SHUTTLE - Triple Athlon64 Motherboard Review

Hot Hardware takes a look at three new Athlon64 motherboards, MSI K8T Neo-FIS2R (VIA K8T800), ASUS K8V Deluxe (VIA K8T800) and Shuttle AN50R (nForce3 150):

Today we have put together an Athlon 64 Triple Threat that lines up 3 new motherboards from MSI, ASUS and Shuttle, each offering its own flavor of 64-Bit computing. The focus of this article is not necessarily to be an Athlon 64 “Shootout” but rather one that covers the spectrum of features and performance. Each package has its own niche, aiming to satisfy the full range of customers from the budget minded to the enthusiast with money to burn. So, let’s get started and see what each manufacturer brings to the party.

If you’re one who simply wants a good performing motherboard minus all the extras, the Shuttle AN50R might be what you are looking for. Its performance rivaled that of the two K8T800 boards and even topped them in the Winstone tests. nVidia’s chipset has a lot of the same features the other boards as well, less the extra RAID controller. The most disappointing issue was that even though the board came equipped with 6 channel audio, Shuttle did not include the extra brackets needed to attach to the Center Channel/Sub-woofer header for the full 6 channel experience. Nonetheless, the system sports on-board USB and FireWire as well as SATA RAID and Dual Gb LAN. While it lacks the luster of the flashy products, the Shuttle AN50R can compete on the same level of performance and provides all the necessary features to make it a stand-out product in its own right