The EVGA 133-K8-NF41-AX was fully functional and booted up first time with no
problem. Components were correctly recognized and installation of the operating
system was a breeze. Including the Raid diskette with SATA drivers made the
installation process much quicker as there was no need for process of
off-loading drivers from the driver disk onto a floppy. Just hit F6 when
prompted in Windows XP, load the drivers, and go. The on-board LED Error
Reporting and the Reset and Power buttons are nice additions.
The board is green with yellow and blue DIMM, PCI-E, and PCI slots. Not the
color coordination I would pick for eye appeal but that is just a personal
observation and I will leave it at that. The overall layout is basic in design
with no frills which can be a good thing for system builders wanting to put
together a fast system for gaming. The DIMM slots are spaced enough to accept
heatsinks on the ram modules but the closest slot is still too close to the CPU
socket and may prevent the use of some oversized heatsinks on the CPU. The
problem of identification of the DIMM slots should be corrected to make it
easier for setting up system ram in a dual channel configuration. If you are
using or will use IEEE 1394a Firewire this is not your board as it is not
supported. Realtek ALC850 provides the on-board sound and does the job. However,
many would prefer a better sound solution but that is easily solved with an
add-on sound card of your choice.
The introduction of the third full-length PCI-E slot is notable and does make
the activation of SLI much simpler. The inclusion of three PCI slots for latency
cards is good but I cannot remember the last time I used more than two PCI slots
and that was with a dial-up modem and sound card. Of course, the extra room will
provide for using the case slots for installing additional USB connections, fan
controllers, and the like although none are included in the board's accessory
list.
Overall, I like this motherboard and really enjoyed setting it up. Once up and
running the board performed very well, showing good stability, functionality,
and performance throughout all benchmarking and testing. Overclocking potential
is there and with SLI capability this board is about as fast as they come. For
building a PCI-Express system, with an SLI option, at the current street price
of under $150 puts this board in the 'Buy' category.
Pros
Good layout
Thoughtful positioning of on-board cable connections
On-board Reset and Power buttons
LED Error Reporting
Good overclocking potential
Extra full-length PCI-E slot makes for a good alternative for activating
SLI
Four 3-pin fan connectors well placed on the board
Good price for a nForce4 chipset board with SLI capability
Cons
Exclusion of IEEE 1394a Firewire
No USB 2.0 expansion cables included for use of the 3 on-board USB 2.0
connections
Motherboard color scheme
Thanks goes out to EVGA for selecting NVNEWS to review this new motherboard
offering.
