January 2007 High-end Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 3

AMD Motherboard: Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe

Current Cost: $210
Consecutive Guides: 3
Price Change: -$2

With the switch to Socket AM2, the ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe entered the guide as our AMD platform base. This motherboard has really performed well as our reference AMD test base, and it's currently the top dog in the NVIDIA AMD lineup, so there is no reason to change it for 2007. This motherboard is based on the NVIDIA 590 SLI chipset, which is similar to an updated nForce4 SLI platform to the AM2 socket. This is the high-end chipset in the NVIDIA single-processor AMD line, and includes support for all the latest technologies, including SATA 3.0 Gb/sec./NCQ, PCI Express, Gigabit LAN, and dual-channel DDR2, along with NVIDIA features such as LinkBoost, MediaShield, and DualNet. Obviously, the most impressive feature is the chipset's ability to utilize two PCI Express-based video cards in SLI format, giving high-end gamers an easy upgrade to faster performance.

The ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe is a serious performance motherboard with all the features our High-end Guide demands. It supports all AM2 Athlon 64 X2/FX, and Sempron-based processors, and offers 4 DIMM sockets capable of up to dual-channel DDR800 operation. The board features dual PCI Express x16 slots for single or SLI graphics, 1 x PCIe x4, 1 x PCIe x1, and 2 x PCI expansion slots. ASUS also includes a full host of storage options, including six native SATA 3.0 Gb/s ports, two SATA 3.0 Gb/s ports through the onboard Silicon Image controller (including one back port for SATA On-the-Go), and a single PATA connector. Networking is taken care of through NVIDIA's Dual Gigabit LAN, the ADI 1988B supplies 8-channel high definition audio, and ASUS even includes WLAN through a USB wireless module that supports IEEE802.11b/g.

The ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe also includes a wicked advanced thermal design, consisting of three core features. The most visible is the fanless, heat pipe thermal cooling, which includes a chipset heatsink linked to several heat pipes and heat fins/sinks for maximum thermal protection without the noise of a cooling fan. The motherboard also supports an 8-phase power design, which not only protects the CPU and power module from potential damage, but also generates less heat than conventional power designs. ASUS has also implemented their Stack Cool 2 cooling solution, which transfers heat from critical components to the other side of the PCB.

There are also a ton of ASUS-specific features such as AI Gear (adjust system profiles on the fly), AI Nap (low power mode, while still downloading or running applications), Precision Tweaker (enhanced overclocking), AI Clock Skew (automatically skews the memory clock signal timing, improving memory overclocking) and AI NOS (Non-delay Overclocking System), just to name a few.

Intel Motherboard: ASUS P5N32-SLI Premium

Current Cost: $215
Consecutive Guides: New
Price Change: N/A

When this latest guide was being developed, we wanted to use a new NVIDIA nForce 680i motherboard as the platform base, but these are still a bit too expensive. The nForce 590 SLI is the natural choice for this performance and budget level, and you're really not losing much by going with the top-end of the nForce 500 series. The chipset still features true 2 x PCIex16 slots for high-end SLI gaming, as well as DualDDR2 memory, PCIe peripheral support, Gigabit LAN and DualNet, MediaShield Storage, 3.0 Gb/s SATA + RAID, HD Audio and all the other standard 500 series options. Processor compatibility is not an issue, as it supports Core 2 Duo/Extreme, Pentium D, Pentium 4, and Celeron D LGA775 single and dual core processors.

ASUS motherboards continue to be a real favorite of the high-end gaming crowd, and this is mostly due to the company's design philosophy of combining high performance with exceptional quality. The ASUS P5N32-SLI Premium utilizes the nForce 590 SLI chipset, which supports LGA775 (including Core 2) processors on the 1066 MHz bus, and handles memory speeds up to DDR2-800. The motherboard offers dual PCIe x16 slots, 1 x PCIe x16 (at 8x), 1 x PCI Express x1, and 2 x PCI expansion slots. Storage requirements are handled with 1 x PATA and 8 x Serial ATA 3.0 Gb/s (6x NVIDIA + 2x Silicon Image), and the motherboard also features Dual Gigabit LAN, SupremeFX Audio through the ADI 1988B 8-channel, IEEE 1394a Firewire, 802.11g Wireless LAN, and two external SATA connectors.

This motherboard also includes a fanless thermal heat pipe design, featuring an 8-phase power design, Stack Cool2, and Q-Fan2, which adjusts both the CPU and chassis fan speeds according to system load. As with many of their motherboards, this model includes ASUS-specific features such as AI NOS (Non-delay Overclocking System), AI Gear (adjust CPU frequency and voltage profiles on the fly), AI Nap (snooze, low power mode), Precision Tweaker (enhanced overclocking), and ASUS Q-Connector (one module connects chassis front panel cables), just to name a few.