Asus P I-P55SP3AV P/I-P55SP3AV User's manual - Page 15

P/I-P55SP3AV User's Manual BIOS-Supported Enhanced IDE Features The BIOS has several feature enhancements for IDE hard disk drives and support for other IDE devices. The original IDE implementation was limited to two hard disk drives with relatively slower data transfer rates. While this solution is simple and reliable, it has some limitations that have become more significant as the performance level of other system components and overall system performance have increased dramatically with the advent of new microprocessor, expansion bus and operating system technologies. In response to these demands, the IDE specification has been updated to increase its capabilities and provide improved performance. Together these are referred to as 'Enhanced IDE'. Enhanced IDE features comprise the following: • Support for IDE hard disk drives larger than the former 528MB limit imposed by various technical factors. Both Large and LBA modes are supported. • Support for IDE devices other than hard disk drives, including IDE Tape Backup and CD-ROM drives. • Support for two IDE channels with two devices per channel, allowing the use of four IDE devices in one system. • Support for faster data transfer rates, particularly with IDE controllers that have a PCI local bus interface. This mainboard supports the use of these new features. The features work with the on-board PCI EIDE controller which has two connectors built onto the board. With this controller you can use one or both connectors to connect up to four IDE devices. 1-12