ASUS A8VE Deluxe Motherboard (Athlon 64FX/Athlon 64, Socket 939, VIA K8T890, ATX, 4GB DDR, 2000MHz FSB)

• Reviewed by: dakhang

  Strengths: Nice layoutLatest featuresWi-fi

  Weaknesses: No SLI

  Overall: This is one of the best motherboard out there with a decent price. This motherboard features mostly everything, and the best layout compare to other motherboard. Really easy to install components, much better than the one I have on my other computer. Highly recommended if you don't need SLI.

• Reviewed by: awin266

  Strengths: Asus quality, Lots of features, Fast when it works (Via chipset issues)

  Weaknesses: Poor stability of Via 4 in 1 drivers, particularly chipset/video driver incompatablities under Windows XP SP2

  Overall: My system: Antec case (350 W PS), A8V-E Deluxe Motherboard, PNY GeForce 6600GT PCIex, 1 Gb Corsair PC3200 mem., Athlon64 3200, Plextor PX-716A DVD-R, WD 160Gb SATA Drive; Worked great when first assembled then problems after updating to latest Via Bios and Hyperion 4 in 1 drivers. Now will fail to boot into Windows XP 90% of the time; detuning Bios PCIex settings (8 bit, 2046 packet size, 800 Mhz bus speed) enabled sucessful XP boot 1 out of 10 attempts. The system hangs at the point of video driver loading (Nvidia 66.xx drivers); this problem is well documented on the Via / AMD64 sites - traced to Via driver incompatabilities; no fix from Via yet. Tried many other fixes (reloading Windows XP, different driver combinations, tech support, etc.), I'm sick of this issue; purchasing an A8N-E (Nvidia chipset) to replace motherboard. Positively my last Via motherboard after many previous good experiences.

• Reviewed by: mike452

  Strengths: WiFi, 64-bit support, great audio support

  Weaknesses: Overclocking maximum 10%, difficult WiFi setup, missing some drivers for 64-bit OS including XP, 2003, and Linux, not fully compatible with all memory

  Overall: This board is nice. I downloaded all new drivers from Asus for Windows XP and worked perfectly. I had problems with drivers for 64-bit XP, 2003, and Linux. Only few 64-bit drivers are available from Asus. I purchased some cheap Corsair RAM, but the board will only run them at DDR333 instead of DDR400. Check the manual before buying your RAM.

• Reviewed by: salaki

  Strengths: Very good.. Tons of features come w/ this Mobo.All the stuff that you could think off plus it?s manufactured by Asus which is the leading.Also stable too.

  Weaknesses: Online Tech Support's response is slow and not very helpful.

  Overall: I am having problem w/ blue screen of death on my wirless card w/ Asus and the Asus techie just put the blame on my memory and to contact my memory manufacturer.Kingston prooved that nothing's wrong w/ my memory and should be fully compatible w/ this MB. It could have been XP problem and it could have been other problem but Asus' tech does not seem to help me other than dump this Q back to me to go to my memory manufacturer.Oh well Screw this, I just bought another wireless card to get out of this problem.

• Reviewed by: Jpesker

  Strengths: Nice features such as PCI Express, Dual-Memory, 64-bit CPU socket 939, Serial IDE competitively priced, good sound, CPU and voltage monitoring, 2000 MHz bus

  Weaknesses: Overclocking maximum 10%. Manual is well documented, but is little vague about Front Audio wiring. Long-Distance Support.

  Overall: Full ReviewI have just built an AMD 64-bit computer for myself, so this is not a professional review. Video processing is fast enough for me with an inexpensive x300 PCIe card. I am very satisfied with its performance. Video - 5 out of 5, great even with my inexpensive x300 PCIe card Stable- 5 out of 5 - No blue screens is a good thing! Sound - 4 and 5, Sound could be louder Speed - 4 and 5, Fast enough, but will be faster when I am using Serial harddrive.Overclock - 4 out of 5 - 10% OC limit Customer Service - 3 out of 5, good as long as your paying the telephone bill, emails are just a waste of time.Overall Rating: 4I have had a 2 major and 3 minor problems, so let the ranting begin: 1) Flashing/Updating Award bios - flashing to a newer BIOS number 1004 from 1003 did not work (although a more recent bios 1005 did flash correctly)2) Chipset Fan - spins and stops all day long, and loud3) Front Audio - diagram for setting up Front Audio is a little vague in manual 4) Asus Probe monitoring does not detect my Case Fans 5) Long Distance Tech Support is only worth the long distance fees if computing is not your first language, otherwise, I get someone emailing me short repies like I just opened the box...to be continued.BIOS - At the time I wrote this review, 2 out of the 3 flash methods would not work, and my BIOS eventually would not boot up my PC. Why my PC did boot up probably had to do with ME changing the Bootup Picture using My Logo and using the updated bios 1004 (even though it did not flash correctly). I should of saved my old bios 1003 using the online software, and then proceded to change My Logo Picture using my saved bios. Still, Asus/Award should have more warnings why BIOS would not update despite my silly mistake of using the wrong bios. I had to send back the BIOS chip for reflashing for 10 days and $5 bucks later. Chipset Fan - A new problem with the Chipset fan not working without fail is occurring. ASUS, in an email, without any explanation, tells me to return the whole motherboard for repair.*Sound - The directions for audio could be a bit clearer. Leave the Jumpers for Front audio on-the-board if not using any Front audio, and 5 V in the manual is meaningless according to Help files I have read online. Memory - Most people probably will use 2 memory sticks. But, if only using one single memory stick at first, PC will only work if you put the single memory stick in the B slot, and not the A slot for dual memory. I spent a very long time trying to boot up initially until I tried every memory bank. Keep this in mind if this pertains to you. Overclocking: This board will only overclock 10-12% above your CPU rating without changing your Memory speed, So, my AMD 64 3000 overclocked at 1.8 G/Hz, at 10% OC, is 1.98 G/Hertz. Anything much higher, and memory will lower to PC2700 from PC3200 or to 333 MHz from 400 MHz and stability is questionable. But, I'm satisfied with only pushing my CPU at 10% above its base frequency.Customer Service - Just know that I had a bad Front Audio and a Power Supply from Powermax, Inc., I have had my share of problems building this new PC using Powermax. The $60 bucks spent and, more hours than I can count, to get a cheap Powermax case proved to be a nightmare. The Power Supply does not turn off, thus my PC does not turn off. I finally used my older 300 Watt Power Supply to locate this problem. Typical of engineering and technical types, short emails. If you really want your answers, Asus requires you to dial up the long distance for more in-depth service. The Bottom LineI like the Asus A8V-E Deluxe, and so far, is worth every penny I spent, so far. I wanted a fast, stable motherboard with lots of features, one being, PCI Express with no choppy video frames. I am satisfied with my purchase despite some setbacks.*I had a problem with its cheap plastic Northbridge Chipset Fan. So, I decided to seek help from Asus. I sat down and wrote out a very detailed email explaining the issue in hopes that, if I write it down, it would be easier to explain the problem. Not so. Apparently, at Asus, there is a real discrepancy who can fix a problem and who just refers you to the RMA department. In a reply about my email, I was referred to RMA to return the entire motherboard -----for a $1 FAN. This kind of bad advice upset me so much that I steamed over the problem for another month. Then I decided to email them again. So, I get this reply:"It is up to the RMA department on whether to send you a new fan or RMA the motherboard to have our techs install the fan. I would contact them at 510-739-3777 and choose option number 3 and see if they will just send you the fan." Did this email solve my problem? Is my new fan installed right now after now going on 3 emails? I think NOT. The Asus Lesson here is one can spend hours typing out time-consuming emails or you can spend only $1 dollar on phone support.