the very best nforce2 mobos

[stealth_blade]

well, ive heard lots of problems and success with the asus nforce 2 boards, but im wondering, what board do you use (nforce 2) and what problems have you had with it if any? im looking to buy a 2500xp but im still trying to decide on the mobo


"Going to war without France is like going hunting without an accordion."
- Gen. (Ret) Norman Schwartzkopf

 

[randy66]

I choose the MSI K7N2-delta-ILSR but found out afterwards that it doesn't have the four holes around cpu socket for heavier HSF , other than that all seems great looking
(haven't recieved yet from NewEgg)will post back when up n running

 

[Spitfire_x86]

MSI makes the fastest nForce2 mobos

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[Traqr]

If you've been reading, you already know this, but here goes again...
GET SOUNDSTORM!
The extra money will <A HREF="http://www4.tomshardware.com/game/20030405/index.html" target="_new">save you the cost of a soundcard</A>. I bought the Asus A7N8X-DX because it was the only one I could lay my hands on at the time, and I like it. I can't compare speeds because I'm <i>really</i> testing it's legacy compatibility (Athlon 900, PCI video :redface: ), but I see improvements with each BIOS and driver release, so I think you'll find it's realy a matter of hardware features differentiating the boards; who knows where they'll be in a year?

<font color=blue>Learn from the mistakes of others. You won't live long enough to make them all yourself.</font color=blue><font color=green>
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[AMD_me]

I wholeheartedly recommend the ASUS A7N8X DELUXE REVISION 2.0 over <I>ANY</I> other motherboard for the Athlon XP at this time if you are prepared to RMA a board, because I have found you have about a 20% chance of getting a bad BIOS chip. And it has the four mounting holes and blows away the MSI board in any gaming/ most content creation benchamrks.

eBay, kick ass!

My 3DMark2001 Score: <A HREF="http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=6442995" target="_new">http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=6442995</A>
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I bought from Best Buy once. Once.

 

[satanez]

nforce2 is better chip for AMD ****XP processors...
but if you want best performance, it's better to buy Asus
and i haven't any problem with nforse2(epox)

 

[Spitfire_x86]

Currently, MSI K7N2 series mobos are the fastest Athlon mobos. They are faster than ASUS A7N8X mobos

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[stealth_blade]

the speed difference is very little, and frankly that doesnt concern me much, im looking for a full feature board, SATA, highquality onboard sound (im ditching my old 4.1 live card) and mounting holes round the AXP chip, so yah im pretty much thinking ASUS rev 2.0, and RMA'ing would be a pain, but im pretty sure the store im buying from will do a direct trade, and deal with AMD themselves, and since its just 20 minutes from my house, it wouldnt be to inconvient

"Going to war without France is like going hunting without an accordion."
- Gen. (Ret) Norman Schwartzkopf

 

[Prof133]

I'd choose Abit NF7-S Revision 2.0 for this build:

SATA (RAID)
Meets all soundstorm requirements
Mounting Holes
Firewire
Great overclocker
etc.

 

[randy66]

I have the MSI K7N2-Delta-ILSR set up and running W/xp2100 t-bred-b . the board and features are top notch . not a single problem with set up , running good
although , there is only one sound input for CD / DVD ,
only has 6 mounting supports ( IDE,Memory side not supported)
but still a top notch board

 

[Ryan_Plus_One]

MSI is built with sexy red PCB where the ASUS is poo green and ugly as sin. Hey come on....if you have a window kit and some light kits then you have to take these things into consideration! The ladies love a clean looking motherboard. In my book, Performance is 70%, looks 30%.

If only SOYO made a platinum board with the NF2...

 

[stealth_blade]

umm yah, except its a cool gold colour

"Going to war without France is like going hunting without an accordion."
- Gen. (Ret) Norman Schwartzkopf

 

[FO_SHO]

"The ladies love a clean looking motherboard."

Seriously dude, you are hooking up with the wrong ladies....

 

[Collective_8472]

i have the a7n8x rev 1.0x
IT SUCKS!!!
the bios is screwy at best (ACPI is FUBAR!), the HDD doesn't work without the right cable...
windows if screwy... random reboots using usb keyboard, etc.
i'm thinking of either getting another aa7n8x (how can i tell if it's a rev 2.x b4 i buy?) or another brand of nforce2 board (MSI)

 

[RCPilot]

You can't tell without looking at the silk screen on the board itself as see <A HREF="http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/20030513/athlon_xp-09.html" target="_new"> here.</A> I could only find the V 2.0 advertised <A HREF="http://www.excaliberpc.com/product_info.php?cPath=181_297&products_id=1556" target="_new">here.</A> I looked all over for it. Prof133 gave me this link so I ordered it there. I RMAed a V 1.2 back to Newegg they had sent me. All I can say is beware.

If it ain't broke, take it apart & see why not!

 

[AMD_me]

I have used 3 Asus A7N8X Boards in my rig, and the 3rd just dies yesterday. I am beginning to have a hard time recommending Asus, and MSI boards are plain-out low featured and lousy. Gigabyte boards dont use nForce2. I would probably recommend the NF7-S rv2.0 from Abit or if nForce rv2.0 EpOx 8RDA+ are shipping and you dont mind a bit of thermal epoxy and have a crystal orb laying around, because the N/bridge cooling is HORRIBLE.

eBay, kick ass!

My 3DMark2001 Score: <A HREF="http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=6442995" target="_new">http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=6442995</A>
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I bought from Best Buy once. Once.

 

[Prof133]

* Gigabyte is kind of late on the nforce2 bandwagon. They should have there nforce2 boards out soon. One of which uses 2-Channel IDE RAID. Which is good news because just about every nforce2 board is lacking in the IDE RAID department.

* And indeed, NF7-S rev 2.0 is a great board no doubt!

 

[TKH]

nForce rv2.0 EpOx 8RDA+ are shipping

Just tell you that this mobo is called "8RDA3+", so don't confuse this with new 8RDA+.

It is morally wrong to allow suckers to keep their money
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[JimmyDean]

If you want a good nForce2 motherbaord with lots of features already on it, then go with the K7N2 Delta ILSR or the K7N2G-ILSR. The G version has an onbard MX440 (bad) and they both have onboard SerialATA controllers, soundstorm with 5.1 encoding, IEEE 1394, and onboard lan.

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