces
- Supports two PCIe x1 or one PCIe x4 interfaces
- Southbridge: ULi M1697
- Bi-directional1GHz (2000MT/s) HyperTransport interfaceto Northbridge
- Supports one PCIe x16 or two PCIe x8 graphicsinterfaces
- Supports two PCIe x1 or one PCIe x4 interfaces
- Supports up to 5PCI v2.3 slots
- Supports up to eightUSB 2.0 ports
- Dual controllerSATA 3.0Gbps architecture
- Dual-channel UltraATA-133 IDE controller
- 10/100Mbps Fast Ethernet MAC
| | Memory | - Dual channel memoryarchitecture integrated into processor
- Four 184-pin DDR DIMMsockets
- Supports 2.5v DDRSDRAM DIMM modules
- Supports up to 4GBusing PC1600 (DDR200), PC2100 (DDR266),PC2700 (DDR333) and PC3200 (DDR400) unbuffered DDR SDRAM DIMM
| | Storage | - ULi M1697
- 4 x Ultra ATA33/66/100/133 (data transfer rate up to133MB/sec.)
- 4 x Serial ATA 3.0Gbps interface
- Supports RAID 0,RAID 1, RAID 0+1, RAID 5, JBOD
- Supports SATA AHCI with NCQ
| | Audio | - Intel High Definition Audio (Azalia)
- Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio CODEC
| | Networking | - Realtek RTL8111B PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet LAN
| | IEEE 1394 (FireWire) | - Texas Instruments TSB43AB22A FireWire controller
- 2 x 1394a ports @ 400 Mbps speed
| | I/O Interface | - 1 x Floppy connector
- 2 x Ultra ATAIDE connectors
- 4 x SATAconnectors (2 x shared eSATA connectors)
- 8 x USB 2.0 ports (4x rear, 4 x header)
- 2 x FireWire ports (1 x rear, 1 x header)
- 1 x RJ45 LANport
- 6-Channel Audio I/Oports
- 1 x 9-pin serial port
- 1 x parallel port(SPP/EPP/ECP)
- 1 x mini-DIN-6 PS/2mouse port
- 1 x mini-DIN-6 PS/2keyboard port
| | Expansion Slots | - 2 x PCIe x16slots,PCI Express Bus specification v1.0a/v1.1compliant
- 1 x PCIe x4slots, PCIExpress Bus specification v1.0a/v1.1compliant
- 3 x 32-bitPCI slots,PCI 2.3 compliant
| | Special Features | | | PCB | - ATX Form Factor, 12"x9.6"(30.5cm x 24.4cm)
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Rear I/O panel shows that the board has support for USB, FireWire and eSATA connectivity. There is also an RJ45 port, and three analog audio jacks. |
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