Asus A8N-E or EPoX EP-9NPA+ Ultra

[mdahc]

So it's between these two boards. I think the EPoX board's chipset fan might spin slower since the heatsink looks quite a bit bulkier (but that's just a guess). The A8N-E appears to use the same fan as the SLI counterpart, which I've read is quite loud (I'd prefer not to have to buy a passive Zalman heatsink). On the other hand, the A8N-E incorporates a PCIe x4 slot, which I'm afraid might later be used for multimedia add-on cards like SDTV/HDTV tuner cards, digital audio interfaces, premium/higher end sound cards, etc. So, which shall it be?

 

[jose]

The A8n-E is not available yet.

Regards,
Jose

 

[arswihart]

i'm guessing a manufacturer would have to be pretty confident to release a 4x pci-e card for anything, seeing as how barely anyone will have a 4x slot in the near future. Its a pretty small target market is what I'm trying to say. But it never hurts to have the option. As for the hsf, I don't know about nforce4, but I leave the hsf on my epox 9nda3+ (nforce3) unplugged and it barely gets warm. I'm running 960 htt at default voltage.

 

[mdahc]

Originally posted by: jose
The A8n-E is not available yet.

Regards,
Jose

Yes, I know that.

Originally posted by: arswihart
i'm guessing a manufacturer would have to be pretty confident to release a 4x pci-e card for anything, seeing as how barely anyone will have a 4x slot in the near future. Its a pretty small target market is what I'm trying to say. But it never hurts to have the option. As for the hsf, I don't know about nforce4, but I leave the hsf on my epox 9nda3+ (nforce3) unplugged and it barely gets warm. I'm running 960 htt at default voltage.

Is this chipset fan very loud when you do plug it in? I think the 9nda3+ uses the same heatsink/fan combo, which is why I'm asking.

 

[ChineseDemocracyGNR]

If noise is a concern to you it's pretty easy to replace the default heatsink on both boards with a Zalman+quiet fan.

The ASUS board doesn't have a x4 slot, that slot only has 2 PCI-E lanes. See:
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/akiba/hotline/20050305/image/nane4.html

The nForce4 supports 20 PCI-E lanes. 16 for the first slot, 1 for second, 1 for the third and two for the fourth.

 

[kd2777]

I don't know if this will help or not or if it is in time, but I just switched form the ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe to the EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra. The ASUS had the loudest NB (north bridege)fan I had ever heard, until I got my EPoX in today. Fvck that dude is loud. I don't know what RPM it is turning at, but it is faster than the one on the ASUS. I will be installing the Zalman passive cooler on it rather quickly. I have a Zalman 7700 almost right atop the NB so it sould stay rather cool.

Hope that helped.

kd

 

[arswihart]

mdahc - No, the hsf is not that loud, kd27777 is blowing it out of proportional a bit. But it is noticable as compared to unplugging it in. I have a pretty quiet system, and I think most people who have put any effort into getting quiet components for their systems WILL hear this fan and want a replacement, or to just unplug it like I did.

 

[rivethead]

arswihart:

Sorry for the noob question, but are you saying you are operating your motherboard with the chipset fan unplugged and just relying on the heatsink? And no problems?

The reason I'm asking is I have narrowed my mobo choice down to two budget nForce4 Ultra boards: The Chaintech and the Foxconn. Both now come with active cooling (the Chaintech used to be passive, but they just started shipping with active) and I'm concerned about noise. Since they're so new, I've had trouble getting opinions on this.

However, I never thought of just unplugging the fan. I don't plan on overclocking and I would think I might be able to get by with just a heatsink, as long as I monitor temps.

 

[arswihart]

yes

 

[NightCrawler]

Tough choice.....

 

[Thurgo0dy]

Originally posted by: NightCrawler
Tough choice.....

sure is

 

[slash196]

Is there any particular reason you aren't considering a DFI board? If you're looking for an Ultra board, the Ultra-D is where it's at, and the chipset fan is pretty quiet (I can't hear it over my graphics card or stock cooling). As long as you get the right ram, it's an excellent board.

 

[NightCrawler]

1. Do either support dual core with BIOS flash.

 

[arswihart]

from what i gather, all 939 mobo's should be able to run dual-cores with a Bios flash

 

[PENNSYLVANIARON]

Hi:

I have the Epox mobo. Board is awesome. I cant hear the chipset fan. dont know what all the fuss is. I have 2 case fans and an enermax p/s. Who's going to hear a little fan on a chipset? Its very quiet, take it from me...Regards