Asus P55SP4 - Manual (Page 17)

P/I-P55SP4 User's Manual
BIOS-Supported Enhanced IDE Features
The BIOS has several feature enhancements for IDE hard disk
drives and support for other IDE devices.
^ The original IDE implementation was limited to two hard disk
drives with relatively slower data transfer rates. While this solution
is simple and reliable, it has some limitations that have become more
significant as the performance level of other system components and
overall system performance have increased dramatically with the
advent of new microprocessor, expansion bus and operating system
technologies.
In response to these demands, the IDE specification has been
updated to increase its capabilities and provide improved perfor­
mance. Together these are referred to as 'Enhanced IDE'. Enhanced
IDE features comprise the following:
• Support for IDE hard disk drives larger than the former 528MB
limit imposed by various technical factors.
• Support for IDE devices other than hard disk drives, includ­
ing IDE Tape Backup and CD-ROM drives.
• Support for two IDE channels with two devices per channel,
allowing the use of four IDE devices in one system.
• Support for faster data transfer rates, particularly with IDE
controllers that have a PCI local bus interface.
This mainboard supports the use of these new features. The fea­
tures work with the on-board PCI EIDE controller which has two con­
nectors built onto the board. With this controller you can use one or
both connectors to connect up to four IDE devices.
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