Introduction

When the nForce first came out, it arrived to a rather hostile audience. The average hardware tinkerer just does not like that level of integration. Some parts, like network cards, are getting more accepted, but graphics is still a ways from being another chip on the board. When we asked NVIDIA about the possibility of a nForce without video, their first response was no. I guess after considering the costs and lack of interest that plan was reconsidered. Out pops the 415-D a few months later. A fully functioning Dolby Digital decoding chipset, minus the onboard GeForce2 MX.

The nForce 420 and 420-D still have their market though. It seems they are just catching on with OEMs. It was just a matter of time before it garnered acceptance. A board that is so highly integrated is a boon to system builders. A machine that has few parts is exceedingly easy to support and build. Add a CPU, RAM and drives, and you are good to go. Building a nForce system for friends and family is about the easiest thing you can do to save yourself the headache of running and trying to figure out what’s wrong a month down the road. With one driver to replace, many parts of the equation are simplified.

ASUS A7N266-C

angle shot

What comes with it?

Enough about the 420-D, the 415-D is the topic of discussion today. The following toys come standard on the ASUS A7N266-C:

ASUS A7N266-C
Chipset	NVIDIA nForce 415D
Memory	3 184-pin DIMM sockets - up to 1.5GB
BIOS	Smart BIOS
Drive Connectors	1 FDD, 2 ATA100 Channels
Slots	1 AGP Pro, 6 PCI, 1 ACR
Fan Headers	2 Fan connectors
USB	3 USB Controllers - 6 USB connectors