HotHardware - Transcends TS-ASL3

It seems like the folks at Transcend only came into the PC Motherboard scene within the last year or so. However, they have been in business making Memory Modules and Motherboards since 1988. Perhaps the reason they seem so new to us this year at HotHardware, is because their product offering has been rounding out nicely as of recent.

On our first pass with a Transcend product, we showed you one of their VIA based offerings. This is a HotHardware look at Transcend's efforts with Intel's very popular new mainstream chipset, the i815E. Transcend's VIA based boards seem like fairly solid merchandise. However, as i815 boards go, how does the Transcend TS-ASL3 stand up? All this and more in the pages to follow.

Processor

Support Intel Celeron FC-PGA 533A+ MHz (66MHz FSB)
Support Intel Pentium III FC-PGA 500~1000 MHz (100MHz FSB)
Support Intel Pentium III FC-PGA 533~1000 MHz (133MHz FSB)

Chipset

Intel 815E (82815+82801BA) with ICH2

System Bus :

66~166MHz adjustable by BIOS
FSB 66/100/133 MHz guaranteed

System Memory

3 x 168-pin DIMM sockets support up to 512MB SDRAM at 100MHz and 133MHz

Graphics/Audio

Intel Embedded VGA on board
Built-in AC97 CODEC

On board IDE

2 x Bus Master, support up to 4 devices
Supports DMA mode 2, PIO mode 3/4 and Ultra DMA 33/66/100

Expansion Slots

5 x PCI slots (32-bit Bus master with PCI v2.2 compliant)
1 x CNR (Communicate Network Riser) Slot
1 x AGP (1x/2x/4x) Slot

Board Dimensions

Four layers, 8.5" x12" (21.5 cm x 30.5 cm)
ATX form factor

ACPI BIOS

Award PnP 4Mb with ACPI support (Intel FWH)
Supports multiple-boot from E-IDE / SCSI /CD- ROM / FDD / LS120 / ZIP/1 x FDD port ( 3 mode, 1.2/1.44/2.88MB)
Boot-up Virus Warning
PnP BIOS in 2Mbit Flash EEPROM)
Green features

I/O Port (PC99 Color Compliant)

1 x FDD port(3mode,1.2/1.44/2.88MB FDD, LS120 )
1 x PS/2 Mini-Din keyboard port (6-pin)
1 x Parallel printer port (25-pin, SPP/EPP/ECP)
2 x RS-232 Serial (9-pin, 16550 UART compatible
4 x USB Ports
Game/MIDI connector
1 x Audio Line-out jack
1 x Audio MIC-in jack
1 x IrDA port (10-pin)

Boot-Block Flash BIOS ( Intel 82802AB, FWH)

Award PCI BIOS with green, ACPI, APM, plug and play, DMI functions (Default )
Supports multiple-boot from E-IDE / SCSI /CD-ROM / FDD / LS120 / ZIP, and Year 2000 complaint
4 M bit Flash Memory

System Hardware Monitor

Voltage/Temperature/Fan monitoring
on board voltage monitors for CPU core, +3.3V, +/- 5V, +/- 12V, VTT, 5VSB, VRTC
3 x fan status monitors with F/W programmable fan speed
CPU overheat alarm

Other Features

Keyboard power on (hotkey/password)
Power on by alarm
Modem ring on
Software power off control.PC99 Compliant
Boot-up Virus warning
Wake-on-LAN
Suspend to RAM (STR)
Power failure resume
CPU Core voltage Adjustable up to 10% buffer (Optional)

The list of features and capabilities with this board is comprised of the latest enhancements and add-ons that the i815E chipset brings to the table. For one, we really like seeing 6 PCI slots. The CNR slot is conveniently cornered at the end of the line, sharing an available bay with the 6th PCI slot. There are also the standard on board audio (via an AC97 Codec) and graphics (courtesy of the not-so thrilling i752 graphics core embedded in the chipset), ATA100 EIDE Interfaces and Health Monitoring. Again nothing out of the ordinary here but then again the ASL3 doesn't miss a trick on features either. (click images for full view)

The ATX Power Connector (above left) is located in the most perfect position it could be in. With the placement of this bulky connector on the edge of the board, one is left with the option of tucking the ATX Power Cable away and out of the airflow around the CPU cooler. Finally, the Winbond Health Monitoring Chip, seen in the above shot on the right, provides a detailed analysis of the vital signs of your CPU, Voltages and Cooling Fan functions.