ASRock 775Dual-VSTA & AM2V890-VSTA

Board Layout:

Not only does ASRock maintain a slim set of accessories with their motherboards to reduce costs, but also their motherboard designs are relatively similar. With none of their motherboards at this time will you see any OTES-like cooling contraptions, overclocking strips, or other enthusiast/overclocking-friendly modifications. The ASRock 775Dual-VSTA is laid out quite similar to the 775Dual-880Pro. Likewise the AM2V890-VSTA is somewhat similar to the 939Dual-SATA2 -- with the exception of the "Future CPU Port".

Starting with the ASRock 775Dual-VSTA, in the upper right hand corner are the system memory slots, which support DDR2-667 and DDR-400. Like the 775Dual-880Pro, DDR1 and DDR2 cannot be installed or run simultaneously with the motherboard. Below the system memory DIMM slots are two ATA-133 IDE connectors, two Serial ATA 2.0 headers, BIOS chip, and two USB 2.0 headers. There is also the CMOS battery, chassis fan, and a few other components in this area. The Southbridge with the 775Dual-VSTA is the VIA VT8237A.

The expansion slots on this motherboard include AGP 8x, PCI Express x16, and four PCI slots. With the motherboard being part of the "Dual" series, AGP and PCI Express are still supported. It is about time that AGP finally retires, and we would have much rather seen an additional PCI Express x1 or x4 as an alternative to the AGP. Above the expansion slots are a 20-pin ATX power supply connector and Northbridge. The Northbridge employed is the VIA PT880Pro/Ultra. The processors supported are Intel Core 2 Duo, Pentium XE, Pentium D, Pentium 4, and Celeron D.

Other features include Untied Overclocking, Hybrid Booster, and Intel High Definition Audio. The audio is backed by Realtek's ALC888 CODEC and the 10/100 LAN module is backed by the VIA PHY VT6103.