Dolby® Digital Live™

The CMI9880 audio CODEC comes with an AC-3 encoder capable of transforming your computer’s digital audio contents into real-time Dolby® Digital stream. This digital stream passes through the S/PDIF out interfaces to an AC-3 decoder for 7.1-channel playback. See page 5-15 for details.

S/PDIF digital sound ready

The motherboard supports the S/PDIF technology through the S/PDIF interfaces on the rear panel. The S/PDIF technology turns your computer into a high-end entertainment system with digital connectivity to powerful audio and speaker systems. See page 2-24 for details.

IEEE 1394a support

The motherboard supports the IEEE 1394 interface that provides high- speed and flexible PC connectivity to a wide range of peripherals and devices compliant to IEEE 1394 standards. The IEEE 1394 interface allows up to 400 Mbps transfer rates through simple , low-cost, high-bandwidth asynchronous (real-time) data interfacing between computers, peripherals, and consumer electronic devices such as camcorders, VCRs, printers, TVs, and digital cameras. See pages 2-23 and 2-29 for details.

USB 2.0 technology

The motherboard implements the Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0 specification, dramatically increasing the connection speed from the

12Mbps bandwidth on USB 1.1 to a fast 480 Mbps on USB 2.0. USB 2.0 is backward compatible with USB 1.1. See pages 2-24 and 2-29 for details.

Gigabit LAN solution

The motherboard comes with a Gigabit LAN controller to provide a total solution for your networking needs. The Gigabit LAN controller uses the PCI Express interface to provide faster data bandwidth for your Internet, LAN, and file sharing requirements. See page 2-23 for details.

Temperature, fan, and voltage monitoring

The CPU temperature is monitored by the ASIC (integrated in the Winbond Super I/O) to prevent overheating and damage. The system fan rotations per minute (RPM) is monitored for timely failure detection. The ASIC monitors the voltage levels to ensure stable supply of current for critical components. See page 4-36 for details.

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Chapter 1: Product introduction