Test: Asus A8R32-MVP Deluxe

Konklusion

A8R32-MVP Deluxe er ikke blandt Asus' absolut high end bundkort, men det betyder ikke, at vi ikke har fat i et hæderligt bundkort. Som altid skinner Asus' høje kvalitet igennem i form af et godt layout, en stor bundle, tilfredsstillende ydelse og en rimelig pris. Alt i alt et bundkort i den bedre ende, dog uden nogen overraskelser.

Innovation/Teknologi: 3
Xpress 3200 er ATi's nyeste Crossfire chipsæt og understøtter selvfølgelig også AM2. Sammenlignet med NVIDIAs nForce 4 er der megen lille forskel, men overfor nForce 5 må Xpress 3200 vige. Det må række til en middelkarakter.

Bundle/Tilbehør: 4
Asus har helt klart en af de bedre bundles på markedet, med kabler og brackets til samtlige porte på bundkortet. Yderligere finder vi Asus' sædvanlige InterVideo software bundle i pakken, men topscoren er forbeholdt Asus' M2N32-SLI Deluxe og Crosshair, som lige har et par ekstra finesser såsom Asus Q-Connecter og en array mikrofon.

Design/Layout: 3
Layoutet er som sædvanlig i top. Der er et par småting, som man kan undre sig over, f.eks. placeringen af den ene SATA port hørende til Silicon Image controlleren. For entusiasterne skyld kunne Asus også have placeret onboard reset og power knap, da dette begynder at vinde ind på bundkort i samme klasse. Alt i alt et meget standard layout uden de store brølere eller overraskelser.

Software/BIOS: 3
En helt i orden software bundle med en pakke fra InterVideo. Dog kunne jeg godt tænke mig en DVD player i stedet for et af de andre programmer, da flere af dem har meget tilfælles. BIOS har rimeligt udvalg af indstillinger, som dog godt kunne gøres bedre, som man f.eks. ser på Asus' dyrere modeller. Mht. layout vedholder Asus deres sædvanlige BIOS layout og det er selvfølgelig en smagssag om man kan lide det eller ej.

Ydelse: 3
Ydelsesmæssigt ligger bundkortet side om side med tilsvarende bundkort. Dette skyldes primært AMDs integrerede RAM controller, hvorfor der ikke er så meget at komme efter på dette punkt. Mht. til overclocking, så er der ikke meget at hente i bundkortet. Dette skyldes muligvis den brugte BIOS under testforløbet, men uanset hvad kan det dog ikke blive til mere end en middelkarakter.

Pris: 4
Prisen ligger i omegnen af 950 kr. hvilket er ganske tæt på konkurrenternes modeller baseret på samme chipsæt. I forhold til nForce 4 SLI x16 er dette et par hundrede kroner billigere, mens specifikationerne forholder sig næsten identiske. Med det taget i betragtning sammen med bundlen må en karakter lidt over middel være på sin plads.

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UK Summary

The A8R32-MVP Deluxe is not among Asus' high end motherboards, but this doesn't mean it's not a devent motherboard. As always the high quality of Asus' products shows when you look at what yout get; a good layout, a big bundle and satisfying performance all at a reasonable price. All in all a motherboard the good end of the spectrum yet without any surprices.

Innovation/Technology: 3
The Xpress 3200 is ATi's newest Crossfire chipset and it also supports AM2 processors. Compared to NVIDIA's nForce 4 the difference are small, but compared to the nForce 5 Xpress 3200 looses. That should account for an average score.

Bundle/Accesories: 4
Asus has one of the better bundles in the market with a lot of cables and expansion brackets for every I/O header on the motherboard. On the software side we find the usual InterVideo bundle, but in the end the topscore is reserved for the Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe and Crosshair which have a couple extras, for instance the Asus Q-Connector and array microphone.

Design/Layout: 3
Asus has a very good layout, but there are still some small things that you can point out ie. the placement of one of the SATA connecter belonging to the Silicon Image controller. For the enthusiasts Asus should also have added onboard power and rest buttons, as these are getting more and more standard on similar motherboards. Pretty much a standard layout without any mistakes or surprises.

Software/BIOS: 3
A well rounded software bundle, including a package from InterVideo. However, I'd have liked a DVD player instead of some of the other programs, as several of them are very similar. The BIOS also has a nice set of options, but there's room for improvements which can be seen on more expensive Asus motherboards. Asus sticks to their usual BIOS layout, and whether you like it or not is a matter of taste.

Performance: 3
Performance wise the motherboard is side by side with similar motherboards. This is primarily thanks to AMD's integrated memory controlled and also the reason why benchmark performance is somewhat unimportant. Concerning overclocking the motherboard has not got much to offer. This is possibly because of the BIOS used during testing, but regardless of that it won't earn the motherboard more than an average score.

Price: 4
The price is approximately 160 USD (~950 DKK) which is quite close to that of other competitor motherboards based on the same chipset. Compared to the nForce 4 SLI x15 it is about 15-35 USD less expensive while the specifications are almost identical. With this taken into consideration and the size of the bundle a score over average is appropriate.