Asus A8N-VM CSM: NVIDIA GeForce 6150 Finally Arrives

Our Take

We really expected the faster 6150/430 chipset to clean up in all our performance benchmarks. What we found was not so clear. The 6150 is faster in some key benchmarks, but performance is the same or a bit slower in other benchmarks compared to the 6100/410. Overall, the 6150 is a little faster, but we really doubt that you will notice the performance improvement. Of course, people buy Integrated Graphics today for convenience and flexibility - not for performance. The performance is adequate for how most will use this board, and that is probably enough for most users.

The features of the 6150/430 chipset are another story, however. You will definitely notice the advantages of the 6150/430 if you are building a Multimedia or HTPC. For starters, there are two video ports that can drive a digital panel or HDTV and an RGB display simultaneously. High Definition Audio is a standard feature, which was not seen on the 6100/410 boards. However, SPDIF and TV out require optional brackets, which will make many buyers very unhappy.

Asus goes further, adding the Firewire ports that this target audience will also likely appreciate. You also get four rather than two SATA2 ports and the additional option of Raid 5 support. All in all, the A8N-VM has the features that many are looking for in a new board for a HTPC or Media Center PC, but you will need optional brackets to fully support some features. If searching for optional brackets is not your cup of tea, you need to look for a board that includes the feature support in the original package.

There are also enough slots and ports for users to upgrade in the future. You can add a more powerful video card to the x16 PCIe port if you choose. There is also a spare PCIe x1 and 2 PCI slots for a more powerful sound card if that is in your future. Asus also created a very nice layout with the A8N-VM. Everything is generally where it works best and there is little to complain about that would interfere with using or expanding this motherboard.

However, we have to add the disclaimer that the Asus is particularly lacking in any kind of adjustments in the very basic BIOS. There are no CPU multipliers, nor will you find any voltage adjustments. There are decent memory adjustments, but that becomes a moot point without any means to adjust memory voltage or CPU multipliers. Asus also sets Command Rate to a default of 2T for maximum memory compatibility. If your memory supports it, you can gain a bit more performance with 2 DIMMs by using a 1T Command Rate, but you will have to set this manually in the Asus BIOS.

There is an excellent Auto overclock feature that is turned on by default - for those who want the board to do it all, including overclocking. But those looking for manual adjustments won't find what they are looking for. Perhaps Asus can add some of these options in future BIOS upgrades, but for now, the BIOS options are disappointing.

These missing adjustments won't matter at all to most users, who will only run the A8N-VM CSM at stock speeds. However, if these adjustments and options are important to you, you can find them in competing boards. The Biostar Tforce 6100 that we reviewed offered an excellent selection of BIOS adjustments, and we would fully expect the 6150 version of the Biostar to offer a similarly complete range of adjustments.

The Asus was a solid performer during our tests. It was basically trouble-free, which is important with any board that might be used to drive an "appliance". However, we really want to see some other 6150/430 boards before we reach any conclusions about the comparative performance of the Asus A8N-VM CSM. We do know that if you want a board that can be coaxed to run at more than stock speeds, you will find better choices available from competitors.

The Asus A8N-VM CSM did not turn out to be the ringer that we hoped for, but it is still a solid choice for many looking for a full-featured Integrated Graphics motherboard. Time will tell if it is a competitive performer compared to other 6150/430 choices.