The Grim Reaper has come.

I'm not a big fan of ASUS motherboards but I had to get this one for my ultimate computer a few years ago. This would of been my favorite motherboard, which the A8N-SLI motherboard based upon NVIDIA's SLI chipset was launched in 2004. Performance, features, stability and general usage in theory would of been excellent. It's hard to imagine that it's been 3 years since SLI was introduced.

NVIDIA is the premier motherboard chipset manufacturer for the AMD Athlon 64 platform. More AMD chipsets are sold with NVIDIA chips than any other manufacturer including SIS, VIA, ATI and more. NVIDIA first entered the chipset market in 2000 with the release of the nForce motherboard chipset. Subsequent releases include the nForce2, the nForce3, the nForce3 250Gb, the nForce4, the nForce4 Ultra, and the nForce4 SLI. Earlier in 2005, in August, NVIDIA announced the nForce4 SLI X 16 platforms. Today, I'm reviewing the ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe motherboard.


Model
Brand ASUS
Model A8N32-SLI Deluxe

Supported CPU

CPU Socket Type Socket 939
CPU Type Athlon 64 X2 / Athlon 64 FX / Athlon 64
FSB 1000MHz Hyper Transport (2000 MT/s)

Chipsets

North Bridge NVIDIA nForce4 SLI X16

Memory

Number of Memory Slots 4x184pin
Memory Standard DDR 400
Maximum Memory Supported 4GB
Dual Channel Supported Yes

Expansion Slots

PCI Express x16 2
PCI Express x4 1
PCI Slots 3

Storage Devices

PATA 2 x ATA100 up to 4 Devices
SATA 3Gb/s 5 x Internal SATA 3 Gb/s ports
1 x External SATA 3 Gb/s port
SATA RAID NV RAID 0/1/0+1/5 JBOD
Additional RAID Controller Sil 3132
Onboard Video
Onboard Video Chipset None
Onboard Audio
Audio Chipset Realtek ALC850
Audio Channels 8 Channels

Onboard LAN

LAN Chipset Marvell 88E8053
Second LAN Chipset Marvell 88E1111
Max LAN Speed Dual 10/100/1000Mbps

Rear Panel Ports

PS/2 2
LPT 1
USB 4 x USB 2.0
S/PDIF Out 1x Optical and 1x Coaxial
Audio Ports 6 Ports
Onboard USB
Onboard USB 3 x USB 2.0 connectors support 6 ports
Onboard 1394
Onboard 1394 2 x 1394a connectors support 2 ports

Physical Spec

Form Factor ATX
Dimensions 12.0" x 9.6"
Features
Power Pin 24 Pin
Features Support two identical SLI-ready graphics cards (both x16 mode)
Packaging
Package Contents A8N32-SLI Deluxe
User Manual
Driver Disk
Rear I/O Panel Shield
FDD Cable
2 x IDE/PATA Cable
5 x SATA Cable
3 x 4-pin to SATA Power Cable
Optional Fan
SLI bridge
Serial/COM Bracket
IEEE 1394 Bracket
USB and Game/MIDI Bracket

Introduction

"ASUS has created, in its A8N32, a motherboard that will support some serious tweaking. With support for 4GB of DDR RAM, two 16-pipe PCI-E links with SLI, and an 8-Phase power design, you can build the mega-machine that’ll be the envy of your friends. Worried about the heat from overclocking? The design manages usage and heat stress and pulls off excess heat through an impressive copper heatpipe arrangement that allows for quiet, fanless operation."

If that doesn't sound awesome enough for you, I don't see any problems that can go wrong with such a piece of hardware.

"The BIOS allows you to manipulate a huge range of tweaking options, either manually or by the AI overclock settings. This board is as stable as a rock, outlasting even the longest stress tests, and can survive almost anything you can do to it. Built for the picky and meticulous tweakers interested in getting the most out of their purchase, this is one fine offering from ASUS."


Highlights

Full X16 SLI with NVIDIA nForce4 SLI X16 Chipset
The NVIDIA nForce4 SLI X16 chipset provides two full-bandwidth PCI Express x16 links with SLI support for unrestricted graphics performance, and higher video quality. Other cutting-edge features include SATA and Gigabit Ethernet to ensure maximum PC performance with future-proofing features for the demands of tomorrow.
Ultimate Gaming Performance with NVIDIA SLI Technology
NVIDIA SLI (Scalable Link Interface) takes advantage of the increased bandwidth of the PCI Express bus architecture and features intelligent hardware and software enabling a pair of GPUs to deliver earth-shattering, scalable graphics power, approaching twice the performance in certain applications.
8 Phase Power Design
The ASUS 8-Phase Power Design protects the CPU and power module from the risk of excessively high power stress to greatly extend CPU lifetime and system stability. The highly-efficient design also generates less heat to ensure low ambient temperatures, while the vigorous power pump delivers serious overclocking potential.
Fanless Design for Ultra-Quiet Operation
The ASUS fanless motherboard concept was created specifically for cool running computing environments without the need for fan noise and malfunction. To address thermal issues across the motherboard, ASUS utilizes tailor-made heat pipes and heat sinks to maximize heat dissipation and thermal performance.
Dual Gigabit LAN
The integrated dual Gigabit LAN design allows a PC to serve as a network gateway for managing traffic between two separate networks. Dual Gigabit LAN means rapid data transfers from WAN to LAN without any added arbitration or latency.
Precision Tweaker
Designed for serious overclockers Precision Tweaker offers a powerful arsenal of overclocking options to help you achieve maximum system performance!

Photo Gallery
Quick Specs
CPU Socket Type Socket 939
CPU Type Athlon 64 X2 / Athlon 64 FX / Athlon 64
FSB 1000MHz Hyper Transport (2000 MT/s)
North Bridge NVIDIA nForce4 SLI X16
PCI Express x16 2
SATA 3Gb/s 6
PATA 2 x ATA100 up to 4 Devices
Max LAN Speed Dual 10/100/1000Mbps
Onboard 1394 2x 1394a
USB 4 x USB 2.0
Form Factor ATX
Detailed SpecificationsDetailed Specifications

Learning Center
AMD Compatible Motherboard Buying Guide

* What is a Motherboard?
* The Vitals of a Motherboard
* Things to Look For When Choosing a Motherboard
* Our Recommendations


With those types of specs, you'd wonder why I rate this with 3 stars. The AMD platform has recently changed the core Socket since the introduction of the Socket 939 platform in 2003. That was one of the benefits of the AMD platform, not needing a new motherboard every time a new CPU is released. The A8N32-SLI motherboard supports all current AMD CPUs including the 4800 and FX-60 CPUs.

This board has the features and qualities anyone would want for a gaming motherboard. Well at this price, you'd suspect that they'll provide quality services and products, what you get is something totally different. When the product arrives at your house (if you ordered it online or bought it), you can already see this motherboard would be a great piece of hardware to add to your collection. Mine on the other hand came in horrible conditions like it was refurbished.

The first SATA port was completely looking like it went through a drunken frenzy and fell asleep as it laid on it's side. I was able to pry this bugger up to a sitting position, but over time I've gotten errors on my hard drive that would cause me so much pain that would add on to the other problems of this motherboard.

I also got dead faulty PCI slots as my USB PCI card would just not work in, nor my sound card. My sound card is a x-fi Fatal1ty gaming and entertainment card. I bought all these to make one of the greatest gaming computers ever, but they all gave me problems. The faulty PCI slots kept making my sound car disappear like it wasn't there some times, and some times it'd work. It took me a year to figure out the only working PCI slot on it was the last so there goes my chance to fix my mouse problem with this motherboard.

The company for Razer's Coperhead gaming mice has just found out and announced that they have realized this problem and that the mouse does not work so well with this particular motherboard. Geewiz, that's another hardware that doesn't like this Nazi motherboard. I ended up having to live with the random double clicks every time I use my mouse, but I wasn't able to get over the fact that my network is starting to die.

I guess the motherboard can not, and will not take tremendous file sharing. I do a lot of legal file sharing and over time, this motherboard has started to fail on me. It can not maintain a zero choke rate on any online game. I end up dying and I have just completely given up on online gaming because of this. I can not play a single online game with out having people pop around corners and playing peekaboo with me. I've called the cable company and changed my modem and all the wiring, and yet, it still chokes.

I'm planing to RMA it since it has a 3 year warranty and mine has not expired yet.

I got this motherboard expecting to get superior quality and service. Their site runs like it's on dial up and they have horrible customer service as well as up to date drivers. This is not the first time I've used ASUS, but it is the first time I've used it on my computers. There has been one good thing about this motherboard. It enabled me to use raid 0 on my two hard drives. I was not able to archive this goal on other motherboards because they wouldn't detect the hard drives after I set them in raid.

Sources can be found off of www.newegg.com from thousands of reviewers.