Motherboard Shuttle AV40

Article is grounded on substances of books "Arrangement of the multimedia computer" and "Motherboards and chip sets"

Shuttle corporation motherboards again step-by-step win popularity among the Russian users. To no small degree it is promoted by their newest products created under processors of Intel of Pentium 4. Thanks to successful design, excellence of manufacture, wide functionality and a quiescent operation, and also rather low price motherboards of this corporation entering, by the way, in first ten of manufacturers, have essentially pressed the similar production released by more aggressive competitors, taking the upper positions of the table of a rating.

As is known, motherboards concern one of the most important parts of modern computers, and their choice is the difficult and responsible task. On a choice of these accessories depend not only potential possibilities of systems, including their productivity, but even stability of their operation.

The functional complexity of modern motherboards which are a consequence of considerable number vysokointegrirovannyh of accessories, superimposes strict frames on their design. The problem of optimal design is aggravated with permanently increasing frequency requirements to information transfer buses. Thus, as it is possible to notice, from year to year the given requirements only increase, that is linked to tendency of implementators to provide growth of productivity of released products, and through them and computers.

All it toughens requirements to production of given, extremely difficult and responsible accessories which modern motherboards which, as a rule, are released according to the referens-design developed by manufacturers of processors and chip sets of the manufacturer concern. Shuttle corporation motherboard Shuttle AV40 concerns such products also.

It is necessary to mark, that the given corporation is included into first ten manufacturers of motherboards. And despite pressure of the aggressive competitors, Shuttle corporation continues to develop and release more and more perfect products which it is frequent on the functionality do not concede to the products created by leaders of this sector of the computer market.

As an example which is worthy, it is possible to result motherboards AV40 and AV40R, oriented to usage of processors of Intel of Pentium 4.

The given cards are constructed on the basis of chip set VIA P4X266 released alternatively i850 Chipset of the corporation of Intel (http://rudteam.narod.ru/mb.html).

Before to pass to consideration and the analysis of the architecture and possibilities of the specified motherboards, it is expedient to remind some data of a chip set. It is especially important as, as is known, the chip set to the greatest degree defines potential possibilities of the motherboard. And from that, how much successful there was a choice of this extremely important component designers of the motherboard, depend both parametres, and dependability of a released product. And it concerns not only the card, but, eventually, and all computer.

Fig. 1. Structure of the computer with chip set VIA P3X266

The structure of chip set VIA P4X266 is based on usage of the architecture, providing usage of two chips VT8753 and VT8233. By old tradition they and in this chip set are named as North Bridge and South Bridge.

For an expedition of an informational exchange between components of the computer unlike the traditional solution providing usage of bus PCI (33 MHz, 32 bits, 133 Mb), the specified chips are jointed by the special interface bus V-Link providing speed of an exchange of 266 Mb per second. The given solution rather recently for the first time has been successfully tested by designers of VIA corporation in chip sets VIA Apollo Pro266 and VIA Apollo KT266.

As well as in chip sets of the previous generations, chip North Bridge in which quality uses VT8753, defines possibilities of a chip set by operation with the processor, dynamic storage, the videoadapter and with chip South Bridge, hooked up by means of appropriate buses. Chip South Bridge in which quality uses, as a rule, VT8233, is responsible for interaction with hard disks, expansion cards and peripherals. Besides, it is frequent South Bridge provides both network possibilities, and audio.

Chip North Bridge VT8753 named quite often VIA P4X266, provides support of processors of Intel of Pentium 4 with Socket 423 plugs and Socket 478. Frequency FSB — 400 MГц (Quad Pumped, clock rate — 100 MHz, data transfer — 400 MHz, transmission of an address part — 200 MHz). Memory — PC100/PC133 SDRAM or PC1600/PC2100 DDR SDRAM at a maximum memory size of 4 Gbytes. Video — AGP 2X/4X. Firm interface bus V-Link provides link with maximum capacity 266 Мбайт/c.

Chip South Bridge VT8233 incorporates resources of support of two channels IDE with support of standards ATA 33/66/100, and also Ethernet/Home PNA. Supports to 6 USB 1.1, 5 PCI, AC ' 97, ACPI, OnNow etc .

In addition to the resulted parametres of chip set VIA P4X266, it is necessary to remind, that the architecture and functionality of motherboards, as is known, are defined not only type of applied chips of a chip set, and also quantity of DIMM slots setting number of units and sizes of dynamic storage. Besides, it is necessary to consider quantity of PCI slots, presence and types additional to the chips, functionality expanding a set, and also functionality of the special software etc.

Fig. 2. Motherboard Shuttle AV40

Processors: Pentiums 4 with processor Socket 478 plug and clock rate of bus FSB of 100 MHz, also are supported processors with kernel Northwood.

Chip set: VIA P4X266 (VT8753 + VT8233).

Dynamic storage: from 64 Mb to 1,5 Gbytes in 3 DIMM (184 pin, 2,5) PC1600/PC2100 DDR SDRAM, frequency of the bus of memory of 100/133 MHz.

BIOS: Award BIOS V6.0 PG.

Video: support of 1 arrangement AGP 1X/2X/4X.

Audio: AC ’ 97 codec VIA VT1611A

Input/output resources (I/O): 2 ports IDE (to 4 arrangements Ultra DMA 100/66/33), 2 PS/2 plugs for keyboard and mouse hooking up, 1 floppy-port, 1 parallel port DB25 (SPP/EPP/ECP), 2 serial ports DB9 16550 UART, 2 ports USB (+4 dop.), Line-Out, Line-In, Mic-In, MIDI/GAME.

Slots: 1 AGP, 5 PCI.

Forms the factor: ATX (305x244 mm).

Fig. 3. Motherboard Shuttle AV40 Basic elements

It is known, that the chip sets released recently, on complexity of the architecture and number of used units are already commensurable with processors. Especially it concerns chip North Bridge of a chip set defining operation of high-speed subsystems of the computer.

Functional complexity and presence of the big number of tightly packed semiconducting units of the modern chip North Bridge oriented to operation with high-powered units which concern the processor of Intel of Pentium 4, memory DDR SDRAM and AGP 4X videoadapter, demands adequate resources of cooling. These resources are usually presented by appropriate heat sinks. Engineers of Shuttle corporation have gone further and have added cooling fan to the heat sink, that on a plan of implementators, should raise stability and dependability of system. Usage of 16 capacitors in size 1500μF, kernels of the processor used in supply circuits is the same purpose. Being guided by experience of testing of various motherboards, it is necessary to underline, that designers are right, when use the specified resources of rise of stability and dependability of system operation. Especially such resources are actual in the forced modes characterised by raised operating frequencies, and, therefore, and the raised levels energopotreblnenija and teploobrazovanija. It is necessary to mark, that the forced modes (overclocking) step-by-step become more and more popular among users (http://rudteam.narod.ru/cpu.html).

Fig. 4. Coolers on the processor and chip North Bridge of chip set VIA P4X266 AV40

To rise of consumer properties of card Shuttle AV40 are also the whole six ports USB, two of them are output traditionally on a card backboard, and additional four demand special laths with ports. Their presence depends on a complete set.

It is necessary to mark, that there is an expanded variant of motherboard Shuttle AV40 — Shuttle AV40R. The main difference of the given variant is that in the card architecture specialised chip Promise 20265R IDE Controller uses. It has allowed to realise for the given variant of the motherboard of possibility RAID. As is known, RAID gives possibility to raise speed of operation and-or dependability of data storage on hard disks. For the same who is not gathered to use RAID, chip Promise 20265R IDE Controller allows to expand number of hooked up IDE-arrangements in comparison with a low variant of motherboard AV40.

BIOS motherboard Shuttle AV40 it is grounded on the version 6.00PG from Award and it is standard enough for the cards which basis is made by chip set P4X266.

BIOS Setup contains a wide range of regulations of operation of memory and bus AGP, possibility of hand-held allocation of interruptions on PCI slots and allows to change as the power submitted on a chip set, memory and a processor kernel, and frequency FSB with step in 1 MHz. Power Vcore can be increased to 1,85 In with step 0,025 In, and powers submitted on a chip set and DIMM units – to 2,65 In with step 0,05 Century

The functional mode of memory modules DDR SDRAM can be or synchronous (clock rate of 100 MHz), or asynchronous (clock rate of 133 MHz).

Levels of powers, temperature and operation of fans of coolers resources hardware monitoring (http://rudteam.narod.ru/mb/monitoring/monitoring.html), providing, by the way, inspect computer turn off at excess of temperature of the processor of the marginal level installed in BIOS Setup.

Among customisations BIOS Setup there is also a possibility of change of a multiplication factor of the processor, however, considering, that the multiplication factor of the processor for all serial samples is fixed, the given possibility is of interest only in the presence of engineering samples of processors.

As to high-speed performance, that, Shuttle AV40 is one of the most efficient cards created on the basis of a set of system logic VIA P4X266. Results of testing of this card are presented more low.

Pattern of systems:

Motherboards:

• Shuttle AV40
• Abit BE6-II.

Processors:

• Intel of Pentium of 4 1,6 GHz (Socket 478, 256 Kbytes of cache memory L2),
• Intel of Pentium of 4 1,5 GHz (Socket 478, 256 Kbytes of cache memory L2),
• Intel of Pentium III 550 (Slot 1, 256 Kbytes of cache memory L2),
• Intel of Pentium III 700 (Socket 370, 256 Kbytes of cache memory L2, it is used adapter Slot-Socket),

Hard disk: IBM DPTA-372050 (20 Gbytes, 2 Mb of the cache memory, 7200 rpm, UDMA/66).

Audio: Creative Sound Blaster Live! Player 1024 (CT4760)

CD-ROM: ASUS CD-S400/A.

THE WORKING MEMORY:

• 256 Mb SDR SDRAM,
• 256 Mb DDR SDRAM.

The videoadapter:

• Asus V3800 (TNT2) with a video memory of 32 Mb,
• Asus V7700 (GeForce 2 Ti) with a video memory of 64 Mb (in a pattern with the processor of Intel of Pentium of 4 1,5 GHz).

OS: Windows 98 Second Edition with the installed drivers of the controller of hard disks Ultra DMA/66.

Fig. 7. Results of test Winbench 99/Business Disk WinMark

Fig. 8. Results of test Winbench 99/High-End Disk WinMark

Motherboard Shuttle AV40 is given by "Euclid (www.euclid.ru corporation, the processor of Intel Pentim of 4 1,6 GHz is given by the corporation"Scorpion"(www.scorpion.ru), the processor of Intel Pentim of 4 1,5 GHz is given by the corporation" Svega + "(www.svegaplus.ru).