Board Layout & Functionality

Using the VGA select jumpers we can easily set the mode for which we want to configure the board. If you are using one video card you would jump pin rows 1 & 2, while systems configured for SLI will need pin rows 2 & 3 closed to enable the SLI features of this motherboard.

Taking a good look at the above illustration shows exactly how the VGA select works. There are 6 jumpers that have to be individually set to properly configure this board to suite your needs. 1-2 On enables single VGA mode and 2-3 On enables SLI Mode. The motherboard includes a jumper pin puller tool which you can see below.

As we can see in these pictures, the technician is using the jumper pliers to set the mode of operation. For our test's we are using both SLI and single VGA modes, so for starters we will set the VGA select to single mode, placing the jumpers on pins 1-2 (default).

Like LANParty series of the past the nF4 SLI-DR has built in power and reset switches allowing the user to fire up the board without the need of an ATX switch or having to short the power pin. This board is loaded with excellent features and functionality and this is one of them.

Several reasons make these EZ On, EZ Touch switches easier for installations and one of them is the fact the end user can burn this system in on a open air test environment without having to buy 3rd party jumpers or having to install the board inside a case to power up and reset the motherboard. Both our DFI samples incorporate these switches and they have come in handy many times whole doing our reviews on these exceptional motherboards.

The nF4 SLI-DR is loaded with 5 power connectors allowing the user to add up to 5 external fans, also the fan connectors are full programmable via the system BIOS allowing thermal management to control the power to each connector. You can also set the amount of power that is allocated to the connectors depending on the temperature range you select in system BIOS.

In order to power up this motherboard you will need a 24-pin power supply unit. Any system utilizing PCI-Express and the nF4 chipset will require a 24-pin connector and this is no exception. As you can see from the illustration below, you can see first hand where the locations of the power connectors and there layout.

The nF4 SLI-DR has a special 4 pin power connector for proprietary 5V/12V connector for HDD's allowing a power source directly from the motherboard. To the left of that connector is a 12volt mini 4-pin floppy style power connector. As you can see this board gives users plenty of power outlets for all types of hardware configurations.

This is the Karajan 8.1 Audio riser and the location for which its installed. DFI chose this audio card because it reduces over all noise and anomalies that are inherent to onboard sounds systems. In effect you can say this is dedicated sound card as it is not apart of the board layout.

The Karajan Audio Riser utilizes a 14 pin connector that's on the mother-board. Simply plug it in and enjoy the sonic purity the Karajan is capable of dishing out. The riser will cause a slight clearance problem for people who use the Cooler Master stacker case.

Continuing with the layout of the DFI LANParty nF4 SLI-DR, the little red jumper shown below is the clear CMOS jumper pins. By now most of you know how to reset a BIOS configuration data, but for those who don't, leaving the jumper pin on pins 1-2 is default operations and temporarily moving the jumper to pins 2-3 will reset the BIOS configuration.

This just about wraps up the low down on the jumpers and available power connectors available on the LANParty nF4 SLI-DR. With exceptional support, plenty of user friendly connectors, easy configurations and lightning speed, the DFI LANParty nF4 SLI-DR is destin for the limelight.

Let's shed some light on the external I/O connections that are available on the DFI LANParty nF4 SLI-DR. The I/O ports include; PS/2 mouse and keyboard, S/PDIF in and out, one IEEE 1394 (FireWire), six USB 2.0 and two Gigabit LAN ports. It seems empty until the Karajan audio card is inserted; this provides six analog audio connectors as shown below.

The Karajan 8 channel audio system is based on the Intel Azalia 24bit 192KHz high definition audio specifications providing ultra high quality audio, Dolby 7.1 and THX. The Audio riser card combines the Alazia codec to isolate the audio analog ground from the digital ground, eliminating signal noise, producing crystal clear sound.

Now that we have pointed out the accessories bundle, and the key features and functionality of the SLI-DR, let's dig into the motherboard a little deeper.