GIGABYTE - Gigabyte GA-K8NSNXP-939 nForce3 Ultra Motherboard Review

In this review, PCstats is testing a brand new Socket 939 motherboard from Gigabyte which is priced at around $350 CDN ($240 US). The Gigabyte GA-K8NSNXP-939 is powered by the nForce3 Ultra chipset, and includes an onboard Serial ATA RAID controller, IEEE 1394b Firewire, Gigabit LAN, a 10/100 NIC, 7.1 channel audio, dual BIOS chips and Gigabyte’s proprietory Dual Power System (DPS).

…The Gigabyte GA-K8NSNXP-939 is feature laden, with everything from an extra Serial ATA RAID controller, to second generation IEEE 1394b on board. For that extra dose of performance, it includes two network connections (one a Gigabit LAN, the other standard 10/100 LAN). Audio is taken care of by a 7.1 channel system, and the GA-K8NSNXP-939’s twin BIOS chips add a measure of reliability into the mix as well. If you do find yourself needing more, the K8NSNXP-939 still has five 32-bit PCI slots ready for future expansion!

It’s no surprise that the performance of the Gigabyte GA-K8NSNXP-939 is good. After all, it’s a Socket 939 Athlon64 motherboard! When it comes to overclocking I’d say the board did pretty well, it reached an amazing 270 MHz with completely stock cooling, and with something a little more exotic I wouldn’t be surprised to see it reach well over 300 MHz.

The Gigabyte GA-K8NSNXP-939 retails for $350 CDN ($240 US), making it a high-end option to be certain. But price aside (it is expensive), you’re getting pretty much everything in one shot. The Gigabyte GA-K8NSNXP-939 is fast, it’s packed to the resistors with features, and since it supports the Socket 939 Athlon64 processor, you know it is going to be as good for gaming as our benchmarks have shown.

PCStats Recommended Product Award

Gigabyte GA-K8NSNXP-939 Motherboard Review @ PCStats