What hit me first is XFX's packaging. The Mach4 mobo came in a very high-glossy box with bright eye catching artwork. Artwork on the box is fine, but by no means any representation of a product’s integrity. Upon opening up the package, I was greeted by the same artwork emblazoned on a hard cardboard folder with the words “Mainboard Essentials Kit.” Inside this “kit” was the instruction manual, a post-print update insert, and a utilities CD. I also enjoyed combing through all the other extras that came in this box to get to the actual motherboard: the usual IDE ribbons, a rear external USB 2.0 adapter with 2 ports, and a rear channel audio-out adapter that has subwoofer outs and whatnot.

I was so surprised by this because before I bought the board I didn’t realize I was going to get these “extras.” All my experiences with motherboards before had been that I was going to need to buy any additional adapters if I wanted to use any of the embedded functions if they were not going to be available from the back of the case.

The included hardware adapters are not the only ways XFX deviates from what I have experienced to be the “norm” in motherboard shopping. Noticing the manual was a thick 46 pages made me think it was in 10 different languages covering 10 different products. But NO. The 46 page manual not only covers hardware installations such as CPU and RAM, but it covers the embedded and onboard functions as well in adequate detail. The manual also describes each jumper setting, although, (after thoroughly checking, of course) each jumper was already set exactly how the 2200 chip needed it. There are only 3 pertinent jumpers on this board: The Temperature allowance jumper controlling how “hot” the CPU gets, the FSB speed setting, and the CMOS clear jumper. THIS MOTHERBOARD DOES NOT USE JUMPERS TO SET OVERCLOCKING CONTROLS. To some, that statement seems foreign and will deter you from buying this board. All the overclocking options are done within the BIOS. The bios is very easy to understand, and has pre-set overclocking settings such as “aggressive, performance, and turbo”. It does give you the option to manually set everything, too.

THE MANUAL EXPLAINS EVERY BIOS OPTION. I don’t know about you, but back in the day I had spent HOURS and HOURS surfing the internet trying to find out what some BIOS settings were for. This board gives you all your BIOS options in detail. I was amazed. Further, XFX uses the nForce chipset, which allows updates through nVidia’s nForce detonator-style drivers, which a child could be capable of installing. You don’t have to even identify what motherboard you’re using, the driver does it all for you, and without fail updates chipset, IDE controllers, and the other onboard functions with ease. Knowing nVidia is responsible for keeping my system drivers updated makes me smile:)

The time between when I opened this package and getting it all setup was laughable. I took about an hour, but that was mainly due to the fact that I was watching TV during the whole thing. I wouldn’t dream a motherboard would be as simple to be able to watch TV while installing it!

The performance of the motherboard is outstanding. On my first 3D Mark2001 benchmark I got 1,200 more marks from this nForce chipset and 2200 processor than I did from my old Soyo board and 1800 processor. Everything else is identical on this system. Sure, the 400mhz difference in processor speed would account for an improved score, maybe a 3 or 4 hundred, but not 1,200 more! Further, My system is using the same Volcano 6 CPU fan that was causing my 1800 processor to overheat and crash repeatedly. The fan is only rated to cool a 2100 , but I have not seen a blue screen in the two weeks I’ve been enjoying this board.

(Please note using a CPU fan not specified to cool your processor can be very expensive!)

And I play games, too, which heat your computer more than anything else. Graphic intensive games like Morrowind, Medal of Honor, and Tron 2.0 breeze through this setup with my graphics card maxed out (producing more heat.) In other words, the chipset on this board remains cool as ice through this games. If you play games, you're gonna love this board.


Recommended:
Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 69.99