Asus P5A - Manual (Page 9)

ASUS P5A User’s Manual 9
II. FEATURES
II. FEA
TURES
Smart Series
Introduction to ASUS Smart Series Motherboards
Performance
•
SDRAM Optimized Performance: ASUS Smart Series motherboards support
the new generation memory—Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory
(SDRAM)—which increases the data transfer rate to 800MB/sec max using
PC100-compliant SDRAM.
• Double the IDE Transfer Speed: ASUS Smart Series motherboards with ALi’s
Aladdin V chipset improves IDE transfer rate using UltraDMA/33 Bus Master
IDE, which can handle data transfer up to 33MB/sec. The best of all is that this
new technology is compatible with existing ATA-2 IDE specifications so there
is no need to upgrade current hard drives or cables.
• Concurrent PCI: Concurrent PCI allows multiple PCI transfers from PCI mas-
ter buses to memory to CPU.
• ACPI Ready: ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) is also imple-
mented on all ASUS Smart Series motherboards. ACPI provides more Energy
Saving Features for the future operating systems (OS) supporting OS Direct
Power Management (OSPM) functionality. With these features implemented in
the OS, PCs can be ready around the clock, yet satisfy all the energy saving
standards. To fully utilize the benefits of ACPI, an OS that supports ACPI, such
as Windows 98, must be used.
• PC’98 Compliant: Both the BIOS and hardware levels of the ASUS Smart
Series motherboards meet PC’98 compliancy. The new PC’98 requirements for
systems and components are based on the following high-level goals: Support
for Plug and Play compatibility and power management for configuring and
managing all system components, and 32-bit device drivers and installation pro-
cedures for Windows 95/Windows 98 and Windows NT.
Intelligence (with optional Hardware Monitor only)
•
Fan Status Monitoring and Alarm: To prevent system overheat and system
damage, the CPU fan and system fans are monitored for RPM and failure. Each
fan can be set for its normal RPM range and alarm thresholds.
• Temperature Monitoring and Alert: To prevent system overheat and system
damage, there is a heat sensor under the CPU and on the motherboard itself to
monitor CPU and system temperature to make sure the system is operating at a
safe heat level to avoid any failures triggered by extremely high temperature.
• Chassis intrusion Detection: Supports chassis-intrusion monitoring through
LDCM and the optional ASUS CIDB chassis sensor module.