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Motherboard for AMD Processors

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PCQ Bureau
New Update

Asus A7VL-VM



Price: Rs 8,325


Features: VIA KM133 chipset for AMD Athlon/Duron processors; onboard video and audio; up to 1.5 GB RAM


Pros: MicroATX architecture to fit board into smaller cabinets; JumperFree mode for easy configuration; useful PC health-monitoring utility


Cons: FSB limited to 100 MHz; expensive


Contact: Tejas, Zeta India. Tel: 022-4102288; Fax: 4102277. A/2, Shreeji Niketan, 541/D, Dr. Ambedkar Rd., Matunga, C.Rly, Mumbai 400019.


Website: www.zetaindia.com 


E-mail: tejas@zetaindia.com 


The A7VL-VM from Asus is a barebones motherboard targeted at the lower 


 







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The A7VL-VM from Asus is a barebones motherboard targeted at the lower segment of the market. Its VIA KL133 chipset supports only Athlon or Duron processors. Based on MicroATX architecture it has only three PCI slots for limited expandability. The absence of a AGP slot leaves you with the integrated S3, unless you plan to put in a PCI video card. Onboard audio is provided for the music. 

The board supports up to 1.5 GB of PC133/ PC100 memory. Its new memory, VCM (Virtual Channel Memory) has UltraDMA/100 support. It also has a USB controller with four USB ports and a JumperFree mode that lets you adjust the processor frequency and voltage through the BIOS. Its PC health-monitoring software polls vital information like the CPU and motherboard temperature, and fan speed. Surprisingly, it supports only up to 100 MHz

FSB. 

We tested the board using a 1.1 GHz Thunderbird processor but we strongly recommend that you go for a better motherboard for CPUs faster than 1 GHz. All tests were done using 128 MB RAM and an IBM 7200 rpm hard drive. Our test setup scored a 40.3 and 36.6 in Business Winstone and Content Creation respectively–good for an entry-level board. However don’t expect earth-shaking frame rates with the onboard video. In Quake III Arena, resolutions more than 640x480x16 were unplayable with the frame rate hitting 36.6.

Overall, the board is good for those who want decent power under their hood for productivity applications, browsing, and lightweight gaming. However, the Rs 8,325 price is slightly high for its features. 

Anuj Jain for PCQ Labs

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