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Difference between A78NX-ED and VM
In article , Piotr Makley
wrote: I am interested in getting a A7N8X-VM. Probably the 400 MHz version. I will probably be satisfied with the quality of graphics provided by the nForce2 integrated graphics chip. However I don't want to get the VM if it compromises on too many other things when compared to the ED version of the A7N8X. I have looked at the Asus web pages but I want to know if there any other differences which they don't mention. http://usa.asus.com/prog/spec.asp?m=...M/400&langs=09 http://usa.asus.com/prog/spec.asp?m=...eluxe&langs=09 These seem to be the differences but please advise and correct me if I have misread the info: Only 2 DIMM slots on VM compared to 3 on VM. Only get 3 PCI slots on VM compared to 5 on ED. Not get 2 SATA ports and RAID capability on VM. No Dolby AC-3 on VM. Only single LAN port on VM compared to 2 on ED. Not get 2 Firewire 1394 ports on VM which are on ED. No POST Reporter or Q-Fan on VM (what are these?). Few overclock features on VM (huh ???). Only 1 RJ45 port on VM compared to 2 on ED. No COM2 connector on VM. No free InterVideo WinDVD Suite on VM. No free IDE, SATA and Firewire cables on VM. No 2 port USB "extender" on VM. You should read the recent threads on the -VM boards in the Asus news group. Chances are, you won't be happy with the RAM options - A7N8X-VM FSB333 max, DDR333 while using onboard graphics, DDR400 while using an AGP or PCI graphics card. A7N8X-VM/400 FSB400 max, DDR333 while using onboard graphics. DDR400 is not mentioned in the manual, but users who try, only escape the built-in graphics instability, by using an AGP video card. If using a high end Barton, buy a cheap video card to go with it. Then, buying DDR400 memory is not risky. Both of these boards have no processor or memory adjustments in the BIOS. (Download the manual and compare the BIOS screens between -VM and deluxe motherboards.) The problem with memory adjustment, is if you buy PC3200 memory, and only want to run it at DDR333, I'm not sure the BIOS is smart enough to do the right thing. Buying a PC2700 memory is one way to get the SPD contents you need to restrict operation to DDR333, but who buys PC2700 memory these days ? The resale value of PC2700 would be lower than PC3200, so if you wish to go this route, try to buy some used PC2700 memory, so you don't pay a premium for new memory. If you care at all about performance, and you want to use the -VM, then buy a low end graphics card. An ATI 9000 or the like, for example, would be an option (I mean, we wouldn't want to reward Nvidia for a non-working graphics implementation, by buying an Nvidia card, now would we :-) . The Deluxe has SPP (Northbridge) and MCP-T. The VM has IGP (Northbridge with built-in graphics) and the MCP Southbridge. The MCP-T has a DSP block to drive the AC97 external audio codec, and the DSP block provides more audio features than the MCP provides. (If you are an audiophile, no onboard audio will make you happy, so the difference here is more along the lines of special effects. The audio equilizer is a convenience, for adjusting bass and treble rolloff on the Deluxe. ) The Voice POST gives voice messages over the Line_out audio output, indicating various error conditions during boot. The voice is hard to make out, as the Voice POST EEPROM is heavily compressed. Q-Fan, as I just learned, adjusts the voltage to the CPU fan, based on the measured CPU temperature. Q-Fan uses a minimal fan setting until the CPU hits 50C. Q-Fan uses higher settings of the fan until the CPU hits 60C. The fan stays at its highest setting above 60C. This gives some noise reduction below 50C, handy when the CPU is idle. (An even better way to cool, is to use a HSF which is quiet at full speed, such as a Zalman 7000. Then, Q-Fan can be disabled, and the fan speed won't be audible to the user. You'll still hear the other fans and the disk drive.) http://www.asus.com/mb/qfan.htm (see the graph of temp vs speed) I recommend comparing the manuals carefully, to see if the BIOS features you need are available in the products you are interested in. The -VM is a system integrators board, suitable for cheaply building 100 identical business office machines for a small company. The integrator buys PC2700 memory, and the users are never aware of what they are missing. This is generally the same design intent with any Asus -VM or -MX microATX product. They are not intended for people who like to adjust the hardware settings. Due to the lack of settings, more knowledge and experimentation is required to get a stable system. The system integrator can afford to buy extra components to experiment with, while for an end user, the savings by buying a -VM are eaten up by the cost of the "experiments". HTH, Paul |
#2
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Piotr Makley wrote:
I am interested in getting a A7N8X-VM. Probably the 400 MHz version. I will probably be satisfied with the quality of graphics provided by the nForce2 integrated graphics chip. However I don't want to get the VM if it compromises on too many other things when compared to the ED version of the A7N8X. I have looked at the Asus web pages but I want to know if there any other differences which they don't mention. http://usa.asus.com/prog/spec.asp?m=...M/400&langs=09 http://usa.asus.com/prog/spec.asp?m=...eluxe&langs=09 These seem to be the differences but please advise and correct me if I have misread the info: Only 2 DIMM slots on VM compared to 3 on VM. For best results, you want two matched DIMMs. The 3rd slot is extraneous in that case. And if you have a need for more than the 2 GB that you could put into the VM, then you also undoubtedly should be considering a server or workstation board anyway. Only get 3 PCI slots on VM compared to 5 on ED. With so much integrated onto the motherboards of both systems, just what do you need so many PCI slots for anyway ? Not get 2 SATA ports and RAID capability on VM. In other words, both systems suck as far as SATA goes. Two ports just doesn't cut it. In either case, serious SATA fans would need a SATA PCI card. No Dolby AC-3 on VM. I've built one system with that board and the owner is quite happy with the sound. He uses a good quality 3 speaker setup. Only single LAN port on VM compared to 2 on ED. A $5 NIC solves that. Not get 2 Firewire 1394 ports on VM which are on ED. If FireWire is important to you, then the VM is not for you. A good FW card would eat up any money you would save by going with the VM instead of a Deluxe+GeForce4 video card. No POST Reporter or Q-Fan on VM (what are these?). POST Reporter gives you verbal messages instead of just beeps for you to decode when their is a POST failure. Q-Fan is something that adjusts the fan voltage to speed up or slow down the fans according to the cpu load. Few overclock features on VM (huh ???). If you pay lower prices for the VM, that is just one of the things you give up. Only 1 RJ45 port on VM compared to 2 on ED. Same as LAN port issue above. No COM2 connector on VM. Do you really need *any* COM ports ? No free InterVideo WinDVD Suite on VM. You'll probably get something with your DVD drive anyway. No free IDE, SATA and Firewire cables on VM. I've bought one of those boards and it came with two IDE cables: one 80 conductor and one 40 conductor. As for no IEEE1394 or SATA cables - it doesn't have the ports so why would anyone expect cables ? No 2 port USB "extender" on VM. $3 each at your local computer store. Some shops give one free if the motherboard package doesn't include one. All in all, if you are a non-gamer the VM is a good board. If you are trying to build an SFF system, the VM is a good board. If things like having a couple of SATA ports or FireWire ports are important to you, go with the Deluxe. The $80 (Canadian) you save by getting a VM instead of a Deluxe with a GeForce4 video card can be easily eaten up by having to buy a 2 port SATA card and a FireWire card. |
#3
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See if I can let you have some of your requested answers.
On Wed, 28 Apr 2004, Piotr Makley wrote: Only 2 DIMM slots on VM compared to 3 on VM. TRUE Only get 3 PCI slots on VM compared to 5 on ED. TRUE Not get 2 SATA ports and RAID capability on VM. TRUE No Dolby AC-3 on VM. TRUE Only single LAN port on VM compared to 2 on ED. TRUE Not get 2 Firewire 1394 ports on VM which are on ED. TRUE No POST Reporter or Q-Fan on VM (what are these?). Are you talking about the "Talking POST" stuff, useless imho. Few overclock features on VM (huh ???). Read it NIL, no whatsoever overclock/underclock feature on VM! Only 1 RJ45 port on VM compared to 2 on ED. TRUE No COM2 connector on VM. FALSE, VM does have COM2 header, you need a cable to make the usual DB9 plug. No free InterVideo WinDVD Suite on VM. No free IDE, SATA and Firewire cables on VM. No 2 port USB "extender" on VM. FALSE There are header connectors to connect 2 more USB ports. Well, something you might already know: 1. You cannot use 400MHz (PC3200) RAM with the built in VGA on a VM. As the BIOS always honors the SPD on RAM, you can't even underclock the RAM. At the end, I bought another cheapy AGP/VGA card. 2. There are a few reported RAM compatibility problems on the VM. I've mine, the system is not very stable, hangs (or Oops in linux) once every few days. Read the other posts in this newsgroup. I've one VM board, RMA once, replaced by another one, and still got the above issues. Your mileage may be different, though! Stephen Wong @ Hong Kong |
#4
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Stephen SM WONG wrote:
Well, something you might already know: 1. You cannot use 400MHz (PC3200) RAM with the built in VGA on a VM. As the BIOS always honors the SPD on RAM, you can't even underclock the RAM. At the end, I bought another cheapy AGP/VGA card. Ummm ... on the only and only VM I've used, I put in a single 512 MB Samsung PC3200 DIMM. No problem with the onboard video. |
#5
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The fact (no PC3200 RAM and on board video at the same time)
is stated in the manual. And I'd ignored the instruction, only find out the truth in a hard way. The system using PC3200 RAM and on board video will boot, but it's not stable. I'd installed RedHat 9 linux onto the system, the installation takes 3 hours for a complete setup, and the program complains in various places that the CDROM media are at fault, but in fact, they are okay. Plug in an AGP/VGA card cured the problem. That's my one sample. Of course, your mileage may vary. Stephen Wong @ Hong Kong On Thu, 29 Apr 2004, Rob Stow wrote: Stephen SM WONG wrote: Well, something you might already know: 1. You cannot use 400MHz (PC3200) RAM with the built in VGA on a VM. As the BIOS always honors the SPD on RAM, you can't even underclock the RAM. At the end, I bought another cheapy AGP/VGA card. Ummm ... on the only and only VM I've used, I put in a single 512 MB Samsung PC3200 DIMM. No problem with the onboard video. |
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