Snappy Mobo offers new Socket AM2 performance plus some! The ASUS M2N32- SLI Wireless Deluxe!
Written: Aug 05 '06 (Updated Aug 06 '06)
Product Rating:
Pros: Built-in wireless G, socket AM2, up to 8Gb. of RAM, silent heat pipe design, etc.!
Cons: BIOS for the not so squeamish, picky about DDR II memory used.
The Bottom Line: ASUS has provided another design for overclockers and video gamers here. Other users will see extreme stability, but this board is not for the general consumer interested in mediocre performance.
alexanderaku's Full Review: ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe (610839139712) Motherboard
Interested in AM2? It's the new architecture AMD users will be using - and the ASUS M2N32-SLI Wireless with its NVIDIA 590 chip design is one of the few "latest and greatest" using AM2 for overclockers, gamers, and anyone interested in a "state of the art systems". Read on as I cover what you will encounter and find in this "cutting edge" ASUS offering for AM2 processor designs. Even if you already have the M2N32-SLI Wireless Deluxe, what you will read here may be of great interest as I cover my own experiences with this product.
Preface:
WARNING WILL ROBINSON - LONG REVIEW AHEAD - PROCEED CAREFULLY! MY SENSORS ARE DETECTING AN UNKNOWN INTELLIGENT AM2 DEVICE!
Yes, I feel the robot from "Lost in Space" would definitely detect this new ASUS AM2 offering as a powerful device of some sort. Forewarned, you may find all you need and more for a decision on this motherboard. Then again, this product may have just affected me mentally.
AM2 is the new platform AMD is moving toward, and it just makes good sense to build any new systems using the new AM2 platform as AMD makes the transition. ASUS has provided a top of the line platform here, using the new 590 NVIDIA chipset for this introduction into DDR II AM2 socket motherboards with AMD processors. As more Opteron, and Athlon processors are moving to AM2, an Opteron could even be in your future with some superb overclocking ability. New BIOS and chipset changes can even provide you with server style stability on that new desktop or workstation as more DDR II with ECC becomes available.
Could we be seeing a return to Henry Ford's mass production technique (interchangeability) now and in the future? If so, this could herald a return to lower prices on new AMD processors and motherboards. Intel might find themselves in a bind, trying to catch up again, even as their own implementation of dual core processors and DDR II support drives prices lower.
X2 functionality? All AM2 motherboards accept single or dual core processors. The breakthrough is toward greater utilization of DDR II just as prices fall out for first generation DDR. Along with this comes cheaper manufacturing processes for motherboard manufacturers interested in AM2. The implementation of more processors on the market capable of using DDR II will cause rapid improvements there and lowered prices there as well.
Connections on the motherboard:
The M2N32-SLI has added connectors that make installing the power, HDD, sound, and etc. connection from the case to the motherboard easy. Well marked, you just plug those wires to the adapter and plug it easily into the motherboard. The hardest connections are the added USB and Firewire connections at the bottom of the board. You don't want a card installed there until you make them. You also want to take care NOT to switch a USB with a Firewire connector as they will plug up - this could ruin the board.
Angle adaptors are supplied for the SATA connections in the event you install a larger than average PCI Express card. No shortage of SATA ports, ASUS supplies no less than seven SATA ports on the board with an eighth on the rear connector panel.
Also provided are CD, SPDIF out, and an extra LTP connections.
The only thing I would have liked better here is two IDE connectors in place of the one on the board so more than two optical drives would be supported.
Back to the rear panel are: dual Gigabit Ethernet (lit orange at 100 Mbps. - green at 1 Gbps.), four USB, one Firewire, PS2 (mouse & keyboard), one 9-pin serial port, one each coaxial & optical S/PDIF, wireless antenna port with activity LED, and six standard sound ports (inputs and outputs for the 8 channel sound).
Heat and Silent Pipe design:
The ASUS N2N32-SLI is the newest offering from ASUS for Socket AM2. They also have a workstation model soon to be released in the USA - already available overseas. The North and Southbridge NVIDIA chipset here has a "SILENT Heat Pipe" design for cooling what is a powerful chipset. This means a case providing adequate cooling is necessary - it does not mean it has to be a loud one with screaming fans. The design wicks heat upward toward the processor area away from the video card/s (PCI area), and it is best suited to tower cases because of this. This allows quieter solutions in the PCI video card area as well. Air flow is further improved by the six 3.0 SATA cable connections, one added lone SATA RAID (top left), and one lone 133 IDE port at the top right of the board (ready for two optical or hard drive/s). Beside this connection is the floppy drive connector, both well out of the way of any front case fans and very close to tower components for them. The motherboard wiring connection placement also aids in neater, less restrictive, wiring from the PSU (power supply). Further, the design improves airflow by the processor placement. All of this allows for better heat removal by standard rear case exhaust and the PCU fan/s. One more item for cooling is provided by ASUS. A fan is provided, designed to fit the upper cooling fins of the heat pipe system. Its use is only recommended when passive cooling is installed on the processor such as a water cooling block.
PSU requirement:
Speaking of power supply, ASUS recommends at least 36 amps are needed at the 12 volt supply. This means you should take a hard look at any PSU, you have in mind, to be sure this requirement is satisfied. My new Antec NeoHE 550 PSU satisfies this with room to spare at 54 amps. A steady power supply output requirement goes without question. With the number of features ASUS has supplied here, larger loading is to be expected. This doesn't mean the board is a power hog, but rather it needs more power as different demands are placed upon it. Two SLI x16 video cards can bring the requirement up quickly during gaming, along with all the many other features available for use in the ASUS M2N32-SLI. So plan on a 550 to 700 watt power supply even though some of you can get by with a better than average 400 watt supply producing near 36 amps at the 12 volt supply. Inadequate power will cause a no-start condition or a propensity toward crashing during or after boot. You will also want one with the detachable 20 4 pin power connection as the ASUS M2N32-SLI uses a 24-pin connector). The added 4 pin is not the same as the 4 pin chip power provided on power supplies, although it looks similar. (The NeoHE also supplies the 24 pin connector with removable 4-pin and two chipset 4-pin power cables.)
Installing the Processor:
With AM2, this couldn't be easier! Just align the provided markers, drop the processor in place, set the locking lever in place, and install the heatsink. A lever here also makes the heatsink install almost as easy as putting the chip in place. Just align the heat sink carefully, and the lever locks into place with some careful pressure. It makes the heat sink seat very solidly on the chip.
RAM for this board (requirements):
With the DDR II the M2N32-SLI uses (533/667/800), there are some differences that should be discussed. Like any new offering, this motherboard has a BIOS that is still undergoing changes - frequently. This affects RAM and, at the moment, others have found many DDR II offerings will not run on the M2N32-SLI. The QVL lists (ASUS vendor memory module lists of what they have qualified) are short, and the memories listed are difficult to find in many cases. So guaranteed offerings, where the manufacturer of the memory or motherboard guarantees its operation in a specific board, become more important to AM2 users here. Just how short is the list - only 26 offerings are listed. These range from 512 to 1024 Mb. sticks rated DDR 533 to DDR 800. The listings also shows DIMM support (memory module slot support) as A*, B*, and C* - and not all modules are verified to support them all.
A* supports one module in any slot as Single-channel memory as opposed to the boards Dual Channel support (increased memory Bandwidth) that can be used when two matching modules are inserted.
B* supports one pair of modules inserted in slot A1 and B1 or A2 and B2 as one pair of Dual Channel memory configuration.
C* supports 4 modules inserted as Dual Channel pairs.
The list also includes SS and DS information (Single Side chips on the module or Double Side - chips on both sides)
Here is a partial ASUS QVL listing of the 1Gb. modules from the manual:
*Note: For a complete listing of the 26 ASUS validated modules, you can download the manual from the ASUS web site and find them within it.
Concerning other memory not on the QVL, some have found that where more stable CAS and other timings can be be found, by relaxing the megahertz from 800 or 667 to 533, (possibly changing slots) the memory will then be accepted. I initially purchased a 1 Gb. stick of Mushkin DDR II XP5300 (DDR 667) for $109 with better timings 3-3-3-10 for better compatibility - or so I thought, but it was only accepted in slot B2 (uppermost of four and opposite the recommended A1 slot) with no BIOS changes. Then it caused intermittent problems with stability at Post. Another reason I did this is I knew better modules will be available in the future with higher speed, better timings, and most important - lower prices. A high priced module with slower timings at 800 MHz. is not going to set any great records if it doesn't work on the board at its rated speed. OCZ users have already found this out and Corsair users have found some 800 Mhz. modules will only run at 667 or 533 MHz. with Bios timings reset, so judge for yourself.
Experience says, CAS and other timings are most important, although increased Mhz. is supposed to make up for the difference in slower timings (ie. CAS 4 at 800 Mhz. should be, theoretically, just as fast as CAS 2 at 400 MHz.). [1.5 Gb. of Winbond DDR 433 (actual PC-3200) easily runs at 2-2-2-7 on another AMD machine, I have, at that boards rated 400 megahertz (200 bus)- and very well with no errors]. I would rather pay less later for better memory and install more than 1 Gb. - the M2N32-SLI supports up to 8 Gb. across four slots of unbuffered ECC or non-ECC. [Note: if you intend to load all four slots - be sure to check how many banks are being loaded per module.] It would have been nice to temporarily use some DDR 400 in place of DDR II 667, but 184 pin DDR and 240 pin DDR II RAM just doesn't interchange. On the other hand, I'm not about to pay well over $1000 for a matched DDR II 4 Gb. set of RAM for its higher frequencies either.
*Note: Crucial.com has 4Gb. kits to fill the ASUS M2N32-SLI to capacity If your cash flow doesn't mind going into the thousands.
Why didn't my cheaper performance RAM choice work out? It was a problem with AM2 memory support provided on the board and possibly some on the AMD AM2 processor and the XP5300 module. Mushkin now recognizes, in fine print on their site, the XP5300 modules only work with specific Intel chips. The XP5300 (DDR II 667) ran at 2.1 volts and some feel this board may prefer running RAM voltages at 1.9. I didn't take into account this might affect how this board can overclock RAM or worry about it. (Lower voltages help with temperatures.) So, I had to upgrade (RMA) from the Mushkin DDR II XP5300 to Mushkin (DDR II 800) XP6400 with rated timings at 4-4-3-10 with its voltage requirement at 1.9 ($50 higher at $157).
In the meantime, I purchased a Crucial "Ballistix" 1 Gb. stick (BL12864AA804 1GB - $197.99) guaranteed to run in the M2N32-SLI using overnight delivery. (Too many new parts here to miss out on my NewEgg RMA deadline, as I had no way of checking them properly - CPU, motherboard, DDR II memory, and Antec Neo HE PSU. The new ASUS PCI 16 EN7600 GS was the only part I could check with some effort on my older 939-pin X2 4400+ system.) The "Ballistix" rated timings are 4-4-4-12 at 2.2 volts. (chuckle) Sometimes, it just doesn't pay to get too tight!
What all this means is the support for DDR II on Intel boards is running much higher - and you can expect to pay as much for 1 Gb. of memory, compatible with AM2, as the ASUS M2N32-SLI Wireless Deluxe costs - unless you drop below current 800 MHz. memory. At any rate, all of this memory runs well on Intel boards. With RMAs, the turn around times, and the fact some companies will not upgrade modules, you need to be very careful in memory selection and ask for a guarantee of operation on the ASUS M2N32-SLI before purchase. Crucial.com will do this. Others may tell you it will work, but the key word is guarantee, as in - they have physically tested it in the ASUS M2N32-SLI. This information could be why ASUS forums have been overloaded for some time now as others try to use various modules in the AM2 platform.
After eliminating my stability problem by removing the Mushkin XP5300 in favor of the "Ballistix". I was immediately able to install my single module of Crucial "Ballistix" in the proper A1 slot. No, this one stick couldn't enable Dual Channel support as this requires two modules. What it did do was create instant stability, and I immediately noticed the board came to Post and entered the pre-boot sequence to Windows extremely fast with no hangs or slow down during Post or Bios entry. This immediately made me a "happy camper" as I no longer had to worry about my other system components.
The "Bitter Sweet" BIOS and software:
Step 1 - The BIOS
Enter the BIOS at Post by pressing Delete on your keyboard. (The first screen will offer you this choice.) You will then see a number of choices and settings that can be reached using the legend at the bottom on the BIOS screens. If you didn't go into BIOS, the second screen you will see is the "discovery" screen where the ASUS M2N32-SLI will quickly read and show installed memory, CPU and speed, and all installed drives. (It skips this step in subsequent Posts, after the initial one, in favor of booting more quickly into your OS and there are settings that will further this.)
Just what you will see on that first POST screen is, a pulsating yellow-orange "A" and "i" on a light gray background from the center of your monitors screen until it fills it solid. At the bottom is boldly emblazoned M2N32-SLI, also in a bright yellow-orange color. What is going on during this quick movement is even more interesting. This is when the M2N32-SLI self-checks for the proper power supply requirements.
Why "Bitter Sweet" is answered by the extensiveness of the BIOS provided by ASUS. It is an overclockers dream, but could be a nightmare to those trying to build a system for the first time. However, if it were my first time doing this I would much prefer this ASUS BIOS. What separates this ASUS BIOS from others is the well written manual and the BIOS itself. Those familiar with ASUS BIOS offerings or using BIOS controls should have little if any problem. I've been a Gigabyte user for many years - so the BIOS here presented zero problems. I was used to the balky and hard to understand Gigabyte boards' literature and BIOS. I noted right away there were added controls and features I liked over the BIOS of any of my previous Gigabyte boards. [I'm hoping I won't come to miss the DUAL BIOS CHIPS I grew accustomed to with Gigabyte, and DFI (who makes a great AMD 939 pin board) users are still out of luck as DFI offers no AM2 boards as yet.] Ha, ASUS has provided a replaceable BIOS chip here - if it's needed.
My first stop in the BIOS was to check the CPU and board chipset temps. With my side cover off, (my case doesn't cool as well with the side door off) I found the board showing a reasonable 43 degrees centigrade. I also found the new AM2 Athlon 64 3800 was running a cool 30 degrees centigrade with its stock fan and factory thermal pad. It seems I and others have noticed the same trend in temperatures - the processor running cooler than the motherboard, but both within reasonable limits for long life. While there, I enabled a few controls for quieting the fans just to see what would happen. After the reset and restart, I found the only differences in this state were slower fan speeds on the 80 mm. fans I have installed. You can control and monitor the speed of all seven of the provided 3-pin fan headers on the motherboard (CPU header provides 3 or 4 pin operation with older and new fan designs). No need to go further, as I knew one of my next steps would be to update the installed BIOS to the latest version.
Step 2 - The OS
By updating the BIOS, I knew ASUS would have new improvements for the motherboard I could then utilize. In my case, I needed to load the OS first. This was so I could load the included ASUS support software and drivers for the board as I wanted to use the onboard wireless connection.
My first OS was VISTA Ultimate 64 bit. Loading was fast after the very slow process of a VISTA install. The motherboard, chipsets, and processor looked right at home - but I soon realized the lack of support for the system was too much. For one, Vista would only support my old USR dial-up card (Microsoft has tried to institute different protocal for the Internet security in VISTA) . For another, the correct 64 bit VISTA video card drivers (from nVidia) refused to mount properly and I could only run the default Microsoft drivers. This made loading any games impossible with my ASUS EN7600 GS video card. That alone said no way.
I loaded XP Professional 32 Bit, and found an extremely fast and responsive system that accepted all drivers with full functions. But, then there were all those new 64 bit games I just received. Windows XP Professional 64 bit was quickly loaded and I found the sweet spot.
Not quite as fast to Windows login as the 32 bit was, the 64 bit OS ran smoothly and even faster after login. All the ASUS drivers loaded properly, and I immediately noticed I could touch the sleep button on my Logitech wireless keyboard and the computer would "suspend to RAM", displaying a flashing green power light. Moving the mouse or touching a key would turn the computer back on and request my login. Returning to Windows XP Pro 64 bit Desktop was extremely fast and my browsers from the previous login were all back in place on the taskbar - I had purposely left work open to see if it would return and it did. Updates moved along quickly with my DSL connection. Unlike VISTA, the Ethernet ports worked with my modem using both XP versions.
Step 3 - Wireless!
What I really liked was how quickly and perfectly the ASUS wireless function worked after I loaded my WPA-PSK security info to it and giving my USR5450 its MAC address (I use MAC filtering also). Many users will probably be pleasantly surprised to find ASUS has provided all security protocal - including the latest for wireless-G. I had already attached the supplied antenna cable to the reverse SMA cable connection. The wireless connection through my USR5450 AP registered a solid 54 Mb. as described it should. No re-boot was required and there were no system hangs as the ASUS instantly acquired the signal. You have the option to use it as an AP, but I was only interested the infrastructure access to my USR5450 AP. Here again, both Windows XP versions worked perfectly with the ASUS wireless.
Step 4 - Protection!
Avast provided a free virus scanner I downloaded with the wireless connection. It works on Windows XP 64 bit, but only slowly on scans. That means I may change it soon to another.
Step 5 - Update the video and add some games!
A quick trip to nVidia netted their latest drivers, which I immediately installed. Far Cry 64 bit was my first load followed by the ASUS game pack with Savage, Temple of Time , and Mashed. They all ran flawlessly and temperatures didn't fluctuate in the system. The provided ASUS software for monitoring allowed close checks of this. Trying each game, the system acted like it was at idle! Far Cry 64 bit does take about 45 seconds loading before play each time. I just imagine it would be faster if it was on my XP4400+, but that system runs Windows 32 bit and the game would not load there even though it has 32 bit drivers (wrong video card - it wanted an ASUS card). Not a big deal as I'm not really a gamer. Hence, why only one ASUS EN7600 GS Silent video card.
Step 6 - BIOS time!
Here it is, installed version 603! I downloaded the latest BIOS from the ASUS site and installed it to floppy disk. Using the manual for reference, I saved the original and loaded the new BIOS easily and restarted the computer. From there I just made the settings I wanted. With the Windows program ASUS supplies for this, I could have just done the install from Windows - but I prefer using a floppy in DOS for this - less room for error in my opinion. The install was painless and, after the restart, I reset my favorite settings.
Motherboard Features:
-Standard ATX size (9" X 12")
-24 pin ATX connection
-4 pin processor power connection
-5 3-pin fan connections (monitored with speed control
-1 IDE connector
-1 Floppy connector
-8 SATA connectors with RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 5, JBOD (one on rear panel)
-Integrated 54 Mbps. wireless-G (functions as an AP if wanted)
-8 channel sound
-Dual Gigabit Ethernet controllers
-Silent Pipe design cooler for North and Southbridge nVidia 590 chipset
Special Features:
-AI Gear - 4 modes for minimizing power and fan noise
-AI Nap - system continues running at minimal power while the user temporarily away
-ASUS Crystal Sound - for enhancement of speech-centric apps.
-Advanced Thermal Design - Stack Cool 2, 8-phase power design, Fanless heat-pipe design
- Wireless SOLO
-ASUS Music Alarm - lets the system wake you like an alarm clock
-ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 allows users to restore a corrupted BIOS
-ASUS EZ Flash 2 updates Bios from USB flash disk
-ASUS My Logo allows the user to install a custom boot logo
-ASUS Q Connect allows for quick connect/disconnect of front chassis cables
-DTS Connect - two modes - Interactive re-encodes sound for DTS devices, DTS NEO:PC provides convincing multi-channel
-PEG Link Mode enhances PCI graphics card performance
-Precision Tweaker fine tunes CPU/memory, FSB, and PCI Express frequency.
-ASUS Muti-Language BIOS allows you to set your preferred
language
-C.P.R. restores default BIOS settings due to overclocking hangs
-ASUS O.C. Profile allows storing of multiple BIOS setting profiles in CMOS or a separate file
-AI NOS automatically detects CPU loading and dynamically overclocks the CPU speed only when needed
In the Box:
1 M2N32-SLI
1 IEEE 1394a module
2 2-port 2.0 modules
6 Serial ATA cables
3 Serial ATA power cables for six devices
1 Ultra DMA 133/100/66 (for two devices)
1 Floppy disk drive cable (for two devices)
1 Magnetic base Wireless Antenna with cable
1 ASUS SLI Bridge (for two "Golden Finger" PCI video cards)
1 ASUS Array Mic
1 ASUS optional fan (for the silent pipe fins if water cooling is used)
1 ASUS Q connector panel for USB and 1394 (adds these to a PCI slot)
1 ASUS motherboard support CD (Drivers and utilities)
1 Intervideo Media CD (Platinum CD/DVD burner program)
1 Instruction Manual (6 chapters long, about 1/2 inch thick)
Final notes:
The ASUS M2N32-SLI Wireless Deluxe adds support for dual processor chips with an added BIOS feature you can enable. If you enable it with a single processor chip you will see an unknown device in Device Manager. I can hardly wait for a new Dual Core similar or better than my XP4400+ 939-pin to install here in place of my Athlon X64 XP3800+ at its 2.4 GHz.
ASUS has supplied a green LED in the PCI area. When lit it warns not to add or remove any components. Only do this with the power off and the LED off.
Loading the ASUS sound drivers (8 channel sound) requires Microsoft updates be installed first. It works well, but I really haven't had time to test it thoroughly as yet. The new "Directional Array" microphone does an excellent job avoiding sounds other than those it is focused at. ASUS has also provided a new feature that does discovery of any device plugged into the sound section. This assures proper placement of those peripherals.
ASUS has provided drivers and programs that work well with Windows 32 and 64 bit systems. With VISTA just around the corner, better support should soon be available for it as ASUS does say this board is VISTA capable. Well, I saw it was, but VISTA just isn't ready for prime time. With folders for 32 and 64 bit features, like Windows XP Pro 64 bit, it's just not as refined as the Pro 64 version for this board - yet.
Three weeks worth of thrashing this system with its Windows XP Pro 64 bit OS has yet to crash or stall it even once. As a Gamer's board I feel it would be an excellent choice, but don't rule it out as a great workstation or entry level server. For a home desktop it just far exceeded my expectations. The new 590 nVidia chipset is a stable and apt performer that I'm sure is capable of much more than I've thrown at it, and the Silent Heat Pipe design just plain works very well. SLI using two video cards would be a later option for me, but I feel performance there would only be limited by the cards themselves.
Well, if you read all the review, you can see the M2N32-SLI is loaded with features. They all work and what's more, you don't have to worry with adding much other than correct drives, memory, and your video card/s. ASUS has provided enough hardware and software here to satisfy the appetite of almost everyone. Using Windows XP Professional 64 bit, I was genuinely pleased to find suitable drivers provided by ASUS for everything. I would definitely recommend this motherboard to anyone looking for a performance system. Mine is one fast and sweet running board.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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