In The Zone | Preview: Emaxx's Nvidia To The Max!

Preview: Emaxx's Nvidia To The Max!

eddard | 01 August, 2007 16:51

I have to admit that the initial impression I had of the Emaxx EMX-MCP61S-AVL was not as favorable as it could have been.

Emaxx MCP61S-AVL Package

First of all, the whole rear panel of the box it came in was an Nvidia ad, although admittedly having Nvidia as a motherboard partner is definitely something to crow about. The box described the Nvidia chipset used in the motherboard extensively, while the features of the board itself, like the number of DIMM slots, the type of processor supported and such, got a small panel at the front of the box. Clearly, Emaxx is banking on Nvidia’s name recognition (and marketing muscle) to make a name for itself.

Speaking of names, the Emaxx may benefit from a clearer-sounding one – EMX-MPC61S-AVL is quite a mouthful, not to mention hard to remember – although it underlines the Nvidia connection. And while I’m griping, the manual had inaccuracies that merits mention, like stating that it has 8 USB slots instead of 4 physical slots + 2 motherboard headers.

Yet regardless of what the box looks like and the name of the board, what I found inside improved my outlook of the product considerably. The Emaxx logo was simply a sticker, and the documentation was sparse, yet what immediately caught my eye was the presence of a goodly number of solid capacitors situated near the CPU socket. This is a good indication of Emaxx’s attention to durability, and thus quality. The layout of the board is among the most logical I’ve seen, with future cable placement seemingly a priority for Emaxx. The 24-pin power connector as well as the IDE, Floppy and SATA connectors is situated along the right edge of the board, easing assembly. Space around the CPU socket is clear, opening up possibilities for after-market CPU fan installation. The rear panel is standard, which suits me just fine – it’s hard to keep track of these rear-panel connectors when you work with computers for a living. My only complaint is the placement of the two DIMM slots along the top edge of the board – from experience this complicates memory installation - a common practice among DIY-ers - especially when the motherboard is jammed against the power supply at the top of the casing.

A full-page ad

The board features the Nvidia MCP61S chipset, which is a single-chipset design. It supports the AMD AM2 Socket processors from the Athlon 64 X2 / Sempron family. Up to 8GB of system memory is supported, and it boasts of on-board Nvidia based video in the 7-series class, with a PCI x8 slot for upgrade duties. Rounding out the package are the standard rear panel connectors for the 6 channel AC97 on-board sound, 4 USB connectors, 2 RAID-capable SATA connectors, and a 10/100 LAN port.

All in all, the board is a surprise. Coming from a relatively unknown manufacturer, Emaxx motherboards are being brought into the country by PC Trends, well known for championing high-end hardware in general. It also has an Nvidia chipset, which by itself is a good indication of quality. Yet most importantly, good layout, quality components clearly show what Emaxx considers important – the product itself. If Emaxx continues to put its priorities right, it is inevitable that the whole package will improve in the near future and will eventually render disappointing packaging and sparse documentation a thing of the past.

Top-view of the motherboard

For more in-depth testing, watch out for a possible review on HardwareMag, complete with benchmarks sometime in the near future. We’ll find out whether the good feature set and layout of the Emaxx is enough to set it apart from its peers.

comments

Its a very good motherboard

Jhun Luis | 04/08/2007, 23:11

Its very good because its very turbo in terms of performance and mobility.

about mobo

arm alju | 08/08/2007, 12:18

its cheap......but the performance ......its very great..great,,great.....i recomend 100 percent

emaxx inquiry

thanna | 15/08/2007, 00:06

is the emaxx nf6100 series good enough to run on itself without a separate video card for online games like lineage 2,granado espada,rf online,perfect world and nba live 2007,dota and need for speed?

i'm planning to get this board for my internet cafe if ever it is really as good as it is hyped..

emaxx inquiry

thanna | 15/08/2007, 00:07

is the emaxx nf6100 series good enough to run on itself without a separate video card for online games like lineage 2,granado espada,rf online,perfect world and nba live 2007,dota and need for speed?

i'm planning to get this board for my internet cafe if ever it is really as good as it is hyped..

emaxx performance

Eddard | 16/08/2007, 12:22

The short answer is: no. The long answer is - the 6100 series based videocard is fairly comparable to the GMA 950 on laptops. In other words, it can handle perhaps up to CS, and low-res DOTA and NBA (with options turned down), but it won't be able to handle the other games mentioned in your post - Granado, PW, Lineage - all of which came out quite recently. A separate videocard is still your best bet. I recommend the X2400 or 2600 series from ATI - look em up.

emaxx inquiry part 2

thanna | 16/08/2007, 20:25

oh,ok..

but couple with at least a 256mb 64bit video card,will it do just fine even with only 512mb (ddr2) of ram?

emaxx answer

thanna | 17/08/2007, 20:24

wouldn't it run even on default settings?i really have to set them to low settings?

ok,thanks for the info..i guess i would be good with the emaxx nf6100 mobo with a 256mb 64 bit video card..so even if my video card messes up,there's always the onboard vc to back it up..

based from the reviews i've read,i don't think the amd690g series' increase in performance is significant enough to be noticed against the nf6100 series..

yupyup

eddard | 21/08/2007, 15:48

dyoonies is correct - the onboard video will be able to handle the said games at lowest settings, but I admit I have not tried all of the games with this board, and I based my advice on previous experience in similar systems. Do take note that "lowest settings" may mean any of the following: low (really low) resolutions - like 800x600 or 1024x768, no AA, no shadows, no DX9 special effects. If you're willing to take these in stride, then any video chipset of the 6100 level will run these games.

video card choice

thanna | 26/08/2007, 11:59

so what do you think will be a better setup:

a) nvidia 7300gt 256mb 128bit ddr3 w/ 512 mb pc667 of ram

b) ati radeon x1550 256mb 128bit ddr2 (w/ 1 gb hypermemory) w/ 1 gb pc667 of ram

do take note that the nvidia card is more expensive by around P500 (roughly more than 10$)..

great board

max_gamer | 31/08/2007, 16:06

hey this is great fo gaming i tried max payne 2 hitman contracts starwars battle font 2 and Age of empires 3 and it works great all at 1024x768 because my eyes sore lower that that

emaxx qry.

badwolf | 16/09/2007, 12:04

is it ok without separate vedio card? i want to buy Emaxx EMX-MCP61S-AVL for my cafe...

emaxx query

badwolf | 16/09/2007, 12:14

is it ok even without separate vedio card? i want to buy this board for my internet cafe...

Vista driver

j_friends24 | 25/09/2007, 16:44

Hey guys anyone here tried using this Emaxx w/ vista ultimate? where can i find sound driver for this mobo?

Troubles?

Skateboxx | 01/10/2007, 19:02

im using EMX-MPC61S-AVL and iv been having a trouble installing windows xp service pack 2,it keeps rebooting again and again and again..how cud i fix these problem?i follow the instructions on the manual but it cant fix it?what could be thwe posible problem?incompatibility?help..

board diagnosis

eddard | 03/10/2007, 10:52

Frankly, it's a bit difficult to diagnose without actually seeing the setup, but I'd suggest going through the normal process of elimination in your testing - re-seat memory, check heatsink, jiggle connections, reboot, re-install. If it still doesn't work, better to bring it to the shop where the board was purchased for some help ^^

bios set up

pery | 04/10/2007, 12:04

hirap po akong mag install ng os xp na sata yung hardisk ko

Im purchasing now

Gerard | 04/10/2007, 12:28

Talaga? mahirap mag install ng xp sp2? im purchasing a new unit with an emaxx mobo in it

Hi-Performance - EMX-NF7050HD-PRO

nashmel | 05/10/2007, 18:57

Try this very durable and fast. im also using this w/ 256 mb video card embed, tv-out-svideo and also hi - performance for games w/out buying video card---hehehe panalo keu try nyo 2

Fine board., cheap

Kalabrax | 06/10/2007, 08:58

Bought 5 of this mobo for a cafe, no problem for games as Zero, DOTA, Conquer, CS and even installation. Works fine, even with SATA HD.

IDE problem

Matt_Davao | 09/10/2007, 15:35

IDE doesn't work for me.

motherboard emaxx

John Avellano | 17/10/2007, 06:42

If i had to rate this emaxx motherboard from 1 up to 5 star, I will rate it 5 star. This motherboard has best value and performance. you can play online games like Guild War,Rakion ang WOW which has heavy graphics.

emaxx motherboard

John Avellano | 17/10/2007, 06:52

I had to admit this motherboard is not only affordable but it has a lot of solid capacitor which is crucial for motherboard performance and durability.

Performance and Durability! Cool System too!

Chipmunk | 18/10/2007, 21:58

Very great motherboard! Try it! Youll be amazed! =)

Company of Heroes

rextor0422 | 26/10/2007, 05:10

have you every tried installing Company of Heroes and silkroad? its kinda log while playing.

emaxx nf6100 series

Heryl | 05/11/2007, 13:16

i already have dat M_board and it works fine..games is not a problem with dat board, all heavy games is suit for that boar, make sure u have 1G ddr2 memory to play games smoothly, using photoshop is not recommended in this board without VGA/PIC cards.

emaxx nf6100 series

Heryl | 05/11/2007, 13:20

bwt the windows installation, i dont encounter dat problem coz i used license OS..better check ur OS Installer.(i already have dat M_board and it works fine..games is not a problem with dat board, all heavy games is suit for that boar, make sure u have 1G ddr2 memory to play games smoothly, using photoshop is not recommended in this board without VGA/PIC cards.)

maxx nf6100

pogsnet | 10/11/2007, 00:42

You can use it without extra video card. I can play silkroad, battlefield2, nba2007, Prince of Persia the two thrones, DOTA, etc... smoothly. Just install 1GB RAM.
I am using XP SP2 without any problems.
Two thumbs up with this board!

emaxx mo

robert | 13/11/2007, 13:22

where can i buy emaxx motherboard? ive tried at pc express but it is not available.tnx...

NF6100

blitz3z | 22/11/2007, 11:09

nf6100 chipset is great i can play rising force, granado espada&all heavy games,but install a higher ram 1gb. memory works fine and set it in nf6100 128mb or 256mb shared memory

VERY VERY NICE!

psydox | 01/12/2007, 18:56

Who says this board can't run RF Online??? I recently assembled 1 extra unit with this board + AMD Sempron LE-1100 (1.9GHz) + Seagate Barracuda120Gig + 1Gig DDR2 Memory...Its..Amazing! It can out perform my other unit that has Celeron 2.2GHz and nVidia Geforce FX5200 128MB Ram 128Bit...

I set the RF Online settings to the max...It just works fine...

Oh and by the way...I bought this board coz my buddy which has a computer shop with 20Unit has recently switch to this board. Their playing RFOnline (Mining Mode)then Alt+Tab so they can play DOTA ^_^

On-board?

eddard | 03/12/2007, 10:39

you mean you're using this the motherboard's on-board video to run RF? wow - we never tried to test that.. - by the way guys - check out another e-maxx board review - it was done pretty recently.

HD Audio Problem

ryudo5 | 13/12/2007, 06:37

We currently are experiencing problems in terms of audio with this motherboard. It seems to restart the pc or freezes with the BSOD error message. Usually we experience this problem while playing DOTA(frozen throne).

inquire lng

vdt | 18/01/2008, 14:40

ok ba ang emx-mpc61s-avl6100 sa games an counterstrike source?

can someone help me plsss read

edick | 24/01/2008, 09:41

hi guys i have problem about this emax mother board. it goes like this i have install win xp and all drivers and things i need to run my pc and i use cdrom for installing when im done i remove the cdrom coz i dont need it anymore when i reboot the pc it says disk boot failure but in cmos he can detect my hardisk... plsss help me tnx

Re-check

eddard | 25/01/2008, 17:48

Please make sure that your first boot device is the Hard disk. Make sure as well that your install is finished ( and not in the middle of a restart) before you remove the CD from the drive.

emaxx onboard video

pablito delacruz | 27/05/2008, 12:34

nabasa ko sa inyong website na hindi pala kaya ng emaxx board ang online games gaya ng granado espada kung walang separate video card,plano ko pa namang bumili ng 10 units kaya lang nagdadalawang isip ako dahil sa aking nabasa totoo ba ang aking nabasa?

emaxx

Lloyd | 08/06/2008, 10:06

kabibili ko lng neto,nilagyan ko ng ati hd2400 pro..ok ang performance.but paginstall ko ng rainbow 6 vegas 2, nagrestart ang system pagclick ko ng exit at nagcrash din,palaging magrestart sa tuwing naglalaro ako ng rainbow 6... i dunno y..

v/in vedeo

karen | 10/06/2008, 01:13

bkit kaya cannot find available video memory yng lumalabas pg malalaro ako ng games, pag ibang games nman my lumalabas n wrong send. 256 n nga nka share n video ano kaya problem nito. pll zz help nman po.

ha ving problem with audio

ed | 08/07/2008, 21:50

im having problem with the audio installation it says "hd realtek instalation failed" bakit kaya? anybody have the same problem? pls help

sdfwer

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