ASUS M2N32-SLI & Epox MF570SLI: AM2 Wunderkinder
by Wesley Fink on June 28, 2006 5:10 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Final Words
It is easy to understand why AMD chose the ASUS M2N32-SLI as the Reference Board shipped in their launch kits. The ASUS is a remarkably stable 8-phase motherboard with an innovative and completely passive cooling solution for what is generally a rather hot NVIDIA 590 chipset. The shipping retail version of the board is improved even more - overclocking higher and providing even more features. All of the NVIDIA 590 features are supported and the overclocking options are noteworthy. In particular, ASUS should be applauded for including very fine increments in their voltage adjustments. Most overclockers are finding these finer adjustments very useful for getting the most from their boards by using lower voltage settings, which presents less risk of damage.
The ASUS is well-laid out, easy to install, and very compatible with every peripheral we threw at it. It even comes with the stock two Gigabit LAN ports PLUS a built-in wireless card. Our only slight reservation is the lack of support for EAX in current ADI HD audio drivers. Otherwise the ADI sounds fine and EAX support would make it a great all-around solution. At this point in time you will have a hard time finding a better nForce 590 SLI board than the ASUS, but the Foxconn 590 is also a contender, as is the Gigabyte 590.
The only other drawback for any of these 590 motherboards is the high price you will pay. That is where the Epox MF570SLI shines. At about half the price of the 590 boards the Epox performs almost exactly the same as the top-performing ASUS. It cannot overclock quite as far, if you consider 318 a limitation, and it is missing Firewire, but otherwise the feature sets are remarkably similar. Yes, the Epox only supports single X16/dual X8, and the 590 boards support dual X16, but we have yet to measure any real performance difference in dual X8 versus dual X16 with current video cards. At its price there is certainly a lot to like with the Epox. You also should take a closer look at the MSI 570 tested in this roundup series. Performance is similar to the Epox and price will also likely compete well with the Epox MF570SLI.
It is not quite time for Editors' Choices in our AM2 motherboard roundup as we have a Part 4 coming. The AM2 Roundup series will conclude with reviews of ATI RD580 AM2 motherboards in the coming weeks. Results from the ATI Reference Board are included in our results here and you can find additional information in our review CrossFire Xpress 3200: RD580 for AM2. ATI's chipset is finally starting to appear on retail AM2 motherboards and we have the MSI and ECS retail boards on their way for review. Both feature the new SB600 ATI Southbridge that finally makes an all-ATI chipset solution fully competitive in the marketplace. We will then review all we have learned about motherboards for AM2 and make selections for Editors' Choice Awards.
There is absolutely no doubt that the AM2 platform is clearly the fastest setup you can currently buy, even if it is only a few percent faster than last generation's Socket 939. However, things will change rapidly toward the end of next month when Intel introduces Core 2 Duo (Conroe). Prices will drop across the board and AM2 will be an ever better buy in just a few weeks. There is also the concern that Conroe supply may be constrained for months, which is currently just speculation, but still a real concern.
If you need a system today any of these AM2 boards will meet your needs. The ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe and Foxconn stand out at the top, and the Epox is particularly attractive if price is a concern. However, if you can wait a few weeks you will be rewarded with a much better value no matter what system you buy.
It is easy to understand why AMD chose the ASUS M2N32-SLI as the Reference Board shipped in their launch kits. The ASUS is a remarkably stable 8-phase motherboard with an innovative and completely passive cooling solution for what is generally a rather hot NVIDIA 590 chipset. The shipping retail version of the board is improved even more - overclocking higher and providing even more features. All of the NVIDIA 590 features are supported and the overclocking options are noteworthy. In particular, ASUS should be applauded for including very fine increments in their voltage adjustments. Most overclockers are finding these finer adjustments very useful for getting the most from their boards by using lower voltage settings, which presents less risk of damage.
The ASUS is well-laid out, easy to install, and very compatible with every peripheral we threw at it. It even comes with the stock two Gigabit LAN ports PLUS a built-in wireless card. Our only slight reservation is the lack of support for EAX in current ADI HD audio drivers. Otherwise the ADI sounds fine and EAX support would make it a great all-around solution. At this point in time you will have a hard time finding a better nForce 590 SLI board than the ASUS, but the Foxconn 590 is also a contender, as is the Gigabyte 590.
The only other drawback for any of these 590 motherboards is the high price you will pay. That is where the Epox MF570SLI shines. At about half the price of the 590 boards the Epox performs almost exactly the same as the top-performing ASUS. It cannot overclock quite as far, if you consider 318 a limitation, and it is missing Firewire, but otherwise the feature sets are remarkably similar. Yes, the Epox only supports single X16/dual X8, and the 590 boards support dual X16, but we have yet to measure any real performance difference in dual X8 versus dual X16 with current video cards. At its price there is certainly a lot to like with the Epox. You also should take a closer look at the MSI 570 tested in this roundup series. Performance is similar to the Epox and price will also likely compete well with the Epox MF570SLI.
It is not quite time for Editors' Choices in our AM2 motherboard roundup as we have a Part 4 coming. The AM2 Roundup series will conclude with reviews of ATI RD580 AM2 motherboards in the coming weeks. Results from the ATI Reference Board are included in our results here and you can find additional information in our review CrossFire Xpress 3200: RD580 for AM2. ATI's chipset is finally starting to appear on retail AM2 motherboards and we have the MSI and ECS retail boards on their way for review. Both feature the new SB600 ATI Southbridge that finally makes an all-ATI chipset solution fully competitive in the marketplace. We will then review all we have learned about motherboards for AM2 and make selections for Editors' Choice Awards.
There is absolutely no doubt that the AM2 platform is clearly the fastest setup you can currently buy, even if it is only a few percent faster than last generation's Socket 939. However, things will change rapidly toward the end of next month when Intel introduces Core 2 Duo (Conroe). Prices will drop across the board and AM2 will be an ever better buy in just a few weeks. There is also the concern that Conroe supply may be constrained for months, which is currently just speculation, but still a real concern.
If you need a system today any of these AM2 boards will meet your needs. The ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe and Foxconn stand out at the top, and the Epox is particularly attractive if price is a concern. However, if you can wait a few weeks you will be rewarded with a much better value no matter what system you buy.
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Wesley Fink - Wednesday, June 28, 2006 - link
Asus opted to design for PCI access. With SLI using dual-width video cards there are still two PCI slots available, but the single x4 PCIe is covered. With single-width cards in SLI 3 PCI and an x4 PCIe are available.MacGuffin - Thursday, June 29, 2006 - link
The picture of the motherboard on Newegg is different: the AT review shows a PCI slot above the black PCIe x16 slot...but the retail board at Newegg has a PCIe x1 slot. Except for that, everything else looks identical. Are there two versions of this board floating around? One with 3 PCI/1 PCIe x4 and the other with 2 PCI, 1 PCIe x4 and 1 PCIe x1?Wesley Fink - Thursday, June 29, 2006 - link
There are 2 versions of the board - with WiFi and without. The retail version we tested was WITH WiFi built in.