ASUS A8N5X - это системная плата начального уровня в рамках Socket 939 computing platform. Back in 2005, this solution made it possible to assemble the most productive PCs with support for 64-bit computing, but today this processor socket is completely outdated. His resources it is enough to create the most budget office computers. It is about this computer component from the eminent manufacturer of computer technology and will be discussed further.
Which market segment is this board targeted at?
ASUS A8N5X motherboardas noted earlier, allowed to createUltimate in terms of performance computer systems. At the same time the cost of the computer was minimal. But all this was true for 2005, when the Socket 939 platform provided unprecedented high speed and was dominant in the niche of high-performance computer systems. Now such computational solutions can be used in office systems where the most simple tasks are solved. These include office suites, Internet browsing and playback of multimedia information.
Equipment
The presence of the following set of delivery can be boasted of the solution considered within the framework of this material:
ASUS A8N5X motherboard.
Instructions installation and configuration. Also here are the BIOS parameters and recommendations for its configuration.
Coupon with warranty period - 36 months.
Disk with a set of software. The latter include drivers, diagnostic utilities and programs for monitoring and overclocking. Also on this disc there is a user manual.
Metal plate with 2 external ports of USB rev.2.0 format.
Two IDE cables for connecting legacy drives.
Two SATA wires for switching with hard drives and drives of the new generation.
Metal panel for mounting in a computer case.
Chipset His specs. Socket
One of the best chipsets for socket 939 was used in ASUS A8N5X. Characteristics this product indicated that it isNForce 4 from NVidia. It had quite good technical characteristics and allowed to fully unleash the potential of any processor device for such a computing platform. The processor socket in this motherboard is the PGA939.
Processors
An impressive list of supported models of central processors can boast this solution. This list includes such chips for Socket 939:
Sempron 3000 series.
Athlon 64.
Athlon 64 FX.
Athlon 64 Dual Core.
Opteron.
Opteron Dual Core.
Again, it should be noted that all chips must be designed for installation in the socket socket 939, which is used in ASUS A8N5X. Bios in some cases you have to reflash. Moreover, special problems when performing this fairly simple operation should not arise.
Built-in ports
A sufficiently large number of ports was equipped ASUS A8N5XTo which number belonged the following:
USB in the performance of 2.0. There were 4 of them.Two of them were unsoldered directly on the motherboard, and two were placed on a separate metal bar that came complete with the motherboard in question. The main purpose of these ports is to connect any modern peripheral device or flash drive.
Two PS / 2 ports. As it is easy to guess, they allowed only to connect the mouse and keyboard to the PC.
One LPT port. It was used to switch obsolete types of scanners or printers.
6 sound connectors for connecting various modifications of external speakers.
One port of the RJ-45 standard allowed such a PC to connect to the computer network without additional devices.
Expansion Slots
This solution is made in the ATX format, and this allowed the developers to equip it with 4 slots at once to install memory modules. Only DDR standard strips can be set to ASUS A8N5X. Instruction indicates that their frequencies may be 200,266, 333 and even 400 MHz. The higher the frequency of RAM, the higher the final speed of the computing system. In one slot you can put as much as possible only only 1 GB of RAM. In sum, this motherboard can address 4 GB of RAM. Separately, it is necessary to note the controller RAM. In this case, it is dual channel. Therefore, it is preferable to use two smaller memory modules than one large. For example, instead of one bar for 1 GB, it is better to install 2 modules of 512 MB each. This will allow you to get an increase in speed up to 15%.
Among other expansion slots is necessarynote the presence of PCI. They are in this case 3. With their help, the computer system can be supplemented with outdated modifications of external controllers. It can be a TV tuner or a peripheral controller. Also, this motherboard is equipped with 2 slots PCI-E 1X. Already modern modifications of expansion controllers are installed in them. Another type of expansion slots is PCI-E 4X. Well, complements this list PCI-E rev.16X. It installs a discrete graphics card, which in the composition of such a PC can be only one. There can be no talk of any SLI modes from NVidia or CrossFire from AMD for the reason that there is only one slot for the video accelerator.
Reviews Strengths and major weaknesses. Cost Perspectives of the computing platform
At the time of the start of sales ASUS A8N5X could be purchased at a price of about 100-110dollars. A lot of time has passed since then. The hardware platform itself is outdated entirely. Also, the AMD processor family has been updated several times. Therefore, the inventory of this computer component has long been sold out, and it is no longer possible to acquire it in the new state. In the used state, such a motherboard is fully capable of being found on various trading platforms in the Global Web. And the price for it is in the range of 300 to 750 rubles. Considering the positioning, there were no significant flaws in the solution considered in this material. This is once again confirmed by feedback from owners who have been exploiting it for more than one year. The advantages include excellent functionality, a wide range of supported processor devices and the ability to create even entry-level servers. But all this is true for 2005-2009, when Socket 939 occupied a leading position in the market of computing equipment. Now, as noted earlier, this computer platform is hopelessly outdated.
Outcomes
Simultaneously affordable, functional and versatile solution was the motherboard ASUS A8N5X. She could both be at the heart of the budget.computer with low speed, and perform the functions of an entry-level server. Such flexibility did not leave any significant chances of competing products from other, no less well-known manufacturers of computer equipment. And even now it is not so rare to find computers based on such a motherboard.
