Whats the best NF2 board?

[BigBen]

Hi Chaps,
I want to get a NF2 board and was wondering what is the best one to get? ..... I understand Abit have a second revision of there NF7 or do I stick with my usual Asus boards or is there another choice ......

Regards

[mdzcpa]

Depends on what you want from the mobo.

If overclocking is paramount, right now the Epox seems to be doing best. It offers the best voltage choices built into the BIOS and seems to be reaching higher FSB speeds with the most consistency. Quality is cited as "so-so".

If you are looking for the best "all around" NF2 mobo, I think the Asus A7N8X is the best in this category. Strong performance at stock speeds, the ability to handle moderate overclocks well, and a great set of features make for a good package. Downs are a quirky BIOS and some mutliplier selection issues. Besides the BIOS wierdness, quality is cited as high. I'd agree based on the one I had.

The Abit seems to be in the middle between these two. It has more tweaking adjustments in the BIOS than the Asus, but may not overclock as well as the Epox. It puts out great 3D numbers. Rev 1 lacks the 4 holes so beware.

These are the only 3 that I would consider at this time.

[Drake]

Chaintech also offers an nForce2 solution. It's a stylish board, good BIOS (not sure about voltages), and seems to beat out the A7N8X and the NF7. The bad of it is that it can only go up to 200MHz FSB and costs an arm and a leg.

[BigBen]

I liked the look of that Chaintech board but can't seem to find anywhere in the UK to buy it ... only 200mhz!! I am only at 147FSB as it is :D

Regards

[4.6POWER]

chaintech does not support nvidia's soundstorm also...

asus = 2 phase power supply
abit = 3 phase power supply

asus = proprietary drivers
abit = unified driver format

If your going to water cool... I suppose you will need the 4 holes, but if not... the 4 holes are useless, since you can get the slk-800 which is the best air cooling and does not utilize them.

On another note.... abit is going to have to reroute a LOT of traces to make room for those 4 holes. There is no room for any holes on my mobo.... I would have thought they placed the traces in an optimal pattern, but now that everyone wants the holes... obviously they are rerouting to accomodate space, I am curious to see if this implies any performance or stability penalties. As it is... this board is very cramped.. there is almost no room to work with.

[Drake]

Yeah, Chaintech is not the way to go if you're an audiophile.

I, personally, would wait to see how the NF7-S rev 2 performs.

[BigBen]

Originally posted by Drake
Yeah, Chaintech is not the way to go if you're an audiophile.

I, personally, would wait to see how the NF7-S rev 2 performs.

I have an Audigy sound card ..... How long for the NF7-S rev2? and will it support the Bartons what are expected next month

Regards

[Drake]

Hrmm, I wish I knew. For some reason I think it's very close, though. And Bartons should be backwards compatible with most boards, and definetly the nForce2 ones seeing as to how new they are.

[mdzcpa]

The Rev 2 boards have already arrived in the Abit USA warehouse. They are being distributed to retailers and resellers right now.

The tough part is verifying what version you're buying. There will be no special advertising about the Rev 2 unless the distributor or reseller wishes to do that at thier own cost.

It has been recommended to me that folks in the US wait another week or two until the channels have cleared of the Ver 1 boards before ordering one. This may only apply to resellers that really move high product volumes however (such as Mwave, NewEgg, etc).

Not sure about arrival time on the other side of the pond...but it shouldn't be long I'd guess.

RE Chaintech, the only reason I do not like it is the price (too high for sure), and the lac of Soundstorm Audio (which is totally sweet).

[BigBen]

mdzcpa is soundstorm any better than the Audigy card that I have now?

Regards

[sptw]

i have the same opinion as mdzcpa here.Epox or Asus.I would consider MSI K7N2G-ILSR (http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/mainboard/mbd/pro_mbd_detail.php?UID=398&MODEL=MS-6570) too, but this model is not in the market yet.In Accord with MSI Japan they will release this model later January.And yes, in my opinion soundstorm is better than audigy card.

[mdzcpa]

Originally posted by BigBen
mdzcpa is soundstorm any better than the Audigy card that I have now?


I beleive that it is just based on the specs of both audio solutions. I cannot say, however, that I have heard them side by side.

[Drake]

I believe the Soundstorm is only second to high-end Sound Blaster cards. You'd have to hear for yourself though. I, have the same audio as Chaintech and think it's great :D.

[Quest for speed]

Originally posted by BigBen
mdzcpa is soundstorm any better than the Audigy card that I have now?


I have used both and the Audigy 2 has tighter and slightly deeper bass to it. Unless your using top line speakers I doubt you will ever tell the difference.

As for the mobo you really cannot go wrong with either Asus or the revised Abit. Both perform very well.

[BigBen]

Have been reading about the EPOX 8RDA+ and it seems a good board for OCing ... with the latest bios it unlocks the CPU's etc .... with my new Raid card arriving tomorrow I REALLY!! want to get a new board the Chaintech is so expensive!! and I want to try a something different from my usual "get the latest Asus" so its between Abit and Epox ..... damn its so hard to choose :D I hope they both support the xp2800+ chips and above as I want to fit a Barton when they appear

Regards

[Drake]

They will support barton. The chip is to be backwards compatible, so the only real hurdle is putting the chip on a board that doesn't support the 333MHz FSB.

[BigBen]

So what should it be Abit or Epox? :D

Regards

[Drake]

If you've an itch to get this board as soon as possible, go Epox. I would wait and see if the NF7-S rev 2 performs better than the first.

[NorthernYankee]

If I had to buy "right now" I would get the Epox. If I had the time to wait and see on the Abit I would but it still may not have the voltage options and the multiplier issues fixed...So I say go with the Epox its the best board right now.

--NY

[sptw]

It seems that Epox will be putting in VDD tweaking in the BIOS in the new version of 8RDA+ with more features, but to do that it's necessary to some re-wiring in the PCB therefore a new revision of PCB is needed, then you can expect second version of 8RDA+ coming out.

[BigBen]

LMAO I wish you had not said that sptw :D I was about to order the Epox ..... decisions decisions decisions :eek: :rolleyes:

Regards

[Alex]

After the last week of messing with the Asus board, I've got to say it sucks! The bios is the flakeiest thing I've ever tried to setup! After trying 5 different bios I finally got it to recognise my XP2600 and corsair 3500! Until I tried to tweak it a little, back to reporting as a xp1600 and 100Mhz memory!
Ah the joys of being a beta tester!
Until they release a solid bios, I can't recomend this board to anyone:mad:
That said, all the reviews seem to love this board? So maybe it's just me? (and all the other poor buggers on the nforcershq forums)

Alex:2guns: (gunning for asus!)

[mdzcpa]

Originally posted by Alex
The bios is the flakeiest thing I've ever tried to setup! After trying 5 different bios I finally got it to recognise my XP2600 and corsair 3500! Until I tried to tweak it a little, back to reporting as a xp1600 and 100Mhz memory!
Ah the joys of being a beta tester!
Until they release a solid bios, I can't recomend this board to anyone:mad:
That said, all the reviews seem to love this board? So maybe it's just me? (and all the other poor buggers on the nforcershq forums)


Actually, I had the same kind of experiences with the 2 A7N8X mobos I tried. I RMA'd the first one when it froze on the BIOS "save and exit" routine never to boot again. The second board was just as flaky.

In the end I sold it to a friend who likes it a lot now. He is not into the BIOS as much as some uber tweakers are, and finds the board fast and stable. It's just not a board for the extreme overclockers or tweak addicts (like me :) )

[Alex]

I can't even get it to recognise my 2600 at the moment:mad:
I really miss my Soyo kt333 dragon...

Alex

[mdzcpa]

It's not the best OC BIOS, but I suggest the 1001C for the A7N8X. Flash to it, then immediately clear the CMOS. See if this helps.

[BigBen]

OK I bit the bullet and ordered the Epox :eek:

Regards

[Drake]

'Grats BigBen, you won't regret it :D

Tell us what you think about the board. Maybe even a review?

[sptw]

OK I bit the bullet and ordered the Epox

Hey good decision.Congrats BigBen!!!

[Jokester]

well looks like a few of u have had bad luck with the A7N but i gta say that my board is running awsome :) just gtg buy new memory and proc [only running a 1600+]

[mdzcpa]

Well...I do not think the A7N8X is a bad board at all. In fact, my friend would argue that it is one of the best boards he's owned. The only issues I know of stem from trying to constantly tweak the board and go for extreme overclocks. It's a great performer once it is set up and running:)

[Alex]

On the odd occasion that I can get my board to recognise my 2600+ its not to stable. So far I've got the "Corsair 3500 issue" (bios won't recognise or setup the ram timings properly), then there's the "Western Digital HD issue" (had to learn all about cable select for my 2 80Gb drives!), and finally, the issue with the bios not saving properly or hanging after doing a save and exit! This fragged my user ini file last night, meaning a reinstall of xp and a lot of swearing late last night!
Unless they release a bios that works for me I may just give up and send it back...:mad:

Alex

(Now overtired and underclocked:( )

[BigBen]

Hi Chaps,
Well after 3 or 4 years of being an Asus die hard :D I now have the Epox NF2 up and running ..... I had a few probs but this was mainly to do with fitting the Highpoint rocket raid card which I new nothing about (I tried a short cut which of course turned out to take longer as it did not work :( ) ...... The Raid card arrived at 8.30am and I was fitting it into my old Asus board when the new mobo arrived at 9.15am so I had to start again :rolleyes: ..... This board definatley OC better than my Asus ..... There are so many choices in the Bios that its gonna take ME a while to sort it out BUT ITS UP AND RUNNING :(

Regards

[mdzcpa]

If you need any help...just ask away:) In fact, if you do post about getting it tweaked, start another thread. It can be our official Epox NF2 tweak thread:)