Asus A7A266 ALiMaGik 1 socket A

Wednesday, December 12, 2001


Introduction

The Asus A7A266 is a revised version of the A7V133 that uses the ALi Magik 1 chipset, rather than the earlier VIA KT133A. As a result of the switch over, the new A7A266 comes with support for both DDR, and SDR SDRAM. Combine that with its excellent design, and cornucopia of Overclocking features, and it seems that the A7A266 may be well-geared for the Overclockers' market...

Let's take a closer look.

Characteristics of the Asus A7A266
CPU
Socket A for AMD® AthlonTM / DuronTM 550MHz ~ 1GHz+ CPU
Chipset
ALiMaGiK 1 M1647 - M1535D+
Form factor
ATX - 30.5cm X 24.5cm
Expansion
5 PCI - 0 ISA - 1 AMR - 1 AGP Pro - 6 USB
Memory
2X 184-pin DIMM 2Gb DDR SDRAM PC1600 - PC2100
3X 168-pin DIMM 3Gb SDRAM PC100 - PC133 - VCM
FSB
100Mhz to 166Mhz in steps of 1Mhz
Vcore adj.
1.75 to 1.85 in steps of 0.025v
Vio adj.
NA
Audio
embeded into the chipset with the C-Media CMI8738 available as an option


Configuration

As is the case with most Asus boards, configuration of the A7A266 can be done through the use of on-board jumpers and Dip-switches, or through the BIOS.

By opting for a Jumperfree setup, users are afforded the ability to access all functions from within the convenience of the BIOS menu-system.

To make use of the jumpers and Dips, however, users should set jumper JEN to position 1-2. Otherwise, a Jumperfree setup can be enabled by setting JEN to 2-3.

In the case of the former configuration, Dip-array DWS switches 6 to 9 can be used to set the board's clock multiplier setting to between 5x and 12.5x, though it should be noted that this feature is also available from within the BIOS.

Within the BIOS, most configuration settings are grouped together within the "Advanced" menu, which includes options for:

  • Changing the FSB frequency.
  • Setting the memory bus frequency to 100Mhz or 133Mhz.
  • Setting the Vcore voltage
  • Adjusting the clock multiplier
  • Tweaking various memory timing options

    .. among many others.

    Index:

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