ASrock K8NF4G-SATA2 is a Socket 754 board aimed at the budget user as it incorporates the latest C51G integrated graphics north bridge. Although it is a mATX board, it does come with a feature set that is just right for those intending to build a system and use it without spending extra for a graphics card. Although the board comes with integrated graphics, it can always be paired up with a 6600GT or even a 6800GT to tap the power of PCie x 16. The board based on the C51G chipset supports the Sempron, Athlon64 processors with CnQ. It supports 1GHz HT, 2GB DDR400, 8 Channel Audio, 8 USB ports, 1 x PCI-E x 16, Fast Ethernet, 2 SATA II RAID ports.

The hybrid booster on board has some basic features for overclocking the board. It has voltage adjustments for Vcore (up to 1.55v) and Vdimm can be set to 4 different levels. The CLK can be set up to 300 and Cpu multiplier can be selected from 4x~25x. You can also run the board in ASync DDR mode. HT width can also be adjusted. So far, we haven't had much luck other than o/c the 2.2GHz (200x11) to 2.4GHz (220x11). Lowering the multiplier does not seemed to help at all. I suppose the BIOS seems to have some issues with ASync CLK setting to FIX the PCI/PCIe bus. Clockgen or nTune can't recognise this new chipset. Looks like we have to wait for a new BIOS.

With this first S754 GeForce 6100 board, the board's performance seems to be quite good considering it is an integrated chipset. In fact, when we paired it up with a 6600GT card, the performance is as good as the NF4 SLi S754 board we tested before. For those who are concerned about the temperature of the chipset. Well, I would say, it is definitely much cooler than the single NF4 chipsets. Both chipset heatsinks are passive.

Overall, ASrock K8NF4G-SATA2 is the first S754 board based on this new chipset and will definitely be a strong contender for the AMD K8 integrated market currently dominant by SiS 760GX and ATi RS482 chipsets. As the price will be the determinating factor, this board when paired with a Sempron 2500+ would definitely make it as the best budget combination for an super entry level K8 system. From what we know, this board will start selling today at a price of HKD 500 odd ~US60+.

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Pros

• Integrated VGA
• USB 2.0 
• SATA II

Cons

• No 1394
• No GbE
• No TV out

Ratings

Here are my ratings out of 10 stars.