Basic Features: Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe

 Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe
CPU Interface Socket 939 Athlon 64
Chipset NVIDIA nForce SPP 100 Northbridge
NVIDIA nForce4 SLI Southbridge
Bus Speeds 200 to 400MHz in 1MHz Increments
Memory Speeds DDR200, 266, 333, 366, 400
(433, 466, 500 with Rev. E AMD)
PCIe Speeds 100-200MHz on 1MHz Increments
NB to SB Frequency 200-300MHz in 1MHz increments
PEG Link Mode Auto, Disabled, Normal, Fast, Faster
PCI/AGP Fixed at 33/66
Core Voltage Auto, 1.0V to 1.5625V in 0.0125V increments
PLUS 0.2V in vCore Boost
(Maximum vCore 1.7625V)
CPU Clock Multiplier 4x-25x in 0.5X increments
DRAM Voltage Auto, 2.6V to 3.2V in .05v increments
HyperTransport Frequency 1000MHz (1GHz)
HyperTransport Multiplier Auto, 200MHz to 1600MHz in 200MHz increments
SB to NB Frequency 200MHz to 1600MHz in 200MHz increments
HyperTransport (LDT) Voltage Normal, +0.2V
Northbridge Voltage Normal, +0.2V
Southbridge Voltage Normal, +0.2V
Memory Slots Four 184-pin DDR DIMM Slots
Dual-Channel Configuration
Regular Unbuffered Memory to 4GB Total
Expansion Slots 2 PCIe x16
1 PCIe x4
3 PCI Slots
SLI Full Dual x16 SLI
Onboard SATA/RAID 4 SATA2 Drives by nF4 (RAID 0, 1, JBOD)
PLUS 2 SATA2 Drives by Sil 3132
Onboard IDE/IDE RAID Two Standard ATA133/100/66 (4 drives)
Onboard USB 2.0/IEEE-1394 10 USB 2.0 Ports by nF4 (9 on Wi-Fi model)
2 1394A Ports by TiTI
Onboard LAN 2 Gigabit Ethernet PCIe Ethernet by Marvell 88E1111 PHY, Marvell 88E8053
PLUS Wireless LAN 54 Mbps on WiFi Model
Onboard Audio AC '97 Realtek ALC850Codec
8-Channel Audio with 6 Auto-Sense Jacks
Coaxial and Digital SPDIF on back IO
BIOS Revision AMI 0301 (9/30/05)

Yes, this is an Asus board, and not a DFI or Abit. The feature set and adjustments are extremely broad compared to any board. The names of the options are sometimes a little different and the adjustment ranges are often set up differently, but everything that an enthusiast needs to get the most from the Asus A8N32-SLI is here.

This Asus provides memory voltage all the way to 3.2V, among the best that we have ever seen from a tier 1 board maker. This should be an adequate range for any memory on the market other than the disappearing VX and Redline high-voltage modules from OCZ and Mushkin. While nothing on the market really comes close to the DFI memory voltage range to 4V, adjustments to 3.2V are more than adequate for current 2 GB modules and any other current DDR RAM.

Memory adjustments are the broadest that we have seen on an Asus board. The ranges are not always as extensive as a DFI or ATI Reference board, but the assortment of control options is just as wide as you will find on any production board.

We know of no other current AMD motherboard with HTT adjustments to 1600. However, don't get too excited by this. We quickly found that the HTT settings above 1000 don't work and the board freezes when they are selected. When we asked Asus about these expanded settings, they told us that they were included for a future enhancement of the AMD on-processor memory controller, which may or may not happen based on the latest information that they have received. The settings above 1000 don't work with current processors, even with the E6 memory controller.

CAS 1.5 is an option in the BIOS, but Asus tells us that it is really a feature for extracting the best performance from DDR333 memory. Sure enough, we couldn't get it to work with DDR400. However, it worked fine with DDR400 memory at DDR333 - providing an interesting option for extreme overclocking.

Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe: Board Layout Overclocking: Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe
Comments Locked

95 Comments

View All Comments

  • Wesley Fink - Friday, November 4, 2005 - link

    Both the Asus and DFI were definitely running 1 x16 in single video card mode. The single video card results - using the same 81.85/6.82 drivers, video cards, CPU, and memory - were the most surprising results. I really don't have an explanation for the performance differences here, since there is very little performance difference in older titles but a large difference in the just released games. We are hoping nVidia can shed some light on these benchmark results.
  • n7 - Friday, November 4, 2005 - link

    This actually looks like a very good mobo.

    However, knowing Asus, i'm sure we will we won't find it reasonably priced anywhere.

    If it came down in price, & they offered a non-SLI version for those of us who don't want SLI, i'd get interested :)
  • aLeoN - Friday, November 4, 2005 - link

    What kind of rich enthusiast wouldn't want to spend top dollar for the top of the line equipment? Don't get me wrong, I'd like exactly what you do but they've only changed to 8 phase cooling and x16 sli over the current nf4 boards right? Imo it doesn't sound like a very profitable idea if you threw phase change cooling onto an A8N-E but I'll keep my fingers crossed for the both of us.
  • Zebo - Friday, November 4, 2005 - link

    hehe - the real trick is turning pyrite into gold..Tortise into hare... Anyone can empty thier wallet out or max thier credit card out, as the case may be, on top of the line eqiupment. Takes real skill to turn budget parts into them. IMO.
  • aLeoN - Friday, November 4, 2005 - link

    Right on man! I have a friend who demands near top of the line and doesn't hesitate to have something better than our circle of friends. I'm planning a OC rig for just about a grand that would topple his $3000+ (invested in over a couple years) rig, forcing him to upgrade it with his $1500 now (he was saving it till something good came out or me and a couple other friends get something better). It's people like these that drive our economy! =D
  • gnumantsc - Friday, November 4, 2005 - link

    Wes the chart for Far Cry on Single Video shows a percent increase of 0.4% with the numbers showing 74.3 vs. 47.5. Shouldn't it be 74.5?
  • Wesley Fink - Friday, November 4, 2005 - link

    The chart is correct, and I did a dyslexic in the table. The correct numbers are 47.3 nad 47.5. The table has been corrected.
  • Zebo - Friday, November 4, 2005 - link

    Yes sir just gunna have to wait for another C51 review to see if it's nV's chipset or something ASUS is doing. Definity shocking to see large performance gaps like that so I'm sure you tested and retested and retested after that too.
  • Wesley Fink - Friday, November 4, 2005 - link

    Sorry, I will fix the Typo. I made sure all jumpers were reset to single video mode on the DFI and double checked the readout in BIOS before runnign single video tests.
  • Phantronius - Friday, November 4, 2005 - link

    Damnit, I spent alot of money on my Asus A8N Premium board. Grrrrrrr...!! I want a 17% boost in single card performance!!!

Log in

Don't have an account? Sign up now