Doom 3	Source: id Software

Doom 3 is the most advanced game to date. it takes advantage of the latest videocard technology and pushes the processing power of the CPU to its absolute limit. At its highest setting, Ultra quality, texture sizes pass the 500MB mark which means even tomorrow's videocards will have a hard time running everything. The frame rates in the game itself are locked at 60 fps so anything above that point is wasted. Each test is run three times with the third run being recorded.

Doom3
LQ 640x480:	Points	Ranking
Albatron K8X890 Pro II (K8T890 200/400)	125.7
MSI RS480M2-IL (RS480 200/400 Onboard Video)	14.2
MSI RS480M2-IL (RS480 200/400 7800GTX)	110.4
ASRock 939Dual-SATA2 (Uli M1695 200/400)	119.5
Chaintech Zenith VNF4 Ultra (NF4 Ultra 200/400)	124.7
DFI LANParty NF4 SLI-DR (NF4 SLI 200/400)	126.9
ECS KN1 Extreme SLI (NF4 SLI 200/400)	124.4
Epox 9NPA+ SLI (NF4 SLI 200/400)	124.3
Foxconn WinFast 6150K8MA-8EKRS (GF6150 200/400 Onboard Video)	21.1
Foxconn WinFast 6150K8MA-8EKRS (GF6150 200/400 GeForce 7800GTX)	123.3
Gigabyte GA-K8N51PVMT-9 (GF6150 200/400 Onboard Video)	17.6
Gigabyte GA-K8N51PVMT-9 (GF6150 200/400 GeForce 780GTX)	127.8
Asus A8N-VM CSM (GeForce 6150 200/400 Onboard Video)	15.3
Asus A8N-VM CSM (GeForce 6150 200/400 GeForce 7800GTX)	121.9

Doom 3 is too much for the onboard GeForce 6150 videocard, but then again this game pretty much kills all onboard video solutions. With a standalone videocard 3D performance jumps to nForce4 Ultra/SLI levels.

	experts tip: led positive and negative wires
	most motherboard manufacturers label the front panel i/o connectors to make it easier for users to install the front panel connector leds. asus takes this one step further by indicating which pins are positive, an important point of those light emitting diodes are going to work. you can make hooking up the chassis front panel leds easier on yourself if you remember that the coloured wire is always the positive one. the second wire (usually white or black) is always negative. nothing is more annoying than having to open up the case again after the computer is built because none of the leds are working. if you keep this little tip in mind, it should make your future installations go much more smoothly.
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A well rounded GeForce 6150 Motherboard

The GeForce 6150 series chipset is exactly what AMD needed and it looks like the perfect candidate to introduce the entry level market to the Athlon64. Motherboards like the Asus A8N-VM CSM are fast, yet affordable with a retail price of just $106 CDN ($89 US).

The motherboard is easy to configure, and novice users building their first PCs will have an easy time. If one does get lost, the excellent user's manual will be able to guide the way. Asus has always been good in that area. The Asus A8N-VM CSM motherboard is the only GeForce 6100 series motherboard to support dual monitors and it can even be used with digital displays thanks to the DVI-D connector!

Consistency usually is one of nVIDIA's strongest suits but things are a bit off with the GeForce 6150. The Asus A8N-VM CSM is the third GeForce 6150 motherboard to pass through the PCSTATS test labs, and its onboard video performance has varied greatly from board to board.

In general, 3D performance levels are high enough for casual gamers, but it is surprising to see such a large difference between motherboards. With a stand alone videocard, gaming performance figures are up at the same level as nForce4 Ultra/SLI motherboards.

About the only thing to complain about is the lack of the TV/Component output connector. Officially it is sold separately, however trying to find that little module is difficult. That essentially rules the Asus A8N-VM CSM out of being used as the basis for a HTPC system. We would strongly encourage Asus to include the tiny TV Output bracket.

If an affordable workstation motherboard is what you need, the Asus A8N-VM CSM can deliver with great results. If Asus can fix a few quirks with the motherboard, it has the potential to be one of the best GeForce 6150 motherboards out there!

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