A8n SLI Premium w/ passive NB...anyone here have it yet

ChiBOY83 · Post by **ChiBOY83** » Sat Jun 18, 2005 12:47 pm

Zip Zoom Fly has the Asus A8N Sli Premium for $195... has anyone purchases this board yet. It looks like it will easily fir a thermalright xp=90....

also, what does this board have over the abit AN8 sli ???

Jaer · Post by **Jaer** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 1:04 am

I know there are a few lurkers from Sweden here that probably will recieve the A8N SLi Premium next week since it is available here as well now. I expect to get mine in the beginning of next week...

I can't answer the question about the heatsink, but the only difference between Deluxe and Premium as I've understood it is that the Premium has a heatpipe-based cooling solution for the NB.

/Jaer

Michael Sandstrom · Post by **Michael Sandstrom** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 1:15 am

Other differences are that with the premium SLI can be enabled with software and additional PCI-E lanes.

rpsgc · Post by **rpsgc** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 3:30 am

Deluxe: 2 PCI-E 1x
Premium: 1 PCI-E 1x, 1 PCI-E 4x (working at 2x)

Other than that it's the AI Cool-Pipe and no SLI selector card.

But I have a feeling the ABIT solution is better because it exhausts the heat of the heatpipe out of the case, while the Asus solution needs airflow from the CPU HS because there's no direct exit for the heat out of the case

Asus
ABIT

Jordan · Post by **Jordan** » Sun Jun 19, 2005 2:12 pm

Wow thanks for the link on the Abit! I don't need SLI so the Abit works out much better value for money.

anthonysimilion · Post by **anthonysimilion** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 1:22 am

But does it have those annoying Red LEDs?

rpsgc · Post by **rpsgc** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 5:43 am

anthonysimilion wrote:But does it have those annoying Red LEDs?

I don't think so. That's the "Fatal1ty" version.

Ackelind · Post by **Ackelind** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 6:30 am

rpsgc wrote:
anthonysimilion wrote:But does it have those annoying Red LEDs?
I don't think so. That's the "Fatal1ty" version.

I believe the non-fatal1ty version has quite bright LEDs too, i think Ed noticed that with his latest build.

Edward Ng · Post by **Edward Ng** » Mon Jun 20, 2005 8:44 am

anthonysimilion wrote:But does it have those annoying Red LEDs?

According to pics in this review, yes.

Looks like the board is very much the same as mine, except no SLI mode selection card and one less PCI-Ex 16X slot, and of course the less expensive nF4 Ultra chip instead of the SLI chip.

-Ed

Viperoni · Post by **Viperoni** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 5:34 pm

PCCanada.com just got it, I saw it in person. Looks pretty cool. The heatpipe appears pretty close to the board too, especially around the actual CPU retention mechanism. It was $240cad though.

winguy · Post by **winguy** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 5:34 am

Is the A8N Sli Premium the only Asus board with the heatpipe nb hs?

rpsgc · Post by **rpsgc** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 9:35 am

winguy wrote:Is the A8N Sli Premium the only Asus board with the heatpipe nb hs?

For the time being..

rpsgc · Post by **rpsgc** » Sun Jun 26, 2005 12:24 pm

rpsgc wrote:But I have a feeling the ABIT solution is better because it exhausts the heat of the heatpipe out of the case, while the Asus solution needs airflow from the CPU HS because there's no direct exit for the heat out of the case

Can anyone confirm/deny that?

Edward Ng · Post by **Edward Ng** » Sun Jun 26, 2005 3:32 pm

I'm not so sure there's many people out there who have both boards and can directly compare them that way, but it's worth a try asking I suppose...

milleron · Post by **milleron** » Mon Jun 27, 2005 8:03 am

rpsgc wrote:
rpsgc wrote:But I have a feeling the ABIT solution is better because it exhausts the heat of the heatpipe out of the case, while the Asus solution needs airflow from the CPU HS because there's no direct exit for the heat out of the case
Can anyone confirm/deny that?

Well, I have to leave my finger on the southbridge for several seconds to be sure that it's warmer than the PCB. Its heatpipe and heatsink are literally cool to the touch. In almost all cases, there's going to be a CPU fan blowing directly on the heatsink and a nearby rear exhaust fan to carry its heat away. I think the debate about which of these solutions is better is actually trivial. I'd recommend NOT letting it be a factor in deciding which mobo one buys. I opted for the Asus because I have confidence in the quality of Asus products, and the cooling of the southbridge is superb.

rpsgc · Post by **rpsgc** » Mon Jun 27, 2005 10:28 am

Yeah... I guess that's more pertinent to those who watercool I guess

hightower · Post by **hightower** » Tue Jun 28, 2005 9:21 am

screw the asus solution and go for a abit an8 sli which uses silent otes... cheaper board as well.

Landroval · Post by **Landroval** » Tue Jun 28, 2005 9:31 am

Ackelind wrote:
rpsgc wrote:
anthonysimilion wrote:But does it have those annoying Red LEDs?
I don't think so. That's the "Fatal1ty" version.
I believe the non-fatal1ty version has quite bright LEDs too, i think Ed noticed that with his latest build.

What's the matter? You wont see them if you keep your case closed.

johns996 · Post by **johns996** » Wed Jun 29, 2005 6:32 am

I have the AN8-SLI and it does have to red led's on the board. The led's are not very bright and with my case closed i can only see the light from the OTES panel.

So far I have loved this board. It has a few bios issues right now because nVidia tweaked the SLI chip but nothing serious. Abit is working furiously on fixing it, they released two bios updates in June and a third is being tested now.

daremo · Post by **daremo** » Thu Jul 14, 2005 1:10 pm

It has a few bios issues right now

could you elaborate on those issues?

blackstar · Post by **blackstar** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 1:30 pm

Ackelind wrote:
rpsgc wrote:
anthonysimilion wrote:But does it have those annoying Red LEDs?
I don't think so. That's the "Fatal1ty" version.
I believe the non-fatal1ty version has quite bright LEDs too, i think Ed noticed that with his latest build.

my AN8 ultra does, thats non fatality, non SLI.

could you elaborate on those issues?

SLI support was reported to be broken over at XS with bios version 15.
im not sure but afaik ver 15 is the only one supporting dual core?
could well be wrong on that point.

i had probs with no video, went back to bios 13. now im testing bios 16.
a lot of my probs went away when i manually set the memory timings, it didnt work "out the box".

I'm not so sure there's many people out there who have both boards and can directly compare them that way, but it's worth a try asking I suppose...

no idea about asus but my board, the nvidia bridge chip heatsink clamp thing gets very hot, im guessing over 50degC. the heatpipe is warm only, and the QOTES heatsink cooler still.

Jordan · Post by **Jordan** » Fri Jul 15, 2005 1:43 pm

I'd love to hear about any coil whine (or the lack of it) on the Abit AN8 Ultra.

My current DFI board has coil whine which comes and goes and when it comes it drives me up the wall!

digix · Post by **digix** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 6:13 am

About the Abit coolpipe board: The cooler at the back of the board takes up space, so there are no comports or parallel printerports on it, right?
Or are there headers on the motherboard for these?

maverickvns · Post by **maverickvns** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 8:44 am

there are no com ports or parallel ports or headers for any of them on the motherboard.

Mystr_Byrnz · Post by **Mystr_Byrnz** » Sat Jul 23, 2005 4:59 pm

In designing the fatal1ty flavor, Abit says on their box and in press kits that the board has been designed with gamers in mind and is therefore missing a lot of the things gamers don't actually use.

I have never used a com port on any computer I've owned, and any printer you buy today is going to use USB anyway. I don't see the exclusion of these ports as a negative toward the line.

I've got my Fatal1ty board mounted in my P180 awaiting the arrival of my PSU and 7800GTx. I can't wait to power that baby up

But to stay on topic, my version of the board has a pasive solution for the NB. I sure hope it isn't too loud, because the design places the top video card directly over the NB cooler, http://img.hexus.net/v2/motherboards/am ... /MoboB.jpg not allowing a fanless/aftermarket option.

I think both of the heatpipe versions should work about the same. Of course, I'm only speculating.

Jordan · Post by **Jordan** » Sat Jul 23, 2005 7:11 pm

What cooler do you have on your CPU Mystr_Byrnz?

I'm glad they have finally started to get rid of these legacy ports! In my years of building and using computers I have never once used a legacy port. The worst thing about them is they take up so much more space. Everything is USB nowadays and the more USB ports the better.

The above is a great exmaple of how an I/O panal should look (this is the back of Aopen's new Pentium M board). THis is obviously for a board with on-board video though so the DVI, AGP and RGB ports normally wouldn't be there.

Mystr_Byrnz · Post by **Mystr_Byrnz** » Sat Jul 23, 2005 8:28 pm

Jordan wrote:What cooler do you have on your CPU Mystr_Byrnz?

While I really want the 9500 zalman, it seems to be getting pushed back. For now I'll be using the CNPS7000B-AlCu. It seems to cool just about as well as the all-copper version, but with less wieght. The P180 doesn't need any help in that department.

Mikity · Post by **Mikity** » Sat Jul 23, 2005 10:22 pm

Jordan wrote: I'm glad they have finally started to get rid of these legacy ports! In my years of building and using computers I have never once used a legacy port. The worst thing about them is they take up so much more space. Everything is USB nowadays and the more USB ports the better.

Speak for yourself.... some of us like and need legacy ports, both parallel and serial. Better to have those options, even if some people don't use them.

Jordan · Post by **Jordan** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 4:09 am

Mikity wrote:
Jordan wrote: I'm glad they have finally started to get rid of these legacy ports! In my years of building and using computers I have never once used a legacy port. The worst thing about them is they take up so much more space. Everything is USB nowadays and the more USB ports the better.
Speak for yourself.... some of us like and need legacy ports, both parallel and serial. Better to have those options, even if some people don't use them.

I was. Although I feel most people will agree. There's far more people out there with USB and Firewire devices so why sacrifice these for rarely used ports? Always cater for the larget audiance.

If you've got old stuff like that then there's always adaptor solutions.

suchageek · Post by **suchageek** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 6:52 am

For those who have this board, does the heatpipe sit too close to the CPU? Any heat issues? How well does it keep everything cool?

I'm looking into the Abit AN8-Ultra version and can't quite judge it based on pictures.

A8n SLI Premium w/ passive NB...anyone here have it yet

A8n SLI Premium w/ passive NB...anyone here have it yet

Abit AN8-Ultra Question