ASUS A7N8X Motherboard Review

Supplied by AMD

Catch me if you can.

A while back we waded into the depths of AMD’s HyperTransport.

AMD HyperTransport technology may be the new era of PC performance and capability. HyperTransport technology isn’t a radical new gadget but a new I/O bus that increases the speed in device communication point to point. This may be old news to some but the HyperTransport motherboard is coming…sooner than you think.

Will the HyperTransport motherboard of the future be a feature rich PCB that greatly surpasses the performance standards of today yet fits into a bread loaf sized box? Or will it be redesigned to allow for a greater number of PCI slots, peripheral connections and RAM slots?

To answer this question it is best to think in what is easiest for the consumer to transition to. 64-Bit processors, such as the AMD Hammer processors, allow for the 4-Gigabyte memory barrier to be lifted to a ridiculous level of terabytes. HyperTransport technology would allow PCB manufactures to include more RAM DIMMs allowing for 6 or 8. It may be thought as a bit silly to include more DIMM slots when a consumer can go out and buy new RAM that is of greater size. But most consumers find it easier to justify buying such components in stages. Consumers may not like being forced into discarding the old for the new. Consumers want to get more for less. To that end a PC user who has two or four 256 MB modules may be more easily persuaded into buying 2 or 4 more 256 MB modules to add to the existing amount. It depends on what they can afford or want to pay at the given time. This cost saving by not wasting existing components makes it easier for transition to new technology.

This is of course in addition to the lure of a staggering performance increase.

Short-Media tossed around fairly large words in that HyperTransport Technology article. We simplified what it all meant and what it will mean for tomorrow. One promise was the release of the bottleneckthat the present motherboard bus has on today’s system.

Enter NFORCE2

The NFORCE series of motherboards are the first to capitalize on the peformance promises of AMD’s HyperTransport Technology. NFORCE and NFORCE2 boards are not fully HyperTransport but the connection between the “Northbridge” and “Southbridge” chips are.

The terms “Northbridge” and “Southbridge” are in quotations because AMD doesn’t like to refer to those two points in the past tense. To AMD their HyperTransport Technology replaces what we know as North and South bridges with new technology that doesn’t follow the traditional North and South bridge archictecture.

Read the HyperTransport Technology article and you’ll be standing on a much better footing for understanding all of this.

AMD put the ASUS A7N8X NFORCE2 motherboard, the AMD 2600+ processor with a 333 Front Side Bus and 2 sticks of Corsair DDR 400 memory in our hands to “take for a test drive”. So this review is a review of the ASUS A7N8X NFORCE2 motherboard but it is also a review of the processor and ram. It is important to remember that no one component wins the race.

The ASUS A7N8X “spec’d out”

Processor

Socket A for AMD® Athlon™XP/ Athlon™/ Duron™ 600MHz ~ 2800+
Thoroughbred core CPU ready

Chipset

North Bridge: NVIDIA® nForce2 SPP
South Bridge: NVIDIA® nForce2 MCP

FSB

333 / 266 / 200 MHz

Memory

Dual-Channel DDR 400
3 x 184-pin DIMM Sockets
Max. 3 GB unbuffered PC3200/PC2700/PC2100/PC1600 non-ECC DDR RAM Memory (Twinbank)

Expansion Slots

1 x AGP Pro/8X (1.5V only)
5 x PCI

IDE Ports

2 x UltraDMA 133/100/66/33

Audio

Realtek® ALC650 6CH w/built in HP amplifier

LAN

1 Ports
MCP integrated NVIDIA® MAC + Realtek® 8201BL PHY

Special Features

Power Loss Restart
Q-Fan Technology
STR (Suspend-to-RAM)
C.O.P. (CPU Overheating Protection)
CPU Throttle

Back Panel I/O Ports

1 x Parallel
1 x Serial
1 x PS/2 Keyboard
1 x PS/2 Mouse
1 x Audio I/O
4 x USB 2.0

Internal I/O Connectors

1 x USB 2.0 connector support additional 2 USB 2.0 ports
CPU/Power/Chassis FAN connectors
Game Connector
20 pin ATX power connector
IDE LED connector, power LED connector
WOR, WOL, Chassis Intrusion, SM Bus, SIR
Headphone (optional)
Front MIC
CD/AUX/Modem audio in
Front Panel Audio connector (optional)

BIOS Feature

2Mb Flash ROM, Award BIOS, TCAV, PnP, DMI2.0, DMI, Green

Industrial Standard

PCI 2.2, USB 2.0

Manageability

DMI 2.0, WOR, WOL, Chassis Intrusion, SM Bus

Support CD

Drivers
ASUS® PC Probe
Trend Micro™PC-cillin 2002 anti-virus software with Windows® XP support
ASUS LiveUpdate Utility

Accessories

I/O Shield
Game port bracket
User’s Manual
UltraDMA 133 cable
FDD cable
UltraDMA 133/100/66 cable
9-pin COM cable

Form Factor

ATX Form Factor
12″ x 9.6″ (30.5cm x 24.5cm)

And it doesn’t stop there.

ASUS packed quite a bit onto the motherboard and in case you missed it in the specs…here are the high points copied and pasted from the ASUS website

AGP 8X Technology

AGP8X (AGP 3.0) is the next generation VGA interface specification that enables enhanced graphics performance with high bandwidth speeds up to 2.12GB/s and twice as fast as AGP4X.

SoundStorm™ / Dolby® Digital Audio (Deluex Model)

Experience the full power of surround sound audio with the NVIDIA® SoundStormv™. With the integrated APU (Audio Processing Unit) you will feel the impact in games or music. And with the only Dolby® Digital 5.1 encoder you can hear it all in amazing digital cinema clarity on your home theater receiver or digital PC speaker system.

Dual-Channel DDR400 Support

The 128-bit TwinBank DDR Memory architecture doubles the DDR 400 (PC3200) bandwidth. System bottlenecks are eliminated with balanced architecture and peak bandwidth up to 6.4GB/s.

Serial ATA Technology (Deluxe Model)

Serial ATA is the next generation ATA specification that provides scalable performance for today and tomorrow. With up to 150MB/s data transfer rate, Serial ATA is faster than current Parallel ATA, while providing 100% software compatibility.

Dual LAN (optional)

Integrated 3Com® and NVIDIA® LAN controllers lets users access broadband via one LAN port and share the Internet connection with network neighborhood via the other LAN port. ( 3Com LAN is for Deluxe Model Only)

ASUS C.O.P (CPU Overheating Protection)

ASUS C.O.P (CPU Overheating Protection) is a hardware protection circuit that automatically shuts down the system power before temperatures go high enough to permanently damage your CPU.

6-Channel Audio

The A7N8X uses an onboard Realtek® ALC650 audio CODEC that lets you enjoy high-quality 6-channel audio without having to buy advanced sound cards.

IEEE 1394 (Deluxe Model)

IEEE 1394 interface provides high speed digital interface for audio / video appliances such as digital television, digital video camcorders, storage peripherals & other PC portable devices.

6 USB 2.0 Ports

USB 2.0 is the latest connectivity standard for next generation components and peripherals. Backward compatible with current USB 1.1 peripherals, USB 2.0 delivers transfer speeds up to 40 times faster at 480MB/s, for easy connectivity and ultra-fast data transfers.

ASUS Q-Fan Technology

Constant, high-pitched noise generated from heatsink fans are a thing of the past thanks to ASUS Q-Fan™. The ASUS A7N8X with Q-Fan™ technology intelligently adjusts fan speeds according to system loading to ensure quiet, cool and efficient operation.

ASUS Reliability

All ASUS motherboards are designed and tested to meet the highest quality standards. Responsive customer support and frequent BIOS and driver updates ensure the fastest, most reliable performance. All ASUS motherboards are backed by a 3-year limited warranty.

ASUS Wincinema (optional)

A full array of bundled software is now available with ASUS motherboards! Submerge yourself in a whole new multimedia experience.
WinDVD: The world’s most popular DVD software supporting 5.1-channel audio

WinRip: MP3 Player / Encoder / Ripper featuring virtual 5.1-channel and surround sound effects.

WinCoder: Real-time MPEG-1 & 2 software video encoder

WinProducer: Easy-of-use MPEG-1 & 2 video editing software

Touring the board.

Let’s start here.

The A7N8X isn’t difficult to set up but if you don’t at least give the manual a casual glance you just won’t know what’s going on. There is a boatload of information and youm ay miss important details such as the memory, when in pairs, should go in DIMM 1 and 3 or 2 and 3 but not in DIMM 1 and 2. Also check that memory because if it has more than 18 chips then you are in a world of trouble.

The biggest complaint with the manual is that the drawings indicating the placement of jumpers, header locations, etc are too small. An area that contains two jumpers may only be shown as a blotch on the page. The manual may state that it is a certain component but it is very obscure detail.

‘Nuff said…I highly recommend reading it.

The socket has four mounting holes (2 on either side) and is the standard 3-ear design for the typical heatink.

Notice how DIMM 2 & 3 are separated and color coded. The manual clearly states that memory is to be installed in DIMM 1 and 3 or DIMM 2 and 3 or all three. (One is the closest to the socket A.) There is no reason given for the blue coloration of the two slot three and four. We ran tests with memory in 1 & 3 adn 2 & 3 with no discernable difference between.

Beside the DIMMS are the power, floppy and IDE 1 & 2 connectors. The placement of these connections can get the power cable away from stretching across or around the heatsink but it also can present problems in a shorter depth case.

It can be come a tight squeeze between the back of the hard drive and the the connectors. The power connection will most likely have to be plugged in last.

The “Northbridge” is covered by a massive heatsink comparitively to what may be expected. The reason is that it is a passive heatsink with no active cooling fan.

The one thing that HyperTransport Technology brings is a cleaner layout and design process. Between the visible heatsink covering the the “Northbridge” chip and the DIMM slots is a relative oasis of cleanliness when compared to a non-NFORCE2 board.

The next stop is the NFORCE2 chipset when travelling down the right side of the board.

Serial ATA (SATA) is becoming commonplace on the newly released motherboards even if the drives aren’t out as of yet.

ASUS includes two onboard connectors and cables but sadly no SATA to regular EIDE connector like ABIT does with the AT7MAX2. ASUS does include two SATA cables while ABIT only includes one.

Serial ATA will have theoretical speeds of up to 150 MB/s hard drive speeds. The cables aid in tidying up a PC case interior as the are smaller in size than regular EIDE cables. (Rounded or flat)

Serial ATA hard drives are expected to the marketplace “soon”.

Down at the bottom right of the board are the panel connectors, gameport connector, COM2 connector and the blue based pins are USB 5&6 connectors. The chip on the left is the ASUS integrate system voltage monitor.

The jumper to the left of the onboard alarm speaker is for CHASSIS intrusion sensor. Don’t remove this jumper or your system will not boot. Either leave the jumper in place or install the Chassis intrusion lead. The two pins just north are for a thermal sensor lead if your power supply supports such as device. Odd that it would be placed all the way down at the bottom of the motherboard instead of the top.

Five PCI slots are the standard…nothing really new here.

One problem exists right above the AGP slot. It’s a wee bit tight there for the power fan and chassis fan headers…oops.

Between the PCI slots and the west edge of the motherboard lay the FireWire (1394) x 2 connectors, Digital CD Audio in, SPDIF, AUX in, Front Audio Panel connectors and a modem port (in the right corner…looks like a white fan header)

ASUS includes two 1394 FireWire cables. (one is showing both ends in the following image)

Before asking there is a reason for this design as you may now put down your video camera and stop asking “where does it plug in?” It plugs into a FireWire PCI slot bracket that also is included.

See…that’s where the other end of the 1394 cables go to. Be aware that one PCI slot will be lost to this device.

Make that two if you use the included COM2 PCI bracket as well.

And to take up a third PCI slot is the game port and USB 5 & 6 if you so choose.

This is a welcome inclusion but I don’t know why ASUS didn’t go all out and just include a front input panel to make life a lot easier and not take up any PCI slots.

It appears that the dreaded DIMM lifter problem has not found ASUS. The longer video cards, especially ATI will block the DIMM lifters from working properly when ram is installed. The video card may block the lifters from rocking all the way back. This is NOT the case with ASUS as there is plenty of room.

Swing on over to the backplane and there lies 2 x PS/2 ports, USB 3 and 4 and above that a 3COM LAN, COM 1, a parallel port, center, surround (left and right) USB 1 & 2, NVIDIA LAN, and line in, front speaker output(left and right) and mic input.

Yes there are two LAN connections on this motherboard. 3COM is an established name and probably NVIDIA LAN has been introduced not as a necessisty but as an attempt to secure a larger foothold and acceptance into the marketplace. Both performed equally.

Can’t forget the backplane guard. It would be a shock if there wasn’t one included with any new motherboard.

Jumpers are all over this board but are more for enabling or disabling features rather than overclocking. Be cautious as they aren’t all easy to get at.

That’s why ASUS included a few extras.

You are bound to lose one when fumbling around inside a PC case. Get to know your jumpers first; where they are and what they do.

The standard issue of 2 EIDE cables and 1 floppy cable are also included.

Lastly, pick up the QUICK SETUP GUIDE if you were too bored reading the thicker version.

And it all comes neatly packed along with an install CD inside this box.

Up in front!

AMD has released the first of the 333 MHz Front-side Bus processors. Included in our test system is the AMD 2600+.

AMD has upped the performance level by the 333 Front-side Bus that delivers 2.7 GB/s memory bandwidth. What does this mean to you and I? It means smoother game play with more detail. It means a processor that delivers huge number crunching power to edit, create and design with.

AMD processors always continue to impress by delivering a very attractive price to performance ratio.

But to truly gain from a 333 Front-side Bus there needs to be the memory that goes with it.

As a side note; ever wondered what the little design was on the processor core…that one up there at the top right.

Look closer…this one…now at the top left.

Closer still.

Haven’t got a clue…thought you might. Actually when AMD was contacted there really isn’t a story…it’s just a watermark of sorts.

We put in two 256 MB strips of PC3200 Corsair XMS memory.

Timing is of the essence and it is important to match the speed of the memory with the Front-side Bus speed of the processor. Some times a lower or higher clocked memory can produce negative effects…EG: poor performance.

The Bios

This is my first encounter with the ASUS bios interface.

Navigating the menus only takes a moment to adopt new habits. The Phoenix AwardBIOS adopted by ASUS does have a few interesting add-ons. One of which is the SPEECH POST REPORTER. The days of HAL the computer aren’t too distant as the motherboard will actually speak to you with a preprogrammed error message. Those of you who remember cars with audio messages may find this comforting; “your door is a ajar” becomes “video card error” or “hard drive not connected”.

The audio post error message is a good idea for diagnosing errors. It sure beats the sometimes hard to diagnose beepings from the alarm speaker.

The ADVANCED BIOS FEATURES allows for a variety of settings from enabling the CPU cache to enabling/disabling the speech post reporter. Also found are the settings for boot sequence and device.

ADVANCED CHIPSET FEATURES is the first playground for overclockers with CPU external FSB adjustable in 1 MHz increments from 100-200 MHz and multiplier settings all the way up to 17x.

Memory frequency is adjusted by percentage so it may take a bit of figuring on paper to get the settings just right but there are settings from 50% to 200%. For our tests I chose OPTIMAL and AGGRESSIVE presets. CPU Vcore is only available from 1.65 to 1.85 Volts and if you want more…drag out the battery cables.

AGP frequency allows that added control when it comes to squeezing every little bit out of the performance curve along with voltage ranges from 1.5 to 1.7 Volts.

The INTEGRATED PERIPHERALS screen gives access to most, if not all, of the A7N8X on board features to enable or disable.

The HARDWARE MONITOR screen is pretty self-explanatory but note the Q-FAN control. This feature is a BIOS RHEOBUS of sorts essentially speeding up the CPU fan with temperature increase. The two settings allow for tweaking the ratio and timings of the Q-FAN feature.

And finally the way out.

Benchmarking

The ASUS A7N8X test system.

AMD 2600+ 333 FSB Processor

ASUS A7N8X motherboard

ATI 9700 PRO Video Card

2 x 256 MB Corsair PC3200 DDR RAM

Sony 52x CD

60 GB Maxtor ATA133 Hard Drive

2 x Samsung 950p 19″ Monitors

USB Keyboard and Logitech USB wireless Optical Mouse

Globalwin CAK4-76T HSF

AMK SX1000 modded PC case (window, fans, cables, loom)

Enermax 465 Watt FC PSU

Windows XP Professional Service Pack 1

The Gigabyte Duallie test system.

2 x AMD 2100+ MP Processors

Gigabyte GA-7DPXDW+ motherboard

Matrox Parhelia 512 triple head video card in single head mode* (1.01 drivers)

2 x 512 MB Micron PC2100 RAM

Sony 52x CD

LG 32x10x40x CDRW

16 x DVD

60 GB Maxtor ATA133 Hard Drive

2 x Samsung 950p 19″ Monitors

USB Keyboard and Logitech USB wireless Optical Mouse

Globalwin CAK4-76T HSF

AMK SX1000 modded PC case (window, fans, cables, loom)

Enermax 465 Watt FC PSU

Windows XP Professional Service Pack 1

The ABIT AT7 Max2 test system.

AMD 2100+ Thoroughbred Core Processor

ABIT AT7 Max2 motherboard

ATI 9700 PRO Video Card Catalyst 2.3 drivers

2 x 512 MB Micron PC2100 RAM

Sony 52x CD

16 x DVD

60 GB Maxtor ATA133 Hard Drive

2 x Samsung 950p 19″ Monitors

USB Keyboard and Logitech USB wireless Optical Mouse

Globalwin WBK38 heatsink

Koolcases Panther PC case

Enermax 465 Watt FC PSU

Windows XP Professional Service Pack 1

The ABIT AT7 Max2 test system.

AMD 2100+ Thoroughbred Core Processor

ABIT AT7 Max2 motherboard

ATI 9700 PRO Video Card Catalyst 2.3 drivers

2 x 512 MB Micron PC2100 RAM

Sony 52x CD

16 x DVD

60 GB Maxtor ATA133 Hard Drive

2 x Samsung 950p 19″ Monitors

USB Keyboard and Logitech USB wireless Optical Mouse

Globalwin WBK38 heatsink

Koolcases Panther PC case

Enermax 465 Watt FC PSU

Windows XP Professional Service Pack 1

*dual and triple monitors enabled for Adobe After Effects and Softimage benchmarks only.

Programs used

Sisoft Sandra 2002

MadOnion 3DMark 2001 SE

Quake III Arena

Commanche 4

GL Excess

Drone Z

SpecviewPerf 7.0

Adobe After Effects 5.5

SoftimageXSI 2.0.1

All tests were run at default video card settings with VSYNC disabled. Bios was optimized for system but not tweaked for any performance settings requiring specialized knowledge of overclocking. In other words the BIOS settings were standard as far as anyone can set the time and date, ensure the ram is 2 or 4 way interleave and at CAS 2.5 and AGP is chosen as the first boot video card. The BIOS settings were kept as close to conservative or default value. The ASUS A7N8X memory settings were set to OPTIMAL and AGGRESSIVE as disclosed. Individual performance will vary with any particular or specific timings or tweaks enabled by you. These may result in lesser or greater scores. Void where prohibited by law. Don’t run with scissors. Chew each bite 32 times and always floss between meals.

And now a simple word about benchmarks.

It’s a foregone conclusion that the ATI 9700 PRO will stomp all over the Matrox Pahelia in gaming benchmarks. That isn’t the point…well it is if you want to be the one stomping everyone elses frame rates into the ground.

The point is to look closer at the particular applications and how they are benching and compare that to your own expectations. I was quite surprised at the battle between a dual 2100+ MP system and the 2600+ system when it came to CPU intensive applications that bypass the video card entirerly such as After Effects and Softimage.

It’s something to keep in mind as no one component wins the race.

3D Mark 2001 SE

These are the highest stock 3D Mark scores I have seen to date. The ATI 9700 PRO combined with the 2600+ 333 FSB processor, the Corsair memory and the ASUS A7N8X motherboard deliver impressive results. The difference between the bios programmed optimal and agressive settings is not large at all. At 640×480@75 Hz the scores just barely miss 16,000 and at 1600×1200 they edge over 10,000. Those scores are without overclocking or fine tuning of the bios settings. The ATI 9700 PRO provides the devastating difference between the Parhelia equipped dual 2100+ board and the HyperTransport Asus board signifiantly edges out the AT7 MAX2 equipped with the 9700 PRO.

Codecreatures

Commanche 4

DroneZ

GL Excess

QuakeIII normal quality

Quake III high quality

Serious Sam

Sisoft Sandra CPU Arithmetic

Sisoft Sandra CPU Multimedia

Sisoft Sandra Memory Benchmark

Specviewperf 7.0

Up until now it is predictable that the ATI 9700 PRO video card provides the 3D gaming power for these impressive scores. The AMD 2600+ 333 FSB processor on the A7N8X with the faster clocked memory only makes the victory sweeter.

SpecviewPerf still grounds itself in the manipulation of 3D graphics but more on a work application rather than gaming software. Again the results are as expected. The video card – memory combination are the reasons for this victory.

Adobe After Effects 5.5

Adobe After Effects is a tool to produce motion graphics and visual effects for film, video, multimedia and the web. It is primarily a 2D application using imported graphics or digital footage or self generated effects. A project was created that was a combination of many video footage files, resizing and rasterizing effects, text animations and multiple layer effects. This “average” combination was felt to best demonstrate advantages and/or disadvantages that a real world user may experience rather than isolating and benchmarking a particular effect.

There is no official benchmark for After Effects but tasks can be timed to show specific results. Rendering, or the task of building and compiling frames, is mainly CPU intensive and After Effects generally bypasses the video card and relies solely on the processor for speed. The time taken to render 900 frames basically shows how fast the processor is working on the given task. The AT7 and AT7 MAX2 were equipped with a 2100+ XP 266 FSB processor and the dual 2100+ MP processors were on a Gigabyte board. I don’t know if I should be disappointed in the dual processor system or impressed by the single 2600+ 333 FSB processor on the A7N8X. Whatever my feelings the 2600+ processor on the A7N8X is only a mere 30 seconds behind the dually.

It is also important to pay attention to the fact that the 2600+ 333 FSB processor takes nearly a minute lead over the 2100+ 266 FSB processors. After Effects is optimized for dual MP’s and that is the reason for the MP’s winning out at a lower processor rating.

Softimage XSI can simply bring any computer to its knees. It’s an incredibly powerful 3D animation program that has the ability to become so complex that single processor systems have been known to “think” for days when rendering an animation. Softimage works on somewhat similar principle to After Effects. A faster and more powerful video card will translate to a smoother interface where complex scenes can be manipulated in real time. Note that Softimage does not have an interface to real-time preview a finished frame as unlike After Effects. Users can manipulate objects in a choice of views from wire frame mode to simulated real-time shading mode. In order to look at a finished frame a user must render the frame to disk which bypasses the GPU. A faster processor will result in the faster render. The amount of RAM is not as great an issue as the user is working frame by frame and the graphics card is doing the bulk of the work while working within the GUI.

This is a most basic overview and there are specialty hardware components that can enhance the speed and interactivity of complex 3D scenes and programs. The designers working on the test system use Softimage on a less complex level to provide enhancements and elements to commercials, promos and station ID elements. Though their work is quite complex to some it a far cry from that of special effects in major film productions.

Softimage performs its best on a dual processor system and by far the recommendation for heavy 3D rendering is a dual processor AMD system. The 2600+ 333 FSB may provide a better 2D rendering speed in After Effects but it only provides a small peformance gain in 3D application rendering for Softimage.

Summary

It goes without saying that the ATI 9700 PRO presently takes the 3D gaming crown. The AMD 2600+ processor on a HyperTransport board such as the ASUS A7N8X can take even the novice user to impressive benchmark results.

Now the question may be entering your head as to what type of review this is? Is it a motherboard review? A processor review? A memory review? Or a video card review? A computer is a combination of hardware but for all intensive purposes this review was mainly about the ASUS A7N8X.

There are several questions left remaining but a few can be answered now. Presently the ATI 9700 PRO is the gaming king. That video card on most any motherboard will provide fast frames. If the motherboard has the ability to support 333 MHz or 400 MHz memory then equipping it with a pair of memory strips will further enhance performance.

Using a 333 FSB AMD processor with a good video card, matching memory on a motherboard will also enhance gaming performance.

On the application side 2D intensive applications really benefit from the AMD 2600+ 333 FSB processor. If I were looking at an After Effects workstation then I may favour the 2600+ 333 FSB or higher single processor over the dual motherboard solutions. If I were looking at a 3D workstation for Softimage or 3D Studio Max then the dual processor would be preferable.

As I’ve always stated “start from what you want as a result then work backwards to what you need”.

There are three questions that need to be answered that are of extreme importance. Will the 2600+ 333 FSB processor deliver as impressive results on a non-HyperTransport motherboard be it a KT333 or KT400 chipset? Also does memory make that much of a difference between 266 and 333 MHz? And when does each matter when it comes to gaming, productivity and business applications?

You guessed it…another article. :p

These are the high points.

The ASUS A7N8X (deluxe) offers a good compliment of features and included options though I would have prefered a front drive bay interface instead of the PCI connections. (FireWire, USB, etc.) A media bay may have been a more attractive and functional option.

The performance combination of the 2600+ 333 FSB AMD processor, Corsair DDR3200 XMS Memory and the ASUS NFORCE2 board is impressive. I won’t say it is the most impressive as we are yet to work with other NFORCE2 boards but it is the first combination that went ZOOM past all the other tests platforms. Some of those scores were impressive for almost plug and play settings. That means pretty well anyone can get those high marks.

Memory price is pretty well on target. I can pick up 256 MB of OEM Samsung PC3200 for about $80 USD so $20 additional isn’t much to ask for the reputation of the Corsair XMS with heat spreaders.

The “not so high” points

Speed is going to cost. As of Dec 13 Pricewatch pegs the processor at $280, the ASUS A7N8X at $140 and the memory at FRY’s for about $100 per 256 MB. That’s $520 USD on a good day. Speed costs but for best performance I really do recommend the 2600+ 333 FSB AMD processor gets tied to ram that can match the frequency. I found the jump in gaming performance worth it on the AMD HyperTransport based NFORCE2.

I would like 4 DIMMS but oddly enough 4 DIMMS require Registered ECC memory and that isn’t available at the higher clock speeds. Plus 4 DIMMS of memory usually pull the memory clock speeds down to PC2100 levels which defeats the purpose altogether. This is not a complaint against ASUS but all manufacturers. It’s the “wall” not yet broken through. The AMD Hammer makes some hefty promises of memory bandwidth increase but how is the clock speed hurdle going to be overcome with multiple DIMMS filled?

The power connection and floppy/IDE header area may cause some crowding of connection cables in SOME PC cases but not all. The only very minor annoyances in board design are inacessible jumper locations and a tight fit on a fan header.

SATA is upon us and motherboard manufacturer’s are including SATA headers with every new board but SATA drives aren’t readily availabe. Without a convertor the EIDE drives we have now are somewhat useless. This will change in time but for now this board is a little bit ahead of its time and thus leaves a user stuck with only two IDE headers that can be used. Something to consider if you want RAID or have more devices than two regular headers can support.

FInally a word about overclocking.

I’ve been asked this question in the IRC channels lately; “why don’t I cover overclocking at times?” Overclocking is an art and takes a fair amount of practical experience and knowledge to determine if a component is good for overclocking or will actually overclock well. There are many in our community at Icrontic and on the web at large who make me look like an infant in the overclocking world. When compared to the company I keep I feel that I’m not truly qualified to fully assess if a piece of hardware is an overclocking winner.

The review is before you and those who know what they need to overclock will be able to assess if the components presented have the options to overclock properly. That does not mean that there will be a good overclock as each of my respected colleagues may have a different combination of hardware.

The ASUS A7N8X scorecard

Each piece of hardware that has come into my hands has been impressive. At the time of its release it measures quite well against the competition so it is easy for a reviewer to give it a high score. After a while the high scores begin to add up and one too many reviews get awards or the margin between the actual score and a perfect score becomes smaller and smaller. Like the stock market the bubble has to burst somewhere or sometime.

To this end my scorecard assessment is going to be more difficult to acheive higher marks. This may confuse you when your read other reviews that may score significantly higher than us. It does not mean that we are off base or thought the product comparatively poor to what another site thought. It does mean that we are readjusting the scale to more accurately tell you when a product is truly and significantly outstanding for its timeframe. We hope this will serve you better in assessing your own needs.

Our thanks to AMD for their generous support and kind assistance.