Conclusion
The performance of the board wasn't in question and it hasn't been the question when looking at all the recent Socket A updates from everyone else either. It's features, price and to some extent overclocking, that governs the score a Socket A board gets these days. We know they are fast, it all rests on the rest of the package.Presentation wise, it's an ASUS, I can't really fault it. The manuals are great, the box is presented well, everything is as it should be.
Features wise is where the ASUS really disappoints. Upgrading to the A7N8X-E Deluxe hinges on the usefulness of the networking setup. It might have three networking devices, one WiFi and one gigabit Ethernet, but whether or not that's a selling point is entirely up to you, it's not an easy thing to call. ASUS miss the mark by a mile when it comes to upgrading what we already had on the 2.0, it could, and should, have done a lot better there. DFI made the effort and didn't change the price, ASUS should have done the same, over and above the network hardware changes.
The layout remained imperfect too, have fun fitting a bunch of waterblocks and larger heatsinks to the A7N8X-E Deluxe.
Price is the board's saviour. Recommended pricing for the WiFi version in the UK is £96 including dreaded VAT, look for it to be ~£95 at retail from most places. Should the non-WiFi version take your fancy, it's £88 ish. £7 for a WiFi card? It's worth the cash if you're looking to buy the board.
But who's going to buy it? If you've got anything recent as far as Socket A goes, you're not going to see much to tempt you to the -E Deluxe, unless WiFi is your thing. Enthusiasts will either stick with what they've got, or get the DFI (or possibly AN7 if they are dyed in the wool ABIT fans).
To newcomers to the platform, and hello to all you stragglers, it's a decent choice due to price. But make sure the feature set is what you want, consider other options too.
Like their recent FX 5950 Ultra graphics card, it's underwhelming. The window of opportunity to make A7N8X-E great was missed by a mile, maybe ASUS were asleep. You can tell their focus is elsewhere, is that maybe a sign that yours should be too?
Score
Pros
PerformanceWiFi hardware
Cheap price
Good presentation
Decent BIOS and tweaking options
Cons
Quirky layoutThe feature list is stagnant if you ignore the WiFi
The feature list is stagnant if you ignore the WiFi
The feature list is stagnant if you ignore the WiFi (get the message ASUS? Look what DFI did).
Thanks
Komplett for the camera used to take the shots.ASUS for the sample.
