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  Krypton NF2400U Motherboard

  Ameya Dalvi, Sep 09, 2003 0000 hrs IST

  The NF2400U is based on nVidiaùs nForce2 Ultra 400/MCP chipset.

  Excellent performance, Good quality onboard audio, LAN onboard, Well-priced

  A minor audio driver issue, Average IDE performance

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Page 1 - Introduction/The package Page 2 - The Test Bench Page 3 - SiSoft Sandra 2003 Benchmarks Page 4 - CPU and Memory Benchmarks Page 5 - Gaming Benchmarks Page 6 - Conclusion

A few months back, motherboards based on the KT-400 chipset were retailing for over Rs. 7,500. Enter Krypton, and the scenario changed. Their M7VIT Pro motherboard was a real beauty, well priced (under Rs. 5000) and a great performer. We recommended the board a few times in our value/mid-range PC configurations and without any hesitation, as the boards based on the nForce2 were priced significantly higher than the M7VIT Pro. Now Krypton seems all set to do to the nForce2 what it did to the KT-400 boards market, i.e. come out with a performance board for a price significantly lower than that of the competitors. That's exactly what the NF2400U motherboard is all about.

If you are a regular visitor to Techtree.com, especially the motherboards sections, you will be aware by now that Krypton boards are rebadged Biostar boards and hence they put up an impressive show. Krypton didn't even bother to change the model number of the M7VIT Pro board, but in this case all that they have cared to change is the model number. This board is nothing but a renamed Biostar M7NCD Pro. Whether the NF2400U can continue Krypton's impressive record, let's find out.

The board and the package
As you might have guessed, the NF2400U is based on nVidia's nForce2 Ultra 400/MCP chipset. That's what NF2400U stands for. The board supports the entire range of AMD Socket-A CPU's with 200/266/333/400 MHz FSB (Front Side Bus) right up to Athlon

XP 3200+, AMD's flagship desktop processor. It features three DIMM slots that support up to 3 GB of DDR RAM with clock speeds of 266, 333 and 400 MHz. Of the 3 DIMMs, two are placed close to each other and the third is spaced out a bit. This is done intentionally to give users a clear idea about how to take advantage of the dual channel memory interface that the board supports. You need at least two RAM modules in the appropriate slots for getting the performance boost. The instructions for the same are present in the manual.

The board sports a full ATX form factor and has one 8X AGP and 5 PCI slots. Two IDE and one Floppy connector are also present. The back panel comprises of the usual PS/2 ports, the parallel port, a pair of serial ports, the game port and the audio in/out and mic connectors, which double up as front, rear and center outputs when the 5.1 channel sound mode is enabled. An RJ-45 jack for the onboard LAN and a pair of USB 2.0 ports can be found on the panel. Connectors for another four USB 2.0 ports are also present on the motherboard.

Page 1 - Introduction/The package Page 2 - The Test Bench Page 3 - SiSoft Sandra 2003 Benchmarks Page 4 - CPU and Memory Benchmarks Page 5 - Gaming Benchmarks Page 6 - Conclusion

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