With the novel location of a PCI socket in a position between the CPU and the first PCIe X16 slot, the passively-cooled Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe will safely accommodate at least 2 PCI boards, even with 2 high-end single or double-width PCIe video cards present. I believe that none of the other PASSIVELY-COOLED 939-pin nVidia 'X16 chip- set' boards currently available nor the other pasively-cooled AM2-based nVidia 'X16' boards pictured in this article will do this. (Note that single-width high-end video cards, such as 7800GT/GTX need a full DOUBLE-space for adequate ventilation.) The current passive-cooling Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe (nF4 X16 chip-set) is restricted to one usable PCI slot under the same circumstances. Also, the M2N32-SLI Deluxe, like the current A8N32-SLI Deluxe, has 8-phase CPU power (runs very cool indeed) -- see the dual mosfet heat-sinks. Put that board at the top of the potential shopping list if you are contemplating building a nVidia chipset AM2 system. I have a A8N32-SLI and am very pleased indeed, after having been an exclusive purchaser of Abit boards for many years. Asus' support of enthusiast-level systems has grown very strong indeed during the past year.
More and more boards are coming with the EPS12V connection standard. It's not the 4-pin ATX12V connection anymore, but 8-pins. DFI used to do this on their high-end boards, and I remember seeing Asus put the EPS12V connectors on their high-end LGA775 boards, to accomodate for a more power-hungry CPU. Seeing how the "lowly" MSI AM2 board is coming with EPS12V, we can expect more boards to follow suit in the future. More +12V for the CPU is nice.
I am liking the passive cooling for the chipsets. The nightmares we saw with the first-generation A8N-SLI is something Asus probably doesn't want to deal with again...
Anyone else notice the Asus board with the PCI slot on top of the PCIe 16x? This would be good for me to put my X-Fi in... just can't get a videocard that has a heatsink on the back of the card.
Yeah, what is with the morons who design the motherboards at Asus? They put a single PCI-E 1x or 4x slot on the board, and then place it so that it's useless when a dual slot video card is installed. DFI and other makers don't seem to have this issue. They did the same thing on the A8R32-MVP.
But I like em better when they are published in finished form and stay published (of course minor corrections and updates are fine).
It wasn't too bad until recently, but the RD580 articles went up and down like yo-yos and the RD580 chipset overview piece is still gone.
This one gets posted and the 7600 info was linked but gone, and by the time I finish the 7900gtx stuff has dissappeared. I know that things have to go through revisions, but its a little aggravating to try to read a work in progress. It shouldn't be too hard to keep the incomplete stuff of the public page.
We are under NDA for the nVidia information. This means more than just publishing benchmarks this time. I was told we also could not mention names of the cards or specifications until the NDA lifts. I apologize for the quick deletes.
I think they purposefully post it so that Google's cache will grab it, then pull it real quick. Then they can say "oops", but still have the article out there. :-)
We did see a Socket F design on our last day in Taiwan, but manufacturers were not as far along with Socket F boards as AM2 designs. You will want to review other Cebit coverage to see who might be displaying new workstation designs.
The AM2 boards pictured all are using a passive heatsinks on the chipsets. Does this mean something about the new AM2's that they run cooler or whats the deal? All the major AM2 boards shown all have passive cooling, and for how much they will sell for $200+ I doubt I would want one without a nice heatsink fan configuration for OC'ing.
I doubt processor power consumption has much influence on the chipset.
Fancy fansinks on the chipset are the probably the last detail the manufacturers are concerned with. They can finalize those designs at the last minute.
Is it just me or does someone else doesn't see the second MCP on that K9N Platinum board?? Supposed to be Dual X16 and I'm not aware of any single MCP made by NV that supports 32 PCI-E lanes.
Good Catch. The MSI is definitely dual x8 and not dual x16. The text has been updated. nVidia will have a single chip dual x16 PCIe chipset late this year, but not for AM2 launch.
thanks for the corrections Wesley. Interesting to note that MSI has only 1 SLI-32X mobo and it's K8N Dimond Plus, I guess they're reserving the dimond naming scheme for the single 32X MCP solution.
Wasn't it cebit that gigabyte first released their i-ram ramdisk drive? I heard rumors on the forums (I believe it was the AT forums at least..) that they have a new version that is coming out with more memory slots and (possibly) sata II support...that same thread also said something about feb 2k6 release date..
Anyone heard anything about that for cebit or anywhere else for that matter? (and please dont just say i-ram sucks or whatever, since that seems to be the e-cool way to do things...)
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kilkennycat - Tuesday, March 7, 2006 - link
With the novel location of a PCI socket in a position between the CPU and the first PCIe X16 slot, the passively-cooled Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe will safely accommodate at least 2 PCI boards, even with 2 high-end single or double-width PCIe video cards present. I believe that none of the other PASSIVELY-COOLED 939-pin nVidia 'X16 chip- set' boards currently available nor the other pasively-cooled AM2-based nVidia 'X16' boards pictured in this article will do this. (Note that single-width high-end video cards, such as 7800GT/GTX need a full DOUBLE-space for adequate ventilation.) The current passive-cooling Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe (nF4 X16 chip-set) is restricted to one usable PCI slot under the same circumstances. Also, the M2N32-SLI Deluxe, like the current A8N32-SLI Deluxe, has 8-phase CPU power (runs very cool indeed) -- see the dual mosfet heat-sinks. Put that board at the top of the potential shopping list if you are contemplating building a nVidia chipset AM2 system. I have a A8N32-SLI and am very pleased indeed, after having been an exclusive purchaser of Abit boards for many years. Asus' support of enthusiast-level systems has grown very strong indeed during the past year.KorruptioN - Tuesday, March 7, 2006 - link
More and more boards are coming with the EPS12V connection standard. It's not the 4-pin ATX12V connection anymore, but 8-pins. DFI used to do this on their high-end boards, and I remember seeing Asus put the EPS12V connectors on their high-end LGA775 boards, to accomodate for a more power-hungry CPU. Seeing how the "lowly" MSI AM2 board is coming with EPS12V, we can expect more boards to follow suit in the future. More +12V for the CPU is nice.I am liking the passive cooling for the chipsets. The nightmares we saw with the first-generation A8N-SLI is something Asus probably doesn't want to deal with again...
Von Matrices - Tuesday, March 7, 2006 - link
Did anyone else notice that there is no 4-pin ATX 12V or 8-pin EPS 12V connector on the DFI SLI X16 motherboard? I wonder why.Von Matrices - Tuesday, March 7, 2006 - link
Never mind, it's in black and is hard to see.Omega215D - Tuesday, March 7, 2006 - link
Anyone else notice the Asus board with the PCI slot on top of the PCIe 16x? This would be good for me to put my X-Fi in... just can't get a videocard that has a heatsink on the back of the card.latino666 - Tuesday, March 7, 2006 - link
It's a good thing there is not real need to have a PCIe slot. Most of those slots would of been blocked by video card fans.DigitalFreak - Tuesday, March 7, 2006 - link
Yeah, what is with the morons who design the motherboards at Asus? They put a single PCI-E 1x or 4x slot on the board, and then place it so that it's useless when a dual slot video card is installed. DFI and other makers don't seem to have this issue. They did the same thing on the A8R32-MVP.Ecmaster76 - Tuesday, March 7, 2006 - link
Okay, I like your articles.But I like em better when they are published in finished form and stay published (of course minor corrections and updates are fine).
It wasn't too bad until recently, but the RD580 articles went up and down like yo-yos and the RD580 chipset overview piece is still gone.
This one gets posted and the 7600 info was linked but gone, and by the time I finish the 7900gtx stuff has dissappeared. I know that things have to go through revisions, but its a little aggravating to try to read a work in progress. It shouldn't be too hard to keep the incomplete stuff of the public page.
Wesley Fink - Tuesday, March 7, 2006 - link
We are under NDA for the nVidia information. This means more than just publishing benchmarks this time. I was told we also could not mention names of the cards or specifications until the NDA lifts. I apologize for the quick deletes.DigitalFreak - Tuesday, March 7, 2006 - link
I think they purposefully post it so that Google's cache will grab it, then pull it real quick. Then they can say "oops", but still have the article out there. :-)Dubb - Tuesday, March 7, 2006 - link
any news on workstation motherboards?Wesley Fink - Tuesday, March 7, 2006 - link
We did see a Socket F design on our last day in Taiwan, but manufacturers were not as far along with Socket F boards as AM2 designs. You will want to review other Cebit coverage to see who might be displaying new workstation designs.neweggster - Tuesday, March 7, 2006 - link
The AM2 boards pictured all are using a passive heatsinks on the chipsets. Does this mean something about the new AM2's that they run cooler or whats the deal? All the major AM2 boards shown all have passive cooling, and for how much they will sell for $200+ I doubt I would want one without a nice heatsink fan configuration for OC'ing.JackPack - Tuesday, March 7, 2006 - link
I doubt processor power consumption has much influence on the chipset.Fancy fansinks on the chipset are the probably the last detail the manufacturers are concerned with. They can finalize those designs at the last minute.
JoKeRr - Tuesday, March 7, 2006 - link
Same pic as Asus AM2 moboWesley Fink - Tuesday, March 7, 2006 - link
The Abit KN9 links were correctedJoKeRr - Tuesday, March 7, 2006 - link
Is it just me or does someone else doesn't see the second MCP on that K9N Platinum board?? Supposed to be Dual X16 and I'm not aware of any single MCP made by NV that supports 32 PCI-E lanes.Wesley Fink - Tuesday, March 7, 2006 - link
Good Catch. The MSI is definitely dual x8 and not dual x16. The text has been updated. nVidia will have a single chip dual x16 PCIe chipset late this year, but not for AM2 launch.JoKeRr - Tuesday, March 7, 2006 - link
thanks for the corrections Wesley. Interesting to note that MSI has only 1 SLI-32X mobo and it's K8N Dimond Plus, I guess they're reserving the dimond naming scheme for the single 32X MCP solution.Powermoloch - Tuesday, March 7, 2006 - link
The new 7xxx cards are lookin' mighty fine :DChapbass - Tuesday, March 7, 2006 - link
Wasn't it cebit that gigabyte first released their i-ram ramdisk drive? I heard rumors on the forums (I believe it was the AT forums at least..) that they have a new version that is coming out with more memory slots and (possibly) sata II support...that same thread also said something about feb 2k6 release date..Anyone heard anything about that for cebit or anywhere else for that matter? (and please dont just say i-ram sucks or whatever, since that seems to be the e-cool way to do things...)
n7 - Tuesday, March 7, 2006 - link
Wow, lots of mobo upcoming!Should be interesting.