Chaintech ZNF3-250 Motherboard Review - Conclusion
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The Chaintech ZNF3-250 was never meant to be a board for the masses. The cost of entry into the Athlon 64 sweepstakes is high enough just from CPU costs, and a very expensive motherboard like this doesn't make it any easier to get in the game. However, Chaintech has options at that level, and this board is meant to be a crown jewel, a product that lifts the whole line in the minds of enthusiasts. It does a good job of this. Unlike some other high priced boards in the past, this one is very well executed. The only question marks I can pin on it are:
- Who honestly runs a four drive SATA RAID array?
- Why didn't the design team use NVIDIA's integrated GBe and SATA?
We believe that the problem with the memory is a limited scenario and is probably fixed with the newer CG specified Athlon 64s.
Highs:
- More accessories than you can shake a stick at
- Excellent board layout
- Well-implemented sound capabilities
Lows:
- High price
- Memory issues with large, fast DIMMs (at least our large, fast DIMMs)
- Overworking PCI bus instead of using integrated options
Calculating what it would cost to add these kinds of components (both on the board, and in the box) to other, more stripped-down motherboards, it would end up costing a lot more than this board does. The question buyers should ask is "do I need what’s in that huge box?" If the answer is yes, then this is well worth the money. If you already own a quality sound card, and boxes of cables, this board is more opulence than you have need for.
Thanks for joining us today here at Dev Hardware. We'd like to thank Chaintech for sending us this review sample. If you wish to comment on this article click on the blog link below. Otherwise, drop by our forums, or jump back to the front page for more hardware news and reviews.
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