..:: NF4UK8AA-8EKRS Packaging ::..

     

     Before we cover the included items with the NF4UK8AA-8EKRS, we must as always first examine the market that this product is geared towards. The NF4UK8AA-8EKRS is a low cost nForce4 Ultra offering. This board is not meant for the ultimate overclocking or performance crowds, and thus likely will not feature the world’s most expansive product package. This ATX board is going for the price / performance crown, and that’s how we’ll be judging it today.

     First off, let’s take a look at the NF4UK8AA-8EKRS‘s manual. As we have found with all previous offerings from Foxconn, the product manual was excellent. The areas where we felt more information was needed have been addressed. The manual now covers the hardware installation process with excellent detail and illustrations. Foxconn also offers detailed pin out diagrams for those users who might choose to utilize built in USB 2.0 ports with their case. Given that there isn’t much of a standard for these headers, a good user manual will guide the user through the pin connection process with ease.

     When it comes to covering the BIOS, once again Foxconn has once a solid job of providing the end user with all of the necessary information they’ll need. Normally, we’ll see manufacturers skimp out when it comes to covering the BIOS options on budget boards, but this can’t be said for the NF4UK8AA-8EKRS. Foxconn provides excellent coverage of the “SuperSpeed” tweaking and overclocking adjustments, as well as providing detailed explanations covering other BIOS options that are available to the end user.

     As far as the hardware inclusions go, we see that Foxconn has supplied what one would generally find with a budget ended performance board. Cable-wise, Foxconn has chosen to go with the standard four Serial ATA data cable setup, along with dual Molex adapters capable of supplying power to four Serial ATA devices. There are also two regular IDE cables, as well as the Floppy cable. Foxconn has also chosen to include a rear expansion bracket for additional support of two USB 2.0 devices. This is a simple, for frills product package.

     Lastly, we find that Foxconn also offers the required driver diskette for the NVIDIA RAID controller, as well as the CD containing all of the system drivers, and software. I’ve seen some manufacturers dump the floppy, and just tell the end user to make their own floppy and download the file off the CD onto it. Foxconn also includes the typical rear I/O panel.

     Overall, the NF4UK8AA-8EKRS product package, like other Foxconn offerings, wasn’t anything surprising. For a budget oriented performance board, this is what I would expect to find when I opened the box. Given that the NF4UK8AA-8EKRS is meant for budget buyers looking for the performance of the nForce4 Ultra chipset, but don’t want to go broke getting there, the NF4UK8AA-8EKRS offers a solid package for the job.