With the AM2 and MCP55 launches just around the corner (May 23, 2006), motherboards are already starting to trickle into the retail channel. DailyTech recently obtained the complete ASUS AM2 launch roadmap, including ATI, NVIDIA and VIA offerings.
The spearhead of ASUS"s AM2 offerings will be the nForce 590 SLI and Xpress 3200 motherboards, labeled as the M2N32-SLI Deluxe and M2R32-MVP Deluxe respectively. The M2N32-SLI Deluxe features everything you"d expect t find on nForce 590, including dual gigabit LAN ports from the nForce MCP, eight SATA 3.0Gbps (of which one is external SATA) and dual full x16 PCIe graphics interfaces. NVIDIA"s LinkBoost technology will also make an appearance on the M2N32-SLI Deluxe, which ASUS"s box art claims will automatically overclock the PCIe and MCP HyperTransport link by 25% when a GeForce 7900 or 7950 GPU is inserted into both PCIe x16 interfaces. The M2N32-SLI Deluxe will also come in a workstation version dubbed the M2N32-WS.
The high end M2R32-MVP Deluxe features similar specifications and uses the fabled ATI SB600. The motherboard features dual full x16 PCIe graphics interfaces, dual gigabit LAN and six SATA 3.0Gbps interfaces.
Continuing to work down the line, ASUS will also offer an M2N4-SLI motherboard based on the nForce 4 SLI chipset. Aside from the obvious PCIe lane configuration differences between nForce 4 and nForce 5xx, the M2N4-SLI uses a bog standard AC"97 5.1 channel codec with four SATA 3.0Gbps interfaces. ASUS"s M2V will be the only VIA offering from the company at AM2 launch. The M2V, based off the K7T890 Northbridge and 8237A Southbridge, will only feature a single x16 PCIe interface and one SATA 3.0Gbps devices. To round off the low end, ASUS will also offer an nForce 430 motherboard with all the GeForce 6150 trimmings.
ASUS"s high end boards feature a new player in the discrete audio market for motherboards: Analog Devices. ASUS first experimented with the ADI"s SoundMax digital processor on a few Intel 965 prototypes, but it appears SoundMax will have a permanent home on new high end ASUS offerings going forward. The ADI SoundMax 1988B features 7.1 high definition audio and special optimizations for voice recording. The ASUS M2N SLI offerings come with an array microphone that uses multiple mic heads for a slightly less distorted sound.
Once again, the majority of ASUS"s high end offerings will offer 8-phase power in the form of dual 4-phase serial circuits. Some offerings, like the M2N32-SLI Deluxe pictured, will also come with an 802.11b/g WiFi card with an omni-directional antenna. All high end motherboards also come with a fanless heatpipe design.
We don"t have prices on these motherboards yet, but expect to see them at your local Fry"s or Newegg within the next few weeks!