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Summary

This is a basic preview of this product intended for readers who just want the quick look at the new product.  If you are interested in the full review, with all the technical data and benchmarks that you are used to seeing on PC Perspective, please click on this link to get to that article.

Asus continues to be on the forefront of technology when it comes to motherboards and their latest offering, the A8R-MVP is a prime example.  The board is based on the ATI XPress 200 CrossFire Edition north bridge chipset, previewed back in May and finally launched in September.  Since the release of the chipset, the only board available (though in limited quantities) has been the DFI RDX200 CF-DR until now.  Since there are so few CrossFire video cards available, the demand for boards based on this chipset has been pretty dismall, but when the X1000 series of Master cards finally emerges, boards like the A8R-MVP will be flying off the shelves.

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Even though this is a low cost motherboard, the features that Asus offers on the A8R-MVP are fairly robust.  The M1575 south bridge offers SATA-II support with just about the RAID options a user needs, including the RAID 5 option that has become the hot sell in RAID these days.  USB 2.0 and Firewire support are all there, and of course the single network controller we mentioned above.  The on-board audio isn't anything to brag about really, but might suffice for very casual gamers or any basic home users.  Gamers that are serious though should really upgrade to another option. 

The BIOS on the A8R-MVP does not allow the same level of overclocking that the RDX200 offers, but should still be enough for most overclockers and tweakers.  For a mainstream board the A8R-MVP is competive here.  In the box we get only really the basics here with a couple of SATA and IDE cables and a USB/Firewire header along with the drivers and manual.

Check out the full, detailed review of the A8R-MVP for more details on these features and the board layout.  Now, let's take a look at a few benchmark results from the board:

The A8R-MVP performs identically in most of our benchmarks compared to the NF4 SLI chipset-based motherboards from Asus.  The only drawback here might be the USB and networking performance.  For more benchmarks check out the full, detailed review on the next page. 

The A8R-MVP isn't available at any online stores yet that I could see and so retail pricing is up in the air.  The best guess that I have based on Asus' estimates is that you should be able to find the board for about $125, much lower than the $200 that the DFI RDX200 is going for.  If this is how things turn out, I can't see anyone paying $75 more for a board that uses the SB450 south bridge and doesn't offer SATA-II though the RDX200 does have some interesting features of its own.  I'll update this conclusion page once I get more solid pricing information.

The Asus A8R-MVP is among the first ATI CrossFire motherboards to hit the market.  With solid performance, features and a low cost this board should definitely be on your list if CrossFire peaks your interest.  

For more detailed information on the layout, features and performance of the Asus A8R-MVP motherboard, please check out the full, detailed review on the next page.

Our forums are a great place to find more information, user feedback and helpful assistance for any motherboards, but especially the Asus boards in our Asus motherboard forum. 

Also, if you haven't tried our Product Specs database out yet, I suggest you do so, as it allows you to make some good, yet simple comparisons with the click of a mouse.

Be sure to use our price checking engine to find the best prices on the Asus A8R-MVP, and anything else you may want to buy!

Click here for the Detailed Review