Athlon On The Fast Lane: Three Motherboards with nForce2-Chipset and Dual-Channel DDR

Features
By Patrick Schmid
published

Motherboard Comparison Table

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ManufacturerAsusChaintechLeadtek
ModelA7N8XZenith Series CT-7NJSWinfast K7NCR18D
Chipset
SocketnVIDIA nForce2nVIDIA nForce2nVIDIA nForce2
Clock (CPU/Bus)2255.1 / 334.092255.1 / 334.092255.1 / 334.09
NorthbridgenForce2 SPPnForce2 SPPnForce2 SPP
SouthbridgenForce2 MCP-TnForce2 MCP-TnForce2 MCP-T
Northbridge Fannoyesno
Form FactorATXATXATX
Memory
Maximum RAM3072 MB3072 MB3072 MB
DIMM-Sockets333
Memory TypeDDR SDRAMDDR SDRAMDDR SDRAM
Memory FrequenciesDDR200, DDR266, DDR333, DDR400DDR200, DDR266, DDR333, DDR400DDR200, DDR266, DDR333, DDR400
ECC-Supportnonono
Standard Components
Size (LxH)305 x 245 mm?304.8 x 243.2 mm
PCI Slots5x PCI 2.2 32 Bit5x PCI 2.2 32 Bit4x PCI 2.2 32 Bit
AGPAGP 3.0 / 8xAGP 3.0 / 8xAGP 3.0 / 8x
AGP Card Locknoyesyes
ACR / AMR / CNRno / no / noyes / no / noyes / no / no
Parallel Ports111
Serial Ports222
USB 2.0 internal/external2 / 44 / 24 / 2
Fan Headers333
IDE Controller2x UltraATA/1332x UltraATA/1332x UltraATA/133
Additional Components
Piezo Speaker OnBoardyesnono
Wake on LAN (WOL)yesyesyes
Wake on Modem (WOM)yesyesyes
IrDA-Portyesyesyes
Chassis Intrusion Detectionyesyesyes
Temperature Monitoringyesyesyes
Fan Status Monitoringyesyesyes
Network ControllerRealtek RTL8201, 2xICS 1893Y?
IDE RAID ControllerSilicon Image Sil3112Promise PDC20376 SATA-
Firewire-ControllernForce2 / Realtek RTL8801BnForce2 / Realtek RTL8801nForce2 / Agere FW803
SCSI-Controller---
Sound System
TypeAC97 / MCP-TPCI / MCP-TAC97 / MCP-T
Manufacturer / ChipRealtek ALC650C-Media CMI8738Realtek ALC650
Surround Sound6 Channels, Dolby Digital6 Channels, Dolby Digital6 Channels, Dolby Digital
External ConnectorsIn, Out, Mic, Surround, Center, SPDIF-outIn, Out, MicIn, Out, Mic
Internal ConnectorsCD-in, AUX-inCD1-in, CD2-in, AUX-inCD1-in, CD2-in, AUX-in
Setup
CPU ConfigBIOSJumper + BIOSJumper + BIOS
Selectable Multipliers6.5 - 17.0--
FSB Range / Increments100 - 211 / 1100 - 200 / 1100 - 200 / 1
AGP clock66 - 100 MHz50 - 100 MHz50 - 100 MHz
Voltage
Vcore Range / Increments1.65 - 1.85 V / 0.025 V1.4 - 2.150 V / 0.025 V1.1 - 2.0 / 0.025 V
Vram / Increments2.6 / 2.7 / 2.8 V2.7 - 3.2 V / 0.1 V+ 0.1 V / + 0.2 V
Vchipset / IncrementsVagp 1.5 / 1.6 / 1.7 VVagp 1.6 - 2.0 V / 0.1 V-
Board and BIOS Details
BiosAward/PhoenixAward/PhoenixAward/Phoenix
Version1015 Beta 003--
DateNov 1, 2002Nov 1, 2002Nov 6, 2002
Motherboard Revision1.03??
Boot DevicesFloppy, LS120, SCSI, CD, IDE, ZIP, LAN2Floppy, LS120, HD, SCSI, CDROM/DVD, ZIP, USB-ZIP, USB-FDD, USB-CDROM, UDB-HDD, LANFloppy, LS120, SCSI, CD, IDE, ZIP, LAN2
Manual Interrupt Assignmentnoyesno
Special FeaturesSpeech Post Reporter, Q-Fan--
Shared Interrupts???
Clock GeneratornForce2nForce2nForce2
Miscellaneous
Layout IssuesCD/AUX connectors directly behind PCI slotIDE connectors in front of PCI slots, floppy connector at the very bottomIDE connectors in front of PCI slots
Model Variations---
Shipment / Utilities
Manual / Qualityshort, completecomprehensivecomplete
LanguagesEnglishEnglish, comprehensiveEnglish
Quick Setup Guide12 languagesyesno
Cables1x IDE-80, 1x IDE-40, 1x Floppy, 2x SATA2x IDE-80 round, 1x Floppy round, 1x optical digital, 2x SATA1x IDE-80, 1x Floppy
AdaptersCOM2, Game port, 2x USB, 2x Firewire2x Firewire, optical digital in/out1x Firewire, 1x SPDIF
SoftwarePC-cillin 2002 Anti Virus, PC ProbeAdobe Acrobat 5, Adobe Active Share, Norton Anti Virus 2002Adobe Acrobat 5, Speed Gear, Ulead Video Studio 6, Ulead Cool3D SE
MiscellaneousAsus Live Update, ATX cover includedaudio can only be disabled by jumpers, key fob included, ATX cover includedATX cover included
Patrick Schmid