BIOS screenshot courtesy of Dave Graham
ASUS L1N64-SLI boots with AMD Opteron 2218 and standard DDR2-667 memory
AMD insider and occasional DailyTech writer Dave Graham posted images of an AMD Opteron 2218 processor running on an ASUS L1N64-SLI motherboard. This is intriguing as the ASUS L1N64-SLI is a motherboard designed for AMD’s Quad FX enthusiast platform. The motherboard BIOS detects the processor correctly and functions properly.
It also appears that the system is using standard DDR2-667 MHz memory instead of registered ECC memory typically required by Socket F Opteron-based motherboards. Although it would seem memory compatibility problems would arise, Graham has images of the system passing Windows Vista’s memory diagnostic tool without error.
With compatibility with AMD’s Opteron 2200-series processors, the ASUS L1N64-SLI may be the holy grail of dual-socket socket-F motherboards. Although the motherboard is pricey, the compatibility with AMD Opteron 2200-series processors opens up AMD’s Quad-FX platform to more budget-conscious buyers as the dual-core AMD Opteron 2200-series lineup starts with the 1.8 GHz Opteron 2210. The Opteron 2210 is also priced around $200 USD per processor, which is $150 lower than the cheapest Athlon 64 FX-70 processor.
The ability to use standard DDR2 memory with AMD Opteron processors may also appeal to workstation users that have resisted AMD Opteron systems due to registered ECC memory requirements. A quick search on Newegg shows the cheapest DDR2-667 modules costing around $70 while the equivalent DDR2-667 ECC registered module costs $130.
Another interesting item to note is the screenshot of the Mainboard tab in CPU-Z. The ASUS L1N64-SLI is based around NVIDIA’s nForce 680a SLI MCP but it is detected as the nForce 570 SLI, revision A1.
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