nForce4 family chipsets in ASUS motherboards
nForce4 SLI in ASUS A8N-SLI
You must be familiar with the Premium and Deluxe modifications of this board through previous reviews, so let's look through the lowest-end modification in this product line. The board also offers a renewed revision that stands out with quieter system for cooling the chipset, which can be called an important improvement.
Specifications:
|
Supported processors
|
- AMD Athlon 64FX / Athlon 64 / Athlon X2 for Socket 939
- Support for AMD Cool 'n' Quiet Technology
|
|
Chipset
|
NVIDIA nForce4 SLI
|
|
HyperTransport
|
2000 MT/s, 1600MT/s
|
|
System memory
|
- 4 184-pin DIMM connectors, max. 4 GB
- DDR400/DDR333/DDR266 ECC/non-ECC un-buffered DDR SDRAM modules
- Dual-channel memory architecture
|
|
Expansion capabilities
|
- 2x PCI Express x16 slots (running by default at 16õ and 1õ, as well as 8õ and 8õ with two video cards installed)
- 2x PCI Express x1
- 3x PCI Bus Master
- 10 USB2.0 ports (4 integrated + 6 additional)
- 2 IEEE 1394 ports (1 integrated + 1 additional)
|
|
Disk subsystem
|
Provided by nForce4:
- 4 x SATA II
- 2 x UltraDMA 133/100/66/33
- NVRAID: RAID0, RAID1, RAID 0+1, and JBOD with the possibility to merge SATA and PATA disks
|
|
Network controller
|
Integrated into nForce4 1 Gbit MAC
- NV ActiveArmor
- NV Firewall
- AI NET2
|
|
Audio
|
Realtek ALC850, 8-channel CODEC
Coaxial/Optical S/PDIF outputs to I/O-panels
|
|
Functions of ASUS AI Proactive
|
AI NOS™ (Non-delay Overclocking System)
AI NET2 network diagnosis before entering OS
|
|
Overclocking tools
|
AI NOS™ (Non-delay Overclocking System)
AI Overclocking (intelligent CPU frequency tuner)
ASUS PEG Link
Fine tuning:
- vDIMM: 9-step DRAM voltage control
- vCore: Adjustable CPU voltage at 0.0125 increment
- SFS (Stepless Frequency Selection): FSB adjustable within 200 MHz to 400 MHz in 1 MHz increments;
- PCIe frequency: within 100 MHz to 200 MHz in 1 MHz increments.
PCIe/PCI/SATA frequencies fixed ratio.
ASUS C.P.R.(CPU Parameter Recall)
|
|
Additional BIOS features
|
ASUS EZ Flash
ASUS CrashFree BIOS 2
ASUS Q-Fan
ASUS MyLogo2
ASUS Multilanguage BIOS
ASUS Instant Music
|
|
Input/output port panel
|
1 x Optical + 1 x Coaxial S/PDIF Output
1 x PS/2 Keyboard + 1 x PS/2 Mouse
1 x Parallel (PLT)
1 x RJ45 (Lan)
1 õ IEEE 1394 (FireWare)
4 x USB
8-Channel Audio I/O
|
|
Internal connectors
|
1 õ SLI switch
3 x USB 2.0 connectors for additional 6 USB 2.0 ports
1 õ IEEE 1394
1 x COM connector
1 x GAME/MIDI connector
CPU Fan / 2x Chassis Fan/ Power Fan/ Chipset Fan connectors
Front panel audio connector
Chassis Intrusion connector
CD audio-in connector
24-pin ATX Power connector
4-pin ATX 12V Power connector
|
|
Form Factor
|
ATX, 12"x 9.6"(305 mm x 245 mm)
|
 The exterior of the box hasn't changed - again the same AI Proactive Series design with the indication of model name in usual places.
The package bundle is sufficient for most users: four cables for SATA disks and two power supply adapters with two connectors for each, two IDE UDMA 66/100 cables and a cable for plugging in a disk drive, a SLI connector, and a cap for the housing.
There are also panels for additional connectors: FireWare (IEEE1394) port, COM port, a panel for two USB ports, and a combined one for two USB plus a game port (MIDI).
The volume of documentation is also impressive (for the cheapest board of the series). Of special joy is the colorful poster that demonstrates the growth of monsters through using two video cards in the SLI mode. On a separate insert, there are explanations on changes to the revision and a reminder of the package bundle (which should be checked).
Upon the first glance at the board, differences from higher-end models are seen. The PCB has empty spots - one for unsoldered 4-channel SerialATARAID controller by Silicon Image Sil3114, the second LAN controller, and a voice controller for notification of errors. All the remaining is precisely as in the already examined models - convenient, compact, and carefully thought out.
The system for cooling the power supply control module hasn't undergone changes.
Here is one of the key components - a new decorative radiator and a fan of rotational speed 4500-5000 RPM (versus the old one of 8000-8500 rpm). As is seen distinctly, the number of SATA ports has turned twice as few, which will not upset much the mass user who has merely one-two hard disks.
The connectors for installing memory has color distinction of channels, while the first two are positioned quite close to the PCI-Express 16x connector (with a full-length video card fitted in place, access to memory modules can be quite an issue). The connectors for plugging in IDE hard disks and a FDD are positioned conveniently on the board's edge.
Expansion options of the board are almost the same as in the two above examined boards. The difference is only in the second "full-featured" PCI-Express 16x connector which should be there in it according to the ordinance.
Behind the audio outputs, there is the same pile-up of connectors of the audio system expansion connectors: CD, AUX, and ones for plugging in the housing's audio panel. Also here is an additional connector to improve the system's power supply in case two video cards are installed in the system.
On the panel of input/output ports there are no longer empty spots, because even on the simplest modification of the SLI series there is a FireWire controller.
The BIOS is based on the Award Phoenix version. Of course it has some distinctions from the BIOS of higher-end models, but they relate to merely the section to do with peripherals controls.
Compared to other boards examined today, the "Advanced" section has been complemented with another important item - "SLI Configuration".
In this section, you can enable/disable the notifications in case you installed the second board but forgot about additional power supply, as well as change the SLI operation mode.
The board does monitoring of the CPU core voltages as well as 12.3V and 3.3V lines, temperatures of the processor and the board itself, and rotational speeds of the fans cooling the processor, chipset and the first housing.
The memory settings offer the same functionality as in the above examined boards. The board's overclocking options are rather rich. The boards allows doing the following:
Adjust the reference frequency of the clock oscillator for CPU (and other subsystems, respectively) from 200 to 400 MHz in 1 MHz increments;
Adjust the PCI Express frequency from 100 to 145 MHz in 1 MHz increments;
Adjust the supply voltage of memory modules within 2.60-3.00 V in 0.05V increments;
Adjust the processor multiplier from 4x to that maximum for the model installed in 0.5x increments;
Adjust the CPU supply voltage within 0.800-1.550V in 0.0125V increments.
But we were not pleased by the practical results. Athlon64 3200+ which installed on other boards was able overclocking successfully to 2500 MHz was running stably at merely 2350 MHz.
At the same time, the memory turned out to be operating in the slowed down mode - 196 MHz (a bit lower than the nominal 200 MHz). We were desperately looking for a way to solve the problem, but no changes to the settings allowed to produce a better result. In search of the truth, we had to assemble a test-bench based on ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe motherboard. The result proved lower than in other boards - a stable operation at 2450 MHz.
In search of the causes of that, we found the only explanation - insufficient cooling of the chipset. In both boards during overclocking the temperature was going up, but...
…A8N-SLI offers an "artistic" radiator and a much slower fan,…
… than the one on A8N-SLI Deluxe with a better radiator. We believe the difference is well seen on the photo. That's where there is a lack of a high radiator and a valid fan.
The totals for the board are ambiguous.
Pros: support for SATA II hard disks, hardware firewall, SLI configuration, excellent package bundle, reasonable price.
Cons: modest overclocking capability, especially in the new revision.
 |
Top Stories: |
 |
 |
|
MoBo:
| |
|
|
VGA Card:
|
|
|
|
CPU & Memory:
|
|
