DFI NFII Ultra vs Gigabyte 7N400 Pro or 7NNXP

[SenateDC]

I am wanting to choose between the DFI NFII Ultra and Gigabyte 7NNXP or 7N400 Pro

I am not to sure on which one to choose I like DFI's package stuff but..... I want the better board can somebody please tell me there opinon on the better board.

Thanks

 

[SenateDC]

i am really not to sure but people say the Gigabyte 7N400 pro is better then these 3 is this true?

 

[NEVERwinter]

for the price/performance.... yes.

 

[Iron Woode]

Originally posted by: NEVERwinter
for the price/performance.... yes.

That depends on whether he wants cheap and fairly fast or the best board of the three.

DFI NF2 Ultra beats all NF2 boards in performance.

Considering what you get with the Lan Party NF2 it is a bargain.

Check out AnandTech's review of this board. If I had a cheaper Canadian source, I would buy it.

 

[SenateDC]

would it be a problem if i got the DFI NF2 and got the COOLERMASTER AERO 7 LITE heatsink because i read in a review that it doesn't have and holes to hold it down is this true thats the only thing that turns me away from it.

http://www.ninjalane.com/display.aspx?docname=lanparty-nf2ultra&page=10

The Bad Things:
No heatsink mounting holes
No active Northbridge cooling

Thats what they said about it

Its not like i don't have the money i am willing to get the best board for performance money isn't a major issue its only 40 dollars more for the DFI NF2 and that pays for the round cords that gigabyte doesn't throw in .

 

[Iron Woode]

Originally posted by: SenateDC
would it be a problem if i got the DFI NF2 and got the COOLERMASTER AERO 7 LITE heatsink because i read in a review that it doesn't have and holes to hold it down is this true thats the only thing that turns me away from it.

http://www.ninjalane.com/display.aspx?docname=lanparty-nf2ultra&page=10

The Bad Things:
No heatsink mounting holes
No active Northbridge cooling

Thats what they said about it

Its not like i don't have the money i am willing to get the best board for performance money isn't a major issue its only 40 dollars more for the DFI NF2 and that pays for the round cords that gigabyte doesn't throw in .

I understand your concerns about the mounting holes. I guess that would depend on how serious a HSF you really need. There are some very good HSF setups that don't need mounting holes.

Active NB cooling is not that big a deal. Most MB companies use crappy setups that fail often. My 8RDA+ didn't have active NB cooling either, so I bought the Vantec Iceberg kit (copper for me). It is way better than what the factory puts there.

That's the best advice I can give.

 

[SenateDC]

do you know any good heatsink fan setups i can go with for this board that would be top notch sorry for so many questions i just don't want to mess up anything

 

[Iron Woode]

no problem at all.

The best place to look for those opinions would be the CPU/Overclocking or the Case/Cooling forums here.

PS: you don't learn anything without asking.

 

[SenateDC]

quick question if the dfi NFII ultra has 4 ide's and the main one is cancled out by the sata when in use when i hook up my raptor 36.6 sata it will be the main hdd and then i can hook up my 120 gig to another ide correct?

 

[carpenter]

Hi Senate, I just got a 7N400Pro a couple of weeks ago and went through the same decision making process. I ended up with this board because I didn't need the extra lan port and according to the reviews, the extra power card didn't really do much. I really liked the looks and features of the DFI, but thought the price was a little high, especially as in a couple of months something later and greater will come along and the price will drop drastically. I just added a gig of Corsair to this board today and tomorrow am swapping the 2000xp for a 2600 (333fsb). Until I get another 80Gb SE I can't test the raid in ide. Some where along the way I want to try one of the serial drives. That was one of the nice things about this board, it gives you a lot of options. So far the performance has been very good. Can't give any numbers out yet because I'm not done switching stuff and playing with it. I did have a problem with the audio and I downloaded the latest and greatest drivers and that took care of it. I still haven't been able to get the onboard lan port to work right even with the newest drivers. Luckily I had an extra 10/100 in the drawer and that works fine. It was an easy board to set up and seems to run smooth so far, but I haven't tried any oc yet. I don't go overboard on the oc anyway, good performance with stability. This is the first Giga that I've used and the quality impressed me.

 

[SenateDC]

well damn that helps me out alot I might just go with the gigabyte and save some cash i just need to know what heatsink to throw on it because i am getting the 3000+ barton... but thanks for all your help i just don't want the lan port to be a problem with mine... So its not working at all?

 

[Iron Woode]

These issues pop up with new stuff.

You are correct about the DFI SATA setup.

I use a XP2500+ Barton and it is great. Overclocks nice too.

The best choice is always a compromise.

 

[carpenter]

No it's not, but I haven't had the time the last few nights to play wiith it either. New boards always have these little gremlins that pop up and I'm sure the DFI in going to be no different. I think it's funny that some of the reviews are raving about some of these boards and they haven't been run long enough yet to reveal their true nature. The DFI comes with a great accessory package, but with a great price too. I didn't get the 400Pro cheap, but I wanted a nf2 board and the Anandtech review finally swayed me. I'm glad I went with the 400Pro vs the NNXP. And really with the raid options I have vs the DFI, I'm glad too. I run RD0 on my other box and like it for the speed. But in the end, you have to live with it. If this board keeps going the way it's been so far and no major problems show up I think I'll get another one to build a system for my daughter. Nuff said, talks cheap.

 

[SenateDC]

Bought DFI with 3000+ Barton today from new egg I also bought that Cool Max Aero 7+ to cool the barton. Hope this stuff works out good. 9800 Pro All in wonder is arriving tommorow.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Originally posted by: SenateDC
Bought DFI with 3000+ Barton today from new egg I also bought that Cool Max Aero 7+ to cool the barton. Hope this stuff works out good. 9800 Pro All in wonder is arriving tommorow.

wow. i am building a new computer in about 2 or 3 weeks and would love to know how well the dfi does for you. i am going with a 2500 but that should make very little difference.

 

[PCboy]

Originally posted by: SenateDC
Bought DFI with 3000+ Barton today from new egg I also bought that Cool Max Aero 7+ to cool the barton. Hope this stuff works out good. 9800 Pro All in wonder is arriving tommorow.

hey tell me if the fan works.. hope i helped you.

 

[PCboy]

oh and to the topic:

I would pic the DFI NFII Ultra, the only problem I can find is the Clear CMOS Jumper. It's in a completely awkward location and extremely hard to get to once it is installed in a case.. but that's no big deal. For the performance you get, that won't matter to you.

 

[Iron Woode]

Originally posted by: PCboy
oh and to the topic:

I would pic the DFI NFII Ultra, the only problem I can find is the Clear CMOS Jumper. It's in a completely awkward location and extremely hard to get to once it is installed in a case.. but that's no big deal. For the performance you get, that won't matter to you.

There are also 2 reset buttons on the board too.

Originally posted by: SenateDC
Bought DFI with 3000+ Barton today from new egg I also bought that Cool Max Aero 7+ to cool the barton. Hope this stuff works out good. 9800 Pro All in wonder is arriving tommorow.

Let us know how it works.

 

[Soulkeeper]

i just got a dfi lanparty today
it looks great and has lots of cool features and accessories

 

[SenateDC]

I got my board and my processors its fast as hell. I got the ati radeon 9800 all in wonder pro its bad ass the only problem is that this thing that came with the board called like hardware monitor beeps really loud and says my system temp is to high. I was gonna ask on the fourm what a good fan cooled pc's system and cpu should be at right now mine is like for the cpu 115 F and the system was at 42 C and then the damn thing was beeping because it said it was too high. But the motherboard doesn't shut down.

 

[AngryGames]

Hi Senate,

I have replied to your other thread about the beeping.

HW Doctor program did that to me on the Intel I875 and another customer's DFI NF2. Had to do with the fan speed being incorrectly reported (I875 - BIOS flash fixed this and any thermal issues).

The NF2 problem was solved by plugging the case fan into Chassis plug near the RAID chip instead of the Chassis fan connector near the NB (it doesn't monitor fan speed anymore after latest BIOS flash for some reason!).

let me know if this helps!

PS: my NF2 LanParty using HyperX PC2700, is running stable @ 197x11 now. Guys at my other forums are getting 220Mhz+ FSB's out of them (memory is VERY important when overclocking these boards!)

Let me know if this helps, and any questions you guys might have, dont be afraid to ask!

Travis H

 

[carpenter]

I wish other mother board tech reps would visit these sites. Gotta give the DFI people a bow, you guys must really care. Just hope you don't give up on us after the success sets in.

 

[AngryGames]

well, my only complaint is here at Anandtech its hard for me to keep up with ANY thread lol...it just seems like they are everywhere, and ppl post so fast a new thread can get bumped to the 4th page within minutes!

But I have a system...I simply search ALL the Anandtech forums with: DFI

click on anything new that I dont recognize, and hopefully get to you guys before you have given up (or are hunting down reps with shotties lol).

I too hope other mobo mfg's will provide online reps. I work these forums, Overclockers.com forums, and mainly the AMDMB.com forums. The other two are more organized, but there are more members here at Anand than at both the other forums combined. But my search system is actually pretty easy, as long as I remember to do it twice a day =).

And don't worry about us giving up...I need the money and they need to let as many ppl know as they can that they are here for the long haul. Besides, I own all of the LP boards, and I gotta say they are all top notch. =)

Travis

 

[MaceHowling]

Originally posted by: AngryGames

PS: my NF2 LanParty using HyperX PC2700, is running stable @ 197x11 now. Guys at my other forums are getting 220Mhz+ FSB's out of them (memory is VERY important when overclocking these boards!)

Hi Travis,

I am going to be getting a NF2 LanParty in a few days and I am wondering what memory I should get along with it to get stellar results.

Also, is there any truth to what NinjaLane's review said about the NF2 LanParty, "I wouldn't expect to break any speed records with this board considering the overclocking limitation but I'd expect that to go away with an updated BIOS release."

Thanks in advance.

 

[AngryGames]

hiya Mace,

about the Ninja review statement: I don't know if you will break any speed records either...but the FSB goes up to 300 and I've yet to hear an AMD board hitting a stable 300 (600Mhz effective) yet... =) I can clock my XP2500 straight up to 220x10 without even messing around in it. I've not yet had the time to really dive into how far I can get this thing to go.

I don't know of what limitations he is talking about other than a complaint that 2.8v on the vdimm isn't enough. Again, I am at 220x10 with Buffalo DDR400 CH-5 @ 2.7v. With the latest BIOS...its a cinch to overclock.

As for RAM, I cannot recommend the HyperX PC3500 or PC4000 (or the PC3700) as I am seeing issues crop up with it (not just DFI NF2 issues either).

But I can recommend Buffalo DDR3200 (BH-5 or CH-5 chips) as being monster RAM. No heat spreaders, but I have had no need for them yet.

I can also recommend the TWINX Corsair modules. I do not have any of these, but the lab in Taiwan has tested them and they are good clockers.

GEIL Golden Dragon is highly recommended as being excellent RAM. GEIL blue-shielded RAM is very problematic in ASUS, Giga, DFI NF2 boards (and a few others). DO NOT BUY THE BLUE SHIELD RAM FOR NF2. It might work...but why take the chance?

OCZ makes excellent memory also. I can ask the lab if you have a specific module in mind.

TwinMOS is probably the best RAM I have seen to date. The CH-5 and the TMD chips are awesome.

I also advise buying twin-packs of RAM, guaranteed to run in dual-chan mode. I have never had a problem just buying two at once at same time and getting them to work in dc...but again, err on the safe side.

If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask me =)

Travis