Re: ASRock 939Dual-SATA2

In article <Xns9728906A996B4jabshiremediaonenet@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, jma
<not@xxxxxxxx> wrote:

> I'm very leery about buying a "value" board but the ASRock 939Dual-
> SATA2 is my only option if I want to upgrade to Socket 939 and continue
> using my existing AGP card (Radeon X800 XT.) I read there were boot-up
> problems when the board first came out but they've supposedly been
> fixed with a BIOS update.
>
> This is for my gaming rig, so my main concerns are stability and
> compatibility with other hardware and software (I don't OC.) I've read
> the benchmark reviews but how does this board run in the real world?
> If it's a dog I'll hold off upgrading (and buy the A8N32-SLI Deluxe
> later) as I'm not ready to ditch the X800 XT yet.

And what would be wrong with an Asus A8V or A8V Deluxe ?
The Via K8T800pro chipset does AGP.

That Asrock board has a real AGP slot on it, due to the use of the
flexible ULI chipset. On other Asrock boards, they have an "AGI"
slot, which reduces performance. So, that will not be a problem
in this case.

http://www.techpowerup.com/printreview.php?id=/ASRock/939Dual-SATA2

You should have a look around, and find benchmarks for the U1695
chipset, to see how the various options perform.

http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2471&p=8

The Asrock board does a couple of SATA ports via the Southbridge,
and has a separate chip (JMB360) for a SATA2 port.

http://www.jmicron.com.tw/product/jmb360.htm

Whether buying an Asrock board is a good idea, really depends on
what people think of the quality and level of BIOS support,
whether drivers are conveniently located for download, and
whether the board architecture is good. In this case, I don't
see any of the usual shortcuts in the board architecture, so
this is really a matter of whether the ULI chips and the
Asrock BIOS, function correctly. (Download the user manual
and check the BIOS screens, to see if memory timing, clock
speeds, voltages and so on, are adjustable. Sometimes those
adjustments are essential to getting stability, like when
solving memory compatibility problems.)

The Asrock processor list for the board, is here:

http://www.asrock.com/support/CPU_Support/show.asp?Model=939Dual-SATA2

When it comes to architecture, there is a tendency for both Asrock
and Asus, to hide tiny details about the implementation. Asrock by
far is the worst offender, and Asus only fudges occasionally. There is
no explanation for how AGI works from Asrock, and on some Asus boards,
when a PCI-e x4 slot is offered, it turns out that sometimes there are
only two PCI-e x1 lanes connected to the x4 slot. In cases like that,
a little more honesty would be nice. (You shouldn't need a comp-sci
degree and a hand calculator, to work out what the feature set is. :-) )

HTH,
Paul
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Core 2 duo with AGP
    ... cash for a new card I don't actually need. ... ASRock also has 775Dual-VSTA based on VIA PT880 Pro/Ultra that supports ... It features a full-fledged AGP 8x slot and limited PCI Express ...
    (alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.asus)
  • Probleme mit Graka seit Upgrade auf Sockel 939
    ... habe ein kleines Problem mit meiner Graka, habe mir das ASROCK Dual SATA2 ... AGP Treiber sind installiert sowie verschiedene Detos durchgetestet. ...
    (de.comp.hardware.graphik)
  • Re: Probleme mit Graka seit Upgrade auf Sockel 939
    ... > habe ein kleines Problem mit meiner Graka, habe mir das ASROCK Dual SATA2 ... > gekauft samt 3500+ Venice und Kühler. ... > AGP Treiber sind installiert sowie verschiedene Detos durchgetestet. ...
    (de.comp.hardware.graphik)
  • Re: Any New Asus Boards With An AGP Slot?
    ... I've always heard good things about the Asrock motherboards. ... I believe Asus has ECS builds the motherboards for them. ... Intel is fully committed to PCI Express, ... AGP well, and some manufacturers still seem to have some ...
    (alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.asus)
  • Re: AsRock motherboards any good?
    ... I bought one because it could do BOTH AGP and PCI-E simultaneously. ... This motherboard got fantastic reviews in CustomPC - won awards etc. ... People were saying that Asrock was not as good as other makes, ... You can only overclock a little bit until it becomes unstable. ...
    (alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt)