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  • ASUS CUSL2-C

    I was asked to provide a mini-review of Asus's new i815EP chipset-based motherboard. Overall, I like the board, but there are a few chipset-related things I don't like as well as some layout issues.

    Onboard VGA is gone, which is great. It brings down the price of the board substantially for a feature few (if any) of us need.

    The i815's bus speed limitations have not been corrected. The CPU/Memory bus ratio of 100 (CPU)/133 (RAM) still is not supported. It does support 133/133 and 133/100. Frankly, I think a ratio of 100/133 is far more useful than 133/100. Many of us have CPU's that run on a 100 MHz FSB and PC133 RAM. If you don't have a CPU that can run on 133 MHz bus, I see no reason at all to upgrade from a BX board to the i815.

    I did some testing yesterday with a BX board. My PIII 550E, overclocked to 733 MHz, was faster in gaming benchmarks than a PIII 800 (100 Mhz FSB) on the same platform. Games seem to really like the 133 MHz memory bus, and I got higher scores with Q3, 3DMark 2000, and UT with at 733 MHz. Winstone 2000 scores did improve with the higher clocked CPU, however.

    The missing VGA output is not replaced with a serial port, although a second serial port is supported by the chipset. Asus provides a sticker to cover up the hole in your I/O panel. They also provide a second, optional serial port which can be installed above a PCI slot and plugged into a jack on the motherboard. Two additional USB ports can be installed in much the same way.

    PCI 1 and 5 appear to share an IRQ. God knows why.

    AGP aperture continues to be limited to 32 or 64 MB.

    After setting the CPU/Memory bus ratio, you have the option to increase them in increments of 1. They are synchronized, so if you increase the CPU clock, the memory bus will follow.

    I'll provide an update on performance a bit later.

  • #2
    I think this board was built with the "EB" user in mind. You have both official 133/100 and 133/133 CPU/memory bus support and, of course, the 1/2 AGP divider.

    The board has native ATA100 support, so you won't have to fart around with a separate controller and drivers that only install properly when they feel like it.

    People seem to favor installing only Intel's INF Update, which ships with the board's installation CD. That's what I did, and it was simplicity itself. Just start the installer, all the drivers install, reboot, and upon reentering Windows, everything is recognized and installs properly.

    I've only tested drive performance with the recently updated Sandra 2001. Sandra claimed it performed better than its (her?) reference ATA-66 setup. I've had really bad luck with non-native on-board controllers and much prefer native support. It just works without having to fuss or pull your hair out.

    The board appears to be just a bit slower in games vs. the BX-133 setup I had before. I'll do some application testing in a short while and report back.

    If the board fits in your father's HP box and the case itself has standard ATX connectors, then I think it's a good deal. I got mine for $119.00, and a bet the price will go down some once the novelty wears off and early adopters have been properly soaked.

    Paul
    paulcs@flashcom.net

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    • #3
      does it still only provide 1.65V on POST during a cold boot?

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      • #4
        The CUSL2-C is a bit slower in gaming benchmarks than the Asus CUBX (@133MHz). I tried Quake3, the UT "Thunder" timedemo, and 3DMark 2000, and the CUBX consistantly beat the CUSL2-C.

        Sysmark2000 scores were about the same, with the CUSL2-C just edging out the CUBX. However, Content Creation Winstone seems to really like the CUSL2-C, beating the CUBX by a margin much higher than expected: 33.6 versus 30.3.

        Tests were run with with a PIII 550E clocked to 733 MHz. The CPU runs has been running reliably at 733 MHz for months with Intel's stock heatsink. I expect it performs identically to the PIII 733. I used a GeForce2 Ultra to minimize the chances of the videocard acting as a bottleneck. I suspect, however, that the 89 MHz AGP clock help give the BX board a boost with the gaming benches.

        Paul
        paulcs@flashcom.net

        [This message has been edited by paulcs (edited 02 December 2000).]

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        • #5
          Compton, no (or at least it didn't default back to 1.65 v for me). It maintained the voltage I set until I changed CPU's.

          At the first post, *after replacing the CPU*, it defaults to a 66 MHz front side bus and the processor's spec voltage. You just go into the BIOS, it recommends the correct FSB, and you can set it to whatever the CPU and RAM can handle.

          Boy, if it defaulted to 1.65 every time I cold booted, it would go back. Asus isn't coy about overclocking anymore. They're pretty upfront about it these days, and what you're describing sounds to me like a really bad bug.

          Paul
          paulcs@flashcom.net

          [This message has been edited by paulcs (edited 01 December 2000).]

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          • #6
            Thanks for the info Paul,

            It looks like the P2B-S will remain in my second system for yet another year.

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            • #7
              Sorry, I didn't really say what I meant. The CUSL2 only provides the CPU's default voltage during the POST on a cold boot. The ppl at the cusl2.com forums call this the "cold boot bug". It can make extreme overclocking difficult if your CPU needs a voltage bump to POST.

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