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Introduction:::...

DFI are suddenly one of the big names in quality motherboards, in fact some people have only ever known them as such, but the truth is that we were reviewing DFI motherboards when they were supremely reliable but surprisingly high quality OEM fodder with almost nothing to offer overclockers and tweakers.

There was nothing wrong with the hardware, DFI just hadn't taken that critical step into the enthusiast market where reputations are made and broken.

If the original LANParty series of motherboards got people to take notice of DFi, the UT nF3 250Gb I'm looking at today is being heralded as the motherboard that conirms their position of prestige in a cut-throat sector that doesn't accept newcomers easily, no matter how long they've actually been in business.

The LAN PARTY UT nF3 250Gb is based on the more feature-rich nForce3-250Gb - 800HT chip which includes Gigabit LAN and on-chip Firewall rather than the basic nForce3-250 which doesn't. With NVIDIA's claims to have finally got the PCI lock tightened down, and the energy of a talented team and a new-found enthusiasm behind them, this motherboard was shaping up to deliver big things for the Athlon64 long before it hit the shelves. But did it?

Let's cover the specs.

LAN PARTY UT nF3 250Gb exclusive features

• 8CH Audio(Dolby 7.1, 8ch supported)
• Gigabit LAN(with nVIDIA Gigabit Ethernet)
• nVIDIA RAID
• nVIDIA Firewall(Embedded hardware firewall)
• 100%Japanese Capacitors
• Brand New Genie BIOS
• EZ-on / EZ-touch on board power switch
• UV sensitive slots

AMD Athlon 64 (up to 3700+) 
Socket 754

nVIDIA® nForce3 250Gb

Three 184-pin DDR SDRAM DIMM sockets 
Supports single channel (64-bit wide) memory interface
Supports up to 3GB memory when using DDR333
     Supports up to 2GB memory when using DDR400
Supports PC2700 (DDR333) and PC3200 (DDR400) DDR SDRAM DIMM 
Supports x8/x16, non-ECC, up to 512Mb DDR devices
Supports unbuffered DIMM

Award BIOS
CPU/DRAM/AGP overclocking
CPU/DRAM/Chipset overvoltage
4Mbit flash memory
AMD Cool'n'Quiet technology

Supports ACPI specification and OS Directed Power Management
Supports ACPI STR (Suspend to RAM) function
Wake-On-Events include: 
     - Wake-On-PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse
     - Wake-On-Ring (external modem)
     - Wake-On-LAN
     - RTC timer to power-on the system 
AC power failure recovery

Monitors CPU/system temperature 
Monitors 12V/5V/3.3V/Vcore/Vbat/Vsb/Vnb/Vdram/Vagp voltages 
Monitors CPU/chassis fan speed
CPU Overheat Protection function monitors CPU temperature during system boot-up

Realtek ALC850 8CH audio CODEC
Supports Microsoft® DirectSound/DirectSound 3D
S/PDIF-in/out interface

Marvell 88E1111 GbE PHY
10/100/1000BASE-T IEEE 802.3 compliant

two IDE connectors support four UltraDMA 133Mbps hard drives
NVIDIA RAID supports spanning across Serial ATA and Parallel ATA
RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0+1 and JBOD 

Supports four SATA interfaces with speed up to 1.5Gbps
    - Two Serial ATA ports supported by nForce3 250Gb chip 
    - Two Serial ATA ports supported by Marvell SATA PHY
NVIDIA RAID supports spanning across Serial ATA and Parallel ATA
RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0+1 and JBOD

VIA VT6307 controller
Supports two 100/200/400 Mb/sec ports

Supports AGP 8x up to 2132MB/sec. and AGP 4x up to 1066MB/sec. bandwidth 
      for 3D graphics applications
Supports 0.8/1.5V add-in cards 

1 PS/2 mouse port
1 PS/2 keyboard port
1 DB-9 serial port
1 DB-25 parallel port
2 S/PDIF RCA jacks (S/PDIF-in and S/PDIF-out)
1 IEEE 1394 (Optional)
1 RJ45 LAN port
4 USB 2.0/1.1 ports
6 audio jacks for 8CH audio output

2 connectors for 4 additional external USB 2.0/1.1 ports
1 connector for 1 external IEEE 1394 port (Optional)
1 front audio connector for external line-out and mic-in jacks
1 CD-in internal audio connector
1 S/PDIF connector for optical cable connection
1 IrDA connector
4 Serial ATA connectors
2 IDE connectors
1 floppy connector
2 ATX power supply connectors (20-pin and 4-pin)
1 front panel connector
3 fan connectors for CPU fan, chassis fan and 2nd fan
EZ touch switches (power switch and reset switch)

1 AGP slot that supports 8x/4x AGP
5 PCI slots 

ATX form factor
30.5cm (12") x 24.5cm (9.44")

All specifications above are subject to change without prior notice.

nForce3 Features:::...

Single-Chip Architecture
Revolutionary single-chip architecture enables higher-quality, full-featured motherboards and delivers maximum performance with the lowest latency. The single-chip design also means less power consumption and less heat dissipation.

NVIDIA RAID
NVIDIA RAID technology implements standard RAID 0, RAID 1, and RAID 0+1 techniques to maximize storage assets. NVIDIA RAID technology additionally introduces many innovations that simplify and optimize the management of RAID features and disk resources.

NVIDIA StreamThru Data Transport System
NVIDIA’s patent-pending isochronous data transport system, providing uninterrupted data streaming for superior networking and broadband communications. StreamThru assists in making streaming video and audio smoother and jitter-free.

Unified Driver Architecture (UDA)
Part of the NVIDIA Forceware unified software environment (USE). The NVIDIA UDA guarantees forward and backward compatibility with software drivers. Simplifies upgrading to a new NVIDIA product because all NVIDIA products work with the same driver software.

NVIDIA nTune Performance Application
Enables the easiest, safest, and highest performing overclocking available for NVIDIA nForce-based PCs. Performance wizards allow automatic tuning for the best performance or the quietest operation. Previously known as the NVIDIA System Utility.

NVIDIA NVMixer Application
Completely control all aspects of the NVIDIA nForce audio experience—including volume adjustment, recording options, and speaker configuration—through easy-to-follow wizards.

AGP 8X
Provides double the bandwidth of AGP 4X—2.1GB/sec. vs. 1.1GB/sec. AGP 8X enables more complex models and detailed textures, creating richer and more lifelike environments. Uninterrupted data flow allows for smoother video streaming and faster, more seamless gameplay.

64-Bit Architecture
NVIDIA nForce4 and NVIDIA nForce3 MCPs provide advanced processing capabilities and system innovations for the 64-bit AMD processor architecture.

HyperTransport Technology
A state of the art I/O bus interface, delivering the highest continuous throughput—800MB/s—between the nForce platform processors. Ensures data and information are relayed through the system as quickly as possible.

USB 2.0
A standard plug and play interface providing easy-to-use connectivity for USB devices.

NVIDIA Native Gigabit Ethernet
The industry’s fastest Gigabit Ethernet performance, eliminates network bottlenecks and improves overall system efficiency and performance.

NVIDIA Firewall Technology
A high-performance, hardware-optimized firewall, NVIDIA Firewall protects your PC from intruders by filtering unauthorized traffic. Integrated into NVIDIA nForce3 and nForce2 MCPs with NVIDIA Gigabit Ethernet, it provides professional-grade traffic inspection capabilities, advanced management features--remote access, configuration, and monitoring--and is easy to use and setup via a user-friendly wizard.

NVIDIA nForce Networking
NVIDIA networking delivers the highest throughput for network transfers and lower CPU utilization. The manageable and stable NVIDIA networking solution results in better networking performance and a lower total cost of ownership.

NVIDIA ForceWare Unified Software Environment (USE)
Ensures the best out-of-box experience for every user by delivering industry-leading features for graphics, audio, video, communications, storage, and security; one driver for all products; and continual performance and feature updates over the life of the product.

Serial ATA
Next-generation storage technology enables easy-to-install, high-performance, low-power hard drives.