Test: Asrock AM2NF4G-SATA2

Konklusion

Asrock AM2NF4G-SATA2 er faktisk et udmærket bundkort til en billig pris. Jeg synes bare, det er lidt ærgeligt, at der egentlig er noget potentiale i kortet, som ikke bliver udnyttet. Hvis det havde haft TV-udgang og især mulighed for at øge vcore, ville det faktisk være et utrolig interessant kort - så ville man faktisk have en god overclocker i micro-ATX format. Så ville det ikke have gjort noget, at det kostede 50-100 kroner mere, synes jeg.

Innovation/Teknologi: 3 - nForce4 er ikke længere noget særligt, og Asrock har givetvis anvendt chippen af sparehensyn. Det fungerer da også udmærket, men innovativt er det ikke.

Bundle/Tilbehør: 2 - Bundlen er ret skrabet, som det kan forventes med et billigt bundkort, men der er dog, hvad der skal bruges - næsten. Jeg kunne godt have en ønsket en diskette med SATA drivere, så man uden videre kunne installere Windows på en SATA-harddisk, uden først at skulle forbi en anden computer.

Design/Layout: 4 - Her er der ikke noget galt, designet er ikke noget særligt, men det er også svært at gøre noget særligt på så lidt plads. Det er et plus, at begge profiler til chipsettet kan køles passivt uden problemer. Der kan komme konflikter mellem nordbroens profil og store kølere til grafikkort og CPU, men det kan ikke rigtig være anderledes på et micro-ATX kort. Jeg ved ikke, om Asrock har tænkt sig godt om eller bare været heldige, men jeg synes faktisk, bundkortet er rigtigt godt indrettet.

Software/BIOS: 3 - Software er der ikke så meget at sige om, da der ikke rigtig følger noget med. BIOS fungerer, som den skal, og Asrock har fået ryddet op i nogle af de uforståelige menupunkter, der ellers nogle gange har præget deres BIOS. Selvom man ikke kan gøre så meget ved spændingerne på kortet, er de fleste andre muligheder i orden.

Ydelse: 3 - Der kan siges både godt og skidt om ydelsen på dette bundkort. Det yder egentlig meget fint, også i forhold til et nyt og smart nForce5 kort. Overclockingspotentialet er også rigtig godt i forhold til pris og størrelse, det trækker bare meget ned, at man ikke rigtig kan bruge det i praksis, når man ikke kan øge vcore. Havde denne mulighed foreligget, kunne det muligvis være blevet til et 5-tal. Det integrerede grafikkorts ydelse er selvfølgelig dårlig i spil, men i andre situationer tager det ikke meget fra ydelsen. Som sagt er det ærgeligt, at kortet ikke har TV-out, det ville gøre det mere interessant.

Pris: 4 - Kortet koster i skrivende stund ca. 450 kr. på edbpriser.dk, og det må siges at være ganske billigt for et godt bundkort med onboard grafik. Men karakteren ville samlet set være en bedre, hvis én af de to mangler ikke var til stede, og hvis begge blev rettet, ville jeg blive meget begejstret. Men som det er nu, kan det ikke blive til mere end 4 i pris - det er ikke helt oplagt, at det er et Asrock AM2NF4G-SATA2, man skal købe, hvis man vil have AMD og micro-ATX, der er andre alternativer. Men dette er et godt køb, og man kan på den måde billigt lave en komplet computer.

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UK Conclusion

Asrock AM2NF4G-SATA2 is actually a nice motherboard at a cheap price. It just saddens me a bit that there is unused potential in the board. If only it had had TV-out and the possibility of increasing vcore, it would be a very, very interesting board - then you would have a good overclocker in micro-ATX form. An then it wouldn't matter if it costed 50-100 kroner more.

Innovation/Technology: 3 - nForce4 is no longer anything special, and Asrock has of course used this chip for saving money. It does work fine, but innovation it is not. .

Bundle/Accessories: 2 - The bundle is quite small, as you would expect for a cheap motherboard, but it contains everything you need - almost. I would have liked to see a floppy disc with SATA drivers, so that you could install Windows on a SATA harddrive, without having to go to a second computer.

Design/Layout: 4 - Nothing wrong here, there is nothing out of the ordinary, but that would also be too much to ask for in so little room. It's good that both profiles for the chipset can be passively cooled with no problems. Conflicts may occur between the northbrigde cooler and large coolers for graphics and CPU, but that's just the way it is on micro-ATX boards. I don't know if Asrock has been thinking well or just been lucky, but I actually think the motherboard design is very good.

Software/BIOS: 3 - There is nothing much to say about software, since nothing much is bundled. The BIOS works as it should, and Asrock have cleaned up some of the odd language, that has previously occupied their BIOS. Although you cannot increase voltages on the board, most other options are OK.

Performance: 3 - Both good and bad can be said about the performance of this motherboard. It actually performs well, also compared to a new and fancy nForce5 board. Overclocking potential is also very good considering price and size, it is just a shame that you cannot really put it to use, since you can't increase vcore. Had this been an option, I might have given it 5 points. Performance of the onboard graphics chip is of course poor in games, but in other situations it does not decrease performance much. It is a pity that the board doesn't have TV-out, this would have made it more interesting.

Price: 4 - This motherboard is currently price at around 450 Danish kroner, which is quite cheap for a good motherboard with onboard graphics. But my opinion of it would be much better, if one of the two missing features was present, and if they were both there, I would be very exited about this board. But as it is, it can only get 4 points for price. You don't necessarily have to buy an Asrock AM2NF4G-SATA2 if you want AMD and micro-ATX, there are other alternatives. But this is a good deal, and in this way, you can get a complete PC quite cheap.