Cheap thrills, few frills
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The 755A01-6EKRS may have one of the most awkward names around, but don't let that discourage you. With Gigabit Ethernet, two Serial ATA RAID options, and a generally tweak-friendly BIOS, the 755A01 serves up plenty of perks for less than $90. Can this budget wonder keep up with more expensive and established Athlon 64 offerings? Read on to find out.
The specs
Before we take a pictorial tour around the 755A01, let's take a peek at the board's full spec sheet.
| CPU support | Socket 754-based Athlon 64 processors |
| Form factor | ATX |
| Chipset | SiS755 |
| North bridge | SiS755 |
| South bridge | SiS964 |
| Interconnect | MuTIOL (1.06GB/sec) |
| PCI slots | 5 32-bit/33MHz |
| AGP slots | 1 AGP 4X/8X (1.5V only) |
| Memory | 3 184-pin DIMM sockets Maximum of 3GB of DDR266/333/400 SDRAM |
| Storage I/O | Floppy disk 2 channels ATA/133 2 channels Serial ATA 150 via SiS964 south bridge with RAID 0,1 support 2 channels Serial ATA 150 via Sil 3112 SATA RAID controller with RAID 0, 1 support |
| Audio | 6-channel audio via SiS964 integrated audio and ALC655 codec |
| Ports | 1 PS/2 keyboard 1 PS/2 mouse 2 serial 4 USB 2.0 with headers for 4 more 1 IEEE 1394 port via VT6307 Firewire controller 1 RJ45 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet via Realtek RTL8110S 1 front out 1 bass/center out (shared with line in) 1 rear out (shared with mic in) |
| BIOS | Phoenix AwardBIOS |
| Bus speeds | CPU: 200-232MHz in 1MHz increments |
| Bus dividers | SRC/ZCLK/AGP/PCI: 100/133/66/33, 100/150/75/37, 100/133/80/40 |
| Voltages | None |
| Monitoring | Voltage, fan status, and temperature monitoring |
In terms of features and peripherals, the 755A01 doesn't bring anything new to the table. What makes the board impressive is the fact that it's sporting Gigabit Ethernet and two Serial ATA RAID options for under $90. Throw in a little Firewire and some six-channel audio, and the 755A01 touches every peripheral base except ATA/133 RAID.
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