ASUSTeK Computer has begun selling mainboards based on NVIDIA nForce2 IGP chipsets with support for AMD’s 400MHz EV-6 bus – the speed-bin  previously unavailable on integrated chipsets for AMD K7 platform.

Earlier NVIDIA nForce2 IGP with integrated GeForce4 MX graphics only supported 333MHz system bus and mainboard in the IGP version of the fastest currently available Athlon XP chipset were only capable of working with appropriate processors. Advanced Micro Devices even had to develop a 333MHz version of the Athlon XP 3200+ chip for HP, who wanted to utilise the nForce2 IGP.

The A7N8X/VM400 product  build in Micro ATX form-factor, can support up to 2GB of memory PC3200 memory in dual-channel mode,  3 PCI slots, AGP 8x, 2-channel ATA-33/66/100/133 integrated controller, 10/100Mb/s Ethernet controller, 4 USB 2.0 ports and audio solution. In short, the mainboard is not too advanced in terms of features, but will be an interesting option for an average AMD Athlon XP-based PC with some upgrade opportunities.

ASUS A7N8X/VM400 with support for 400MHz FSB for Athlon XP processors will allow even users of mainstream PCs to install the fastest widely available K7 processors from AMD. Currently obtainable in Japan for around $140, the new version of the well-known mainboard will soon be available in the rest of the world as well.