ASRock 4CoreDual-VSTA

[Gary_Busey]

I'm thinking about using this board:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157107
to upgrade here in the next month or so. Has anyone used it yet? I was wondering how much of a hassle it will be to install it without formatting my harddrives and reinstalling windows?

 

[Dave_McMahon]

I would NOT recommend Asrock (As*ock)
http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=240901&highlight=asrock

 

[djgandy]

Basically if you have memoy/graphics and don't want to fork out for DDR2 or PCI-E or Both then get it.

I have the dual vsta. Lots of people have it. It's nearly a year old. Not a single problem. £30 it cost me. £60 less than any other core2 board at the time + I saved around another £250 in not buying new ram and graphics

 

[liquidx]

I am seriously looking at this board myself, I have a Athlon XP 2500+ now with 1 gig ram, and a GFTI4200 128meg AGP 8X card. I had some money, but something came up and I had to use it, so now I am left with just enough to get this board and a E4300. I have read mixed reviews about it, but many happy people with it. I have read that one guy got a E4300 to 3.0Ghz on this board, which is how high I wanted to take it so....

 

[djgandy]

I am seriously looking at this board myself, I have a Athlon XP 2500+ now with 1 gig ram, and a GFTI4200 128meg AGP 8X card. I had some money, but something came up and I had to use it, so now I am left with just enough to get this board and a E4300. I have read mixed reviews about it, but many happy people with it. I have read that one guy got a E4300 to 3.0Ghz on this board, which is how high I wanted to take it so....

This board will go just perfect with a E4300

The FSB maxs out at around 300. 295 to keep it stable and sure. The higher the multi on your cpu the better for this board.
I once owned a 4200ti (before my 6600gt)
I also owned a 2800XP barton.
You won't regret your upgrade

I sometimes wonder about mine and things seem slow but luckily my dad has my old barton. God it's slow compared to my C2D

You'll have fun with your upgrade.

 

[liquidx]

See that's why I want to do the upgrade, then I can slowly step up. Buy a better graphics card next, then the better mem. This way I can actually get the upgrade done, but just over time. Then later, if I want, buy a better board that is only DDR2 and PCI-X and I won't feel like I had to spend a crap load of money at one time to get it all done. Thx for the response though.

 

[djgandy]

It's the best way. PCI-E is of no use to me, nor is DDR2. If it's not broken don't fix it. Buy this board

 

[liquidx]

I wouldn't say they are of no use to me, I have 1 gig ram now, and would like to upgarde to 2, and since the price of DDR2 is cheaper then regular DDR....

Same thing with PCI-x, I have a GF4ti card, that is all that needs said there. But I don't want to spend money on a new card for it to be rendered completely useless when I go to upgrade my proc again later.

But all things aside, I have definitely decided to get this board and either the 4300 proc or the 4400. My understanding is the 4400 has a higher multi (10X instead of 9) So would give a better OC in the end for what appears to be the same price.

 

[boner]

why dont you get this thing right here http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813128050

 

[liquidx]

Because with that board you have to update all at once, with the asrock I can do it over time. I'm a student, with a baby on the way. I have no money...lol

 

[boner]

well i cant say nothing about that, just get one that suits to your needs ok but i would recommend you something which doesnt has those "bad" coments

 

[bigblack]

The board is excellent as a cheap and convenient way for a transition to C2D. If you have a Nvidia chipset for your athlon, you will not have to reinstall windows, you just change the hardware and it boots, you install new drivers and you are set. I have build 12 systems based on this board as of yesterday and i have yet to face a problem. Most of them with the E4300, a couple with the E4400, 1 with the E6600 (mine), all overclocked to 2400-2660, just one overclocked to 328 X 9 (almost 3000!)

It helped me gradually get a new system, it is excellent for people with limited budgets, in fact for the price it is a steal. Only hardcore gamers with big budgets would disagree, or people that are building from scratch...

Conclusion: go on, you will have all the benefits of C2D minus 5-10% of the overall speed of a system priced much, much more.

 

[liquidx]

Thanks BigBlack, I like hearing that so many computers have been built with that board and no problems as of yet. I do have a Nvidia chipset, but just for the safe side I would do a reinstall.

 

[bigblack]

Thanks BigBlack, I like hearing that so many computers have been built with that board and no problems as of yet. I do have a Nvidia chipset, but just for the safe side I would do a reinstall.

It's ok my friend, glad if i helped. In fact, i would like to caution you on one subject. I don't know what will happen if you attempt to install a brand new 8800GTS-GTX or an 8600GTS. I have tested the board with the Nvidia 7xxx series up to a 7900GS, the Ati 1xxx series up to 1950PRO and with the 8600GT of my signature. No problems up to now. But if you think of upgrading your vga to the 88xx series, it would be better to test before you buy. Of course these are monster cards and you would have problems with your old psu as well but anyway, i thought i should tell you..

 

[Gary_Busey]

The board is excellent as a cheap and convenient way for a transition to C2D. If you have a Nvidia chipset for your athlon, you will not have to reinstall windows, you just change the hardware and it boots, you install new drivers and you are set. I have build 12 systems based on this board as of yesterday and i have yet to face a problem. Most of them with the E4300, a couple with the E4400, 1 with the E6600 (mine), all overclocked to 2400-2660, just one overclocked to 328 X 9 (almost 3000!)

It helped me gradually get a new system, it is excellent for people with limited budgets, in fact for the price it is a steal. Only hardcore gamers with big budgets would disagree, or people that are building from scratch...

Conclusion: go on, you will have all the benefits of C2D minus 5-10% of the overall speed of a system priced much, much more.

Excellent. That's the kind of response I was looking for. Sounds like it won't be too much of a hassle to upgrade. Thanks man.

 

[liquidx]

well unfortunate for me, my hdd bit the dust, and since I have been having a ton of trouble with both my opticals I went ahead and spent the money I had to upgrade mobo and proc on a HDD and DVD burner, both samsung, but I got a really good buy, 400 gig sata drive for $83, and a 18X burner for $35. Guess it will be a while before I can upgrade the mobo and proc.

 

[bigblack]

Sorry to hear that man. But $180 is not too much money, so i hope that you will have it soon for your upgrade. No worries!

 

[torcida_kutina]

Only be sure to upgrade BIOS on this board, or you'll have a problem with C2D. BIOS version under 1.60 have problems with C2D.