Asus A7S333-E SIS745 Chipset

[noko]

I saw this at Newegg.com for $65!! Looking at Asus site:
<A HREF="http://www.asus.com/mb/socketa/a7s333/overview.htm" target="_new">http://www.asus.com/mb/socketa/a7s333/overview.htm</A>
Only makes me want this baby more, looks like a great overclockable Sis745 chipsetted board.

<b>Anybody have any idea how this board will perform or any links showing a review of this baby??</b>

Thanks in advance.

 

[jlanka]

you can't buy the board alone from newegg - must buy it with other hardware.

<i>It's always the one thing you never suspected.</i>

 

[Mr_Dillon]

Hello!

I haven't been able to find any info on the net about this board, but I decided eventually 2 weeks ago to order one for a system I built for my nephew. It wasn't the E version, but rather the A7S333. It has onboard 6 channel sound which is supposed to be fairly good, but unfortunately the board I received had a defect output so only one speaker works when I use it on a stereo setup.

Other than that my impression of the board is good! I haven't done any benchmarking on it yet, since I installed an old Voodoo3 board as a temporary solution until the GF4 Ti4200 boards are available here in Norway, but I would recommend it as a good, cheap solution well worth the price. As some people might say, the Via KT333 chipset might be slightly faster but it's also quite a bit more expensive.

Andy

 

[lamer_gamer]

Try <A HREF="http://direct.mwave.com/mwave/Main.hmx?UID=&CID=&Back=" target="_new">here</A>. You can buy the board alone, unlike the newegg deal. I haven't found any reviews yet. Posters in various forums report great stability, but there's apparently no way to adjust vcore or VIO mem voltages as is listed on <A HREF="http://www.asus.com.tw/mb/socketa/a7s333/overview.htm" target="_new">Asus' overview page</A>. As such, how far you can oc with this board and remain stable is questionable. I like the specs of the board, and I'm keeping it mind for a future mb upgrade, but I'm waiting to see if a BIOS update will resolve the non-adjustable voltages issue.
I'm also considering MSI's SiS 745 board.

Alcohol; the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems.
-Homer Simpson

 

[noko]

Thanks all, no Vcore! That doesn't sound to promissing. Hopefully ASUS delivers what they say on their own site. Plus a faulty sound experience with one board already, that also doesn't sound to promissing . I like to overclock, was thinking of upgrading cheaply, until the Hammer from AMD takes root and then updating next June with a Hammer setup. I may still get this setup if I find more promissing info, once again thanks all .

 

[SammyBoy]

Interestingly enough, Asus claims that the board should have the Vcore and VIO options.

ASUS A7S333 offers the most overclocking options available to maximize your system performance.

Easy DIP Switch or Jumperfree™ overclocking from BIOS
Flexible CPU Core Voltage Adjustments in 0.05V increments over defaults
Accurate 1MHz adjustments of system-bus-frequency
Adjustable VIO memory voltage
Adjustable FSB/PCI/MEM ratio
Rock-solid stability

Since there have been no reviews yet, which I find weird (VIA conspiracy anyone? ) it's forces on to wonder if maybe someone forgot to check to make sure some settings were right. I know this for a fact: on my A7A266, the Vcore and VIO options are ghosted unless you swap a jumper above the dipswitches to allow for manual settings. Whether or not this is the case for the A7S333 remains to be seen. Since I can't get the stupid pdf to load up, someone else will have to check this out.

And as to the faulty sound... I'd have to say that it's just one of those things. Personally I get no-sound boards if I can, and just install a Hercules Game Theater XP, since it is the best sound card out there.

All in all, I'd suggest someone look at the manual and see if there is a jumper or dipswitch that needs to be swapped before the Vcore and VIO settings can be adjusted. I think it's Asus's way of preventing stupid people from screwing around in the BIOS and killing their computer, since by default the motherboard looks to the CPU for the Vcore settings.

-SammyBoy

 

[jlanka]

BTW - I did buy one from newegg, along with some other stuff. It looked too tempting to pass up.

<i>It's always the one thing you never suspected.</i>

 

[Mr_Dillon]

I'm not certain about this, but I think you are right about the jumper that must be set to allow Vcore and VIO adjustments. I'll check the manual, and report back later.

Andy

 

[Guest]

If you search for "SiS 745" on google you'll find many reviews of similar motherboards.
The SiS 745 with PC2700 is even with the KT266A with PC2100.
Save a little bit more and just get the Giga-Byte board reviewed here. It's not that expensive.

 

[lamer_gamer]

I'm interested to hear what you find. <A HREF="http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=29&threadid=769384" target="_new">Here's</A> a thread, from another forum, that discusses the voltage adjustment issue (about halfway down the first page).
Report back!

Alcohol; the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems.
-Homer Simpson

 

[Crashman]

Sounds like a deal to me! Since the release of the 735, SiS can do no wrong it seems, far better to support this company than VIA the abuser. It's a David and Goliath battle, SiS being better but VIA being bigger. To many Philistiens in these forums I think (the people who stood behind Goliath).

What's the frequency, Kenneth?