Introduction and Specifications

The Asus Striker Extreme motherboard is a new design on the NVIDIA 680i chipset but can Asus compete with the reference design from NVIDIA?

Introduction

The NVIDIA nForce 680i chipset was initially released along side Intel’s announcement of the Core 2 Duo line of processors back in November of last year.  Since then, the chipset has quickly become the choice of enthusiasts and overclockers looking for a new system based on the Intel CPU platform.  So far, the only successfully launched motherboard has been EVGA’s built-by-NVIDIA 680i motherboard; can Asus’ custom designed 680i motherboard, the Republic of Gamers Striker Extreme, compete? 

Specifications (from Asus.com)

CPU
LGA775 socket for Intel® Core™2 Extreme / Core™2 Duo / Pentium® Extreme / Pentium® D / Pentium® 4 / Celeron® D Processors
Intel® Quad-core CPU Ready
Compatible with Intel® 06/05B/05A processors
* Refer to http://www.asus.com/ for Intel CPU support list
Chipset
NVIDIA nForce® 680i SLI™
 – Support SLI-Ready Memory Technlogy
Front Side Bus
1333** / 1066 / 800 / 533 MHz
** available when CPU’s supporting 1333MHz FSB
Memory
Dual channel memory architecture
4 x DIMM, max. 8GB, DDR2-800/667/533, non-ECC and un-buffered memory
* Refer to http://www.asus.com/ or user manual for Memory QVL (Qualify Vendor List)
SLI-Ready Memory
1200MHz
Expansion Slots
2 x PCI Express x16 slot, support NVIDIA® SLI™ technology, at full x16, x16 speed(blue)
1 x PCI Express x16, at x8 speed(middle)
1 x PCI Express x1
2 x PCI 2.2
SLI
Support two identical NVIDIA SLI-Ready graphics cards (both at x16 mode)
ASUS PEG Link
Storage
South bridge supports:
 – 1 x Ultra DMA 133 / 100 / 66 / 33
 – 6 x Serial ATA 3.0Gb/s
 – NVIDIA MediaShield™ RAID supports RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 5 and JBOD span cross Serial ATA drives
Silicon Image® 3132 SATA controller supports
 – 2 x External Serial ATA 3.0Gb/s port on back I/O (SATA On-the-Go)
LAN
NVIDIA nForce® 680i SLI™ built-in dual Gigabit MAC with external Marvell PHY
Support NVIDIA DualNet® technology
High Definition Audio

SupremeFX Audio Card
 – ADI 1988B 8-channel High Definition Audio CODEC
 – Support Jack-Sensing, Enumeration, Multi-streaming and Jack-Retasking
 – Noise Filter
Coaxial, Optical S/PDIF out
DTS® Connect
ASUS Array Mic

IEEE 1394a
VIA6308P controller supports 2 x 1394a ports
USB
max. 10 USB2.0/1.1 ports(6 ports at mid-board, 4 ports at back panel)
Overclocking Features
Extreme Tweaker
Intelligent overclocking tools:
 – AI NOS™ (Non-delay Overclocking System)
 – AI Overclocking (intelligent CPU frequency tuner)
 – ASUS AI Booster Utility
 – O.C Profile
Overclocking Protection:
 – ASUS C.P.R.(CPU Parameter Recall)
Special Features
LCD Poster
EL I/O
Onboard LED
Onboard Switches: Power / Reset / Clr CMOS
Q-Connector
Q-Fan Plus
ASUS EZ Flash2
ASUS Music Alarm
ASUS MyLogo3
Back Panel I/O Ports
1 x LCD Poster
1 x PS/2 Keyboard port(purple)
1 x PS/2 Mouse port(green)
1 x Optical + 1 x Coaxial S/PDIF Output
2 x External SATA
2 x LAN (RJ45) port
4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports
1 x IEEE1394a port
1 x onboard LED switch
Internal I/O Connectors
3 x USB 2.0 connectors supports additional 6 USB 2.0 ports
1 x Floppy disk drive connector
1 x IDE connector for two devices
6 x SATA connectors
8 x Fan connector: 1 x CPU / 1 x SPS / 3 x Chassis / 3 x Optional
3 x thermal sensor connector
1 x IEEE1394a connector
1 x S/PDIF output connector
1 x Chassis Intrusion connector
24-pin ATX Power connector
8-pin ATX 12V Power connector
1 x EL I/O Shield Connector
System panel connector
BIOS
8Mb Award BIOS, PnP, DMI2.0, WfM2.0, SM BIOS 2.3, Multi-Language BIOS
Manageability
WOL by PME, WOR by PME, Chasis Intrusion, PXE
Accessories
SLI bridge
ASUS Array Mic
ASUS Optional Fan
3 in 1 ASUS Q-Connector Kit
UltraDMA 133/100/66 cable
Floppy disk drive cable
SATA cables
SATA power cables
2-port USB2.0 module
IEEE1394a module
EL I/O Shield
Thermal sensor cables
Cable Ties
ROG key ring
User’s manual
Software
The hottest 3D Game: Ghost Recon
InterVideo® Media Launcher (OEM version only)
Striker Extreme Support DVD:
Drivers
ASUS PC Probe II
ASUS Update
ASUS AI Booster
Futuremark ® 3DMark® 06 Advanced Edition
NVIDIA MediaShield™ RAID
Kaspersky®  Anti-Virus
Form Factor
ATX Form Factor, 12″x 9.6″ (30.5cm x 24.5cm)

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