Gigabyte K8VNXP Mainboard

Gigabyte K8VNXP Board Layout & Bundle:

Board layout is not the most important aspect of a motherboard but it shows the quality in design and will affect some users more than others. There is not a great deal of space around the CPU socket but as long as your heatsink is within AMD specifications, there is plenty of room. The 4-pin connector is in a somewhat awkward position because it could possible interfere with the DPS card. Other than these minute details, there are no out of place connections or headers.

As you have already noticed, this board is extremely colorful but the colors aren't there for the pretty looks. They serve a more meaningful purpose as to which IDE connections are used for the RAID, which pins connect to the front panel connections, and just about every other possible connection. This cuts down the time it takes to refer to the manual and figure it out. Instead users can look at the color codes described on the chart and quickly assemble their system.

Cooling is one of the most common concerns when dealing with computer hardware. Gigabyte has chosen to go with an active cooling solution on the K8T800 chipset. There will be a little added noise but cooling technically will be better than a passive heatsink. This in turn could allow for better overclocks, stability, as well as extended life.

Of course manuals, cables, and software CD are provided with the K8VNXP. The software provided is nice and makes it easy to find all the drivers for a speedy setup. The main menu shows the drivers that are already installed and the ones that aren't. This takes a lot of guesswork out for the not so technically inclined. Other features included are BIOS updates that can be done directly from Windows. Time spent searching for BIOS updates and flashing is eliminated because the software finds and downloads the latest BIOS and then flashes it in a few easy steps.

Lastly we have the SATA add on card. What this does is allow users to connect SATA devices from the back of their case. It works basically as an extension off of the SATA connections found directly on the board. Some users will get no benefit from this but it is helpful for those who do hot-swapping and want to be able to change out drives quickly.