ASRock N7AD-SLI

Linux Compatibility:

The ASRock N7AD-SLI motherboard looks nice when it comes to the technical features, but how does it run on Linux? Well, not good at all. In fact, it does not run at all. Trying out both Ubuntu 8.10 and Ubuntu 9.04 Alpha 5 would result in the system crashing while booting to the LiveCD and would fall back to BusyBox. Trying out different settings such as AHCI and other controllable features from the BIOS and Ubuntu boot-time features were to no avail. With that said, this is not a Linux friendly motherboard. As a result, no Linux test results are available in this article. We will continue testing out this motherboard with new releases of different Linux distributions, but at this time, it is not one worth recommending.

Conclusion:

The ASRock N7AD-SLI is a $100 USD motherboard that is SLI compatible, supports all of the latest Intel LGA-775 Core 2 processors, offers six Serial ATA 2.0 ports, provides IEEE-1394a Firewire, Gigabit LAN, S/PDIF outputs, and uses all solid capacitors. This is nice, but only if you are using Windows. If you are using Linux, there is no "out of the box" compatibility with the N7AD-SLI. This may be due to the NVIDIA nForce 740i SLI Chipset or a combination of other factors, but the fact of the matter is this will not work with either Ubuntu 8.10 or Ubuntu 9.04 Alpha 5 by simply booting the CD. There are better options available (including other ASRock motherboards), as you can find from looking at our motherboard review section.

For pricing information and reviews on Intel motherboards, visit TestFreaks.com.

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