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Date |
: Oct 22nd, 2001 |
| Category |
: Motherboards |
| Manufacturer |
: ASUS |
| Author |
: Jin-Wei Tioh |
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As with the trend exhibited in nearly all recent products, ASUS added the OEM-ish feature of integrated audio. The C-Media CMI-8738 PCI audio controller used is a higher quality part, boasting A3D and DirectSound 3D compatibility, 4-channel audio and SPDIF input/output. It's actually a rather decent audio solution, and being hardware-based hogs less CPU time while providing more functionality than competing AC'97 solutions.
The TUA266 also sports the iPanel, an optional accessory. The iPanel is a module that is installed in a free 5.25" drive bay and comes in two version : basic and deluxe. The basic version comes with a 4-digit display that keeps the end-user up-to-date about current system status and can report errors, several program quick-launch keys, and 2 USB ports. The deluxe version adds serial ports and audio jacks. An ASUS motherboard complemented with either iPanel will have good diagnostic capabilities.
To round out the bundle, ASUS includes the appropriate cables and headers, a detailed manual and CD which contains the drivers, utilities and a full version of PC-Cillin 2000 for Win9x/NT/2000. This saves the end-user time, money and inconvenience of separately purchasing an antivirus program, though this reviewer cannot personally vouch for the software's quality.
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