ECS - ECS Announces KN1 Extreme nForce4 Ultra S939 Motherboard ++ Full Specs ++ Out November

Elitegroup Computer Systems (UK) Ltd announces the launch of the KN1 Extreme motherboard which uses the new NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra chipset and supports the AMD Socket 939 range of Athlon 64 processors.

NVIDIA’s latest chipset brings the benefits of PCI-Express, Serial ATA Raid, Gigabit LAN, dual channel memory support and a hardware Firewall to AMD’s most powerful desktop platform, but ECS doesn’t stop there. It has added a second LAN controller to make the KN1 Extreme ideal for Internet Connection Sharing over a home network. The KN1 Extreme supports four SATA2 channels via the NVidia CK8-04 chipset as well as two standard SATA through the SiS180 controller all of which offer RAID 0, 1, 0+1. Each of the four SATA2 ports offer support for two devices running under master and independent of the other devices at either 1.5Gb/s or 3.0Gb/s. All this allows for up to 8x SATA2 and 2x SATA devices to be used giving a wide range of configuration options for the user to choose from.

The integrated six-channel Realtek audio has both optical and coaxial SPDIF outputs to give the maximum in digital clarity, but the ECS Extreme range also puts the emphasis on performance. The KN1 Extreme uses the latest 24-pin power connector (which is also compatible with a 20-pin power supply) to ensure that the user can install the highest quality components, and ECS also keeps the overclocker in mind. The power supply capacitors and Mosfets can lose performance when they get hot, so ECS covers these components with a duct for cooling air with a vent through the I/O panel where you would usually find the legacy Parallel port.

Although some other brands may charge a premium for these features, you can be assured that ECS will offer its usual superb value for money with the KN1 Extreme.

Availability
The KN1 will be available from ECS at the end of November 2004. Price TBC.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION. KN1 V:0A
CPU
Socket 939 for AMD K8 Athlon 64 processor.
High-performance HyperTransport CPU Interface
Support transfer rate of 2000/1600/1200/800/400 mega-transfers per second.
CHIPSET
NVIDIA nForce4 CK8-04 Ultra single chip
MEMORY
Dual-channel DDR memory architecture
4 x 184-pin DDR DIMM socket support up to 4 GB
Support DDR 400 2.5V DDR SDRAM
EXPANSION SLOT
1 PCI Express x16 slot
2 PCI Express x1 slot
3 x PCI slots
STORAGE
Support by CK8-04 Ultra
-2 x Ultra DMA133/100/66 devices
-4 x Serial ATA2 devices
RAID0, RAID1, RAID0+1 configuration
Support by SiS180
-1 x Ultra DMA133/100/66 device
-2 x Serial ATA devices
RAID0, RAID1, RAID0+1 configuration
IEEE 1394a
TI TSB43AB22 support 2 x IEEE1394a
AUDIO
Realtek ALC655 6-channel audio CODEC
Compliant with AC’97 2.3 specification
Dual LAN
Realtek RTL8110S Gigabit LAN controller
Realtek RTL8201BL 10/100 Mbps Fast Ethernet PHY
REAR PANEL I/O
1 x PS/2 keyboard & PS/2 mouse connectors
4 x USB ports
2 x RJ45 LAN connector
2 x SPDIF out connector
1 x Serial port (COM1)
1 x Audio port (Line-in, Line-out, Mic in)
INTERNAL I/O CONNECTORS & HEADERS
1 x 24-pin ATX Power Supply Connector
1x 4-pin 12V Connector
1 x FDD connector supports two 360K~2.88MB FDDs
3 x IDE connectors
6 x Serial ATA connectors
1 x IrDA for SIR header
2 x 1394a header
3 x USB 2.0 header support additional 6 USB ports
1 x Front panel switch/LED header
1 x Front panel audio header
CD in header
CPUFAN/NB_FAN/3x SYSFAN connectors
SYSTEM BIOS
Award BIOS with 4Mb Flash ROM
Supports Plug and Play 1.0A, APM 1.2, Multi Boot, DMI
Supports ACPI revision 1.0 specification
FORM FACTOR
ATX Size, 305mm*244mm