techquilla Posted February 5, 2004 Author Share Posted February 5, 2004 If you're willing to pay for an AMD64 3000+ then you should definately get it over a Barton 2500+. It that case, get something like a GigaByte K8VNXP (i.e. get something with a Via K8T800 Chipset, or wait for the nForce3 250). is there any problems with the current nforce3? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kl33per Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 The current nForce3 doesn't have full speed HyperTransport links (i.e. it's not 1600mhz both ways). IIRC, it's 1600Mhz down/800Mhz up. Other then that, the board is fine (and better at overclocking because it can lock the AGP/PCI speed). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lammmetak Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 no its 600 in stead of 800 like via Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techquilla Posted February 5, 2004 Author Share Posted February 5, 2004 so, does that mean there are no 1600 both-ways chipset yet...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lammmetak Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 well as far as i understand its like this: nforce 3 150 runs @ 600( 1200 effective because of the ddr ) but is slower as the via and has less futures at the moment. soon there will be some kind of emergency edition to fix some problems and performence issues and extra futures( its going to be called the nforce 3 250 . i dont know much about only that it will run also @ 800( 1600 mhz effective) the via kt800 is at the moment the fastest there is but isnt that good overclockable( esspecually the msi neo ) but the msi neo is the fastest for amd 64. if u dont overclock the msi neo will do fine. but as nforce 3 isnt at optimal yet it will overclock much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DELTA75329 Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 I was about to suggest the Abit AN7 as it is blazingly fast and rock-solid stable on standard clock speeds. In my opinion, speed is (albeit a little bit) faster than the NF7-S, so long as you plan not to overclock. Temps tend to be lower at the same speeds, and that?s always good. It has the best layout I've ever seen on such a board to date. I'd move the power connectors, but hey, nothing's perfect. I plan to use this in my new machine, since I have no intention of overclocking. It's overclockable, but I've heard some people have issues when they make the attempt. As far as I know, the RAM or power supply is usually to blame more often than not. I?ve seen a couple that beat out the NF7-S, but those were pricey setups with high end RAM and 500+ watt power supplies. The Abit NF7-S Version 2.0 has a solid reputation for speed and stability and is highly overclockable. Very easy to configure, and the board is very compliant. Price is also a bargain. I?ve built a couple of machines based on this board, and I have been blown away by the screaming performance. My customers have called me weeks after taking delivery of the machine to thank me for a stable machine that screams. This would be my official recommendation. The Asus A7N8X is also an excellent choice. Not as fast as the Abit from what I have seen, but it will certainly give the Abit a run for it's money. Asus also has a better reputation for stability in my opinion. Overclocks are good, but again, I have seen the Abits go higher. I think this has something to do with the 2-phase power design as opposed to the 3-phase used on the competition. However, under the right conditions and with the proper RAM, you should be able to at least match the Abit numbers. Either way, if you elect to go with Asus, you won't be disappointed. Then there's the DFI LanParty. It's a little pricey, but it carries a loyal fan base. I?ve seen a couple of these in action and they are very nice indeed. Gigabit LAN, 4 SATA ports, and a loaded onboard sound system. The Abit AN7 uses the upgraded codec, but the DFI sound is still pretty darn good. Reviews indicate that this board beats out even Abit in overclocks. I've heard that it is also very stable, and the layout is on par with the Abit AN7. The trouble with this board has to do with the placement of the CPU socket? if you?re planning on overclocking, then you know that the CPU will need a high-end cooling solution. You have to do a little homework to make sure that you have a compatible setup if you elect to go with the DFI. As for RAM, this is essential to a good over clock. Don?t cheap out on it. Pay attention to the latency ratings: the lower the numbers, the faster the RAM. Brands such as Corsair, Crucial, Mushkin, and OCZ produce the best results I have seen. Though I have no experience with them, I?ve heard very good things about Kingston as well. Just avoid their ?value? line; those chips are not designed for overclocks. I would recommend a matched pair of Corsair or Crucial if you plan to run in dual-channel mode. Corsair is my personal favorite, but they tend to be a little pricey. I?d recommend Crucial as an alternative if Corsair is too much to spend. Good luck. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arrowhead Posted February 12, 2004 Share Posted February 12, 2004 What about MSI? I currently have an MSI K7N2 Delta-ISLR motherboard coupled with 512mb of pc3500 geil golden dragon dual channel memory, for overclocking it is pretty good, i have managed to get my 2600+ stable at 2.4 gig although it depends on your budget i guess. the only downside to the mobo is that the Vcore is limited to 1.8volts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techquilla Posted February 13, 2004 Author Share Posted February 13, 2004 how does a 2600+ barton overclocked to 2.4ghz perform agaisnt other athlons or pentium... ie, is it a 3200+ or more or less? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arrowhead Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 Using SiSoft sandra 04 i was able to beat the 3200+ and the P4 3.2 gig quite comfortably, so it might be equvalent to a 3400? also PCmark02 gives me 7200 for processor and the standard 3200+ gives 6800. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samoa Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 I was about to suggest the Abit AN7 as it is blazingly fast and rock-solid stable on standard clock speeds. In my opinion, speed is (albeit a little bit) faster than the NF7-S, so long as you plan not to overclock. Temps tend to be lower at the same speeds, and that?s always good. It has the best layout I've ever seen on such a board to date. I'd move the power connectors, but hey, nothing's perfect. I plan to use this in my new machine, since I have no intention of overclocking. It's overclockable, but I've heard some people have issues when they make the attempt. As far as I know, the RAM or power supply is usually to blame more often than not. I?ve seen a couple that beat out the NF7-S, but those were pricey setups with high end RAM and 500+ watt power supplies.The Abit NF7-S Version 2.0 has a solid reputation for speed and stability and is highly overclockable. Very easy to configure, and the board is very compliant. Price is also a bargain. I?ve built a couple of machines based on this board, and I have been blown away by the screaming performance. My customers have called me weeks after taking delivery of the machine to thank me for a stable machine that screams. This would be my official recommendation. I was checking on out on Newegg. I might get :De. :D I finally am interested in pushing this 2800 Barton further... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techquilla Posted February 13, 2004 Author Share Posted February 13, 2004 Using SiSoft sandra 04 i was able to beat the 3200+ and the P4 3.2 gig quite comfortably, so it might be equvalent to a 3400? also PCmark02 gives me 7200 for processor and the standard 3200+ gives 6800. nice..., ^^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arrowhead Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 Thx, so are you any closer to your choice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pas Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 DFI Lan Party or DFI Ultra Infinity if you don't want to spend the bucks for the Lan party board. The Inifinity is essentially the same board without the fancy black and green colors and extras. I have both and wouldn't trade either for an Asus or Abit or any other manufacturer's board. I'm partial and biased. can you tell? :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parhamreza Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 i recomend the NF7-S as well... very good mobo, now as to the 2600+ OCed to 2.4ghz... what kind of cooling do you have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arrowhead Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 I have a thermaltake volcano 12 on full whack constantly, my cpu doesnt like anything else. its also fairly noisy. but for its performance it is sold at a good price, so iomayho should be able to achieve a decent OC with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Angry Bunny Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 I've always heard to get the Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe MOBO... that's what I'm getting when I update at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samoa Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 I couldn't find a direct comparison of the KT6 that I have and the NF7-S, But from what I read, it looks like there is only a marginal difference in performance. I probably would be able to OC a bit more, but that would be the only advantage really. Dual Channel would be another but the real performance is only marginal as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dblhelix Posted February 14, 2004 Share Posted February 14, 2004 i have had a hell of a lot of experience with nforce2 mobos, specifically the asus models, but fic makes a dman good board on that chipset if you are budget conscious. but if you are willing to part with the 127.00 USD that an asus will set you back, there are sum issues i have experienced with every one of them, right up to the newest driver release 3.13. first off, the sw-ide driver that loads with win xp will deteriorate your hdd's over time on an asus a7n8x del.. this was a known issue according to asus tech support and addressed in the 3.13 release. asus now offers thier own version of ide drivers. it gives you a choice during install. oif you want to avoid writing zeros to your drive in 4-6 months, use the new asus drivers. microsoft knowledge base still has not addressed this issue. ( i can only assume because of liability issues ) there is an ongoing issue i have open with asus that they could not answer, so they elevated my case to an engineer. i wont get into specifics, bcz i cant answer any ?'s yet, but it involves APIC. i also dont know how widespread it is, or if it only happened in my environment. just be aware that if you cant install windows on this board, try disabling APIC in bios, then install, get past the hang, and then re-enable it. ( unles your only using like 1 or 2 peripheral devices, then it doesnt really matter, you can leave it off and only have 15 irq's to play with. ) back to the drivers. if any of you have gotten the raid, ethernet, and usb drivers to load the first time through, you are my hero. im guessing that i have done 100 xp pro installs on these boards and not once has the driver installation gone smoothly. even after the usb driver finally installs, 2 of them are still set to usb 1.0. it may sound like i dont like these boards, but no, i love them. you can forget about 200 bucks on an audigy. my ears cant tell a difference. i think soundstorm rocks. the only reason i would want an audigy is for the cool breakout box. they will take up to a 3200 and after bios rev1004, all of them will support a 400 mhz fsb. ( i got this right off the asus q & a earlier today ) - support and rma: i was lazy when i was modding a case, and left the mobo in. well of course i got spray paint all over the damn thing. i got a new board in 10 days, no ?'s asked i was stoned out of my head while fixing a comp. i pulled the power off the board while it was on. this was one of my genius moments, i assure you. i got a new board in 12 days no ?'s asked - overclocking. really responsive, and i love the post reporter and asus probe utilities. took a 2600 xp from 2088 all the way to 2300 and small change with only a retail fan and 5 80mm box fans. ( and artic silver ) memory overclocking was a bit tricky until i gave up on kingston branded stuff. good solid ram, but no overhead in it. bios updates are a flash and the board provides, IMHO a really great stable platform for your comp. when u have a problem with the board u will want to shoot sum1, but that holds true for any mobo. as far as going with the nforce3 and a 64, why? when prices are sure to drop drastically when they release the 3400,3600 and 3800 the end of this year and into Q1 of next year. waiting will also give time to other chipset vendors who want to compete with nforce and via. any1 entering this contest will be sure to have a competative product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jediweasel Posted February 14, 2004 Share Posted February 14, 2004 I run an MSI KT6V and it rocks. I run a 2600+ with 1GB PC3200 and a 120GB SATA HD. This machine outruns my friends ASUS based 3.06 P4 HT and he's building one like mine now. Gotta love the envy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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