ID Software Quake 4 1.3	Source: id Software

Quake 4 is the latest shooter from ID and is based on the Doom 3 engine. Tweaked to for more eye candy, Quake 4 promises to be tougher on videocards and systems than its predecessor was. Quake 4 also does not have a 60 fps limiter like Doom 3, with the Ultra setting, graphic textures

ID Software Quake 4 1.3
LQ 640x480:	Points	Ranking
MSI P4N Diamond (NF4 SLI 200/800)	150.5
Foxconn 975X7AA-8EKRS2H (975X 200/667)	142.8
Biostar TForce P965 Deluxe (P965 200/800)	113.8
ASRock AM2V890-VSTA (K8T890 200/800)	154.4
ECS KA3 MVP Extreme (RD580 200/800)	148.7
Asus M2R32-MVP (RD580 200/800)	148.2
Albatron KM51PV-AM2 (GF6150 200/800)	152.9
MSI K9N SLI Platinum (NF 570 SLI 200/800 7800GTX Single)	150.5
MSI K9N SLI Platinum (NF 570 SLI 200/800 7800GTX SLI)	150.1
Epox MF570 SLI (NF 570 SLI 200/800 7800GTX Single)	150.6
Epox MF570 SLI (NF 570 SLI 200/800 7800GTX SLI)	150.3
Abit FATAL1TY AN9 32X (NF 590 SLI 200/800 7800GTX Single)	153.9
Abit FATAL1TY AN9 32X (NF 590 SLI 200/800 7800GTX SLI)	152.5
Asus M2-CROSSHAIR (NF 590 SLI 200/800 7800GTX Single)	146.4
Asus M2-CROSSHAIR (NF 590 SLI 200/800 7800GTX SLI)	145.2
DFI LANPartyUT NF590 SLI-M2R/G (NF 590 SLI 200/800 7800GTX Single)	154.3
DFI LANPartyUT NF590 SLI-M2R/G (NF 590 SLI 200/800 7800GTX SLI)	154.1
Asus M2N32 WS Professional (NF 590 SLI 200/800 GeForce 7800GTX Single)	151.7
Asus M2N32 WS Professional (NF 590 SLI 200/800 GeForce 7800GTX SLI	152

In the final benchmark of the day, the Asus M2N32 WS Professional shows it is just as competent as the rest. Quake 4 runs will on this Asus motherboard with a Geforce 7800GTX PCI Express videocard.

Performance Workstation Motherboard

AMD owes much to nVIDIA for the success of its K8 architecture. Core logic like the nVidia nForce 590 SLI chipset, has provided it with a fast and stable platform for AMD Athlon64 processors.

nVIDIA's nForce 590 SLI chipset might be classified as a high end desktop component, but if you look at the specifications of the chipset it certainly looks workstation class. With advanced networking technologies, ECC memory support and the ability to use PCI-X devices, why not make a workstation chipset out of it?

The Asus M2N32 WS Professional is aimed at workstation users but has the flair of a high end gaming motherboard. The Socket AM2 nForce 590 SLI motherboard supports dual Gigabit network cards, 7.1 channel High Definition Azalia audio, IEEE 1394a, ten Serial ATA II channels (nine internal, one external) and 10 USB 2.0 slots. There are two PCI Express x16 slots for videocards, which are naturally SLI compatible, and two PCI-X slots for workstation hardware. High bandwidth devices that conform to the PCI Express x1 formfactor are becoming more common, but at the time of this writing PCI-X devices are still significantly more prevalent. Of course workstation motherboards are not cheap and the Asus M2N32 WS Professional has a price tag of $321 CDN ($276 US, £141 GBP).

Asus is pretty good at including all the necessary cables and headers with the motherboard so you can take advantage of all the integrated features. If you run into problems, the User's Manual is well written and easy to read. The silent cooling system that Asus employs on the M2N32 WS Professional works very well, just clean it of dust every now and then.

In terms of performance the Asus M2N32 WS Professional handled like every other Socket AM2 motherboard that we've tested recently. That doesn't mean it's bad, AMD took a lot out of the performance equation when it integrated the memory controller into the processor... which is why results are so flat. The M2N32 WS Professional may be designed for workstation use but slap a good videocard in it and you've got yourself a pretty quick gaming rig too.

The Asus M2N32 WS Professional motherboard is sure footed socket AM2 platform, and most importantly features two PCI-X slots for enterprise class hardware. When it comes to building a system in conjunction with a SCSI RAID card, or fiber, there are only a few desktop boards to turn to. The Asus M2N32 WS Professional motherboard has the workstation features in demand in a server environment, and for those that need this kind of expansion it certainly delivers.

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