X-bit labs

Foxconn WinFast NF4UK8AA-8EKRS (NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra) Mainboard Review: Farewell to Leadtek Mainboards

Category: Mainboards

by Ilya Gavrichenkov

[ 02/16/2005 | 04:46 PM ]

We would like to introduce to you a new mainboard on NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra chipset. This solution from Foxconn carrying Leadtek’s WinFast brand name is a fast and reliable product, although not quite suitable for overclocking experiments. Want to learn more? Read our article now!

Table of contents:

• Specification and Accessories
  
• Closer Look
  
• PCB Design
  
• BIOS and Overclocking
  
• Software
  
• Testbed and Methods
  
• Performance
  
• Conclusion
  

NVIDIA’s nForce4 Ultra chipset keeps on winning the hearts of PC enthusiasts. Its popularity is growing up as there appear more mainboard models; products on this chipset are coming out now from over a dozen manufacturers among which there are some really interesting individuals. Today we will take a closer look at a product from one very interesting mainboard manufacturer like that. I am talking about the WinFast NF4UK8AA-8EKRS model from Foxconn.

The name of this mainboard can already provoke some mild amusement in you. We don’t mean the brevity and expressiveness of the name, which you will most probably learn very quickly, but rather the “WinFast” brand that is usually seen on products from Leadtek, a graphics card manufacturer. So, whence comes this borrowing? Seems like we’ve got a pretty scandal here, haven’t we?

Here I would like to point out that Leadtek has never produced any mainboards on its own: all products of the kind have always been made for them by Foxconn, as you may have already guessed. That is why I have every right to state that contemporary Foxconn mainboards are direct relatives of the solutions from Leadtek, which have proven quite successful products in their days, I should say. So, the continuous use of the WinFast brand name is a pretty logical step. As far as the legal aspects of this matter are concerned, Foxconn has every right to use this brand name. Foxconn believed that WinFast mainboard brand is still well remembered by the users, that is why they licensed the use of this brand name from Leadtek. So, there is no sensation about the name, actually.

Now that we’ve cleared up the relations between Foxconn and Leadtek and their trademarks, we can get closer to the WinFast NF4UK8AA-8EKRS mainboard our test lab has recently received.