DFI 748-AL
SiS 748 Mainboard Review (1)
Bluetooth 19th Aug 2003
Introduction
If you remember, in the days of the 735, 745,
746, 746FX, most of manufacturers claimed to sell the boards but it turned
vapourware. DFI 748AL made that promise and delivers the goods and today we will
take a good look at this long awaited overclocking board from DFI. DFI 748AL is
the board that will definitely entice you to take a good look at the power of
both SiS 748 with overclocking features. With the DFI 748AL, DFI has broken the
rule that SiS is a low end entry level product and it is not overclockable
oither than modifying it.
The DFI 748-AL supports AGP 8X, USB 2.0,
10/100Ethernet, 6 channel audio. It supports up to 3GB
memory (unbuffered DIMM), Supports PC1600 (DDR200), PC2100 (DDR266),
PC2700(DDR333) and PC3200 (DDR400) DDR SDRAM DIMM, 2.5V type Three 184-pin DDR
SDRAM DIMM sockets. DFI 748-AL supports CPU overclocking in 1MHz stepping. CPU/DIMM/AGP/Chipset
overvoltage for overclocking.
Specifications
CPU
AMD Athlon(TM) XP 266/333/400MHz FSB
AMD Athlon(TM) 200/266MHz FSB
CPU Socket
Socket A
Chipset
SiS® chipset
- North bridge: SiS748
- South bridge: SiS963L
Memory
Supports up to 3GB memory (unbuffered DIMM)
Supports PC1600 (DDR200), PC2100 (DDR266), PC2700(DDR333) and PC3200 (DDR400)
DDR SDRAM DIMM, 2.5V type
Three 184-pin DDR SDRAM DIMM sockets
BIOS
Award BIOS, Windows® 98/2000/ME/XP Plug and Play compatible
CPU overclocking in 1MHz stepping
CPU/DIMM/AGP/Chipset overvoltage
Flash EPROM for easy BIOS upgrades
Power Management
Supports ACPI STR (Suspend to RAM) function
Wake-On-Events include:
- Wake-On-PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse
- Wake-On-USB Keyboard/Mouse
- RTC timer to power-on the system
Hardware Monitor
Monitors CPU/system temperature and overheat alarm
Monitors 1.8V/±12V/5V/3.3V/CPU/3VSB/5VSB voltages and failure alarm
Monitors CPU/chassis fan speed and failure alarm
Read back capability that displays temperature, voltage and fan speed
CPU Temperature Protection function during system boot-up
Uses Realtek 8201BL Phy fast ethernet controller
Integrated IEEE 802.3, 10BASE-T and 100BASE-TX compatible PHY
PCI IDE
Supports ATA/33, ATA/66, ATA/100 and ATA/133 hard drives
UDMA Modes 3, 4, 5 and 6 Enhanced IDE (data transfer rate up to 133MB/sec.)
Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP)
Supports AGP 8x up to 2133MB/sec. and AGP 4x up to 1066MB/sec. bandwidth for 3D
graphics applications
Rear Panel I/O Ports
2 USB 2.0/1.1 ports
1 RJ45 LAN port
2 DB-9 serial ports
1 DB-25 parallel port
1 mini-DIN-6 PS/2 mouse port
1 mini-DIN-6 PS/2 keyboard port
1 game/MIDI port
3 audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in
I/O Connectors
2 connector for 4 additional external USB 2.0/1.1 ports
1 connector for 1 external game/MIDI port
1 front audio connector for external line-out and mic-in jacks
2 internal audio connectors (AUX-in and CD-in)
1 4-channel audio output connector
1 S/PDIF-in/out connector
1 connector for IrDA interface
2 IDE connectors
1 floppy connector
1 ATX power supply connector
1 Wake-On-LAN connector
3 fan connectors for CPU fan, chassis fan and second fan
Expansion Slots
1 AGP slot that supports 8x/4x AGP
5 PCI slots
PCB
4 layers, ATX form factor
30.5cm (12") x 21.5cm (8.46")
