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:	FPS	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 7800GTX)	127.8

In the final benchmark of the day, playing Doom 3 with the onboard videocard is not really possible. With a standalone graphics card there is no difference between the Geforce 6150 and nForce 4 systems.

Conclusions on the Gigabyte GV-K8N51PVMT-9

Motherboards based on nVIDIA's latest GeForce 6150 series chipsets offer users a much more flexible platform than anything else that is available for the Athlon64 market. The MicroATX Gigabyte GA-K8N51PVMT-9 motherboard incorporates component output right from the rear I/O (via a break-out box), making it a potentially great candidate for home theatre PCs. Furthermore, with the onboard Geforce 6150 videocard, there is no need to purchase a graphics adaptor.

In terms of performance, the Gigabyte GA-K8N51PVMT-9 did very well and kept up with more expensive motherboards like the DFI LANParty NF4 SLI-DR and Epox 9NPA+ SLI in most benchmarks. The onboard GeForce 6150 is decent in most 3D apps and routinely outperformed ATi's Radeon Xpress 200 found on the MSI RS480M2-IL motherboard. Team the Gigabyte GA-K8N51PVMT-9 up with a PCI Express x16 videocard, and gamers will find the necessary power they need.

The Gigabyte GA-K8N51PVMT-9 did have a few quirks. In our tests, the small passive Northbridge heatsink on the GeForce 6150 chipset was not adequate. Pointing an 80mm fan in the chipset's general direction appeared to improve stability issues we feel were linked to heat. Hopefully, Gigabyte will consider equipping its future GA-K8N51PVMT-9 motherboards with an active heatsink, and if not consumers should consider doing so.

The Gigabyte GA-K8N51PVMT-9 has not hit the retail market yet and its current retail price is not known. The GeForce 6150 is aimed at the entry level market and it looks like Gigabyte can have a real winner with the GA-K8N51PVMT-9 if it addresses the overheating issue.

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