Friday, September 30th 2005
First SLI-capable mainboards for socket 754 released
Manufacturers Epox and Albatron just released the first socket 754 (Athlon64, Sempron64, Sempron) mainboards with SLI capability.
The mainboards, Epox EP-8NPA SLI and Albatron K8NF4X-754, close a gap in the product portfolio, as a double GPU-solution for mainboards using that socket weren't available before.
Technical notes:
Both boards have fan-cooled northbridges. The Epox board comes in the brands trademark oldschool green PCB, while the Albatron comes in a shiny blue. Cable routing on the Epox will be painful as both 20pin and 4pin sockets are about in the middle of the board.
While the effort surely deserves applause, it remains to be proven whether a market for these products exist.
The move could be questionable, as socket 754 is designated by chip manufacturer AMD to be a entry-level solution (as far as the desktop market and not laptop solutions are concerned). It is doubtful whether users who deliberately buy a entry-level CPU such as a AMD Sempron64 have (or use the cash left over by buying a cheaper CPU) to buy two similar GPUs (needed for nVidia's SLI technique).
On the other hand, Athlon64 CPU with the only "downside" of single channel linked RAM (which is no real-world disadvantage as the usual 3GB/s bandwith they still have never get "filled" by gaming or office applications anyway) are still available, Sempron CPUs earned themselves a good overclocking reputation and , as such, a great value for money image. So saving money on the CPU and spending it for the option to buy a second GPU for SLI use soon could be a cheap entry into the top performance league for ambitious but not-so-well-off gamers.
The future for socket 754 is bleak, though, as AMD reportedly will not release further CPUs for that socket and even future Sempron CPUs are to be released in socket 939 versions only.
Except, of course, the magnificent Turion64 for socket 754, a hopeful upgrade path for existing socket 754 users (such as me).
The rumored price tag for the Epox board of about 120,- Euro (for the european market), will not add to the board's popularity.
The Boards should hit shelves well before christmas.
Albatron product homepage for the 754-SLI-board
Epox product homepage for its 754-SLI-board
Check these manufacturer links for more in-depth technical specifications and high-res images!
The mainboards, Epox EP-8NPA SLI and Albatron K8NF4X-754, close a gap in the product portfolio, as a double GPU-solution for mainboards using that socket weren't available before.
Technical notes:
Both boards have fan-cooled northbridges. The Epox board comes in the brands trademark oldschool green PCB, while the Albatron comes in a shiny blue. Cable routing on the Epox will be painful as both 20pin and 4pin sockets are about in the middle of the board.
While the effort surely deserves applause, it remains to be proven whether a market for these products exist.
The move could be questionable, as socket 754 is designated by chip manufacturer AMD to be a entry-level solution (as far as the desktop market and not laptop solutions are concerned). It is doubtful whether users who deliberately buy a entry-level CPU such as a AMD Sempron64 have (or use the cash left over by buying a cheaper CPU) to buy two similar GPUs (needed for nVidia's SLI technique).
On the other hand, Athlon64 CPU with the only "downside" of single channel linked RAM (which is no real-world disadvantage as the usual 3GB/s bandwith they still have never get "filled" by gaming or office applications anyway) are still available, Sempron CPUs earned themselves a good overclocking reputation and , as such, a great value for money image. So saving money on the CPU and spending it for the option to buy a second GPU for SLI use soon could be a cheap entry into the top performance league for ambitious but not-so-well-off gamers.
The future for socket 754 is bleak, though, as AMD reportedly will not release further CPUs for that socket and even future Sempron CPUs are to be released in socket 939 versions only.
Except, of course, the magnificent Turion64 for socket 754, a hopeful upgrade path for existing socket 754 users (such as me).
The rumored price tag for the Epox board of about 120,- Euro (for the european market), will not add to the board's popularity.
The Boards should hit shelves well before christmas.
Albatron product homepage for the 754-SLI-board
Epox product homepage for its 754-SLI-board
Check these manufacturer links for more in-depth technical specifications and high-res images!
4 Comments on First SLI-capable mainboards for socket 754 released
btw 120e for this !? little bit expensive though
I think the albatron looks like the better board based on component placement.
I will stick to my trusted 754er-Newcastle-A64 on my Asus K8N-E for quite some time still, I think. Why upgrade? Dual channel RAM has no advantages for me (mainly gaming and office use) as the bandwith of my board is more than a match for the other components needs.
The somewhat lesser power consumption of a Winchester or Venice or even newer A64 on socket 939 is tempting, but the switch would mean to change mainboard, CPU and (perhaps even) GPU. That is not in my financial reach right now and the power savings would not pay off for that. DualCore A64s are more interesting - I am an addicted numbercruncher! - but in all other applications I run the dual core would not justify its expensive buy.
So I would recommend to every gamer to buy a 939 system now, but those who already have 754 systems and share my usage profile need not upgrade. Agreed?