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Original Link: https://www.anandtech.com/show/2126
We have already taken a look at upcoming reviews featuring storage, optical, and multimedia products. Today we will present a quick look at some of the motherboard products that we are currently testing and will provide reviews of in the near future. While this is not a complete listing and does not include the long awaited RD600 board from DFI, it should provide a good indication of the products we are excited about. With that said let's take a quick look at some of these product offerings.
Motherboards:
Intel Performance
The continuing introduction of new chipsets and revisions to previous generation chipsets for the Intel Core 2 Duo processor series has created an enormous amount of product introductions since the end of June. So much so that our labs are literally stacked with motherboards that are in the process of testing and review analysis. Intel currently holds the overall performance crown with the Core 2 Duo and the continued rollout of new motherboards for this impressive processor series is amazing.
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The ASUS Striker Extreme is based upon the recently released NVIDIA 680i SLI chipset that we reviewed a few weeks ago. The board supports LGA775 socket processors, features two full speed PCI Express x16 slots (SLI support), one x8 PCI Express slot (x16 physical), one x1 PCI Express slot, and two PCI 2.2 capable slots. Besides the six native Serial ATA 3Gb/s ports, ASUS has also included two external Serial ATA 3Gb/s ports via the Silicon Image 3132 chipset. The board features ASUS's new SupremeFX Audio Card that uses the ADI 1988B 8-channel HD audio codec and it includes an Array Microphone. Since the board is part of ASUS's Republic of Gamers product family it is equipped with a rear LCD status panel, onboard switches for power, reset, and clear CMOS, and a full software suite including Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter, Futuremark 3DMark06 Advanced Edition, Kaspersky Anti-Virus, and several Windows utilities. In initial testing we have reached 7x534FSB with our retail E6600 sample and general performance has been excellent. We will be comparing this board to our EVGA 680i, Intel BadAxe2, and hopefully the DFI RD600 board if it is not delayed again in the near future.
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The Intel D975XBX2KR is based upon the 975X chipset that has proven itself over the course of the last year to offer excellent performance and stability. The D975XBX2 is a follow up to the original D975XBX board and features improved electricals and enhanced BIOS tuning for greater performance potential with the Core 2 Duo along with Core 2 Extreme quad-core support. The board supports LGA775 socket processors, features two full speed PCI Express x8 slots (x16 physical, CrossFire support), one x4 PCI Express slot (x16 physical), and two PCI 2.3 capable slots. The board comes with four native Serial ATA 3Gb/s ports via the Intel ICH7R and Intel added an additional four Serial ATA 3Gb/s ports via the Marvell 88SE6145 RAID controller.
The board is also equipped with a SigmaTel 9274D 8-channel HD audio codec. In initial testing this board has shown some very good overclocking tendencies, although the inability to reduce the CPU multiplier is a hindrance when compared to other 975X/P965 boards. The BIOS options available for an Intel branded motherboard are a wonderful surprise. The stock performance and stability is equal to other 975X motherboards on the market and the board is backed by an excellent support team. We will be comparing this product to our MSI 975X Platinum, Foxconn 975X7AB-8EKRS2H, and DFI 975X Infinity boards shortly.
Motherboards:
AMD Performance
While the current AM2 platform cannot provide the same overall performance on a per clock basis as the Intel Core 2 Duo platforms, it does not mean AM2 is not worth considering for your gaming or work machine. In fact we still find the performance of the AM2 platform to be more than acceptable for most buyers. On a price to performance scale the AM2 series are hard to beat in the low to middle range sectors from a total platform cost.
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The DFI LanParty UT NF590 SLI-M2R/G is built around the NVIDIA nForce 590SLI chipset. In usual DFI fashion they have loaded the board with extra features such as two additional Serial ATA 3Gb/s ports via the Silicon Image 3132 chipset, the Karajan audio module featuring the Realtek ALC885 8-channel HD audio codec, and IEEE 1394 support. The board supports AM2 socket processors, features two full speed PCI Express x16 slots (SLI support), one x8 PCI Express slot, one x1 PCI Express slot (x4 physical), and three PCI 2.2 capable slots. The board is an excellent overclocker taking our X2 3800+ up to 3.08GHz while DDR2 speeds have reached a little over 1200, although the extra bandwidth is wasted due to the current clock/memory controller limitations of the AM2. We will be comparing this board to the Asus CrossHair and Abit AN9-32X shortly to see who reigns supreme at the high-end in AM2 performance.
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The ASUS M2R32-MVP is based on the AMD/ATI RD580 chipset (CrossFire Xpress 3200) that offers CrossFire capability on the AM2 platform. The M2R32-MVP is equipped with the SB600 Southbridge that features four Serial ATA 3Gb/s ports with support for RAID 0, 1, and 0+1. ASUS also supplies the JMicron 360 SATA controller that provides the single e-SATA port on the board. The board supports AM2 socket processors, features two full speed PCI Express x16 slots (CrossFire support), two x1 PCI Express slots, and two PCI 2.3 capable slots. The board is also equipped with an ADI 1988A 8-channel HD audio codec. Although the board is targeted to the mid-range performance sector it has offered excellent performance and fairly good overclocking rates up to 315HTT to date. We will be comparing this product against the recently released EP-AD580 XR board from EPoX.
AMD mATX
We have several mATX boards supporting the AM2 processor series that we will present in our upcoming roundup. The products we will briefly cover today are just a few examples of the boards that will be included. While most of our boards are based on the NVIDIA nForce 6100 chipset, we do have a couple of AMD/ATI RS485 boards along with a VIA K8M890 based board. We are hoping to receive our first AMD RS695 motherboard shortly that features onboard X700 level graphics performance.
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The Biostar NF61S MicroAM2 board is based on the NVIDIA MCP61S (GeForce 6100/nForce 405) chipset that offers good onboard video performance with the ability to upgrade to the latest graphics card technology via the x16 PCI Express slot. The board supports 2GB of DDR2 memory, HD audio via the Realtek ALC861VD, and 10/100 Fast Ethernet. The board is actually a uATX form factor and in testing has worked flawlessly to date.
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We have several ASRock motherboards to review in the AM2 category and we are hoping to have the new ALiveNF6G-DVI in time for the roundup. The AM2NF4G-SATA2 board is based on the NVIDIA GeForce 6100 and nForce 410 chipsets that offer very good system performance in a mATX form factor. The board has one x16 PCI Express slot, one x1 PCI Express slot, and two PCI slots. The board supports 8GB of DDR2 memory, HD audio via the Realtek ALC888, 10/100 Fast Ethernet, and two Serial ATA 3Gb/s ports along with two ATA133 IDE connectors. The board is also Vista Premium ready.
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The ECS RS485M-M motherboard is built on the AMD/ATI RS485 (Radeon Xpress 1100) and SB460 chipsets that offer balanced system performance. The board supports 16GB of DDR2 memory, 6-channel AC-97 audio via the Realtek ALC655, four SATA 1.5Gb/s ports, and 10/100 Fast Ethernet. The performance of thise board and that of the MSI based on the same chipset actually surprised us to some degree. We expect to see further performance improvements with the updated RS695 chipset.
Motherboard Products:
Intel mATX
The Intel mATX motherboard suppliers have been slow to ramp up production of boards supporting the Core 2 Duo processors. We just recently received several motherboards in this category based upon the new Intel G965/Q965 chipsets that are now in testing. We are also expecting a few Intel 946GZ based boards early next year that will offer full support for the upcoming Intel E4xx series of Core 2 Duo processors with an 800MHz front side bus. We also hope to see SIS chipsets in this sector by early next year that will provide some additional competition to the VIA chipsets in the budget market.
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The Biostar P4M890-M7 PCI-E motherboard is based on the VIA P4M890 and VT8237R+ chipsets featuring the UniChrome Pro onboard graphics capability. The board offers support for 4GB of DDR2-400/533 memory, two Serial ATA 1.5Gb/s ports, a single ATA133 IDE connector, Realtek ALC658 audio, and Fast Ethernet 10/100 support via the Realtek RTL 8201CL. This uATX based motherboard offers good performance and is value priced at $49.
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The Foxconn G9657MA motherboard is a full featured product that is based on the Intel G965 and ICH8 chipsets. The board features a single x16 PCI Express slot, one x1 PCI-Express slot, and two PCI slots. There are four Serial ATA 3Gb/s ports, a single ATA133 IDE connector, and one e-SATA 3Gb/s port via a J-Micron chipset. HD Audio is provided courtesy of the Realtek ALC883, and Gigabit Ethernet supplied by the Marvell 88E8056 chipset. So far, just about all of the G965 motherboards perform the same and we are awaiting a major video driver update from Intel before publishing results. The current X3000 video performance is on par with the GMA-950 engine used in the 945G chipsets, but this should change for the better with the next driver release.
AMD Mini-ITX
One of the most interesting motherboards we have seen in the labs recently is the Albatron KI51PV-754 motherboard. We found the performance of this motherboard to be very good overall. The potential market for this system spans from vehicle installations to HTPC to medical/industrial systems. If you are looking for a Mini-ITX board we suggest you seriously consider this offering from Albatron.
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The board is based on the NVIDIA GeForce 6150 and nForce 430 chipsets. It supports current socket 754 processors and has a single memory slot for DDR333/400 memory. Audio is provided by the Realtek ALC655 and the board features a Marvell 88E3016 10/100 Fast Ethernet PHY and a Marvel 88E8055 Gigabit LAN chipset. There are four Serial ATA 3Gb/s ports, two ATA133 ports, and a single PCI slot. The board has both a DVI and D-SUB output ports and can support HDTV (component video) output capability via an optional cable for the onboard header.
Power Supplies
We have not looked at power supplies in awhile but have recently received several interesting and high quality units from OCZ Technology, Corsair, and Ultra Products among others. Hopefully, we will be able provide some interesting impressions of these units after we complete our motherboard roundups this month.
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One unit that caught our eye was the Ultra Products X-Finity 800 Watt power supply. The unit has a very nice black anodized aluminum finish and is based on the Andyson server line. The unit is heavy, well constructed, features Ultra's After Spin Technology and is supplied with their FlexForce cable design. We found the cable design to be an immense help in ridding our test bed unit of power supply cable clutter. The cables were easily routed under the motherboard and along the drive bays. While we are not fans of the titanium color, we are fans of the cabling system. Hopefully the unit's performance and quality lives up to its appearance.
Final Remarks
In the upcoming weeks we will also have a workstation motherboard roundup featuring the AM2 NVIDIA nForce 590SLI and Intel 975X chipsets, HTPC motherboard roundup, and some interesting new product reviews. This concludes our final article in this series, and we will take a look at some interesting memory technologies and provide an update of various new product releases shortly.