Transcend TS-AKR4 KT266A socket A DDR
Friday, February 15, 2002
Introduction
Today seems to be the day that Transcend finally tosses its hat into the KT266A motherboard ring. Traditionally, Transcend has been better known for its memory modules, than for its mainboards. These days, its mobo catalog it brimming-over, and the company has built-up a solid reputation in the marketplace. The TS-AKR4 that we'll be reviewing today closely follows Transcend's usual design philosophies: sober, stable, and aimed primarily for the OEM market. As a result, though their boards have rarely been completely deprived of Overclocking functionality, tweakers and Overclockers have never been their strongest audience. Today, we'll be seeing whether the company has any surprises in store.
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Characteristics of the Transcend TS-AKR4
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CPU
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AMD CPU Duron 600~900+MHz(FSB 200 MHz)
AMD CPU Athlon 600~1400+MHz(FSB 200/266 MHz)
AMD CPU Athlon XP 1500~1900+MHz(FSB 266 MHz)
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Chipset
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VIA KT266A VT8366A + VT8233A
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Form factor
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ATX - 30.5cm X 21.3
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Expansion
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5 PCI - 0 ISA - 0 CNR - 1 AGP - 6 USB
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Memory
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3X 184-pin DIMM 3GB DDR SDRAM PC1600 - PC2100
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FSB
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100MHz to 166MHz in 1MHz increments
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Vcore adj.
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-.05v to +.2v
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Vio adj.
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NA
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Audio chipset
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embeded into the chipset
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Configuration
The Transcend TS-AKR4 features a nearly Jumperless design. The only on-board jumper worth mentioning, in fact, is JP3, which can be used to reset the BIOS. It is further complemented by a block of Dip switches (SW3), which can be used to set the FSB to 100MHz or 133MHz. All other adjustments are performed from within the BIOS.
Adjustments related to the processor, for instance, are performed from within the "Frequency/Voltage Control" menu. From there, its possible to make a number of changes.
First and most important, users are given the ability to set the FSB frequency to any value ranging from 100MHz to 166MHz in 1MHz increments. It's also possible to alter the Vcore voltage, by setting it to any of the values indicated in the table above.
Unfortunately, the overall selection of Overclocking features is fairly restrained. The TS-AKR4 lacks, for instance, features allowing for the adjustment of the clock multiplier, or the Vio or DRAM voltages.
A number of functions related to memory timing are included however, and are found within the "Advanced Chipset Features" menu. Primarily, these include the ability to set the independent memory bus frequency to 100MHz, 133MHz, or SPD (Serial Presence Detect) - the last of which allows the system to automatically determine the proper bus setting according to the memory installed.
Next: Technical details.
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