Affordable, Fast and Reliable Solution to Desktop Power.
Written: Apr 18 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: DDR SDRAM support, optional USB 2.0 card, AGP LED.
Cons: None that I found.
The Bottom Line: Reliable motherboards can mean a difference between perfection and disaster. With the ASUS P4B266 motherboard, you can rest assured while you have the power to work on your computer.
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| lavoisier's Full Review: ASUS Intel 845 Chipset P4B266 (P4B266 PA W/USB2.0)... |
When I’ve been looking for an inexpensive way to a new Intel Pentium 4 desktop computer for personal use, I had many choices. I either spend my hard earned money on a Dell or buy it off from a local computer hardware store by making a quote or build my own by buying parts from a local computer store. But I ended up building it on my own, without much help necessary at all. Because I needed the full potential of the Pentium 4 processor, but without the price, I decided to go with DDR SDRAM along with the Pentium 4. So, I went with the ASUS P4B266 motherboard, which allows me to use my Pentium 4 1.8GHz processor along with the 512MB of DDR SDRAM that I’ve bought for my computer. Well I had other alternatives, but if I went for the i850 chipset, I have to use RDRAM and I have to have memory modules in pairs. Meaning that if I want 512MB of memory in the system, I need to buy two separate 256MB RIMM modules, which is very inconvenient for those that just want small memory upgrades. But if I chose the i845 chipset, I would have to sacrifice speed while I get value here.
Features
The motherboard features the usual 2 PS/2 ports for the mouse, 2 USB ports for the scanners, PDAs, digital cameras, digital audio players and many more, 2 serial ports and a printer port. But the integrated network and/or audio ports are optional for the board. Plus, the motherboard also bundled with a USB 2.0 card (optional at time of purchase) for the rear ports, but it does take up the space of one slot, even though it doesn't occupy a PCI slot. But 5 PCI slots are more than sufficient for anyone using the computer for expansion purposes. Plus with the USB 2.0 adapter, depending if equipped at the time of purchase, you can use those ports for even greater speed for those that have USB 2.0 compliant devices such as USB 2.0 CD Rewriters.
Installation
Installing the motherboard is particularly easy, because of the user manual that shows us very carefully how to really install the motherboard. Plus a neat feature for those that are really having trouble guessing whether the video card is exceeding 1.5V is the AGP LED feature. This feature allows us to know whether you've plugged in a 1.5V AGP video card or not. If you’re not using a 1.5V AGP video card, that LED should come out to be red. This is really a smart feature, because if anyone is using a video card exceeding 1.5V, the computer will not turn on, even though anyone is willing to force it. This is because if the voltage of the video card is too high, it can increase the chances of damaging the motherboard and thereby voiding the warranty as a result.
Like most motherboards that are offered, the I/O port configuration isn't any different for this motherboard. As a result of this, they don't really have to worry about changing I/O port panel nor that they have to buy a completely new case for it. But do keep in mind though, for the processor purposes, it’s encouraged to use an approved Pentium 4 power supply for the case, as some power supplies are not sufficient for the power of the Pentium 4, since it generates more heat due to the power consumption compared to the Pentium 3.
Before you secure your motherboard into the case, install the processor, heat sink, processor fan and memory modules. Then plug in your add on cards and necessary cables to the board, including ribbon cables. All the remaining steps of installation of the motherboard is just by following the manual. Despite that most motherboards vendors that are based in Taiwan, Asus' manuals for the motherboards are easy to follow, including the P4B266.
Once I'm finished with the hardware, I turned on the computer and set the BIOS to the ideal settings and it was again relatively easy to go under, because of the manual that it was provided.
By the time when the BIOS is complete, I've then installed the drives and the remaining add on cards to complete the installation.
After the final installation, it's time to install Windows XP Home Edition. Since this is about the motherboard, I won’t go into further details about it.
Keep in mind though as this motherboard can only accept 478-pin Pentium 4 processors.
Experience
With the Pentium 4 processor along with DDR SDRAM, I can really feel that there's speed going on and I've been using Pentium 4 systems that are equipped with conventional SDRAM and RDRAM and I had some bad experiences with them, because either the RDRAM method was too costly or that the SDRAM method was too slow. Here with the DDR SDRAM, I get the speed of the RDRAM without the real premium and the woes that I face with the Intel i850 chipset. With this motherboard, I can expand the memory to 2GB through the 3 DDR DIMM slots, which is more than enough for many users. But for those that have become experts or amateurs for the computer could use an extra GB of maximum memory.
I believe that Intel has once done it again with the i845 chipset series, especially the i845D chipset, because it provides compatibility and speed in just one remarkable product. But basically the success that this motherboard has really comes from the i815 chipset based products for the Socket 370 processors.
Because it has 6 PCI slots in total, I can easily have add on cards without the worry of buying a new motherboard at all.
Even after about 3 months since I've used this motherboard, it hasn't crashed on me at all and I can really rely on ASUS to get the job done when I'm on the computer.
Specifications
Socket 478 Northwood Processor
400MHz FSB
i845D Chipset by Intel
3 DDR DIMM slots for up to 2GB DDR SDRAM
One 4x AGP slot
Six PCI slots
One CNR slot
Optional Integrated 6-channel audio card
Optional Network Port
Optional USB 2.0 card
My recommendation
For those that are looking for an economical and fast way for their Pentium 4 processors, the i845D chipset is the way to go. If you're looking for a motherboard to go along with that, by all means buy the Asus P4B266, with its unparalleled reliability and quality. You won't regret it once you’ve bought it.
My Computer
Intel Pentium 4 Processor at 1.8GHz (0.13u and 512k)
512MB DDR SDRAM
Asus P4B266 Motherboard
Maxtor 100GB hard drive
3.5" Floppy Drive
Pioneer 16x DVD ROM
Plextor 24x10x40 CD Rewriter
ATi Radeon 7500 64MB 4x AGP
Sound Blaster Audigy
Creative Inspire 5.1 5300 speakers
3com 10/100 Network card
Logitech Cordless Freedom Optical
MS Windows XP Home Edition
Viewsonic PS790 19" Monitor (18" Viewable)
300W ATX Mid Tower Case (P4 compliant power supply, w/2 front USB ports)
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 150
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Epinions.com ID:
lavoisier
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Member: Hugh Jazz
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Reviews written: 180
Trusted by: 26 members
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