Asus A8N-VM CSM: NVIDIA GeForce 6150 Finally Arrives
by Wesley Fink on December 1, 2005 12:04 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Our Take
We really expected the faster 6150/430 chipset to clean up in all our performance benchmarks. What we found was not so clear. The 6150 is faster in some key benchmarks, but performance is the same or a bit slower in other benchmarks compared to the 6100/410. Overall, the 6150 is a little faster, but we really doubt that you will notice the performance improvement. Of course, people buy Integrated Graphics today for convenience and flexibility - not for performance. The performance is adequate for how most will use this board, and that is probably enough for most users.
The features of the 6150/430 chipset are another story, however. You will definitely notice the advantages of the 6150/430 if you are building a Multimedia or HTPC. For starters, there are two video ports that can drive a digital panel or HDTV and an RGB display simultaneously. High Definition Audio is a standard feature, which was not seen on the 6100/410 boards. However, SPDIF and TV out require optional brackets, which will make many buyers very unhappy.
Asus goes further, adding the Firewire ports that this target audience will also likely appreciate. You also get four rather than two SATA2 ports and the additional option of Raid 5 support. All in all, the A8N-VM has the features that many are looking for in a new board for a HTPC or Media Center PC, but you will need optional brackets to fully support some features. If searching for optional brackets is not your cup of tea, you need to look for a board that includes the feature support in the original package.
There are also enough slots and ports for users to upgrade in the future. You can add a more powerful video card to the x16 PCIe port if you choose. There is also a spare PCIe x1 and 2 PCI slots for a more powerful sound card if that is in your future. Asus also created a very nice layout with the A8N-VM. Everything is generally where it works best and there is little to complain about that would interfere with using or expanding this motherboard.
However, we have to add the disclaimer that the Asus is particularly lacking in any kind of adjustments in the very basic BIOS. There are no CPU multipliers, nor will you find any voltage adjustments. There are decent memory adjustments, but that becomes a moot point without any means to adjust memory voltage or CPU multipliers. Asus also sets Command Rate to a default of 2T for maximum memory compatibility. If your memory supports it, you can gain a bit more performance with 2 DIMMs by using a 1T Command Rate, but you will have to set this manually in the Asus BIOS.
There is an excellent Auto overclock feature that is turned on by default - for those who want the board to do it all, including overclocking. But those looking for manual adjustments won't find what they are looking for. Perhaps Asus can add some of these options in future BIOS upgrades, but for now, the BIOS options are disappointing.
These missing adjustments won't matter at all to most users, who will only run the A8N-VM CSM at stock speeds. However, if these adjustments and options are important to you, you can find them in competing boards. The Biostar Tforce 6100 that we reviewed offered an excellent selection of BIOS adjustments, and we would fully expect the 6150 version of the Biostar to offer a similarly complete range of adjustments.
The Asus was a solid performer during our tests. It was basically trouble-free, which is important with any board that might be used to drive an "appliance". However, we really want to see some other 6150/430 boards before we reach any conclusions about the comparative performance of the Asus A8N-VM CSM. We do know that if you want a board that can be coaxed to run at more than stock speeds, you will find better choices available from competitors.
The Asus A8N-VM CSM did not turn out to be the ringer that we hoped for, but it is still a solid choice for many looking for a full-featured Integrated Graphics motherboard. Time will tell if it is a competitive performer compared to other 6150/430 choices.
We really expected the faster 6150/430 chipset to clean up in all our performance benchmarks. What we found was not so clear. The 6150 is faster in some key benchmarks, but performance is the same or a bit slower in other benchmarks compared to the 6100/410. Overall, the 6150 is a little faster, but we really doubt that you will notice the performance improvement. Of course, people buy Integrated Graphics today for convenience and flexibility - not for performance. The performance is adequate for how most will use this board, and that is probably enough for most users.
The features of the 6150/430 chipset are another story, however. You will definitely notice the advantages of the 6150/430 if you are building a Multimedia or HTPC. For starters, there are two video ports that can drive a digital panel or HDTV and an RGB display simultaneously. High Definition Audio is a standard feature, which was not seen on the 6100/410 boards. However, SPDIF and TV out require optional brackets, which will make many buyers very unhappy.
Asus goes further, adding the Firewire ports that this target audience will also likely appreciate. You also get four rather than two SATA2 ports and the additional option of Raid 5 support. All in all, the A8N-VM has the features that many are looking for in a new board for a HTPC or Media Center PC, but you will need optional brackets to fully support some features. If searching for optional brackets is not your cup of tea, you need to look for a board that includes the feature support in the original package.
There are also enough slots and ports for users to upgrade in the future. You can add a more powerful video card to the x16 PCIe port if you choose. There is also a spare PCIe x1 and 2 PCI slots for a more powerful sound card if that is in your future. Asus also created a very nice layout with the A8N-VM. Everything is generally where it works best and there is little to complain about that would interfere with using or expanding this motherboard.
However, we have to add the disclaimer that the Asus is particularly lacking in any kind of adjustments in the very basic BIOS. There are no CPU multipliers, nor will you find any voltage adjustments. There are decent memory adjustments, but that becomes a moot point without any means to adjust memory voltage or CPU multipliers. Asus also sets Command Rate to a default of 2T for maximum memory compatibility. If your memory supports it, you can gain a bit more performance with 2 DIMMs by using a 1T Command Rate, but you will have to set this manually in the Asus BIOS.
There is an excellent Auto overclock feature that is turned on by default - for those who want the board to do it all, including overclocking. But those looking for manual adjustments won't find what they are looking for. Perhaps Asus can add some of these options in future BIOS upgrades, but for now, the BIOS options are disappointing.
These missing adjustments won't matter at all to most users, who will only run the A8N-VM CSM at stock speeds. However, if these adjustments and options are important to you, you can find them in competing boards. The Biostar Tforce 6100 that we reviewed offered an excellent selection of BIOS adjustments, and we would fully expect the 6150 version of the Biostar to offer a similarly complete range of adjustments.
The Asus was a solid performer during our tests. It was basically trouble-free, which is important with any board that might be used to drive an "appliance". However, we really want to see some other 6150/430 boards before we reach any conclusions about the comparative performance of the Asus A8N-VM CSM. We do know that if you want a board that can be coaxed to run at more than stock speeds, you will find better choices available from competitors.
The Asus A8N-VM CSM did not turn out to be the ringer that we hoped for, but it is still a solid choice for many looking for a full-featured Integrated Graphics motherboard. Time will tell if it is a competitive performer compared to other 6150/430 choices.
56 Comments
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Anton74 - Thursday, December 1, 2005 - link
It appears this type of board is mostly touted for HTPC use, but I think it's quite excellent for a capable office system as well because of the DVI connector, dual-head capability and gigabit LAN - and of course all the other connectivity goodness that's largely standard these days. And passive cooling, which I appreciate.I'm not aware of the existence of any other board with integrated graphics that has a DVI connector and can drive 2 monitors without additional expense. This is absolutely great for a very productive office setup without really breaking the bank (although using a cheaper Sempron CPU is out, since it's Socket 939).
Of course, competing boards should follow based on this chipset, which is only going to be a good thing. (Are all GeForce 6150 boards expected to have DVI connectors?)
By the way, are there some availability issues with this board? Newegg.com has had it listed out of stock for a good while now, periodically pushing back the ETA (which now isn't even mentioned anymore). Not many retailers seem to carry it yet, judging from the RTPE.
bob661 - Thursday, December 1, 2005 - link
The only issue with this is that you can't use one of those DVI to VGA converters on this board. There are several warnings on the website and in the manual not to do that.Calin - Friday, December 2, 2005 - link
There are many (cheaper, it's true) LCD panels that support VGA in, so this won't be such a big problem. Sad is that - if you want dual out, you need a panel with DVI input.Anton74 - Thursday, December 1, 2005 - link
Indeed, but for office applications - especially for those that care enough to invest in a dual head setup - LCD panels are generally more desirable I would think. I know it's what I want for my work system.
Degrador - Wednesday, November 30, 2005 - link
The article has been removed?? Product Disclosure Statement?ksherman - Thursday, December 1, 2005 - link
called an NDA (non-Disclosure Agreement) ;)Degrador - Friday, December 2, 2005 - link
lol, it is too, right term wasn't coming to mind :)Anand Lal Shimpi - Thursday, December 1, 2005 - link
The article got pushed back by a day to accommodate the Yonah exclusive yesterday. That's why it was temporarily removed.Take care,
Anand
Degrador - Friday, December 2, 2005 - link
Thanks for the reply Anand, it's nice to have a site where we can still get reasons for things :)bob661 - Wednesday, November 30, 2005 - link
It would have been nice if Asus included High Definition Audio on this board.