Requesting opinion on mobos for new PC

[MadCat2099]

Hi! I'm helping my brother build a gaming PC. So far, we're going for an AMD 64 3200+ socket 939 (2.0 GHz, Winchester or Venice core) processor with at least 512 MB of RAM, 1GB if we have enough money. What we're unsure of is which of the three motherboards to choose from:

<A HREF="http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1=3&l2=15&l3=0&model=455&modelmenu=1" target="_new">Asus A8N-E @ $155</A> - good quality nForce4 Ultra board by a respected manufacturer, however, most expensive board, does not have 1394 like GigaByte and BioStar boards.
<A HREF="http://www.biostar.com.tw/products/mainboard/board.php?name=NF4UL-A9#" target="_new">Biostar NF4UL-A9 @ $150</A> - nForce4 Ultra chipset with lots of goodies, including 1394 support, at a really good price; however, manufacturer and product quality relatively unknown.
<A HREF="http://www.giga-byte.com/MotherBoard/Products/Products_Spec_GA-K8NF-9.htm" target="_new">Gigabyte GA-K8NF-9 @ $140</A> - nice low price, good manufacturer, but not a true nForce4 chipset; uses the prelimanary A02 stepping, thus the 4X nomenclature. Board also may have some issues with PCI-Express graphics card connectivity.
<A HREF="http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/mainboard/mbd/pro_mbd_detail.php?UID=652" target="_new">MSI K8N Neo4-F @ $110</A> - most inexpensive board, but may have issues with quality and reliability.

*all prices are Canadian dollars.

So, can anyone recommend between the three from personal experience or what they know? Thanks!


Mad Cat
p.s. this message has been heavily edited from it's initial posting, so much of the subsequent responses may not apply to this post. Sorry for the ensuing confusion!<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by madcat2099 on 05/04/05 04:57 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[endyen]

For memory, I would probably go with these
<A HREF="http://www.anitec.ca/?mode=product_detail&pid=106" target="_new">http://www.anitec.ca/?mode=product_detail&pid=106</A>
I run it @ default, which is 2.5, 3, 3,6. It is about 1/2 the price.

 

[MadCat2099]

That's a very attractive price for the Samsungs (I have Samsung DDR2 RAM in my own system), but everyone on the Memory Forums keeps telling me to stay the hell away from generic/value RAM, which the Samsung ones you listed seem to be. On the other hand, I hear people tout value RAM a lot for overclocking purposes, which my brother probably wont' be doing, at least not for some time. So you can imagine how confused I am.

RE: Wusy, yes, I know other people make RAM besides Corsair, but generally speaking, they're all about the same price. Does it really matter whether I get Corsair RAM for $185 or Kingston RAM for $185?


Mad Cat


<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by madcat2099 on 04/30/05 04:16 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[MadCat2099]

Actually, I just realized that both Gigabyte and AMD provide an extensive list of RAM that is good to use with their product. I will review them and see if I can pick a good, inexpensive one out (they'll most likely be a LOT cheaper than the Corsair ones I listed!)


Mad Cat

 

[Rugger]

Samsung RAM is not generic - they are one of the primary memory chip mfrs in the world and make good quality RAM.

__________________________________________________
<font color=red>You're a boil on the arse of progress - don't make me squeeze you!</font color=red>

 

[MadCat2099]

Ok, I believe you, but that's not what the website said. I really wish Net retailers would get details about their products right. For some time we were contemplating getting the Asus A8N-E board from Anitec, but only after double checking did it turn out that Anitec's listing for the board was wrong - it listed the A8N-E as having a 1394 port when it does NOT. In any case, both Gigabyte and AMD's sites say that Samsung RAM go well with their board/CPU respectively, so I think we'll be getting that instead of the Corsairs.


Mad Cat

 

[MadCat2099]

Ok, I checked out both <A HREF="http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/DownloadableAssets/Athlon_64_Unbuffered_DIMM_AVL.pdf" target="_new">AMD's list of recommended RAM</A> and <A HREF="http://www.giga-byte.com/MotherBoard/Support/TechnologyGuide/TechnologyGuide_101.htm" target="_new">GigaByte's list of recommended RAM</A>, but it doesn't appear that any of the DIMMs match, with the possible exception of one Samsung ECC RAM chip. This is very frustrating. Should I get one recommended by AMD or Gigabyte? Or should I just go with a completely different manufacturer?


Mad Cat

 

[MadCat2099]

In that case, I've put up a post on the Memory Forum asking for suggestions.

Getting back on topic, does anyone have any objections to selecting the Gigabyte GA-K8NF-9 motherboard?


Mad Cat

 

[pat]

Getting back on topic, does anyone have any objections to selecting the Gigabyte GA-K8NF-9 motherboard?

I have this board and it perform good, overclock fairly well and stable so far..



<font color=red>Sig space for rent. make your offer.</font color=red>

 

[MadCat2099]

Do you have a PCI-Express card attached? If so, which one and did you have any problem fitting it on with the chipset and fan right next to it?


Mad Cat

 

[pat]

I have a large passive cooler on mine, that replace the one you see on the picture. Is it not too high and I had no problem to fit an ATI x600xt on it, as you should not have any problem with any card.

There is no need for for fan, unless you plan on higher OC. The passive cooler is up to par with timing of 233, if I look at my friend board who run his at this speed rock stable without any fan.

<font color=red>Sig space for rent. make your offer.</font color=red>

 

[Renegade87]

You stated "However, we're probably not going to indulge in SLI fun due to the high price performance ratio." Yet you listed the Asus A8N-SLI as one of your mobo choices. Why give up many additional features and expansion options if you have no intention of using the SLI option (a wise choice IMHO)?

Personally, I'd look at <A HREF="http://www.anitec.ca/?mode=product_detail&pid=3124" target="_new">The MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum</A>

"The world ends when you're dead. As long as your breathing you got more punishment in store. Stand it like a man and give some back."

 

[MadCat2099]

Well, at the time I posted the message, we were looking for a board with 1394 capabilities. Unfortunately, the Asus A8N-E didn't have it, so we look at the next best one, which is the A8N-SLI. After doing further research, we've decided that 1394 isn't that imporant for us and that worst-case scenario, we could always buy a 1394 PCI card for $20. So, in it's place, we're opting for the <A HREF="http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1=3&l2=15&l3=0&model=455&modelmenu=1" target="_new">Asus A8N-E</A>.

As for your MSI recomendation, the MSI Neo4-F is basically the equivalent to the Asus A8N-E, except that the MSI one is only nForce4 standard, not Ultra like the Asus, and would fit us perfectly thanks to it's low price tag of $110 CND. The problem is I've been hearing that MSI mainboards are not very trustworthy, and so we're not too keen on buying one.


Mad Cat

 

[MadCat2099]

I mean it doesn't have any for of Firewire, neither 1394a nor 1394b.


Mad Cat

 

[Renegade87]

I respect your opinion and desire not to purchase anything you aren't comfortable with. I have had nothing but good experiences with MSI, but that's just me.

As far as your comments :"the MSI Neo4-F is basically the equivalent to the Asus A8N-E, except that the MSI one is only nForce4 standard, not Ultra like the Asus", sorry Dude, but your wrong, check it again. The MSI board I linked to was the Ultra Platinum.

"The world ends when you're dead. As long as your breathing you got more punishment in store. Stand it like a man and give some back."

 

[MadCat2099]

As far as your comments :"the MSI Neo4-F is basically the equivalent to the Asus A8N-E, except that the MSI one is only nForce4 standard, not Ultra like the Asus", sorry Dude, but your wrong, check it again. The MSI board I linked to was the Ultra Platinum.

I know you linked it to the Ultra Platinum, but I have absolutely no need for it. I removed the A8N-SLI from my list for the same reason; I don't want to spend the extra $50+ on a beefed up board with features that I won't use, especially SLI.

But if you think MSI is such a good manufacturer, I'm willing to consider the K8N Neo4-F, which is the one I have listed at the top.


Mad Cat

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by madcat2099 on 05/04/05 03:58 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Rugger]

What's the max VDimm it can push without modding?

__________________________________________________
<font color=red>You're a boil on the arse of progress - don't make me squeeze you!</font color=red>

 

[MadCat2099]

Wusy, thanks for the suggestion, but Newegg doesn't ship to Canada, and I've checked about 8 or 9 Canadian websites and not one of them has any Epox products, let alone the EP-9NPA mobo. I've even checked some US website that ship to Canada and none of them have available either. So, as far as I see it, the EP-9NPA is dead-end for us.


Mad Cat

 

[endyen]

The Asus A8N-E is a fine board. You will be very happy with it, and an add-on firewire card.
Then get the samsung ram, to save a few bucks.

 

[MadCat2099]

Endyen, thanks for the suggestion of Anitec and ATIC. You were right - both are great websites with good prices, certainly a lot better than MOST of the prices at Tiger Direct.ca. 😛


Mad Cat