Gigabyte GA-K8N PRO-SLI Motherboard (Athlon 64, Socket 939, nForce4 SLI, ATX, 4GB DDR, 2000MHz FSB)

• Reviewed by: r_sweene

  Strengths: Reliable, price, features

  Weaknesses: Included software crashed system, poor website support

  Overall: I have owned several Gigabyte boards over the years, and have never had any problems. I buy Gigabyte because the boards usually have a decent set of features (on-board ethernet, sound, controllers, etc.) at a reasonable price. I chose this model because I wanted support for PCI Express and SATA 3G. Unfortunately, the included NVidia access manager / firewall software caused all kinds of problems. First, the system repeatedly crashed. It was also common for the computer to re-boot right after start up. When it did run, all of my file downloads were corrupted. I tried replacing drivers, RAM tests, updating the BIOS, etc. for weeks to find the problem. Eventually, I discovered it was the NVIDIA software. I tried disabling the firewall part, but this did not help. After uninstalling the software completely (replaced the firewall with Norton Firewall), everything is fine and I have had no problems for the last two months. Along the way, I discovered that the Gigabyte website is terrible on support. Same thing with Nvidia's website, which doesn't even provide support for their software. Gigabyte is great on providing downloads, drivers and manuals, but they do not have much support when something goes wrong. Other than the issue with the Nvidia software, I only had a minor problem with "echoing" sound output that was fixed by changing the digital output setting in the included sound software. I will probably continue to buy Gigabyte boards, but my advice is to avoid this model or uninstall the included Nvidia software if you have problems.

• Reviewed by: muzzin

  Strengths: Um....It didn't completely crash after flashing a gold version of the x64 firware.

  Weaknesses: Ethernet chip not working even after flashing with the x64 version firmware on the gigabyte CD and installing latest Nvidia drivers

  Overall: I'll preface these comments by saying that this is my brother's board, not mine. However since I recommended it and Win x64, I'm writing to warn everyone that you'll have hours of fun trying to get the ethernet to work with x64. Be sure to install the beta x64 BIOS firmware and look to the Nvidia site for the certified chipset drivers.At this time Ethernet does not work. Other MOBO features work okay. However the MOBO case fan pin out did not turn on the case fan. A direct connection to the power supply did power the case fan on. Other things to note. 1)No e-manuals on their site 2)LED hook-ups too complicated for hard drive and power. 3)clamp pressure too hard for CPU install. (combination issue for Gigabyte and AMD. )4) Obviously not ready out of the box for x64 Windows

• Reviewed by: honuman32

  Strengths: Fast

  Weaknesses: None so far

  Overall: I did my first computer build with this board after having to send back two lemon Asus Sli boards. It's performed very well for me though I will admit that I'm not technical enough to get into the nuts and bolts of what would make this a better board than another sli.

• Reviewed by: zigggy56

  Strengths: 2000mhz FSB, SATA II, PCIe, Gigabit network ports

  Weaknesses: none found

  Overall: Great cheap base for your super computer systems. I used this Mobo as the base for my new AMD 64 x2 4400. I have been using Giga-byte boards for all my systems for the past few years and have never had a problem. Reliable products at a great price, can never go wrong with a giga-byte board as a foundation.I would also like to mention that Giga-byte has a fantastic website, for support, downloads, and drivers.