ASRock 939NF4G-SATA2

Conclusion:

When it came to the ASRock 939NF4G-SATA2 under Linux, it was a mixed bag. While some past ASRock products had a great deal of room for improvement -- and other motherboards have simply been spectacular such as the 939SLI32-eSATA2, our end opinion with this motherboard was not as clear. When it comes to the motherboard itself, it is microATX and uses the NVIDIA GeForce 6100/nForce 410 Chipset combination, which ratifies it as an entry-level HTPC solution. The integrated video certainly isn't capable of being a gamer's friend, but when it comes to playing videos inside of mplayer or carrying out related desktop or server tasks, it is certainly satisfactory. Other board features include Serial ATA 2.0, Realtek ALC850 audio, and PCI Express x16. When it came to the downfalls, there were Linux compatibility issues to note. The overclocking of this motherboard was lacking, but it was respectable considering the nForce 410 Chipset. While it is simply out of the question if the ASRock 939NF4G-SATA2 is capable of suiting the needs of stringent users, for those budget-users looking to expand into an HTPC or media setup, this GeForce 6100 powered system may have what it takes to be an excellent MythTV companion, and is able to serve well with its core functionality. With the 939NF4G-SATA2 being designed for multimedia needs, it is unfortunate that no Gigabit LAN or Firewire ASIC were implemented. With Computex Taipei 2006 quickly approaching, it will be interesting to see the new innovative creations that ASRock has coming to the market shortly.