Bit-Tech.net, Legion Hardware, Hexus.net, Techgage and Bjorn3d.com take a close look at the ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe WiFi Edition (US$200), an AMD Socket AM2 motherboard that features the NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI MCP with Link Boost SLI option, Four DDR2 memory slots supporting up to 8GB of DDR2-800 memory, Dual Gigabit Ethernet, Two full-bandwidth PCI-Express x16 slots with SLI support, 7.1 channel SoundMax ADI 1998 high definition audio, Six SATA 3Gbps ports, Single ESATA and internal SATA controller , ten USB 2.0 ports support, Two IEEE1394a Firewire ports, and WiFi card (that doesn't take up a PCI slot).
Here are some things they have to say about the board:
The layout on ASUS' M2N32-SLI Deluxe WiFi Edition motherboard is generally very good, but we were disappointed to see the SATA port positioning overlooked, somewhat. The pair of SATA ports nearest the bottom corner of the board are not usable when a second high-end video card is installed. [bit-tech.net]
Bottom-line is, the ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe is easily the best motherboard to pass through the Legion Labs this year. It was also one the first nForce 590 SLI motherboards to become available and ASUS has done well in achieving this. With almost no design or operating flaws, the M2N32-SLI Deluxe is a truly amazing product. I feel not only ASUS, but also AMD and NVIDIA will be happy with this product and their contribution to make it such a powerful piece of hardware. That said the ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe clearly deserves the Legion Hardware Performance Award. [Legion Hardware]
If performance is your thing, then there's satisfaction to be had from these boards. They have good storage subsystems, make the most of the CPU and memory and of course support 32X SLI, although it seems the drivers need a little more work to get consistently awesome framerates. [Hexus.net]
This board currently retails for around $200 even, and that is no doubt worth the price. This is a packed board, perfect for an HTPC, hardcore gamer or an overclocker. It delivers what the enthusiast is looking for, and even throws a few cool extras in there. I have no problem with highly recommending this board to anyone who is looking for an AM2 model in the $200 range. Even if you took out the WiFi and various extras, this board would -still- be fully worth the asking price. For that, I am awarding the M2N32-SLI Deluxe an 9 out of 10 in addition to an Editors Choice award. [Techgage]
If I am going to complain on something it could be the issues I had with the WiFI AP Solo or some bad design choices with the SATA ports on the motherboard. Overall though these are minor issues that just brings down the final rating of the motherboard a notch. [Bjorn3d.com]
One of the notable rants is the positioning of the SATA ports, which inadvertently lets you lose 2 ports when a 2nd high-end graphics card is installed. This problem will leave you with 4 SATA ports out of the intended 6. With that said, if you could live with the just 4 SATA hard drives (or maybe 3 HDDs and a SATA optical drive), the M2N32-SLI Deluxe WiFi Edition would be one of the almost-perfect enthusiast AM2 boards you could find as of now.
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