A8N-SLI Premium vs A8N32-SLI vs EPoX EP-9NPA vs DFI LanParty SLI-DR

[Cycloptis]

Now, I probably won't be doing any overclocking, so the best stock performance is probably what I'm looking for, but I've heard some very diverse opinions on these four motherboards:

The A8N-SLI Premium seems to be the latest motherboard from ASUS (correct me if I'm wrong), plus it has that heatpipe generating less noise.

The A8N32-SLI has the dual 16x slots, but the extra bandwidth seems to have little effect as of yet.

The EPoX has just recently come to my attention and appears to be acclaimed by a sizeable amount of the community, though I haven't found any professional reviews on it yet.

The DFI LanParty SLI-DR seems to be an overclockers dream but again I probably won't be doing any overclocking. Regardless it seems to have great stock performance as well.

I've heard of stability issues for the Premium and the SLI-DR, but again those don't always hold true for everybody.

I'll be using this setup:

AMD Athlon X2 4800+
2GB OCZ DDR400
400GB 7200RPM HDD
ATI Radeon X1900XT (I know this is ATI, so don't ask)
Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatality

I'd really appreciate some answers with reasons behind them, and this is really starting to drive me crazy since I've been spending weeks trying to pick this last component.

Other recommendations are fine, but I would prefer to have links to reviews of those if possible.

PS I had this in Motherboard Discussion but from what I can see that board moves incredibly slowly. I've already gotten a vote for the DFI and for the A8N32-SLI from the thread I made there.

PPS I'm not too sure if the DFI, A8N32, or EPoX are the best of their respective lineups. I may be missing a "+" or a "Deluxe" in there somewhere.

 

[Ctrackstar126]

A8N32-SLI

http://techreport.com/reviews/2005q4/asus-a8n32-sli/index.x?pg=1

 

[Cycloptis]

Originally posted by: Ctrackstar126
A8N32-SLI

So that makes two for the A8N32-SLI as of yet. Thanks for your response, you don't know how rare those are for my threads.

 

[Ctrackstar126]

Added link

Also the DFI is a better choice for overclocking if you know what you are doing. It has a better overclock but you need to be more advanced so in your case it provides useless

 

[Cycloptis]

Originally posted by: Ctrackstar126
Added link

Also the DFI is a better choice for overclocking if you know what you are doing. It has a better overclock but you need to be more advanced so in your case it provides useless

Excellent.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

you're using an x1900xt, why not consider the a8r32-mvp deluxe. it is just as quiet, northbridge runs cooler than nforce4 mbs. asus reliability, crossfire upgradability. and is very stable, read the reviews on maximumpc, and AT home page

 

[LOUISSSSS]

if we must stick with those 4 choices i see NO reason in the a8n32-sli. as u wont even be using both pci x16 lines with 2 cards. if i were you i'd buy the a8n sli premium for features and reliability. DFi is unstable and is problematic, just search "BSOD DFI" in here, google, or dfi street.

 

[Cycloptis]

Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS
you're using an x1900xt, why not consider the a8r32-mvp deluxe. it is just as quiet, northbridge runs cooler than nforce4 mbs. asus reliability, crossfire upgradability. and is very stable, read the reviews on maximumpc, and AT home page

From what I can gather, the general consensus seems to be that SLI is still better than Crossfire, which is why I want to opt for an SLI configuration over a Crossfire one. It's nothing against ATI, of course, after all I do have the X1900XT. It's just that for dual GPU solutions SLI seems to still be the victor. Unless you can offer some insight into this of course.

Other than that I will keep that board in mind if I do decide to choose a Crossfire board.

 

[Cycloptis]

Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS
if we must stick with those 4 choices i see NO reason in the a8n32-sli. as u wont even be using both pci x16 lines with 2 cards. if i were you i'd buy the a8n sli premium for features and reliability. DFi is unstable and is problematic, just search "BSOD DFI" in here, google, or dfi street.

I'm familiar with the DFI instability problems, and sorry if I sound ignorant here, but what exactly does the A8N-SLI Premium offer?

 

[EffeX]

Well I suggest the A8N32-SLi deluxe and a 7900GT that way u can actually use SLi. Or an X1900 XT and the A8R-MVP and later buy the X1900XT Master and xfire em.

 

[Gagan]

I have the SLI-DR, I have the a8n32 as well. I WAS forced to use the SLI-DR due to PCI-E placement,but now that my case has sprung a leak and is in RMA< I am using my A8N32 Board, and I like it ALOT BETTER.

It's memory hole actually detects all 4gigabytes of ram, and it's stability is just second to none. I love it.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

i dont think you understand.. if u plan to use the x1900xt on this mb, the a8n32 shouldn't even be considered. you'll only be using 1 x16 line. the other x16 line will be a waste. what are you going to do put on 7900gt and one x1900xt in the same system? or you're going to put 2 x1900xt's in the a8n32-sli board and run them in crossfire? a8n32-sli shouldn't even be considered for an ati video card for obvious reasons.

 

[SparkyJJO]

IMHO it doesn't make sense to get a SLI mobo and an ATI graphics card. If you get a SLI mobo, go for nVidia graphics cards. If you want the ATI graphics card, don't get a SLI mobo. Preferably get a crossfire mobo like the A8R32-MVP (mobo I have, rock solid).

My .02 for whatever its worth

 

[Gagan]

Shut up Loiuss, You're irritating me with your fanboyspeak.

Did you know that a SINGLE X1900XT outperforms the a8r on the a8n32? I'm sure you did before you opened your mouth.

How many people do you know who went crossfire? 0.

How many people do you think will go SLI down the road, too many.;

Which one is the technology of the future or atleast WILL outlast the counterpart? SLI

 

[Ctrackstar126]

Originally posted by: Cycloptis

Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS
if we must stick with those 4 choices i see NO reason in the a8n32-sli. as u wont even be using both pci x16 lines with 2 cards. if i were you i'd buy the a8n sli premium for features and reliability. DFi is unstable and is problematic, just search "BSOD DFI" in here, google, or dfi street.

I'm familiar with the DFI instability problems, and sorry if I sound ignorant here, but what exactly does the A8N-SLI Premium offer?

Stability first and foremost. My teacher 16 yr veteran has had that board running non-stop for a year without a hickup so theres my real world performance
Second if you look at the link i sent they go over a lot of the extras of the board and comparisons. If you are looking for a board that has all the features, is extremly stable, and is a great overclocker if ever needed thats the board.

 

[MrUniq]

I have an asus premium and I love it...best board i've ever had. I don't see what the use for the deluxe is..it's expensive and the pcie bandwith is wasted (16x2 will be commonplace in all boards by the time it's used). Lious is right you either chose the ati or nvidia chipset for dual cards...single cards, i'd still go with nforce4, it's the best chipset out there.

I recommend epox too..i've used their boards before as well.

 

[Capt Caveman]

OP - if you plan to go dual-gpu in the future, you can only use nvidia cards on a SLI motherboard or ATI on a Cross-fire motherboard. If you don't plan on dual-gpu, any of the motherboards you have listed will be fine. Currently, I have a X1900XTX on an Asus A32N-SLI Deluxe. Note, the A32N-SLI Deluxe is newer than the A8N-SLI Premium but both boards pretty much perform the same.

 

[Varun]

1. He doesn't need the 2x16 PCI-E
2. He never said he wants to ever put 2 X1900's in Crossfire (good call)
3. The Asus A8N-SLI Premium offers a silent heatpipe chipset cooler.

It's a lot more money for the SLI and especially the Premium.

Why not just go with the A8N-E? PCI-E 16, NF4 Ultra, just no SLI.

And if you want silence, add one of these: Zalman NB47J Passive Northbridge heatsink

 

[MrUniq]

The a8n-e is good at it's pricepoint...just no pipe. Just keep in mind of the chipset fan. But if you buy a seperate silent cooler it's still additional money, doesn't seem like u save much money not buying the pipe in the first place.

 

[Varun]

Originally posted by: MrUniq
The a8n-e is good at it's pricepoint...just no pipe. Just keep in mind of the chipset fan. But if you buy a seperate silent cooler it's still additional money, doesn't seem like u save much money not buying the pipe in the first place.

Except the Premium is $70 more than the A8N-E and the Zalman chipset heatsink is $5... so you save $65.

The nice thing about the Premium is the heatpipe doesn't get in the way of any cards, where are the Zalman may block a PCI-E x1 slot if the card you want to put in it is a long one.

I installed a 6800GS in an A8N-E this week with a Zalman chipset cooler and a VF700 and there was no clearance issues. Motherboard runs around 29C with the passive heatsink.

 

[jose]

I'd go for the DFI mobo, great quality.

I have 4 boards, 2 - Ultra-D's (3500), 1- SLI-DR (3700) and a Expert SLI-DR(Opteron 170)

So that's 4 votes for DFI ...

Regards,
Jose

 

[Cycloptis]

Thanks a lot guys, I definitely appreciate this.

Yes I realise I picked an ATI card with a SLI motherboard. Crossfire is still relatively new, which is why I don't quite trust it, but I did pick the X1900XT due to its performance.

I'll probably go with the A8N32-SLI Deluxe, although if I happened to be an overclocked I would have gone with the DFI.

 

[Bobthelost]

I wouldnt' spend the money on the A8N32, if you go for the epox 9NPA Ultra (the non SLI board) you save $95, which may be enough to get you to a X1900XTX. Much better.

The DFI is an overclockers board, it's a waste of time and money if you're not OCing.