After testing the ASUS PCV4X Apollo Pro 133A motherboard, I’ve come to like and dislike certain things about the board.
Likes:
Expansion Options: The ASUS P3V4X retires an ISA slot and adds another PCI slot for a 1 AGP, 6 PCI, and 1 ISA configuration. Now only if they would get rid of the last remaining ISA slot…
Variable Memory Speeds: Memory on this board can be run at a different speed to that of the FSB. This helps memory-limited overclocked systems attain higher speeds.
AGP 4X Bus: It works without a hitch!
Dislikes:
Memory Performance: The memory performance of this board is dismal at best. But there is little ASUS can do about this as it is the Apollo Pro 133A chipset that is affecting the memory performance.
Variable Memory Speeds: When the memory speed is not set in sync with the FSB speed, you may see drop in your hard drive’s performance. This may well be an isolated incident though.
Final words
ASUS P3V4X Apollo Pro 133A motherboard has a lot going for it. It is fully featured and has extensive support from system builders who frown at RDRAM. This board supports 133MHz bus speeds and uses SDRAM instead of the expensive RDRAM. Until RDRAM shows more significant performance improvements over SDRAM, there is no point for end users to invest in RDRAM.
This board is very stable, which can be credited to both the VIA Apollo Pro 133A chipset and the large capacitors used. This is the first board based on a VIA chipset I would actually consider using on a daily basis. It looks like ASUS has a winner on their hands with this excellent motherboard.
Like what you read?
If so, please join over 28,000 people who receive our exclusive weekly newsletter and computer tips, and get FREE COPIES of 5 eBooks we created, as our gift to you for subscribing. Just enter your name and email below:
