A Bad Trend with Mobo Makers
Written: Apr 02 '03 (Updated Apr 02 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Feature-laden, stable at stock speeds
Cons: Cannot hit 200 MHz FSB, expensive, not Soundstorm-certified, NB voltage-starved.
The Bottom Line: Full featured, not exactly trouble/defect-free (as it seems to be the trend with motherboards lately).
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| nad_masters's Full Review: ASUS A7N8X Motherboard |
After hearing about the insane speeds the Throughbred B Athlon XPs are hitting, I decided to get one. Unfortunately, my Gigabyte GA-7VRXP motherboard was only able to hit a FSB of only a mere 140 MHz. My Tbred B 1700+ was stuck at 1750 Mhz (2100+), and I heard others being able to get up to 2GHz and up! Gosh darn it all!
I decided that the only way to go was to get myself an nForce2-based mobo. I've always had great experiences with Asus (P2B-LS), so I decided to go with their A7N8X Deluxe. Okay... that and it was the only board at the time that utilized the full features of the nF2 chipset (except for the built-in video, thank goodness!)
There was also the highly acclaimed (and easily overclockable) Epox 8DRA+, but I soooo wanted those extras the Asus gave me. It may cost a bit more ($50 more, in fact), but it seemed like a reasonable amount to pay for Serial ATA RAID, Soundstorm 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio, USB 2.0, Firewire, and Dual LANs. All that, and the usual features other mobo makers already take advantage from the nF2 chipset (DDR400).
Installation
Installation was a snap... or at least as snappy as any other motherboard. The only thing that may throw you off would be the standard ATX back panel. Because of the inclusion of two Ethernet jacks, and the Soundstorm 5.1 surround sound output, a loss of the 2nd serial port is missing, which disfigures what we normally are used to. The metallic panel that was customized for this motherboard comes in the package, so no worries there. However, you must make sure your ATX case can accept it. Most standard cases can, but some can only do this only if you permanently remove the old standard plate. Others have removable plates that can be swapped back.
The floppy and IDE connections are placed in the front of the board in the middle. That is perfect place to place it, as some have their drives on the top of the case, while some have it on the bottom. A nice compromise. The ATX power connector, however, is placed awkwardly near the front right of the motherboard. This allows you to stretch the ATX power plug there and avoid the hassles of managing cables, but most of us already have our own ways of getting around this problem. Thanks for that anyways, Asus.
With "only" 5 PCI slots, it has fewer problems with AGP cards and DIMM slots. Epox's own 8DRA+ have this very problem, since with 6 PCI slots comes very tight environments.
With the Northbridge and CPU socket clear of a lot of SMD components, it is very easy to install a large heat sink for the avivid overclocker. However, there are five capacitors that are very close to the CPU socket on one side. Most HSF don't have much overhang on that side anyways: it's where most clips anchors on first. I found it a bit hard to anchor it, though. However, at least we don't have to pry the clip in that area. Still, would have been nicer to move the caps closer to the AGP slots.
There are a few brackets that came with the motherboard (as covered later). 2 more USB 2.0 sockets, a game port, Firewire, and a 2nd serial port. It was difficult to route the various wires an ribbons from these external connectors to the internal ones on the motherboard. Since the ext. connectors are located in the back (for access by the user), the wires had to be stretched to the FRONT of the case to be connected to the motherboard, as all the conections for the various built-in ports are there! Right by the same pins that houses the power LED, HD LED, reset, and PC speaker. Talk about cramped! Also, even if you were able to use the case's pre-drilled holes for these external connectors (releiving the use of the PCI slots), there is still a chance that PCI slots will be blocked because of the path taken by the various wires and ribbon cables.
Features
Features are what set this particular board from other nF2 boards. As stated before, Soundstorm 6-channel Dolby Digital Audio, Dual-Channel DDR400 support, SATA RAID, Dual LAN, Asus COP (CPU Overheating Protection), Firewire, 6 USB 2.0 ports, and Asus Q-Fan... *whew*! Highly overwhelming list of features seem to go on and on! Let's take a gander at some of the big ones.
Soundstorm audio is actually integrated into the nForce chipset. With the built-in APU, it actually encodes in real time Dolby Digital 5.1 signals from whatever it should be outputting. Whether you are listening to MP3s, watching a DVD, or playing a game, it actually encodes it to Dolby Digital 5.1 and spits it out the digital output. Of course when you're watching most of today's modern DVD movies, they are already encoded in Dolby Digital 5.1. But the fact of the matter is: this is the best integrated sound EVER, besting even some high-end consumer audio cards such as the Audigy (though not the Audigy 2). However, because Asus did not adhere to the strict rules for implementing Soundstorm's audio solution, nVidia took Asus off the certified Soundstorm list. However, it was too late, as Asus already have the Soundstorm and Dolby Digital logos on their packaging. Keep that in mind!
Dual-Channel DDR400 support is simply awesome! With memory speeds becoming the bottleneck (especially since Intel is upping their FSB speeds), nVidia took it upon themselves to double the already doubled data rate of DDR RAM. :) First, the increase comes in pure frequency: 200 MHz up from 166 MHz. DDR memory pulls double duty (spits out data in BOTH the rising and falling edge of the clock), which doubles the effective rate to 400 MHz. Then with nF2's dual channel technology, all they did was widen the word width from 64 bits to 128 bits! That, itself, doubles the info it carries for every tick of the clock! It's like having a DDR800, if one existed. :)
Serial ATA, or SATA, is the next generation in the ATA spec. But of course, it is more for future-proofing your system, as SATA hard drives are still hard to find. And because of the fact that it's still new, SATA cables are expensive. This was true for 80-pin ATA cables on their debut. But since they say that SATA is simpler and cheaper to make, it's the fat cats upstairs who wants to keep the price profitable for themselves. I rather have Asus replace the SATA RAID with a more traditional ATA100/133 RAID. SATA is rated at 150 MB/sec, by the way...if you didn't know already. But this is a theoretical ceiling.
Dual LAN is a niche idea. Most of us only need one RJ-45 Ethernet port. And as for the "server" notion... why would anyone want this gamer's board for a server? Maybe nF2 is helping AMD clear out that "consumer CPU" aftertaste for the corporate types. AMD have been trying to do that with the Athlon MP, but it seems that more fat cats still side with Intel. I can't blame them, though... they are real conservative-types, and Intel has been with them since they started using computers in their business. Either way, dual LANs can allow home users to create a server, too. But this board is waaaaaaay too good to be locked away as a server. With the built-in nForce's LAN controller as well as a 3Com (for the corporate users), you get the best of both worlds. The 3Com is less CPU intensive than the nForce's too. Just a thought.
Firewire built-in! Need I say more? If you own a digital video camera, this is a MUST. Instead of buying a separate card, you save a PCI, and it comes built in. However, the connector comes in a bracket that uses up a slot anyways. FOR SHAME! On the flip side, if your case have Firewire sockets already, you may want to use them instead and save a PCI slot. Join me in saving the PCI slots, will you? Save the PCI slots!
The 6 USB 2.0 ports are also a must. No more USB 1.1!!! With four already on the ATX back panel, two more is allowed on another bracket that takes up space on the PCI slot (BOO!), or on your case (YAY!). Unfortunately, the bracket that comes with the mobo also have the game port on there, too. Dang... I know I want my game port for legacy joypads. Most can do away with this. The 2nd serial ports come on its own bracket, too... blocking a PCI slot. It can be mounted on your case, if it has a spot for it (doing away from the slot). However, all these connections on the mobo are inconvenient! They area all located at the front of the board where the connectors for LEDs, power switches, and reset are!!! Those ribbon cables block the slots anyways since they are ran from the back to the front. DOH!
Lastly, Asus's so called Q-Fan. I have yet to get this to work. Suppose to lower the CPU fan speed when the CPU is running cool, and raise it when it is hot. Some people are reporting problems of it lowering, but not raising. I have the problem of it not even lowering. Some are saying that it only works for certain fans that spin at a certain rate (5500+ RPMs work, but anything lower won't). Very controversial.
Performance
Running in async mode is fine... stock 133 MHz FSB and 200 MHz memory. However, this board cannot make it to 200 MHz sync! After playing with multipliers and the FSB, I found that the most reliable FSB speed I can attain was 195 MHz. Still nothing to laugh at, but it's just 5 measly and annoying MHz away from the magical number, 200! Using Corsair XMS PC3500 (DDR433) memory at 195 MHz (CL2, 6222 timings), SiSoft says I'm pushing 3002 MB/s! Nearly 3 GB/sec! At stock speeds (DDR333), performance is at 2566 MB/s. Wow... what an increase!
More can still be had on the board if only the Northbridge chip was being supplied with more voltage (rev 1.04 of the board). A hacked BIOS didn't even solve this problem, as it is a hardware issue. The only way to fix it is to modify the motherboard in a way that more voltage will be supplied. Currently, the NB is stuck at 1.56v, while reports of 1.8v is required to hit 200 MHz and beyond.
Enthusiast have found many hardware modifications to fix what Asus didn't. However, in the latest revision which is just barely out now (2.0), all has been fixed (old boards using A2 steppings of NB, while 2.0 use A3 - also fixes NB voltage problems). This current revision does not officially support 200 MHz FSB, but rev 2.0 does.
Also, one problem to report is that at 195 MHz, 3D games and benchmark fail to run (crashes), image tears can happen with nVidia cards, while my Radeon just crashes. This may be due to the fact that the NB is being deprived of voltage. Hopefully, the mod will correct this.
Conclusion
Lately, it seems that mobo makers have been cutting corners, or releasing products without thoroughly testing them. Epox had a few bad kinks in theirs as well, though they are the best at overclocking now. ECS also had what seems to be an unfinished mobo with the K7S5A. Gigabyte's own 7VRXP is not able to keep 166 MHz FSB settings in the BIOS. And now this.
Wake up and smell the burning silicon! Wake up, or PC enthusiasts are gonna slap you all silly!
At least all of them work as advertised when not being pushed to their limits (except for ECS).
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 150
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nad_masters
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Location: Chicago, IL, USA
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