Socket 754 Motherboard Roundup: ASUS K8N-E, Soltek K8AN2E-GR & DFI nF3-250Gb

In this installment, we will take a closer look at the Asus K8N-E, Soltek K8AN2E-GR, and the DFI nF3-250Gb. All 3 boards are based on the second generation nVidia nForce3-250Gb chipset. As you saw in our chipset review, nVidia has added the features to bring their nF3-250 to the competitive edge of Athlon 64 chipsets. The HyperTransport speed, which was widely criticized on the 150 chipset, is now 800 or 1000 depending on the chipset version. The on-chip Gigabit LAN and on-chip Firewall are also unique and truly useful features compared to other A64 boards. nVidia also fixed the problems with their implementation of PCI/AGP lock on the 150, and we have found a working PCI/AGP lock on every nForce3-250 motherboard that we have tested, just as nVidia promised.

. . . There is no doubt that Socket 939 is a bit faster at stock. The dual-channel AMD solution is some 2% to 5% faster at the same speed than the single-channel 754 solutions. However, that modest performance gain comes at a steep price, since there are not really any value 939 chips at present. Until prices on 939 drop, you can get a very capable Athlon 64 system with one of these more inexpensive 754 boards combined with a value 754 AMD Athlon 64. Combine that chip with the DFI LANParty nF3-250Gb and you might even reach new performance heights in an Athlon 64 system.

Editors Choice DFI LANParty UT nF3-250Gb

Socket 754 Roundup, Part 3: Asus, Soltek & DFI @ Anandtech