Specifications
Specifications
| Mainboard | SAPPHIRE PURE PI-A9RX480 |
| CPU Support | All S939 processors, including dual-core models |
| Northbridge | ATI RX480 (RADEON XPRESSS 200P) |
| Memory Support | 4 slots, non-ECC, DDR-1 only. Optimum support at DDR400 (DDR500 for Rev. E CPUs) dual-channel. Maximum 4GB system RAM |
| AGP | None |
| PEG16X | One slot |
| Southbridge | ATI SB450 |
| Audio | Onboard 7.1-channel High-Definition Azalia audio from ATI SB450 chipset, run through Realtek ALC880 8-channel CODEC |
| Audio Connectivity | 6-port I/O section |
| PCI | 2x 32-bit 33MHz PCI 2.1 slots |
| PCI Express | 2x x1 slots |
| IDE | 2 ATA133 compliant ports from SB450 southbridge |
| Additional IDE | None |
| SATA | 4 ports from SB450. Supports SATA1 protocol. Supports RAID0/1 |
| Additional SATA | Silicon Image Sil3132 PCIe 2-port SATA2 controller |
| Networking | Gigabit Ethernet via Marvell PCIe 88E8052 ASIC |
| USB | 8 USB 2.0 ports from SB450. 4 available on I/O, 4 via onboard headers |
| FireWire | VIA VT6307 2-port 1394a controller |
| I/O | PS/2, 4x USB 2.0, 1x FireWire400, RJ45, 6-port audio | Other notables | Silver PCB | Board dimensions | ATX form factor - 305mm x 245mm | Street price | £135 |
ATI's RX480 northbridge was initially allied to the firm's IXP400 southbridge. Here, though, SAPPHIRE has opted to use the newer (and arguably better) IXP450 (SB450) southbridge that's still connected to its northern counterpart via a couple of x1 PCI lanes, reducing the usable number to 20. Take away the x16 lanes for graphics card PCI-Express support and you have 4 x1 lanes, with a couple onboard and another couple spare for running high-speed peripherals.
The SB450 also adds in High Definition Audio support (Azalia) that's integrated into Intel's ICH7/R southbridges. ATI, however, doesn't include support for SATA2 in this SB update, and we'll have to wait a while before it does. That's why SAPPHIRE chosen to go with the popular Silicon Image PCI-Express-riding SATA2-compatible Sil 3132 controller. The SB450, then, isn't the most feature-rich southbridge out there, but it's a slight improvement on the original. Users hoping for some CrossFire action will also need to wait until SAPPHIRE releases a compatible motherboard.