nForce2 6-way Motherboard Roundup - December 2002

Chaintech 7NJS: Board Layout

We didn't have too many complaints with the 7NJS layout, but there certainly were a few.

Chaintech places the ATX (20-pin) connector on the left-hand side of the motherboard. This isn't the best place to put this connector because the thick ATX wires can easily become a nuisance since it'll obstruct the installation/uninstallation of the HSF in addition to any other components that can be modified around that area.

Thankfully, there are four mounting holes around the CPU socket for those users that desire better cooling solutions than the retail AMD HSF's. Therefore, cooling fanatics as well as Swiftech and Alpha users should be happy with the decision to include four mounting holes for cooling.
The Primary, Secondary and RAID IDE connectors are placed in an awkward position in relation to the AGP slot, just below it in fact. This is a bad layout decision, as you will likely be forced to maneuver your IDE cables in every which way to get them to reach an optical drive at the top of your case. The cables will probably also be hitting the video card on their way up, which yet another annoyance you don't need.

Another poor layout decision was the placement of the DIMM connectors. The DIMM connectors are nearly touching the video card we used (GeForce4 Ti4600). The main reason we don't like DIMM connectors placed so close to the video card is because you're forced to uninstall your video card if you want to install any additional memory, which is simply a hassle.

There are two USB headers on this motherboard, both of them placed towards the bottom of the board. These headers are placed well only if you don't plan on using the Serial ATA connectors and a USB bracket at the same time. If you do use the Serial ATA connectors, you'll be forced to route the SATA cables through the USB bracket wires, causing all sorts of chaos and clutter.