Athlon 64 mobo - what to choose?

[drczaha]

Hi,

Few minutes ago I was sure what mobo im going to buy - Epox KDA3J, good price, nice features.
After reading few posts describing problems with this board im really having a dilemma
Is it true that the built-in LAN card doesnt work properly?
What is with this weird sound which the board produces?

I thought that the nFoce 3 250GB chipset is great, stable and so on, but when I saw all these problems (with MSI board also) i really dont know what to choose.

What do you think about VIA chipsets?

Please help

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

I have the msi Neo plat and the ethernet seems to be working right. I haven't tried using the built in firewall though.

 

[drczaha]

The interesting thing is that some people write that they have absolutely no problems with the EPOX mobo (with the ethernet, etc.) and some are reporting problems

 

[BuckNaked]

8KDA3J working here without issue.. IMHO, a nice board for the money....

Dave

 

[SPQQKY]

The thing is, we really only see the problems people are having and not the good stuff.
McDonalds sells millions of burgers a week, yet we only hear about the old ladies spilling coffee in their crotch. So there are millions happy and one faulty coffee cup. Same with computer hardware, we only hear about the spilled coffee and not the other happy customers.
IF you were prettys set on the Epox, then get it and you will probably be very happy. I have owned about 6 Epox over the years and built systems with about a dozen more and all were good boards, though I am sure I could find posts in forums for people having problems with theirs.

 

[imported_Smithy]

From what I read the EPoX board is the better A64 board currently out. MSI Neo-P looks prettier though.

 

[kautilya]

i agree the EPoX board is the better A64 board .

 

[SpikeyNL]

Have you ever heard about a mobo that had no problems at all and always had better benchmarks than others? If you buy a car, why would you buy that specific car and not that car that was review so well last week in the car magazine?
I have to agree with SPQQKY; if you like the EPoX board and you've read some good things about it, just buy it and you'll be happy. If you're really not sure anymore, buy the MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum and you'll be happy to. (I've got it and I'm very pleased with it :thumbsup

 

[LocutusX]

I found at least 3 people on another forum who had troubles with this board and Linksys hubs/switches. That was the one thing that turned me off, since I use a whole bunch of crappy Linksys networking equipment.

Referring to the Epox.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

I have the Epox and have never experienced any network issues whatsoever. FWIW, I use a Microsoft router.

 

[drczaha]

I'm also considering Gigabyte GA-K8NS, the board is cheap, the features are enough for me. There aren't many comments about it but it seems to be quite ok.
Oh and its based on nForce 250 (without GB), what's the difference? Only the absence of few (useless for me;]) features? (Gigabit LAN, 7.1 sound, hardware firewall)
What do you think about this mobo?

 

[osage]

I'm using a Epox 8KDA3J I have had no issues with the onboard nic, I use a belkin router hooked to a Linksys switch.

weird sound ?
haven't heard it, I have seen a few posts that ppl have had a high pitched whine from the board at times, but I have not. I use a Thermaltake 420W psu. I know Epox uses a diff power configuration than most manfs do.

The only issue/problem I have had with the Epox is with the undervolting that has been reported by a lot of ppl in a number of mobo forums. Seems to be a quirk in Epox's implementation of Cool & Quiet. cpu voltage will sometimes drop to as low as 1.35V on a restart, when set to the default voltage causing instability. So I just set the cpu voltage a bit higher in the bios, no biggie.

I wish it had settings for 1/2 steps for the multi in the bios, but maybe they will issue a new bios to change that.

Other than diff feature sets,I don't think that the mobos are going to be as big a deal with the A64 as they were with other cpus. The memory controller being on the cpu has taken a lot of functions away from the mobos.

Overall I like the board, but it's my first A64 board so I don't have a lot to compare it to.

 

[Quino]

Soltek is the pretties board and supposely is pretty good too. Also it is the cheapest of all 250gbs. It is going to be my next one So far I have tried the MSI neo platinum, Chainetc VNF3-250, Asrock K8S8X and the MSI neo fsir (via kt800). All are decent boards but the one I have liked the best is the chaintec

 

[Shimmishim]

i have the epox and it's been a thorn in my side since i installed an x800 into it...

i have a suspicion now that it is either my cpu or my board.. i will have a new board to test next week so we'll see which it is

 

[FiberoN]

The MSI has been good to me.

 

[zodder]

I've used both the MSI K8T Neo Platinum and K8N Neo Platinum mobos and they have been fantastic. I highly recommend MSI motherboards. Either one of these would be a very good choice.

 

[allgoodnamestaken]

Has anyone had any experience with the K8N New Platinum and the Corsair Value Select PC3200 with the 2.5 latency? I'm a little straped for cash and was thinking of making that match up. Also anyone know if the Neo Plats suffer from the same Cool n Quiet problem as the epox?

 

[alisajid]

Originally posted by: allgoodnamestaken
Has anyone had any experience with the K8N New Platinum and the Corsair Value Select PC3200 with the 2.5 latency? I'm a little straped for cash and was thinking of making that match up. Also anyone know if the Neo Plats suffer from the same Cool n Quiet problem as the epox?

I've used a Corsair Value Select 512MB DIMM in an Abit KV8 Pro. It does not OC at all, but its pretty stable at stock settings.

 

[SPQQKY]

Originally posted by: Shimmishim
i have the epox and it's been a thorn in my side since i installed an x800 into it...

i have a suspicion now that it is either my cpu or my board.. i will have a new board to test next week so we'll see which it is

Well, if it is a thorn in your side only since you installed the X800......ever think it was the vid card and not the mobo?

:shocked:

 

[Adn4n]

My ASUS K8N-E Deluxe has never given me any problems. Wish it had more ram voltage only.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: alisajid

Originally posted by: allgoodnamestaken
Has anyone had any experience with the K8N New Platinum and the Corsair Value Select PC3200 with the 2.5 latency? I'm a little straped for cash and was thinking of making that match up. Also anyone know if the Neo Plats suffer from the same Cool n Quiet problem as the epox?

I've used a Corsair Value Select 512MB DIMM in an Abit KV8 Pro. It does not OC at all, but its pretty stable at stock settings.

I'm running Corsair VS in a EP-8KDA3J with A64 3000+ Newcastle, and the RAM runs fine at 220 FSB at rated latency, with no voltage increase. Pretty good as far as I'm concerned.