The leading mainboard manufacturers announced and showcased their solutions based on the new NVIDIA nForce2 chipsets. The remarkable thing is that the products shown are based on both: discrete and integrated chipsets, which will ensure that both solutions are equally represented in the market.

And now let’s cast a quick glance at the available solutions and their features:

• ABIT NV7II-8X. The board is based on nForce2 IGP, supports AGP 8x, features onboard ATA/133 RAID controller, 2+1 DIMM slots, USB 2.0 ports. It is equipped with 5 PCI slots, IEEE 1394 Firewire interface. It also supports APU sound. The product is due in early Q4. The picture is available here.
• ASUS A7N8X. This mainboard is based on nForce2 SPP, supports AGP Pro (8x), ATA/133 interface, SerialATA channels instead of the RAID support as in the previous item, 2+1 DIMM slots and USB 2.0. There are 5 PCI slots, full implementation of NVIDIA APU sound with the subwoofer option, etc. The integrated graphics core is disabled. See the picture here.
• EPoX EP-8RDA+. This board is built on the discrete nForce2 SPP, supports AGP Pro (8x), ATA/133, 2+1 DIMM slots, USB 2.0. The mainboard boasts all the highs of the new MCP from NVIDIA, namely: 2 Ethernet, Dolby Digital sound, etc. There are 6 PCI slots onboard. The picture is available here.
• EPoX EP-8RGA+. This is an nForce IGP based solution, supporting AGP 8x, 6 PCI slots, 2+1 DIMM slots, ATA/133, USB 2.0, FireWire, 2 Ethernet, Dolby Digital sound. It features a D-Sub Out to a single monitor. See the photo here.
• Chaintech CT-7NJS. This mainboard belongs to the Apogee class and is based on nForce2 with the integrated graphics core, which ensures 2 RGB Outs for monitors, i.e. the board supports nView. For the MCP they chose the regular “non-T” version, so the board features only 1 Ethernet, ATA/133 and USB 1.1. Also there is an additional controller implementing 1 IDE and 1 SerialATA channel. The sound is made with Chaintech’s favourite C-media chip, as they might have forgotten that NVIDIA MCP also boasts quite a nice sound implementation. 7NJS is built on a black PCB, features an AGP 8x slot, 5 yellow PCI slots and one even more yellow CNR slot. Following the latest trends of the Chaintech mainboard building the solution represents not an apogee but an orgasm I would say :) See the picture here.
• Chaintech CT-7NIF1. The board is based on nForce2 IGP, features 1 D-Sub connector, 2+1 DIMM slots, supports ATA/133, USB 1.1 and C-media sound. This is the only MicroATX mainboard on NVIDIA nForce2 so far. It meets all the requirements for an OEM platform. See a picture of it here.
• MSI MS-K7N2. This nForce2 IGP based product is equipped with 5 PCI slots, 2+1 DIMM slots, 1 CNR slot, 1 Ethernet, 3 ATA/133, 1 SerialATA, USB 2.0 and AGP 8x. The mainboard is built on MSI’s favourite red PCB. Here is a picture for you.

The new products are expected to hit the streets in August-September this year. The awaited pricing should rest around $100 or a bit higher.