Chaintech Chaintech VNF4 Ultra ZENITH VE nForce4 Ultra Athlon 64(FX)/Sempron Skt939 DDR ATX Motherboard w/Audio, Gigabit LAN, RAID/Serial ATA

• Reviewed by: DaffyDuck975

  Strengths: Stable , many features thanks for nF4 Ultra ;) /SATA2, RAID/ , great OC Capabilities ,

  Weaknesses: I heard some problems with the first series with passive chipset cooling , but I think a BIOS update solve that problems...

  Overall: I'm using this Board since May 2005 /with A64 3200 Winchester , 2x512MBs of Corsair TwinX 3200XLPro and HIS X800XL IceQ II Turbo/ and I think it was a great deal.I'm really surprised when overclocked and run stable at 2.5GHz from 2.0GHz stock.And thats not the end :D Presently I'm using it at 2.3GHz and that's beat my friend's 3.4GHz P4... I recommend this board anyone who want a stable Board with really impressive OC capabilities.

• Reviewed by: dplockard

  Strengths: Price. Good performance.

  Weaknesses: Bios. No firewire. Layout.

  Overall: The Chaintech VNF4 Ultra motherboard is the least expensive with the Nvidia NForce4 chipset and performs on par with all the boards with this chipset. The chipset includes a hardware firewall that seems to work pretty well with the latest version of the NVidia NForce drivers. The built in sound should be adequate for most people. I am using the built in RAID with a pair of SATA drives. Setup was a bit difficult because the manual doesn't explain anything about the RAID. However, once it is set up, it works well. I have 4x512MB DDR400 memory which required an unreleased version of the bios to get it to run at the rated speed of 400 with my X2 3800. Some old processors can't run all 4 sticks at DDR400, but the X2's have an updated memory controller. I still can't get 1T memory timings. If I try, the machine won't boot, and I have to clear the CMOS. For those into OC, the multiplier options in the bios are a bit limited. I haven't done any OC, but the board has been very stable at stock specifications. The layout requires running the power cable past the heat sink for the CPU, so make sure the cables on the power supply are long so you can keep them out of the way. The location of the extra USB connectors on the motherboard are around the PCI slots. If you use a bracket to get access to these extra USB ports, you will lose a PCI slot unless you have a very long cable.

• Reviewed by: roadster72

  Strengths: Price,Sata II,features,socket 939,nForce4 Ultra,good manual

  Weaknesses: none

  Overall: For the $ this is the best MB that you can buy. I do not plan on overclocking this computer because it is super the way it is. This is the first Chaintech MB that I have used and it will not be the last. Keep up the good work Chaintech!

• Reviewed by: bioscm

  Strengths: Nice price, lots of features, substance over style, good performance

  Weaknesses: Board layout

  Overall: This is a nice motherboard. There are lots of features, and for around $90, its value is unsurpassed. However, the layout of the board is questionable. The active chipset cooler is located directly below the pci express video slot, which may pose heating issues if you use a video card with passive cooling.

• Reviewed by: AvatarZ

  Strengths: Cheap and full of features

  Weaknesses: Hardly compatible with any ram

  Overall: I'm currently trying to use KVR400 and it isn't working. I'm actually stuck in the middle of a BIOS upgrade. Otherwise seemed good for the money.Do yourself a favor get somthing slightly more compatible with Ram.Also note, it WILL NOT boot with out a PCI-e Graphics card