MSI K7N2

It has taken a while for nVidia to perfect the graphics on its nForce2 chipset Performance, though, seems to have been well worth the wait, as the internal graphics managed a very impressive 3,311 in 3Dmark and 55.5 frames per second (fps) in Jedi Knight II.

These are the best scores we've seen from an onboard graphics solution by far, though it seems the processor used has a significant effect on these scores. The above were attained on a 2200+ Athlon; scores on a 2700+ were 4,472 in 3Dmark and 75.3fps in Jedi Knight II.

When it came to Sysmark, this MSI board was as impressive as the other nForce2s we have tested, giving us a score of 210 with a 2700+ chip, and 200 on a 2200+.

Three Dimm slots, three IDE, five PCIs, plus AGP and ACR slots are all quite common, as are the serial, parallel, four USB2s and two PS/2s. The Ethernet port and the excellent quality six-channel audio output are impressive inclusions but standard on high-end motherboards.

What really makes this special is the Serial ATA (two cables are included), S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface), coaxial audio outputs, and two FireWire ports, one mini, one full size. An extra USB2 port is accompanied by a Bluetooth adaptor and four diagnostic LEDs that indicate system status.

Using all these brackets does mean that you can only use two of the five PCI slots as the spaces have been taken up, but it's unlikely you'd need more than this as so much is already catered for on the board.

There's a lot included on this board, and if you need all the features the K7N2 offers a great overall saving.

Specs

• AMD Athlon XP support
• nForce2 chipset with integrated graphics
• Three memory slots with support for up to 1.5GB PC2700
• AGP 8x
• Five PCI
• ACR
• Serial ATA controller
• 4 x USB2, serial, parallel and VGA ports
• 10/100 Gigabit Lan
• Six-channel audioContact: Simply 0870 727 2100
  www.simply.co.uk