Layout and features
As is our customary tradition, we start at the top and work our way down. We firstly see both the 12v Pentium 4 and main ATX power connectors located at the top left of the board. I was initially sceptical of the location due to the proximity of the processor retention bracket. My fears were allayed when I installed the P4PA into my case. The power wires simply slipped in behind the retention bracket, comfortably out of harm's way. On reflection, this is the best layout of main power connectors that I have seen on a P4 motherboard. In terms of size, the P4PA is a rather narrow motherboard, measuring only 225mm across.
We see 3 DIMM sockets sitting to the right of the CPU fan header. It's pleasing to see three after viewing two on many Intel I845D 'boards, it certainly adds a bit of flexibility to RAM management. The location of the IDE ports is excellent as they don't obstruct airflow when connected up to the relevant cables, and by being located slightly higher than normal, they are easy to connect or disconnect to whilst the drives are in their respective bays.
The Northbridge is covered by a stylish passive heatsink. The use of a passive heatsink is justified by the fact that P4PA became barely warm in operation, certainly not hot to the touch. We were pleased to see that VIA had the care and attention to apply a dab of thermal paste between the heatsink and Northbridge.
The AGP slot is commendable for the fact that it supports both 1.5v and the older 3.3v video cards, allowing for greater compatibility than competing chipsets. The locking mechanism is a nice touch, too. Another fan header is located to the left and just above the AGP slot, presumably to allow the user to connect up a GPU fan. The placement does seem a shade awkward. Unfortunately, like many other motherboards, the P4PA doesn't allow memory to be inserted or removed once the video card is in place, the DIMM sockets are just too close to the AGP slot.
Another seeming rarity presents itself in the form of 6 PCI slots. We're happy that VIA could accommodate all 6 in a motherboard of this size. A rather redundant CNR slot finds its way on to the P4PA, too.
Southbridge duties are taken care of by the VIA VT8233A. Let's have a closer look.
Manufactured in the second week of February, this innocuous looking southbridge has full ATA133/100/66 support, as well as the usual PCI slots and peripheral component support. Currently only Maxtor's D740X range of drives can utilise the ATA133 standard. Still, from a future proofing viewpoint, the inclusion is most welcome. The third fan header is found at the very bottom of the P4PA.
The bottom left of the P4PA hides some interesting extras.
On the left we see the VIA VT6202 USB 2.0 controller. USB 2.0 is 40x faster than the existing USB 1.1 format. Again, we very much appreciate VIA's forward thinking in including this feature as more and more devices will undoubtedly take advantage of the enhanced speed on offer. The 2 onboard USB ports are therefore both USB 2.0 and USB 1.1 compliant. An additional 2 USB 1.1 ports can be added courtesy of the supplied bracket. On the right we see the Realtek RTL8100BL 10/100 Base-T Fast Ethernet Controller, again, another onboard solution. Broadband and networking usage is become the norm rather than the exception nowadays, so it's pleasing to see a motherboard manufacturer recognise this fact and implement a solution on the motherboard itself.
It therefore comes as something of a shame to spoil the rich feature list of extras by only supplying the P4PA with the standard AC'97 CODEC for onboard sound purposes. This CODEC is objectively poor when judged in comparison to C-Media's excellent 87xx CODEC or Realtek's own ALC650. Users who care about audio will certainly want to upgrade to a hardware solution immediately.
We've mentioned that the P4PA is rather small in width terms, one reason could be provided by the lack of onboard RAID. We wouldn't mind this fact as much if there was a RAID equipped model in the range, unfortunately, there isn't.
Here we see the side of the P4PA. Note that the USB 2.0 ports and the Realtek RJ-45 ethernet port is much lower down that normal. This is the reason that the P4PA has a custom backplate. I actually like this configuration as the USB ports aren't obstructed by the keyboard and mouse PS2 ports, something that is usually the case. The CMOS clear jumper is placed in an accessible location. There is also provision for a smart card reader to be installed.
The overall layout is very good, with most connectors in accessible locations. The feature list is also good, integrated USB 2.0 and ethernet support are always viewed with appreciation here at Hexus. It's just a shame that a more substantial onboard sound solution or RAID wasn't provided. Even with this in mind, the P4PA is better equipped than the majority of 'boards we've previously tested.
