Asus is definitely known for having one of the better motherboards on the market and the A8V definitely delivers where it comes to options and extras. Pricing for this board is really comparable to other boards that include the same options, like the MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum that we put it up against. The addition of a Wi-Fi option to this board can also make this an attractive buy for those interested in that wireless setup at home. The issues we had with the board in the final analysis didn?t really detract from the quality of the board, they just go to show us that a floppy drive is still needed. If you don?t plan on overclocking or want to use the preset values in the BIOS then you probably won?t have a problem with this board. If you are the enthusiast looking to tweak every small detail, you?ll probably either really like this board, or get frustrated real fast like we did. It?s possible that memory incompatibility with this board caused our issue, which has happened in the past with some of our first generation boards. Based on the features and options this motherboard is still a recommended item and might also do well for the enthusiast.Thanks to Directron for supplying today?s sample for review.
Pros
Working AGP/PCI locks (revision 2.xx and later).
CPU Ratio multiplier settings.
CPU, RAM, AGP, V-Link voltage options.
Overclocking Presets in the BIOS.
Nice set of features and accessories.
Good performance at stock and preset Overclocking.
Price.
Cons
Require floppy drive for installation of Windows with SATA.
Possible memory compatibility issues that limited overclocking.
Non-working AGP/PCI locks on early board revisions.
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Asus Extreme AX700PRO/TVD Review (2005-02-23)