Chaintech VNF4 Ultra VE (nForce4 Ultra)Review

[Mem]

Link.

In fact, the VNF4 Ultra VE met our expectations, but the overall impression was somewhat spoilt by the excessive economy on the manufacturer?s side and the pretty raw BIOS version. So, you may want to wait for BIOS updates and subsequent revisions of the mainboard to come out,

 

[MajorPayne]

Originally posted by: Mem
Link.

In fact, the VNF4 Ultra VE met our expectations, but the overall impression was somewhat spoilt by the excessive economy on the manufacturer?s side and the pretty raw BIOS version. So, you may want to wait for BIOS updates and subsequent revisions of the mainboard to come out,

I have not read the full article yet.... Does anyone know if they got ahold of the new beta BIOS from the chaintech site for this review -- the beta BIOS unlocks the overclocking potential of this board completely, and I would hate to think the reviewer missed being able to try it out before releasing the final review.

Edit: Nevermind, they did NOT get ahold of the beta BIOS, but at least they explored overclocking it using clockgen (as I did), and they remarked on the board's potential. I AM a little disturbed that thier chipset fried during overclocking (especially since I have OC'd to the point they lost thier at for a small amount of time). Looks like I will be seeking a chipSET cooler as well as a new CPU cooler for overclocking this board (I am still on the stock aircooling).

Does anyone here have any recommendations for a CPU cooler that will work with this board? I would like to use the thermalright XP-120, but the proximity of some of the caps to the CPU slot worries me. Also, if anyone has any recommendations for a chipset fan/heatsing to replace the passive cooling on this board, I would appreciate those tips as well.

Thanks!

 

[LankaBoy]

Hey there,

I'm building my rig right now with the Chaintech board and the Zalman 7700 alcu which fits without a problem. The 7700 clears the RAM in the first two channels no prob. It also clears the 24-pin connector and is not in the way of anything else (so far).

I don't know, tho', if I'll be able to fit a chipset fan on top of the chipset heatsink because the fins of the 7700 come pretty close to the chipset heatsink. That may not be a prob, tho', 'cause the 7700 might indirectly do fine for the chipset too.

Hope that helps,
LankaBoy

 

[MajorPayne]

Originally posted by: LankaBoy
Hey there,

I'm building my rig right now with the Chaintech board and the Zalman 7700 alcu which fits without a problem. The 7700 clears the RAM in the first two channels no prob. It also clears the 24-pin connector and is not in the way of anything else (so far).

I don't know, tho', if I'll be able to fit a chipset fan on top of the chipset heatsink because the fins of the 7700 come pretty close to the chipset heatsink. That may not be a prob, tho', 'cause the 7700 might indirectly do fine for the chipset too.

Hope that helps,
LankaBoy

Awsome -- Thanks Lankaboy! I have had this fan/heatsink on other CPU's before, and loved it, so I will pick one up tomorrow. I will probably try to find some kind of fan for the chipset tho (just cause I do not want to risk frying my board, considering how hard it is to get one of these boards!).