Biostar K8VHA Pro & K8NHA Pro Athlon 64 Motherboards

Just as carmakers compete with horsepower, chip makers compete in the same manner with Mhz. Although we know the leader of the Mhz battle is Intel, AMD has continued to show that it's not Mhz that carry all the clout in the end. After a long wait, the public was introduced to the AMD Athlon 64 processor, a 64 bit entry to the market ready to make its impression on the CPU market. Along with the introduction of the processor came the introduction of the two primary chipsets for the new processor the nForce3 150 and the VIA K8T800. Motherboard manufacturers immediately made the move to the new chipsetsm and we have the great opportunity of taking a look at two of the strongest from one of the strongest motherboard makers in the world, Biostar. The K8VHA Pro and the K8NHA Pro carry the AMD 64 in their arsenal and are ready to take on the fastest and greatest of motherboards on the market.

I will admit, I have been extremely anxious to take a look at what the AMD 64 can do to compete with the Intel products that seem to be taking an uncatchable lead as of late. It was a very encouraging sign to see AMD introduce a CPU that can keep them rolling along to add a fresh and competitive aspect to the market. Lets take a closer look at these two boards and see how they compare to one another in the fight to be #1.

Layout of both boards is very similar. Both feature the standards in motherboards with 5 PCI slots, an AGP slot, 2 IDE connections, 1 floppy connection, and RAID capable SATA as another great add-on. Everything is pasted onto a sweet red colored PCB that adds a little bit of extra flair. Although in the past this used to be a very unique aspect to a motherboard, the present is filled with different colored boards adding a new "look" factor to motherboard purchases. Who would ever think that vanity would influence your PC purchases?

Congratulations, you're having twins!.

K8VHA Pro w/ VIA K8T800.

K8NHA Pro w/ nForce 3 150.

The IDE connections along with the memory slots are closer together on the nForce based board. The IDE connections on the VIA board are just shifted to the South a couple of notches. The SATA connections on the K8NHA are very close to the PCI slots and could easily get tangled up with a PCI card that could be present in that slot. The K8VHA board has the SATA connections placed to the right side of the board near the IDE connections. A much more logical place to be in my opinion.

K8VHA IDE ports.

K8VHA SATA ports.

K8NHA IDE ports.

K8NHA SATA ports.

The ATX power connections are also in different locations on each of the boards. The K8VHA has the connection to the top portion of the board, well enough away from the CPU and other components. The K8NHA on the other hand has the power connection hugging up against the CPU and several large capacitors. I did not experience any problems with the locations of the power on either board, but certain HSF combinations could come into contact with the K8NHA if large enough. If you don't believe me, check out Chad's latest review of the Zalman CNPS7000A-Cu CPU Cooler. That is a pretty large socket 754 HSF that could get in the way.

I/O ports are identical as can be. If you can't tell which one is which, it doesn't really matter, take your pick. :)

K8VHA I/O ports.

K8NHA I/O ports.

The bundle that comes with the motherboards is somewhat sparse, but very useful. I always want to see a game or other application that can actually test out my motherboard or other PC hardware. The bundle includes several add-on ports for USB, Firewire, and an S/PDIF connection. Of course it is always nice to see some standard IDE and floppy cables along for the ride. Two red SATA cables are also included for that RAID array you are dreaming about setting up. One thing I did like is the cool SATA extension that turns one of your standard molex into two SATA power connections.

Pretty standard bundle when it comes down to it.

Not many goodies, but plenty of necessities.

The two CDs included with the motherboards are the standard drivers and another application disc. The driver disk features everything you need from LAN to RAID drivers for your new hardware. It also includes an overclocking utility from Biostar that can assist you in your tweaking needs.

The other disc has a nice 90 day trial of Norton's Internet Security and also Norton Ghost. These are great additions to sweeten the package deal. You really need these types of applications when that nasty MyDoom worm comes calling.