AOpen AX3S-Pro i815E

Friday, November 03, 2000


Additional features

Additional features of the AOpen AX3S-Pro include: Wake on LAN, Wake on Modem Ring, PS2 connectors, 2 USB ports, Suspend to RAM, Suspend to Disk, RX/TX connectors, DieHard BIOS protection, and start-up from the mouse, keyboard, or at a pre-set time. Hardware monitoring of fan speeds, CPU temperature, and of voltages is also provided as a standard feature on this PC99-compliant motherboard.

Furthermore, an AC"97-complatible sound-card using the Analog Device AD1885 chip as well as an integrated 3D graphic card part of the i815E chipset are integrated onboard. In short, the AX3S-Pro is an all-in-one solution that nevertheless manages to be more generous & versatile than most ATX boards that we've come across.

Below, a photo of the AOpen AX3S-Pro.


Click here to expand the image

Note: Click here for detailed specifications.


Installation

Installation of the AOpen AX3S-Pro is pretty simple. Only two jumpers exist that may be of any interest: JP23, and PJ29, which can be used to force the FSB to operate at a given frequency. Once they've been set - or else left alone at the default Auto position, thus allowing the system to set itself automatically - its' simply a matter of installing the board in a casing, plugging in, booting-up, and making a quick trip through the BIOS to make any adjustments.



The software bundle

The installation CD includes Intel patch (v2.30.0014) for the i815 chipset, drivers for the sound and video cards, a utility for flashing the BIOS, a Windows utility for monitoring the hardware, Adobe Acrobat Reader, a digital version of the user's manual, and a very interesting product named "Product Quality Assurance", which is composed of a series of benchmark programs capable of testing the various bits of your system for irregularities. A second, bonus CD also includes Norton Antivirus.



The hardware bundle

The AX3S-Pro is also accompanied by a couple pieces of hardware, including an 80-pin ATA66 cable, a 40-pin ATA33 cable, a multi-plug for placing additional USB ports on the rear panel, and a floppy-drive cable.

Next: The Tests


AX3S Pro
  • Model: AX3S Pro
  • Form Factor: ATX
  • Memory Slots: DIMM x 3
  • Chipsets: Intel 815E (+ICH2)
  • CPU Bus Clock
    Spec: 133
    Max: 166
  • Notes: DIE-HARD BIOS (Upgrade optional)
    / ATA/100 / PC133 /     CNR / AC'97
    Audio / 4X AGP
Key Features
  • Support 66/100/133 MHz FSB for Intel Celeron & Pentium III Socket 370 CPU
  • Support PC133 SDRAM DIMM
  • Jumper-less Design
  • DIE-HARD BIOS wtih External Controller (Upgrade Optional)
  • CPU clock ratio from 1.5X to 12.0X
  • Integrated 2D/3D Graphics Engine with Dynamic Video Memory Technology
    - Integrated 24-bit 230Mhz RAMDAC
    - Integrated H/W Motion Compensation Engine
    And, One AGP Slot for 4X/2X/1X AGP Graphic Card Upgrade
  • Optional 4MB AIMM Display Cache Upgrade for Integrated VGA through AGP Slot
  • AC'97 2.1 Audio support / Audio Codec onboard
  • Support Communication and Networking Riser (CNR)
  • Enlarged 24K Gold Plated Heatsink for Chipset
  • Enhnacement of 2200u Low ESR Capacitors for Overall Stability
  • CPU Vcore Adjustment for Overclockers through BIOS Setting (1.3V~3.5V)
  • 4 Channel USB Ports Ready (Additional USB Cable included)
  • Support Dr. LED (Optional)
  • Support Ultra DMA/100 HDD (Additional UDMA/100 Cable included)
  • Hardware Monitoring
  • Wake On LAN / Timer / Keyboard / Mouse / Modem
  • PCI Rev 2.2 Compliant
  • Resetable Fuse Providing Short Circuit Protection for Keyboard and USB Device
  • AC Power On Auto Recovery
  • Microsoft PC99 Logo
  • ACPI S3(Suspend to RAM) & S4(Suspend to Disk) support
  • Year 2000 Compliant
  • AOpen Bonus Pack CD (Norton Anti-Virus 2000 v6.0 included)
Specifications
  • CPU: Intel Celeron (PPGA, FC-PGA Type)
    Intel Pentium III (FC-PGA Type)     CPU Table
  • ASIC: Intel 815E (+ICH2) Chipset
  • Architecture: 1*CNR slot + 5 PCI slots +1 AGP slot
  • Max. Main Memory: Max. 512MB SDRAM ( PC-100 or PC-133 ) for 168pin DIMM*3
  • DIMM Type: 8/16/32/64/128/256 MB
  • On Board VGA:
    Integrated 2D/3D Graphic Engine:
    -2D Resolutions & Colors(Max Refresh Rates)
    640x480 256/65K/16.7M Colors(85/85/85Hz)
    800x600 256/65K/16.7M Colors(85/85/85Hz)
    1024x768 256/65K/16.7M Colors(85/85/85Hz)
    1280x1024 256/65K/16.7M Colors(85/85/85Hz)
    1600x1200 256 colors(85Hz)
  • On Board Sound: Analog Devices AD1885 AC'97 CODEC onboard
  • BIOS: Award Plug and Play 4MB Flash ROM BIOS
  • On Board I/O:
    1 Serial Ports (UART 16C550 Support)
    1 Parallel Port (SPP/EPP/ECP Support)
    2 Channel E-IDE (Mode 4 and Bus master Ultra DMA 33/66/100 Support)
    1 Floppy Drive Connector (1.2/1.44/2.88MB)
    2 Channel Universal Serial Bus Ports
    1 PS/2 Mouse Port
    1 PS/2 Keyboard Port
    Game/Midi Port ,Speaker-Out ,Line-In , Mic-In
  • Onboard Connector:
    CD-Audio, Aux-In, IrDA , Wake-On-Lan , CPU Fan, Chassis Fan, GPIOx2
    Additional 2 Channel USB Ports (via USB cable)
  • Battery: 3V Lithium Battery
  • Green Function: Yes
  • Board Size: 305mm x 220mm, ATX Form Factor