Experiences with Asus P3V4X?

[cwaters]

Is anyone using this MB successfully with W2K? If so, how do you find the USB support/stability to be?

I'm thinking of buying this board to replace a MB that is causing me all sorts of problems with W2K HCL-approved USB devices.

 

[AndyHui]

Stable, performs well. USB seems fine.

If you want to overclock, look for the PCB rev 1.02 with the ICS clock generator....it has more FSBs to choose from over the newer PCB rev 1.03 with the Winbond clock generator.

Make sure you install this fix that eliminates problems with Win2K and VIA chipsets.

 

[cwaters]

>>If you want to overclock, look for the PCB rev 1.02 with the ICS clock generator....it has more FSBs to choose from over the newer PCB rev 1.03 with the Winbond clock generator.

You lost me. What does PCB stand for? Is it another MB manufacturer?

Too many acronyms! ;^)

 

[mikee]

PCB - Printed circuit board (I think).

I have the P3V4X as well. Good, stable board. Definitely get the version with the ICS clock generator. 32 as opposed to 16 fsb settings with the Winbond.

 

[LocutusX]

Good board. Been holding up well for the past 6 months. I've put my system through more CPU/memory/HD-intensive stuff in the past 6 months than in the whole 3 years I owned my previous system, so the fact that it's still working surely means something. Also, all this during a 35% CPU overclock (600 -> 810). I recommend you use BIOS 1005. No problems with it in either Win2K or Win98SE.

One thing you should remember is that if you are using a GeForce 2 GTS with this mobo, you probably won't get AGP 4x to work with it. All of the GeForce 1's are fine, however.

 

[cwaters]

Thanks for the comments, everyone. I don't consider myself a power hardware user. Looking to transplant my P3/500 (Slot 1), ATI Rage 128, SB Live, DXR3 MPEG decoder, 3Com modem, and a bunch of USB devices--scanner, UPS, simple digital camera; keyboard and mouse, perhaps.

My current system has a 100MHz bus. 128MB RAM (SDRAM, I think). Will there be any issues transferring the processor, memory, or equipment--especially with the Asus P3V4X?

From what I've read, I won't be able to run the bus at 133MHz...not without new memory, anyway.

Being a system-level hardware novice, I appreciate your patience and any comments! ;^)

 

[cwaters]

>>...all this during a 35% CPU overclock (600 -> 810).

Is there a good primer on overclocking? With all the problems I've had with my existing system (non-overclocking) the thought of overclocking makes me more concerned!


>>I recommend you use BIOS 1005. No problems with it in either Win2K or Win98SE.

Is 1005 the latest? The P3V4X has an Award BIOS, correct?


>>...if you are using a GeForce 2 GTS with this mobo, you probably won't get AGP 4x to work with it.

I have an ATI Rage 128. I believe it is an AGP card, but I'm not sure. Should I expect any problems?

 

[LocutusX]

At first glance, your old system components would appear to work well with the P3V4X. However, I have close to zero experience with USB.



<< Is there a good primer on overclocking? With all the problems I've had with my existing system (non-overclocking) the thought of overclocking makes me more concerned! >>



The CPU/Overclocking forum has some smart overclockers. For newbie-friendly material you might want to try overclockers.com or maybe even tomshardware.com (I don't know if Anand has written any OC-specific articles recently).



<< Is 1005 the latest? The P3V4X has an Award BIOS, correct? >>



It's the latest official BIOS revision, available on the public ASUS website. There are a number of beta bioses available, but I don't bother with those. Some people report higher performance using the 1003.2 beta bios, but again, I don't want to bother with beta software for something as important as a system BIOS, when the only benefit is 0.5 fps in Q3A (or something similarly ridiculous).



<< I have an ATI Rage 128. I believe it is an AGP card, but I'm not sure. Should I expect any problems? >>



As far as I know, the only &quot;problem&quot; that the P3V4X has with video, is the difficulty of getting the GeForce 2 to run in AGP4x mode. That's it. I don't think there are ANY video cards which will fail to work outright, I think everything should run at least up to AGP 2x mode, which is more than sufficient for today's apps.

See Beast's site for more info.

 

[osage]

In a word GOOD

 

[Dead3ye]

<< From what I've read, I won't be able to run the bus at 133MHz...not without new memory, anyway. >>



Not true. This is one of the &quot;plus&quot; features of this board. It has asynchronus timing which means you can run your memory at 100 Mhz and the CPU at 133 Mhz. You can also reverse that and run Mem 133 Mhz and CPU 100 Mhz.

You will have to deal with some minor issues with the VIA 4-1 drivers and some bug fixes (Win2K), but with everything setup properly, this is one fine MB.

 

[cwaters]

>>You will have to deal with some minor issues with the VIA 4-1 drivers and some bug fixes (Win2K), but with everything setup properly, this is one fine MB.

I've never had a MB with a VIA chipset. What's the best way to approach the &quot;minor issues with the VIA 4-1 drivers&quot;? Download and install the three files listed on http://www.via.com.tw/drivers/index.htm, under the &quot;Windows 2000, 9x, NT&quot; section? Specifically, VIA 4-in-1 Driver, AGP Driver 4.03, and USB Filter Driver are listed there.

I'm aware of one W2K/VIA fix--Q261606. Are there others I should install?

 

[cwaters]

Thanks, everyone, for your comments! This forum is a GREAT resource!

I just ordered a P3V4X from MotherboardsDirect. They couldn't confirm the &quot;PCB rev 1.02 with the ICS clock generator&quot;, but said they sell a lot of these boards and almost always the latest and greatest. 30-day money back guarantee, just in case.

My adventure begins!

 

[iamthesystem]

Dead3ye-

&quot;Not true. This is one of the &quot;plus&quot; features of this board. It has asynchronus timing which means you can run your memory at 100 Mhz and the CPU at 133 Mhz. You can also reverse that and run Mem 133 Mhz and CPU 100 Mhz.&quot;

For some reason, I was under the impression that this was available with some VIA chipsets, but not the chipset that they built the P3V4x with. Do you have this motherboard, and are you running the CPU and memory at different speeds?

Thanks,

iamthesystem

 

[LocutusX]

I have the motherboard, and when I feel like it (i.e. not now) I run the memory at 100 and the FSB at 133. And once I ran the memory at 133 and the FSB at 100. Just to see if it would work. And it did. So there.

 

[osage]

I'll second what LocutusX said, done it too.

 

[Dead3ye]

I'll third what LocutusX said.

cwaters:

There is no bug fixes for Win9x that I know of (it wasn't for lack of reading material about this board). The only bug fix is for W2K.

Here's the story with the 4in1 drivers. You don't need to install the bus master drivers. The drivers with win98 work fine and in some cases better. Install the rest, especially the AGP driver. Your system will work without it, but it will take a serious performance hit, like 30 FPS in Quake 3 for example.

The only drivers you need to download and install are the 4in1 drivers as they contain the AGP, busmaster, USB, and miniport drivers. When you install the package, you have a choice as to which ones you want to install.

Hope this helps.