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ASUS A8N SLI w/ Dual 6600GT Combo OC Review

By on February 21, 2005 1:57 am
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SLI (Scalable Link Interfacing 2 video cards) seems to be the rage nowadays with motherboard and video card manufacturers coming out with their attractive offerings. Today we take a look at how the Asus 6600GT SLI Combo performs.

The Asus A8N SLI comes in a clean white box, with the usual Asus “AI”
trademark.

This board is the plain-Jane non-deluxe version, using the latest NVIDIA
NForce 4 SLI chipset that provides support for SLI. The only difference between the Deluxe and non-deluxe version is the 4
additional SATA ports and additional Ethernet LAN support.

Here are the specifications :



Supports AMD Socket
939 Athlon 64FX/Athlon 64

A8N-SLI supports AMD 939-pin Athlon 64 FX/ Athlon 64 processors
with 1MB/512KB L2 cache which is based on 64-bit architecture. It
features 2000/1600 MT/s HyperTransport Bus and dual-channel un-buffered
DDR400 memory support.


NVIDIA nForce4 SLI
MCP
NVIDIA® SLI™technology
revolutionizes PC performance by combining multiple PCI Express GPUs in
a single and scalable system! Gamers and hardcore enthusiasts know that
dual GPUs mean increased, supercharged 3D graphics and performance.

PCI Express
Architecture
PCI Express is the latest I/O interconnect technology that will replace
the existing PCI. With a bus bandwidth 4 times higher than that of AGP
8X interface, PCI Express x16 bus performs much better in applications
such as 3D gaming. The PCI Express x1 interface creates new usages on
desktop PCs e.g., TV tuner, 1394b, and high-speed RAID systems.

SATA 3Gb/s
A8N-SLI supports next-generation SATA hard drives based on the
new SATA 3Gb/s storage specification. Furthermore, the chipset has two
dedicated SATA controllers delivering more scalable performance and
doubles the bus bandwidth for fast hard drive data retrieval and saves.





NV RAID
The nFORCE4 chipset incorporated four Serial ATA and two parallel
connectors with high performance RAID functions in RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID
0+1 and JBOD.


AI NET2
Diagnose LAN connection before entering OS! Network problems are
often caused by bad cable connection. AI NET2 remotely detects cable
connection the second you turn on the system, and any faulty connections
are reported back up to 100 meters at 1 meter accuracy.

NV Firewall
NV ActiveArmor enhances network security while delivers the
highest system performance by offloading CPU-intensive packet filtering
tasks in hardware. NV Firewall provides professional-grade traffic
inspection capabilities, instanton protection, advanced management
features and is easy to use and setup via a user friendly wizard.


AI NOS™
Boost performance when you need it the most!
Applications such as 3D games and video editing demand a huge chunk of
system resource.
Inject “nitrous oxide” into your CPU! The patented AI NOS™(Non-delay
Overclocking System) technology intelligently detects system load and
automatically boosts performance for the most demanding tasks. Unlike
other dynamic overclocking techniques, AI NOS™reacts much
faster to satisfy your unending need for speeds.

AI Audio (8-channel Audio)
A8N-SLI has eight channels of audio output with Coaxial and optical S/PDIF
connector designed to maximize your auditory experience. AI Audio also
provides “Jack Sensing” and “UAJ” functions. “Jack Sensing”
automatically detects and notifies user of any inappropriate connection.
“UAJ” function enables both input and output functions each jacks, thus
eliminates the confusion of Line-in, Line-out and Mic jacks once and for
all!


ASUS Q-Fan
ASUS Q-Fan technology intelligently adjusts both CPU fan and chassis fan
speeds according to system loading to ensure quiet, cool and efficient
operation.


IEEE 1394 interface
IEEE 1394 interface provides high speed digital interface for
audio/video appliances such as digital television, digital video
camcorders, storage peripherals & other PC portable devices.

Max. 10 USB 2.0 ports supports
USB 2.0 is the latest connectivity standard for next generation
components and peripherals.
Backwards compatible with current USB 1.1 peripherals, USB 2.0 delivers
transfer speeds up to 40 times faster at 480Mb/s, for easy connectivity
and ultra-fast data transfers.


Multi-language BIOS
The multi-language BIOS allows you to select the language of your choice
from the available options. The localized BIOS setup menu helps you
configure your system easier and faster.

ASUS CrashFree BIOS2
The CrashFree BIOS2 feature now includes the BIOS auto-recovery function
in a support CD.
Users can reboot their system through the support CD when a bootable
disk is not available,
and go through the simple BIOS auto-recovery process.
ASUS motherboards now enable users to enjoy this protection feature
without the need to pay for an optional ROM.


S/PDIF-out on Back
I/O Port
This motherboard provides convenient connectivity to external home
theater audio systems via an optical or coaxial S/PDIF-out (SONY-PHILIPS
Digital Interface) jack. It allows to transfer digital audio without
converting to analog format and keeps the best signal quality.

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