AOpen AX4SG Max I865G Motherboard

Conclusion:

Justin’s
Thoughts:

AOpen
has definitely flexed their muscle on this motherboard. This "Springdale"
motherboard gives many of our "Canterwood" motherboards a run
for their money! When we consider all the complications we have had with
a few companies with regard to critical BIOS updates, AOpen has shown
that they have put some hard work in this board’s BIOS since we got all
of these numbers using the BIOS that came already on this motherboard.
We did not have to spend countless hours trying to get the newest BIOS
update for this board. That shows a lot about the amount of quality that
was put in to making this motherboard from its beginning.

When
you look at our results and notice how close (and in some cases, passing)
the results are of this "Springdale" motherboard compared to
its big brother, the "Canterwood", I don’t know who I would
not recommend this motherboard to. It is definitely an enthusiast’s motherboard,
and with a slightly lower price tag. The MSRP of the AOpen AX4SG Max is
US$229. Now remember this is the "Max" series of AOpen’s 865
motherboards. The MSRP of AOpen’s five I865 "Springdale" chipset
motherboards is shown below.

Intel
865 AOpen Motherboards Now Available in North America:

• AX4SPE
  Max – MSRP US$209
• AX4SPE-N
  —–MSRP US$149
• AX4SG
  Max — MSRP US$229
• AX4SG-N
  —— MSRP US$159
• MX4SG-N
  —— MSRP US$149

So those
of you who have been waiting patiently for the "Canterwood"
chipset to pass over so you could see how the "Springdale" performs
before you make your next computer upgrade should be very happy to see
these results! I don’t know what else to say but to point out again that
AOpen has really done a nice job on this motherboard.

Nathan’s
Thoughts:

Today
we had the chance to review the Intel 865G, which is the 865PE but with
Intel’s integrated graphics core. The new springdale uses the same graphics
core as the 845G, which is far from an enthusiast 3D accelerator. When
using a Geforce 4 Ti4800 we received 14,000 points, whereas we hit 3,000
points with the onboard graphics! Since not everyone is into gaming we
should point out that when using basic 2D applications, Intel’s integrated
graphics works just fine.

As far
as system performance is concerned the Springdale does keep pretty close
to the Canterwoods! One noticable feature the Intel 865 series that they
lack Intel’s Performance Acceleration Technology and ECC memory support.
Something many people don’t understand is that the Intel 865 chipsets
do have support for CSA and that they are all dual channel
DDR solutions. The AOpen AX4SG MAX uses a Broadcom gigabit ethernet controller,
therefore it does not use CSA.

The AOpen
AX4SG MAX is a great upgrade for many small companies, schools, and home
users that are not going to be doing heavy gaming. There is a noticible
performance gain (~15%) on SYSmark2002, which is a real world benchmark
showing you actual performance gains that you will notice. We have been
using the AX4SG for a number of weeks and the board is solid. Even better
than that we have yet to have any issues with the BIOS! This says a bunch
for the guys/gals over at AOpen that have put out a quality board weeks
before it got to the store shelves. If you are looking for a board that
has onboard graphics and high-end performance you should keep the AOpen
AX4SG in mind.

My final
words? It’s golden!