Included Software

As with all deluxe boards, the A8N-SLI comes with a comprehensive package of included hardware and software. In addition to a complete set of cables, adapters and manuals, Asus also throws in WinDVD Creator Platinum 2, which lets you create DVDs using a TV stream or other video source. The latest version of WinDVD Platinum, version 6, is included for DVD playback. DVD Copy 2 is provided for copying DVD-9 videos to DVD-5 (8.4 to 4.7 GB) - though note that version 3 is already available. Finally, there's Discmaster 2, an easy-to-use CD and DVD burner program, and the usual Asus utilities as described above.

Dubious: Even "Normal" Mode Overheats Graphics Card

There was one thing we found really irritating: if the PEG (PCIe Graphics) link is set to normal mode in the BIOS, the GeForce 6800 GT graphics card runs at a chip speed of 360 MHz instead of 350 MHz, and with 515 MHz memory speed as opposed to 500 MHz. The correct values are only activated when you select "slow". Despite the fact that Asus now mentions this fact, we feel any setting option marked "normal" should also yield the desired results.