Asus P5NSLI: NVIDIA nForce 570 Intel Edition
Our Summary and Conclusion
Performance Summary: For years we've seen motherboards for the AMD platform perform at near identical levels, because the Athlon 64 features an on-die memory controller. And although each of the Intel Core 2 Duo compatible motherboards we tested here are equipped with different memory controllers that reside in their respective Northbridge chips, they too performed similarly. The nForce 570 SLI powered Asus P5NSLI's performance was just as good as much more expensive motherboards in every test we ran, regardless of which core logic chipset it was compared against.
We like the Asus P5NSLI on a couple of different levels. This motherboard has a relatively complete feature set that includes RAID, HD audio, Gigabit LAN, and of course SLI support, and its layout is generally good overall. It doesn't sport an eye-catching color scheme, or any otherwise flashy features, but considering the fact that this motherboard is targeted at mainstream users, we weren't expecting it to. The P5NSLI was also rock-solid stable throughout our tests and didn't exhibit any instability until overclocked well out of spec. Its BIOS and overclocking capabilities, however, left something to be desired. The board's maximum memory voltage of 2.1v is too low and could pose a problem with some high-end memory kits that require more voltage, and hitting a peak FSB of just over 320MHz will surely limit the P5NSLI's appeal with overclockers. The P5NSLI's redeeming feature is its price though. At approximately $120 the P5NSLI is currently the least expensive option for users looking to move to an affordable Core 2 Duo powered, SLI capable platform. Based on its competitive performance, feature set, and affordable price, we're giving the Asus P5NSLI an 8 on the Heat Meter.
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