Introduction

Fresh from our chipset performance preview of the new NVIDIA GeForce 6100 / nForce 400 series of IGP chipsets, we have a retail board available for public consumption and this time from Gigabyte. The Gigabyte GA-K8N51GMF-9 is configured using the GeForce 6100 GPU as the Northbridge and the nForce 430 MCP as the Southbridge. This configuration differs from the Foxconn Winfast 6100K8MA-RS sample motherboard we used for the performance preview in terms of the MCP used. And not surprisingly either, the GA-K8N51GMF-9 would offer better storage and networking features as well. Before we continue with our review, if you need a refresher on the features of NVIDIA's GeForce 6100 / nForce 400 series chipset, our performance preview article can be accessed here .

The Gigabyte GA-K8N51GMF-9 motherboard.

Packaging contents include the following items:-

1 x SATA data cables

1 x 80-conductor Ultra ATA data cable

1 x floppy drive data cable

I/O shield

Driver CDs

User's manual

Gigabyte GA-K8N51GMF-9 Technical Specifications

CPU Support	Supports Socket 939 AMD Sempron CPU Supports Socket 939 AMD Athlon 64 / Athlon 64 FX / Athlon 64 X2 CPU Supports AMD Cool 'n' Quiet Technology
Chipset	NVIDIA GeForce 6100 GPU Bi-directional 1GHz (2000MT/s) HyperTransport interface to processor PCI Express x16 graphics Supports two PCI Express x1 lanes NVIDIA nForce430 MCP Supports up to five PCI  v2.3 slots Supports up to eight USB 2.0 ports Dual controller SATA II architecture Dual-channel Ultra ATA-133 IDE controller IEEE 802.3 NVIDIA MAC for 1000BASE-T
Memory	Dual channel memory architecture integrated into processor Four 184-pin DDR DIMM sockets Supports 2.5v DDR SDRAM DIMM modules Supports up to 4GB using PC1600 (DDR200), PC2100 (DDR266), PC2700 (DDR333) and PC3200 (DDR400) unbuffered DDR SDRAM DIMM
Storage	NVIDIA nForce 430 MCP 4 x Ultra ATA 33/66/100/133 (data transfer rate up to 133MB/sec.) 4 x SATA II (Serial ATA II 3.0Gbps interface) NVIDIA MediaShield Technology Supports RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0+1, RAID 5
Audio	Azalia High Definition Audio Realtek ALC880 HD Audio CODEC
Networking	NVIDIA Gigabit LAN co-supported by Vitesse SimpliPHY VSC8201 PHY chip (Transceiver)
IEEE 1394 (FireWire)	VIA Fire IIM VT6307 Host Controller 2 x 1394a ports @ 400 Mbps speed
I/O Interface	1 x Floppy connector 2 x Ultra ATA IDE connectors 4 x SATA connectors 8 x USB 2.0 ports (4 x rear, 4 x header) 2 x IEEE 1394a ports (1 x rear, 1 x header) 1 x RJ45 LAN port 8-Channel Audio I/O ports 1 x CD-IN 1 x VGA port (onboard graphics) 1 x parallel port (SPP/EPP/ECP) 1 x mini-DIN-6 PS/2 mouse port 1 x mini-DIN-6 PS/2 keyboard port
Expansion Slots	1 x PCIe x16 slots, PCI Express Bus specification v1.0a compliant 1 x PCIe x1 slots, PCI Express Bus specification v1.0a compliant 2 x 32-bit PCI slots, PCI 2.3 compliant
Special Features	Xpress Recovery
PCB	Micro-ATX Form Factor, 24.4cm x 24.4cm

The rear I/O panel includes all the necessary connectivity ports including USB, FireWire and analog surround audio.