PCI Express™ interfaceThe motherboard fully supports PCI Express, the latest I/O interconnect technology that speeds up the PCI bus. PCI Express features point-to-point serial interconnections between devices and allows higher clockspeeds by carrying data in packets. This high speed interface is software compatible with existing PCI specifications. See page 2-23 for details.
8-channel high definition audioOnboard is the C-Media CMI9880 7.1-channel audio CODEC. This CODEC is fully-compliant with Intel® High Definition Audio standard (192 KHz, 24-bit audio). With the CODEC, 8-channel audio ports, and S/PDIF interfaces, you can connect your computer to home theater decoders to produce crystal-clear digital audio.
The CMI9880 audio CODEC comes with a software application that features jack detection to monitor the plugging status of each jack, impedance sensing to determine audio device classes, and pre-defined equalization for various audio devices.
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 feedback. See page 5-15 for details.
IEEE 1394a support 
The IEEE 1394a interface provides high-speed and flexible PC connectivity to a wide range of peripherals and devices compliant to IEEE 1394a standards. The IEEE 1394a 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.
