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Tom's Socket AM2 Motherboard Summer Slam
By ,
1. Introduction

Just because everybody talks about Intel's Core 2 Duo processor doesn't mean AMD shouldn't be on your radar screen. Now, there is a healthy crop of mature socket AM2 motherboards available to power Athlon 64, Athlon 64 X2, Athlon 64 FX and Sempron processors. Thanks to recent price drops, AMD still offers a nice price/performance ratio compared to that Intel.

Moreover, the 940-pin socket AM2 is not going away anytime soon: It will host the upcoming 65-nm processor generation and you will be able to upgrade to faster and more efficient processors by simply upgrading your motherboard's BIOS.

With the memory controller firmly on the Athlon 64's CPU die, which removes previous performance limitations, we find the battle for supremacy in the AM2 arena not strictly in the raw performance arena, but rather on the feature front. Bundles, the number of ports, flexibility, stability and even the "wow factor" have come into play here more than ever before.

We had a look at the newest high-end, deluxe and fully-featured AM2 boards available for the enthusiast to play with. Here are the competitors:

  • Asus M2 Crosshair
  • Asus M2N32 SLI Deluxe
  • Biostar TForce590 SLI Deluxe
  • Epox MF570 SLI
  • Foxconn C51XEM2A
  • Gigabyte M59SLI S5
  • MSI K9A Platinum
  • MSI K9N Platinum

Now that we're familiar with the entries, let's have a closer look at each motherboard.

Join our discussion on this topic

2. Asus Crosshair

slide show: Asus M2 Crosshair

Asus is really trying to do something different with the Crosshair. This enthusiast board has a ton of nifty features that set it apart from the pack, even though its raw specifications are very similar to its M2N32-SLI cousin.

Ports

For expandability, the board features two PCIe x16 slots for video accelerators, one PCIe x4 slot and three standard PCI slots. The PCIe x4 Slot is open at the end, so plugging in a longer card might be possible, but there are two capacitors, which would probably prevent this. For USB and Firewire connectivity, there are four integrated USB ports, and three headers to support six more USB ports. A single Firewire (IEEE1394) port is on the motherboard and a header for a second port is available on the board as well. The bundle includes two add-on brackets for the user: One with two USB ports and one with a Firewire port.

There are two Gigabit network ports utilizing the nForce5 GbE controller, which is par for the course with nForce boards.

Other than the Epox MF570, the Asus boards are the only ones with a secondary SATA controller and eight SATA ports. The secondary two SATA ports are enabled through the secondary Silicon Image Sil3132 controller, one internal one an external eSATA. The nForce 590 MCP controls six primary ports for SATA/300 devices, and a single UltraATA/100 connector.

Audio

The Crosshair has similar audio hardware to the M2N32-SLI; the major difference is that the SoundMAX ADI AD1988B audio processor and the six mini jacks are on an add-in card, presumably to save PCB space. The single SPDIF coax and a single optical out are present for audio connectivity, and headers are available for 5x2 pin front audio, CD-in and SPDIF out.

The board also comes with the same Array microphone as the M2N32-SLI, which is another nice addition.

Cooling

In this respect, the Crosshair is very similar to the other Asus board we reviewed. It also utilizes a large heat pipe that connects the Northbridge, Southbridge and power supply components. Included in the bundle is a separate fan that can be attached to the heat pipe cooler, and once again ASUS recommends it to be used only with water-cooled setups so that it does not interfere with an air-cooled CPU. Both of the ASUS boards sported the most fan headers in the group, which totaled seven, including the CPU fan header.

Bundle

The Crosshair's bundle is identical to that of the M2N232-SLI Deluxe, but with an added bonus: 3DMark 2006 professional edition.

Please check the M2N232-SLI's information on the previous page for information on the other software in the Crosshair's bundle.

Notes

The most striking thing about the Crosshair is its built-in illumination. Firstly, the rear panel is illuminated, so in dark situations you could see where to plug in, say, a USB or network cable. At the rear of the panel is also a status display that shows status information during the boot sequence. After boot, the display shows the actual time. Secondly, the PCB side of the board is covered in blue LED lights for installing hardware without a flashlight. If you've ever installed hardware on a computer under a desk or something, you know how valuable this thoughtful little touch can be. Plus, it looks pretty fly. These LEDs can even be turned on when the PC is powered down.

For enthusiasts who test their PC outside of a case, there are illuminated Power, Reset, and CMOS clear buttons right on the motherboard. Brilliant! Other than these neat features, the board has a solid BIOS with ASUS' typical tweakability and control.

slide show: Asus M2 Crosshair

3. Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe

slide show: Asus M2N32 SLI Deluxe

Asus looks to have a solid entry in the AM2 segment with SLI compatibility, good overclocking options and impressive chipset cooling.

Interfaces

For expandability, the board features two PCIe x16 slots for video accelerators, one PCIe x4 slot and three standard PCI slots. For USB and Firewire connectivity, we have the four integrated USB ports, and three headers to support six more USB ports. A single Firewire (IEEE1394) port is on the motherboard and a header for a second port is available on the board as well. The bundle includes three add on brackets for the user: One with two USB ports, one with a Firewire port and one with two eSATA ports, as well as a molex power port.

Like most of the nForce boards, there are two Gigabit network ports utilizing the nForce5 GbE controller. In addition, the bundle includes a tiny 802.11g wireless card that attaches to a specially-located USB header on the board, which is a great addition.

The SATA connectivity is covered well, primarily with the nForce 590 MCP controlling six nForce ports for SATA II 300 Mb/s devices, and a single old-school UltraATA/100 connector. In addition, an additional two SATA ports are enabled through the secondary Silicon Image Sil3132 controller; one is internal and the second one is external eSATA.

Audio

The M2N32-SLI Deluxe uses a relatively new codec for 7.1-channel high-definition audio: the Analog Devices SoundMAX ADI AD1988B. Six audio mini jacks, a single SPDIF coax and a single optical out are offered for audio connectivity, and headers are available for 5x2 pin Front Audio, CD-in and SPDIF out. The board also comes with an array microphone, which is reported to capture a moving audio source better than a standard microphone while keeping background noise to a minimum, which is not bad for a bundled mic.

Cooling

A huge heat pipe connects the Northbridge, Southbridge and power supply components. Included in the bundle is a separate fan that can be attached to the heat pipe cooler, although ASUS recommends it to be used only with water-cooled setups, so that it does not interfere with CPU cooler airflow. Add to this the impressive number of fan headers - a total of seven - and you can see this board has very strong options in the cooling department.

Bundle

Asus Ai Booster

Asus AI booster is a dynamic overclocking utility that allows newbies to overclock by small percentages without messing with the meaty settings in the BIOS. Of course, there are more advanced controls as well, and monitors for voltage and the like, which make the tool fun for anyone to mess around with. It also allows the user to save up to three different settings, which is good for testing.

Asus PC Probe II

The original PC Probe was a useful tool, and the newest version carries on the tradition. The software can monitor many variables at the same time - voltages and temperatures to name a few - and you can organize them as you see fit. You also have the option to set alarm temperatures, voltages and fan speeds.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus Personal

Free virus protection is nice, assuming it's reliable, and Kaspersky Anti Virus has a good reputation.

slide show: Asus M2N32 SLI Deluxe

4. Biostar Tforce 590 SLI Deluxe

The Biostar TForce has some unique characteristics that set it apart from the other AM2 boards, as well as some interesting promotional merchandise.

slide show: Biostar TForce590 SLI Deluxe

Ports

The board has two PCIe x16 slots for video accelerators, one PCIe x4 slot, one x1 PCIe slot and two standard PCI slots for expansion cards.

For USB and Firewire connectivity we have the six integrated USB ports, and two headers to support for four more USB ports. Incidentally, Biostar and Foxconn's boards were the only two in the roundup that had six USB ports on the back panel, two more than all other entries.

A single Firewire (IEEE1394) port is on the motherboard and a header for a second port is available on the board as well. The bundle includes an add-on bracket with audio connections, a single SPDIF and single optical connector. For Ethernet connectivity, the requisite two Gigabit network ports utilizing the nForce5 GbE controller are present.

The nForce 590 MCP controls six primary ports for SATA/300 devices, and a single UltraATA/100 connector. One of the SATA ports is an eSATA external port on the back panel, which is nice.

Audio

High-definition 7.1 audio is handled by the Realtek ALC882 audio processor. There are six mini jacks on the panel as well as a SPDIF coax and a single optical out. Headers are available for 5x2 pin Front Audio, CD-in and SPDIF in and out.

Cooling

The MOSFETS and North bridge each have a plain heat sink, but the Southbridge is actively cooled with a fan.

The board has three fan headers in total, one for the CPU cooler and two extras.

Bundle

T-Smart Fan Utility

This utility is supposed to control the speed of the system fans and be able to set them dynamically according to your settings and CPU speed. We had problems with getting the bundled version to work however, and while it was calibrating, the software would shut down the computer. This seemed to be a security feature set off due to fan reporting errors, but we're not sure.

After downloading a newer version of the software however, everything worked well. The fans could be run in automatic mode or adjusted as we saw fit.

T-Hardware Monitor Utility

This utility is for monitoring voltages and temperatures. The bundled version had similar problems to the T-Fan utility, but after installing a new downloaded version everything worked well.

T-Overclock Utility

This utility provides overclocking control of system busses and voltage within windows. Happily, the bundled version of the tool worked well the first time out.

Notes

The Biostar board has a power and reset button right on the PCB, similar to the Asus Crosshair board, although not nearly as snazzy. Still, it is a very useful addition for people who experiment with their rigs outside of a PC case.

The Biostar board sported the most interesting extras; a stylish accessory bag, a headset microphone and a USB charging kit for mobile phones. The documentation is careful to explain that these are promotional gifts, and are not covered by any warranty at all. We're not sure if this type of policy would hold up in a court of law, but we're not going to complain about getting the free stuff.

slide show: Biostar TForce590 SLI Deluxe

5. Epox MF570 SLI

The Epox MF570 SLI is one of two boards in the roundup top withthe nForce 570 SLI chipset instead of the 590 SLI; the only real limitation being the PCIe speed of the graphics cards in SLI mode. Of course, in practice, the performance difference between the two is negligible, so it doesn't make a noticeable difference.

slide show: Epox MF570 SLI

Interfaces

For expandability, the board features two PCIe x16 slots for video accelerators, two PCIe x1 slots and three standard PCI slots. The board has four integrated USB ports on the panel, and three headers to support for six more USB ports. Strangely enough, there are no Firewire ports on the back panel, but there are two headers for Firewire ports on the board.

Gigabit network connectivity is unique in that the two network ports utilize the Marvell 88E1116 Gbe controller instead of the Nvidia controller. The primary SATA is standard Nforce chipset issue, with six ports for SATA/300 devices, and a single UltraATA/100 connector. However, there is a secondary SATA controller: the JMicro JMB363, which sports an additional two SATA connectors. There are no external eSATA connectors, however.

Audio

Like some other boards in the comparison, the K9A uses the Realtek ALC883 codec for seven-channel high definition audio. Five audio mini jacks, a single SPDIF coax and a single optical out are present for audio connectivity, and connectors are available for 5x2 pin front audio and the CD-in.

Cooling

Only the Southbridge is cooled, and it has a heatsink and fan. The MOFSETS and Northbridge are bare. The board has four fan headers in total, one for the CPU cooler and three extras, which is acceptable.

Bundle

Thunder Flash

A utility for Flash under Windows, Thunder Flash can also create a recovery disk. Additionally, it has a nifty feature to change the boot image: sizes of 640x480 and 1024x768 with 16 or 256 colors are allowed. The live update worked very well and provided us with the newest BIOS available.

Thunder Probe

This software will monitor your temperatures and fans, and gives you the option to set limits when it will alert you with an alarm. You can adjust the fan speeds as well, and everything will be logged. It is a nice tool to play with, though probably not a necessity if you've set your machine up properly, but it's not bad at all.

Notes

This Epox board has a power and reset button on the PCB, for enthusiasts and testers who would run it without a PC case.

It's funny that the Epox MF570 SLI appears unique because it's the only board in the roundup in the traditional green PCB color. How times have changed.

slide show: Epox MF570 SLI

6. Foxconn C51XEM2AA-8EKRS2H

Foxconn offers a no-nonsense board with good features and an unnecessarily gargantuan name.

slide show: Foxconn C51XEM2A

Interfaces

Foxconn has included has two PCIe x16 slots for video accelerators, one PCIe x4 slot, one x1 PCIe slot and two standard PCI slots for expansion cards. For USB and Firewire connectivity we have the six integrated USB ports, and two headers to support for four more USB ports.

A single Firewire (IEEE1394) port is on the motherboard and a header for a second port is available on the board as well. The bundle includes three add-on brackets: One with four USB ports, one with a Firewire port and one with a com port.

Ethernet connections on the back panel are no surprise: the standard two gigabit network ports, of course using the nForce5 GbE controller. The nForce 590 MCP controls six primary ports for SATA/300 devices, and a single IDE connector. Foxconn's solution has no external eSATA connector.

Audio

The 7.1 audio is controlled by the Realtek ALC882 audio processor. There are five mini jacks on the panel as well as a SPDIF coax and a single optical out. Headers are available for 5x2 pin front audio, CD-in and SPDIF in and out.

Cooling

The Northbridge has a simple heat sink, but the Southbridge is actively cooled with a fan. The board has the least amount of fan headers in our roundup: only two fan headers in total, one for the CPU cooler and one extra. This is an area that the Foxconn could definitely improve on as one fan header seems pretty chincy.

Bundle

Fox LiveUpdate Application

The LiveUpdate software is supposed to keep the board's drivers and BIOS up to date. While it seems to work, the newest BIOS, which we downloaded from www.foxconnchannel.com, wasn't available with live updates when we tried it.

Nvidia NTune

Instead of developing proprietary tuning software, Foxconn was smart enough to use what was already there: NVIDIA's nForce overclocking and tuning utility, nTune.

Notes

This Foxconn board also has a power and reset button right on the PCB, similar to the Asus and Biostar boards. Once again, we applaud this simple but useful addition that makes a PC enthusiast's life just a little bit easier.

The PCIe locks are located under the graphics card slots, not beside them, and therefore are a bit harder to get to than other solutions. This isn't a huge issue, but with certain graphics cards it may be a bit more difficult to unmount them.

slide show: Foxconn C51XEM2A

7. Gigabyte M59SLI-S5

Gigabyte brings a quality board to the table with three PCIe x16 graphics card sized slots.

slide show: Gigabyte M59SLI S5

Ports

For expandability, the board features three PCIe x16 slots for video accelerators. The third x16 slot actually runs at x8 speed maximum. In addition, there are two PCIe x1 slots, and two standard PCI slots. For USB and Firewire connectivity we have the four integrated USB ports, and three headers to support for six more USB ports. A single Firewire (IEEE1394) port is on the motherboard and a header for a second port is available on the board as well. Another two gigabit network ports on the panel utilize the nForce5 GbE controller. The SATA connectivity is taken care of with the nForce 590 MCP controlling six nForce ports for SATA/300 devices and a single standard UltraATA/100 connector.

Audio

The M59-SLI-S5 is the only board in the roundup to use the Realtek ALC888DD codec for 7.1-channel high definition audio. Six audio mini jacks, a single SPDIF coax and a single optical out are available for audio connectivity. Headers are available for 5x2 pin front audio, CD-in and SPDIF in and out.

Cooling

The M59SLI features some very impressive cooling. Similar to the Asus boards, a large heat pipe connects the Northbridge, Southbridge and power supply components. The number of available fan headers is typical, three in total, one of which is likely to be used with the CPU.

Bundle

The M59SLI-S5 is the only board in the roundup that did not arrive in a retail package, so we can only get an idea of the software bundle from the Gigabyte Website. The retail package should include: Easy-Tune 5 & M.I.T. (Motherboard Intelligent Tweaker), which is Gigabyte's signature CPU overclocking and voltage tweaking software, R.G.B. (Robust graphics Booter), which, I believe, is Gigabyte's graphics card overclocking software, but without trying it out I can't be certain.

Notes

It is certainly very interesting to see a board with three PCIe x16 slots. For some time now the idea of motherboards that would facilitate three graphics cards has been thrown around - two graphics cards for multi-GPU rendering and one for physics calculations. There are other uses for the third x16 port of course, but it's still nice to see the technology moving in that direction.

slide show: Gigabyte M59SLI S5

8. MSI K9A Platinum

The K9A has the distinction of being the only socket AM2 motherboard in this review that sports a chipset not provided by Nvidia; this board features the ATI Radeon Xpress 3200 chipset. It will be interesting to see how the performance holds up compared to Nvidia's offerings. As an added bonus, we have the attractive X-Wing fighter knockoff prominently featured on the packaging as with MSI's other Platinum AM2 board, the K9N.

slide show: MSI K9A Platinum

Interfaces

The Radeon Xpress 3200 is ATI's premium chipset offering for socket AM2, so it comes with two full-speed PCIe x16 slots for those who wish to use a Crossfire graphics card setup. In addition, two x1 PCIe slots and two PCI slots round out the add-in board options.

As is typical with most of the boards in the roundup, there are four integrated USB ports, and headers supply the option of attaching six more. The Firewire (IEEE1394) situation is also the norm, with one port on the motherboard and an additional header for a second port if desired. The brackets for the additional Firewire port, and two additional USB ports, are included.

Because this isn't an nForce board, we see a unique Gigabit Ethernet controller on the K9A, the Realtek 8111B PCIe Gbe. Like every other board in the roundup, there are two Ethernet ports integrated on the motherboard. Also unique to the K9A in this review is the ATI SB600 mass storage controller, providing four SATA connectors in addition to a single UltraATA connector. Note that every other board in this comparison sports six SATA connectors. Also of note; this motherboard does not support the RAID 5 mode.

Audio

Like it's cousin the K9N, the K9A uses the Realtek ALC883 codec for seven-channel high definition audio. Five audio mini jacks, a single SPDIF coax and a single optical out are present for audio connectivity, and connectors are available for 5x2 pin front audio and the CD-in.

Cooling

The MOSFETS, Northbridge and Southbridge each have their own simple heat sink. There are no fans, heat pipes or fancy cooling solutions on the board whatsoever, but none of the chipsets seemed to output unacceptable temperatures.

Bundle

The software bundle included with the K9A platinum is identical to MSI's K9N Platinum listed previously. Please refer to the K9N's bundle section above for more information.

Notes

Like other premium offerings from MSI, the BIOS has been modified to incorporate MSI's proprietary 'Cell Menu' listed previously in the K9N notes. Please refer to the K9N's bundle section above for more information.

On a side note, we couldn't access the Taiwan MSI site to find a new BIOS version during the review on Friday 08/18/2006. There were no BIOS updates available on the U.S. or German websites at that time.

slide show: MSI K9A Platinum

9. MSI K9N SLI Platinum

slide show: MSI K9N Platinum

The K9N Platinum uses Nvidia's nForce 570 SLI chipset, so when operating in SLI mode, each x16 PCIe video card would be operating at PCIe x8 speeds, as for both to work at x16 speeds the nForce 590 SLI chipset is required.

On a side note, this reviewer found it more than a little amusing that the box prominently features an obvious X-Wing fighter knockoff. Gotta love campy copyright infringement of this magnitude, so my kudos go to the MSI artists who are clearly big time "Star Wars" fans...

Ports

For expandability, the board features two PCIe x16 slots for video accelerators, two PCIe x1 slots and three standard PCI slots. Once again we have the four integrated USB ports, and three headers to support for six more USB ports. A single Firewire (IEEE1394) port is on the motherboard and a header for a second port is available on the board as well

Ethernet is done a little differently from most of the nForce boards, the two network ports utilizing the PHY Vitesse VSC8601 controller instead of an Nvidia controller. The SATA is standard nForce chipset issue however, with six ports for SATA/300 devices, and a single old-school UltraATA/100 connector.

Audio

Like some other boards in the comparison, the K9A uses the Realtek ALC883 codec for seven-channel high definition audio. Five audio mini jacks, a single SPDIF coax and a single optical out are present for audio connectivity, and connectors are available for 5x2 pin Front Audio and the CD-in.

Cooling

The MOSFETS and chipset have simple passive heat sinks, which is great for noise. The unfortunate consequence of this quiet setup is that the chipset reached 75°C during our tests, which is really quite high - so much so that I'd recommend active cooling of this board's chipset. As far as future cooling support, the board sports three fan headers, only one of which allows RPM control, assuming you have a four-pin cooler.

Bundle

MSI offers an extensive utility suite with their Platinum series motherboards, which includes:

MSI Core Center

This is a handy tool to monitor system status, as well as allow for overclocking and over voltage within Windows, which is useful for the tweakers out there. Temperature and fan speed alarms can be adjusted.

MSI DigiCell

This is a program that offers a bunch of diagnostics in addition to scheduled power on/power down functionality. Interesting stuff, I don't think I'd use it on a regular basis, but it doesn't hurt to have it.

MSI Password Keeper

This is a simple utility to store passwords and related information. Its usefulness is limited by the fact that it has to be installed - so it can't be run off of something convenient like a USB stick or something similar. Also, the program can be run without a password, which not so great for a program that stores passwords. But for a free utility, the price is right.

LockBox

A tool to lock the PC. Unfortunately, it can be subverted very easily by someone who knows what they're doing - you can press ctrl+alt+del to open the task-manager and kill the process. So you're better off using the locker utility built into Windows if you're serious about security.

MSI Live Monitor

This program will monitor for updates to the BIOS, drivers, and utilities over the Internet. When we used it, LiveUpdate didn't show a new BIOS was available for the board, and the MSI Taiwan website wasn't working during testing on Friday 08/18/2006. ON a side note, the German and US MSI websites also showed no new BIOS available.

Notes

Like other premium offerings from MSI, the BIOS has been modified to incorporate MSI's proprietary 'Cell Menu', which sports extra settings for overclocking enthusiasts such as dynamic overclocking, bus and memory clock control, PCIe clock control and voltage control. It sounds special, but most of these settings are covered in the standard BIOS' offered with the other motherboards in this review. The Cell Menu just makes it a bit easier for newbies, allowing the user to overclock by a small percentage instead of by tweaking various settings.

MSI also offers a K9N Diamond with the nForce 590 SLI chipset that supports SLI operation with two Nvidia video cards at PCIe x16 speeds.

slide show: MSI K9N Platinum

10. Test Setup

System Hardware
Socket AM2 AMD Athlon 64 FX-62 (Windsor 90 nm, 2.80 GHz, 2x 1 MB L2 Cache)
RAM 2x 1024 MB DDR2-800 (CL 4.0-4-4-8)
Corsair CM2X1024-6400C4 XMS6404v1.1
Graphics Card MSI RX1900XTXVT2D512E
GPU : ATI X1900XTX (650 MHz)
RAM : 512 MB GDDR3 (1550 MHz)
Hard Drive I (read) 1x 150 GB 10.000 rpm, 8 MB cache, SATAII
Western Digital WD1500ADFD
Hard Drive II (write) 1x 150 GB 10.000 rpm, 8 MB cache, SATAII
Western Digital WD1500ADFD
DVD-ROM Gigabyte GO-D1600C (16x)
Software
ATI Graphic Catalyst 6.8
ATI Chipset Catalyst 6.8
Nvidia nForce 500 Series Forceware 9.35
DirectX Version : 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
OS Windows XP, Build 2600 SP2

Nothing too fancy here, but it is no slouch either : an Athlon 64 FX-62 CPU and 2 GB of DDR2-800 RAM with a CAS latency of 4. Not too shabby, indeed.

What are our expectations ? Well, frankly we’d be surprised if any board pulls ahead at any particular task. With the memory controller on the Athlon 64 die, performance shouldn’t deviate that much at all. The only real wildcard in the suite is the single Radeon Xpress 3200 chipset, and we’ll be surprised if any leads by any particular board falls outside the margin of error.

Benchmarks And Software

Benchmarks and Settings
3D-Games
F.E.A.R Version : 1.0 Retail
Video Mode : 1024x768
Computer : High
Graphics Card : medium
Options/Performance/Test settings
Quake 4 Version : 1.2 (Dual-Core Patch)
Video Mode : 1024x768
Video Quality : default
THG Timedemo waste.map
timedemo demo8.demo 1 (1 = load textures)
Video
TMPEG 3.0 Express Version : 3.0.4.24 (no Audio)
182 MB VOB MPEG2-source (704x576) 16:9
DivX 6.25 Version : 6.25 (4 Logical CPUs)
Certification Profile : High Definition Profile
Multipass, 3000 kb/s
Encoding mode : Insane Quality
XviD 1.2.0 Version : 1.2.0 SMP Beta
Encoding type : Twopass - Single pass
Profile @ Level : DXN HT PAL
Target size (kB) : 570000
Audio
Lame MP3 Version 3.97 Beta 2 (11-29-2005)
Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 74 min
wave to mp3
160 kbps
OGG Version 1.1.2 (Intel P4 MOD)
Version 1.1.2 (Intel AMD MOD)
Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 74 min
wave to ogg
Quality : 5
Applications
Winrar Version 3.60 BETA 4 (Dual-Core)
(303 MB, 47 Files, 2 Folders)
Compression = Best
Dictionary = 4096 kB
Autodesk 3D Studio Max Version : 8.0
Characters "Dragon_Charater_rig"
rendering HTDV 1920x1080
Adobe Photoshop CS 2 Version : 9.0.1
VT-Runtime Script
Rendering from 5 Pictures (66 MB, 7 Filters)
Synthetic
PCMark05 Pro Version : 1.1.0
CPU and Memory Tests
Windows Media Player 10.00.00.3646
Windows Media Encoder 9.00.00.2980
SiSoftware Sandra 2007 Version 2007.5.10.98
CPU Test = CPU Arithmetic / MultiMedia
Memory Test = Bandwidth Benchmark
Memory Latency Test = ns
Other
Windows Media Player 10 Version : 10.00.00.36.46

11. Benchmark Results

On with the benchmarks! Let's start with the synthetics: the PCMark 05 memory bench:

Synthetic Benchmarks

Well, this sets the tone for the rest of the benchmarking suite: the slowest result is within 2% of the fastest result. But it's a memory bench, and the memory controller is independent of the boards, so let's see if it gets more interesting. One more synthetic benchmark to go, the PcMark 05 CPU bench:

Even less variance here, not even a percentage point... wow.

Nothing to see here folks. The Asus Crosshair shows a very slight advantage over the competition in the memory benchmark, but we're talking less than 3%. Maybe we can separate some contestants out in the content creation benches.

12. Content Creation Benchmarks

I'm beginning to see a pattern here. Well, let's keep going until we see something worth discussing. Off to the encoding benches!

Encoding Benchmarks

The Ogg Vorbis and Lame encoding shows the same old story, yawn. But wait a minute... the Xvid and Divx encoding times look to have a bit of variance there, and the order stays pretty much the same between both video encoding benches. It's not much to talk about, but it's there, and it seems consistent.

13. File Compression Benchmarks

That's about as close as it comes, folks. Maybe the gaming benches will show us someone's Achilles heel...

Gaming Benchmarks

There you have it folks, more of the same. No tangible difference to speak of unless if you switch resolution to ridiculously low settings, which would not represent what people do out there.

14. Conclusion

If a picture is worth a thousand words, a benchmark is worth ten thousand. By my reckoning those benchmarks are worth a 130,000 word essay about how the AM2 motherboard market is all about the features, because performance really doesn't change - no matter what chipset you're running.

The Athlon 64's onboard memory controller takes care of the important stuff, thank you, so you can concentrate on the bells and whistles, which is really nice when you think about it. So choose your favorite flavor of icing and don't worry about the cake, AMD has got you covered.

Editor's Opinion

Eight motherboards and not a poor choice among them. What's great about this market is that you can't really lose; none of these boards are horrible at anything, but some of them have really appealing strengths. As far as which is best for you, that's a matter of personal taste. But I've got to admit, that Asus Crosshair sure set itself apart from the pack with a whole shed load of bling-bling.

15. Feature Table
Manufacturer Asus Asus Biostar Foxconn
Internet Website www.asus.com www.asus.com www.biostar.com.tw www.foxconnchannel.com
Model M2N32-SLI Deluxe Crosshair Tforce 590 SLI Deluxe C51XEM2AA-8EKRS2H
Price in US-$ 200 240 195 $190
Revision 1.02 1.04 1.0
BIOS Version 0603 121 05/12/2006 612W1P23
Chipset
CPU Clock 2813 2813 2813 2813
Northbridge Nvidia nForce 590 SPP Nvidia nForce 590 SPP Nvidia nForce 590 SPP Nvidia nForce 590 SPP
Southbridge Nvidia nForce 590 MCP Nvidia nForce 590 MCP Nvidia nForce 590 MCP Nvidia nForce 590 MCP
Memory
Memory Sockets 4 4 4 4
Maximum RAM 8 GB 8 GB 8 GB 8 GB
System Components
Piezo PC Speaker - - - -
PCIe Card Lock yes yes yes yes
Northbridge Fan optional optional yes yes
FAN Headers CPU, System (x6) CPU, System (x6) CPU, System (x2) CPU, System (x1)
I/O Components
Mass Storage Controller nForce 590 MCP nForce 590 MCP nForce 590 MCP nForce 590 MCP
Storage Ports 6x SATA/300, 1x UltraATA/133 6x SATA/300, 1x UltraATA/133 6x SATA/300, 1x UltraATA/133 6x SATA/300, 1x UltraATA/133
RAID Support 0, 1, 0+1, 5 0, 1, 0+1, 5 0, 1, 0+1, 5 0, 1, 0+1, 5
Secondary Mass Storage Controller Silicon Image SiL3132 Silicon Image SiL3132 - -
Secondary Storage Ports 2x SATA/300 2x SATA/300 - -
RAID Support 0, 1 0, 1 - -
Primary Network Controller nForce5 GbE nForce5 GbE nForce5 GbE nForce5 GbE
Secondary Network Controller nForce5 GbE nForce5 GbE nForce5 GbE nForce5 GbE
Parallel / Serial 1 (connector)/ 1 - / - 1 / 1 - / 1 (connector)
USB Ports (integrated / additional) 4 / 6 4 / 6 6 / 4 6 / 4
Firewire (integrated / additional) 1 / 1 1 / 1 1 / 1 1 / 2
Game Port - - - -
IR Connector - - - -
Expansion Components
PCI Slots 3x 32 Bit 3x 32 Bit 2x 32 Bit 2x 32 Bit
PCI Express x16, x16, x4 x16, x16, x4 x16, x16, x4, x1 x16, x16, x4, x1
Features
Temperature Monitoring yes yes yes yes
Fan Monitoring yes yes yes yes
Smart/Manual Fan Control yes / no yes / yes yes / yes yes / yes
Voltage Monitoring yes yes yes yes
Power-Up on... PS/2, PCI PME, RTC, external Modems PS/2, PCI PME, RTC PCI PME, WOR, RTC WOL, WOR, RTC
Power-Up after Power Loss yes yes yes -
On-Board Audio
Type High Definition Audio High Definition Audio High Definition Audio High Definition Audio
Chip SoundMAX ADI AD1988B SoundMAX ADI AD1988B Realtek ALC882 Realtek ALC882
Surround Support 7.1 Channels 7.1 Channels 7.1 Channels 7.1 Channels
Jackets 6x Jacks, SPDIF coax & optical out 6x Jacks, SPDIF coax & optical out 6x Jacks, SPDIF coax & optical out 5x Jacks, SPDIF optical out
Connectors 5x2 pin Front Audio, CD-in, SPDIF out 5x2 pin Front Audio, CD-in, SPDIF out 5x2 pin Front Audio, CD-in, SPDIF in & out 5x2 pin Front Audio, CD-in, SPDIF in & out
BIOS Details
Type Phoenix Phoenix Phoenix Award
Version / Date 0603 0121 05/12/2006 612W1P23 / 05/12/2006
Configuration
FSB Frequency Range / increments 200-425 MHz 200-400 MHz 100-500 MHz; increments 2 MHz 100-500 MHz; increments 2 MHz
Memory Frequencies 400, 533, 667, 800 400, 533, 667, 800 400, 533, 667, 800 400, 533, 667, 800
PCIe Clock 100-200 MHz; increments 1 MHz 100-200 MHz; increments 1 MHz 100-200 MHz; increments 1 MHz 100-200 MHz; increments 1 MHz
CPU Voltage 0.8V-1.5625V; increments 0.0125V 0.85V-1.85V; increments 0.0125V 0.85V-2.0V; increments 0.025V 0.375V-1.85V; increments 0.025V
Memory Voltage 1.8V-2.5V; increments 0.025V 1.85V-3.425V; increments 0.025V 1.95V-2.1V; increments 0.05V 1.825V-2.5V; increments 0.025V
Chipset Voltage - 1.2V-1.575V; increments 0.025V 1.55V-1.7V; increments 0.05V 1.25V-1.4V; increments 0.05V
Add-Ons
Cables 1x PATA , 6x SATA, 3x dual SATA Power, 1x Floppy 1x PATA , 6x SATA, 3x dual SATA Power, 1x Floppy 1x PATA , 4x SATA, 4x SATA Power, 1x Floppy 1x PATA , 6x SATA, 3x dual SATA Power, 1x Floppy
Additional Add-Ons Bracket with 2x USB; Bracket with 1x 1394a; Bracket with 2x eSATA and 1x Power; 1x WLAN Antenna; 1x Microphone, Chipset Fan Bracket with 2x USB; Bracket with 1x 1394a; 1x Microphone, Chipset Fan Bracket with SPDIF Out optical & coax Bracket with 4x USB; Bracket with 1x 1394a; 1x Com-Port
 
Manufacturer Gigabyte MSI Epox MSI
Internet Website www.gigabyte.com.tw www.msi.com.tw www.epox.com.tw www.msi.com.tw
Model M59SLI-S5 K9N SLI Platinum MF570 SLI K9A Platinum
Price in US-$ 190 130 140 -
Revision 0.2 1.0 1.0 1.0
BIOS Version F4 080014 06.08.01 V1.0B8
Chipset
CPU Clock 2813 2813 2813 2814
Northbridge Nvidia nForce 590 SPP Nvidia nForce 570 SPP Nvidia nForce 570 SPP ATI CrossFire Xpress 3200
Southbridge Nvidia nForce 590 MCP Nvidia nForce 570 MCP Nvidia nForce 570 MCP ATI SB600
Memory
Memory Sockets 4 4 4 4
Maximum RAM 8 GB 8 GB 8 GB 8 GB
System Components
Piezo PC Speaker - - - -
PCIe Card Lock yes - yes -
Northbridge Fan - - yes -
FAN Headers CPU, System (x2) CPU, System (x2) CPU, System (x3) CPU, System (x2)
I/O Components
Mass Storage Controller nForce 590 MCP nForce 570 MCP nForce 570 MCP ATI SB600
Storage Ports 6x SATA/300, 1x UltraATA/133 6x SATA/300, 1x UltraATA/133 6x SATA/300, 1x UltraATA/133 4x SATA/300, 1x UltraATA/133
RAID Support 0, 1, 0+1, 5 0, 1, 0+1, 5 0, 1, 0+1, 5 0, 1, 0+1
Secondary Mass Storage Controller - - JMicro JMB363 -
Secondary Storage Ports - - 2x SATA/300, 1x UltraATA/133 -
RAID Support - - 0, 1 -
Primary Network Controller nForce5 GbE Vitesse VSC8601 Gbe Marvell 88E1116 Gbe Realtek 8111B PCIe Gbe
Secondary Network Controller nForce5 GbE Vitesse VSC8601 Gbe Marvell 88E1116 Gbe Realtek 8110S PCI Gbe
Parallel / Serial 1 / 1 1 / 1 1 (connector) / 1 (connector) 1 / 1
USB Ports (integrated / additional) 4 / 6 4 / 6 4 / 6 4 / 6
Firewire (integrated / additional) 1 / 2 1 / 1 - 1 / 1
Game Port - - - -
IR Connector - yes - yes
Expansion Components
PCI Slots 2x 32 Bit 3x 32 Bit 3x 32 Bit 2x 32 Bit
PCI Express x16, x16, x16(x8), x1, x1 x16, x16, x1, x1 x16, x16(x8), x1, x1 x16, x16, x1, x1
Features
Temperature Monitoring yes yes yes yes
Fan Monitoring yes yes yes yes
Smart/Manual Fan Control yes / no yes / no yes / yes yes / no
Voltage Monitoring yes yes yes yes
Power-Up on... PME , WOR, RTC PCI/PCIe PME , WOL, WOR, RTC PCI PME, RTC PCI/PCIe PME, RTC
Power-Up after Power Loss yes yes yes yes
On-Board Audio
Type High Definition Audio High Definition Audio High Definition Audio High Definition Audio
Chip Realtek ALC888DD Realtek ALC883 Realtek ALC883 Realtek ALC883
Surround Support 7.1 Channels 7.1 Channels 7.1 Channels 7.1 Channels
Jackets 6x Jacks, SPDIF optical out 5x Jacks, SPDIF optical & coax out 5x Jacks, SPDIF coax & optical out 5x Jacks, SPDIF coax & optical out
Connectors 5x2 pin Front Audio, CD-in, SPDIF in & out 5x2 pin Front Audio, CD-in 5x2 pin Front Audio, CD-in 5x2 pin Front Audio, CD-in
BIOS Details
Type Award AMI Award AMI
Version / Date F4 / 07/18/2006 080014 / 04/20/2006 06.08.01 / 08/01/2006 V1.0B8 / 08/05/2006
Configuration
FSB Frequency Range / increments 100-500 MHz; increments 2 MHz 100-425 MHz; increments 1 MHz 200-450 MHz; increments 1 MHz 200-400 MHz; increments 1 MHz
Memory Frequencies 400, 533, 667, 800 400, 533, 667, 800 400, 533, 667, 800 400, 533, 667, 800
PCIe Clock 100-200 MHz; increments 1 MHz 100-145 MHz; increments 1 MHz 100-145 MHz; increments 1 MHz 100-200 MHz; increments 1 MHz
CPU Voltage 0.8V-1.55V; increments 0.025V +0.05V-+0.35V; increments 0.05V -0,2V - +0.15V; 0,025V 0.8V-1.45V; increments 0.025V
Memory Voltage +0.1V-+0.7V; increments 0.1V 1.8V-2.45V; increments 0.1V 1.8V-2.5V; increments 0.1V 1.8V-2.3V; increments 0.05V
Chipset Voltage +0.1V-+0.3V; increments 0.1V - 1.5V-1.8V; increments 0.1V 1.8V-2.15V; increments 0.05V
Add-Ons
Cables board only 1x PATA , 4x SATA, 4x SATA Power, 1x Floppy 2x PATA , 2x SATA, 2x SATA Power, 1x Floppy 1x PATA , 4x SATA, 2x SATA Power, 1x Floppy
Additional Add-Ons board only Bracket with 2x USB; Bracket with 2x 1394a Bracket with 2x USB; Bracket with 1x 1394a

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