ASUS CUSL2 Socket-370 i815E ATX Mainboard
The ASUS CUSL2 comes equipped with 6 PCI slots, 1 AGP Pro slot, 2 CNR(Communication Network Riser) slots. They have not included any ISA slots, a sheer sign to remind us of changing times. ASUS, well known for their innovative ideas has again made our minds tingle with this new configuration. Nothing bad about it, just that it’s my first. At first glance looking at the board you’re bound to notice the fact that the PCI and CNR slots are thinner than usual. Well don’t panic; the reason why they have done this is due to the fact that they have had no choice. To make sure that this configuration physically fits into the PCB, the only option they had was to make them thinner. Any PCI or CNR card will fit perfectly with no hassle at all.
ASUS’s inclusion of the 82815 Graphics Memory Controller Hub (GMCH) in the CUSL2, we now have official support for 133Mhz FSB and PC 133 SDRAM. If you have some knowledge of the 82815 you’ll know that it supports only 2 PCI 133Mhz DIMMS, yet the board performed perfectly showing no problems at all with three 133Mhz DIMM’s. However the 512MB memory limit is still present.
Intel® 82801BA Enhanced I/O Controller Hub 2 (ICH2)
The main difference between the regular i815 chipset and the i815E is the 82801BA Enhanced I/O Controller Hub 2 (ICH2). Other than the features included in the ICH1 the ICH2 adds a second USB controller, support for Ultra ATA/100 and an Intel 82559 network controller. In addition to the 4 USB ports provided by the ICH2, this board provides 3 more additional USB ports through an Alcor Micro AU9254 USB HUB. I really had no actual need for 7 USB ports, but hey whose complaining. There are no actual driver issues (thankfully) when it comes to the USB ports. The header ASUS has used in the CUSL supports only 3 extra USB ports; therefore 2 ports are never used. Since the CUSL2 is equipped with the most unique and up to date features, you would come to expect USB 2.0 from this board. Guess ASUS didn’t really give much thought to this, so for now we’ll have to be satisfied with USB 1.1.
Built in sound
The ASUS CUSL2 has a built-in Cirrus Logic CrystalClearSoundFusion CS4299 to handle all your audio needs controlled by an AC97 controller. This has been upgraded so that it can handle up to 6 audio channels, which is really great for a built in sound. I mean, when was the last time you heard of anything like this. If you are no real audio enthusiast then this will do you fine, however if you are really particular about your sound then I suggest that you go for a PCI based sound card like the MX400 or the Live!
AGP Pro
The CUSL2 comes with a Graphics and Memory controller Hub, and it supports AGP Inline Memory Module, which in fact is a 4MB AGP module. The board also offers a 4X AGP slot, which is actually an AGP Pro 50 slot. The good thing about the AGP Pro slot is that it gives a great deal more power to your graphics card. However the board lacks the optional display cache as in the i810 chipset, but it can be added through a GPA card. Guess ASUS just thinks of everything and gets them right most of the time. If you are a hardcore gamer then it’s best that you go for a high-end graphics card rather than settling for this since you cannot expect great performance from this built-in Graphics controller.
