DFI LANParty UT NF590 SLI-M2R/G

Almost every single iteration of the DFI LANParty series is eagerly awaited by enthusiasts as being the de-facto standard for hardcore overclocking. Unlike the Infinity board we recently reviewed, the LANParty range is a fully equipped package. Although this isn't a full-blown LANParty bundle, it still carries the same ethos.

With its unique set of ultra high end features and innovation that rarely makes it onto other boards, along with a highly noticeable UV reactive colour scheme to boot the DFI LANParty UT NF590 SLI M2R/G is an nForce 590 SLI based board for AMD Athlon 64 AM2 based processors that does things its own way, but like a tameable beast, only without the need for a whip and a chair.

DFI LANParty UT NF590 SLI M2R/G Overview

• Support for all Socket AM2 AMD Athlon 64/FX/X2 and Sempron processors with Cool 'n' Quiet technology;
  
• Four DDR2 memory slots supporting up to 4GB of DDR2-800 memory;
  
• NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI MCP;
  
• Northbridge: NVIDIA C51XE;
  
• Southbridge NVIDIA MCP55PXE;
  
• NVIDIA Southbridge with integrated PHY MAC: Two Vitesse VSC8601 ICs;
  
• Two PCI-Express x16 slots with SLI support (both slots run with a full x16 lanes), one PCI-Express x4 and one x8 slot along with three PCI expansion slots;
  
• Karajan Audio 7.1 channel Realtek ALC885 High Definition audio with jack sensing and digital coaxial S/PDIF in and out through S/PDIF with a 106dB/101dB SNR DAC/ADC and content protection support;
  
• Six native SATA 3Gbps ports, supporting RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 5 and JBOD;
  
• Two Sil3132 SATA 3Gbps ports supporting RAID 0 and 1;
  
• Support for ten USB 2.0 ports (six on back I/O panel and four via on-board pins/expansion brackets);
  
• Two IEEE1394a Firewire ports with one internal header and one external port;
  
• One ATA133 connector;
  
• One floppy connector.

Box Contents

• Four yellow SATA cables;
  
• SLI bridge;
  
• Two Molex to four SATA power connectors;
  
• Rounded yellow floppy cable;
  
• Rounded yellow IDE cable;
  
• Metal IO shield;
  
• Manual, driver CDs and floppy disk;
  
• Sticker and case badge!

The box contents are what you’d expect from a LANParty UT and not the full-blown LANParty that comes with everything you can possibly ever think of. That’s good though, because the downside of the full blown LANParty is that the costs are passed onto the consumer. The standard LANParty has a little less than the necessary everything, only including four SATA cables and two molex to SATA connectors.

By now, most people should own a PSU that has SATA power connectors on it, especially if you are considering an investment in a high-end SLI motherboard like this and a couple of graphics cards. There are also the standard IDE and floppy cables, along with the usual manuals, driver CD and floppy.

Along with the usual bundled extras DFI has included a large sticker for adhering somewhere or other, if that's your kind of thing. We would have preferred the money spent on something for using the additional USB 2.0 or Firewire pin outs included on the board and not in the box.

Everything looks consistent by keeping the extras the same colour as the board, but we feel DFI has dropped a little short on this one providing only half of what the board offers. This is despite the fact it does save money for the consumer (as costs are transferred on) and upgraders are likely to have cables from previous boards.