DFI Ultra D, good board to go with?

[rise]

i have this board coming but i am having second/third thoughts. this whole 2 times 16x pci-e is odd. certainly, the new boards, like mine, will not be moddable, which leads me to think i'm just throwing money away. however, the price is in-line with other top mobo's with only 1 pci-e 16x, although i haven't gone feature to feature yet.

seeing that the 16x is "backwards" compatible with 4x and 1x, i guess it really doesn't matter. however, i don't see many non-graphics pci-e cards around and running 2 monitors, nevermind 4, isn't something i was planning on. i had thought that maybe i would go sli in the future, big maybe, but the option is kinda nice. and the oc'ing abilities of the dfi appear well revered.

and of course, seeing SO many threads about problems with this board, i'm getting a little nervous. i know not a whole lot of people start threads with "just got this board and it's rock solid". this will be my first amd rig (waiting on the venice) so i'm a little concerned about being overwhelmed by this board.

so my question would be, am i a moron to get this board? i have a new evga 6800gt ),and the following left over from my current rig-
-a gig kit of ocz pc3500 2.5
-zalman 7000 alcu
-CM praetorian
-opticals
-diamond PVR 550 pci
-2 hdd

and planning on one of these psu's
Skyhawk, alot of good reviews but the name scares me, lol
x-clio

or possibly an enermax, antec of similar size. more money though.

and the new a64 either 3000+ or 3200+ when they arrive. speaking of which, when will that be?

edit- i have searched this, but seems like a bunch of conflicting info/opinions

 

[Hott Nikkels]

Yes, it's a good board to go with. The whole 2x PCI-E on the Ultra - D, well, I hear all new DFI boards are having the SLI modified bridge disabled, and any new drivers or bios' coming out will disable any modified SLI you did to make it SLI compatible... so the ULTRA D for all intended purposes should not be bought as an SLI board, and don't plan on the SLI mod working, or working for long, you also void warranty.

The board itself, even without the SLI mod, is VERY good... The overclocking is top knotch, but similar results can be had with an MSI Neo4 and I hear the MSI wins for stability. Indeed there are a lot of problems.. but they're praised so much that so many people have them, the more people have them, the more problems you're going to SEE... because the people will post them here if that makes sense... doesn't mean it's a bad mobo or even that you'll have problems with it. I assume you mean the new Venice chips. They are said to be shipping post 4/4/05. So buy sometime after that. Make sure that in the model # it says xxxxxxxxBPxxx not xxxxxxxBIxxxxx or whatever... that's how you tell the difference. BP will be the new chips aka Venice.

I hear there might be some compatibility issue with nForce4 and the new Venice, though it's said a simple bios fix can make it all go away, and it'll run like butta...

I recommend the XCilio 450w as that's what I am getting and seems to be a really good deal @ $50... very quiet too from what I hear.

.02
Cheers

 

[rise]

yep, the venice and thanks for cutting thru my garbled thread. so essentially i'm getting a very good oc'ing 939 board. i can live with that.

otoh, is it my imagination or did newegg pull the x-clio 480? i had auto-notified it but i don't even see it oss anymore. i believe x-clio is made by channell well who makes pcp&c too, so i think i'll get that, th 450 if th 480 isn't back. i was surprised at the reviews i saw on the skyhawk tho.

 

[Hott Nikkels]

I've never heard of skyhawk but if you're impressed by it go ahead and get it! Come back here and write a lil review of how it does... I think the 450w xclio will suit your needs though.

 

[Macro2]

Why do people always want to know opinions AFTER they have already ordered the part?

 

[Thurgo0dy]

Self assurance I guess

 

[thanatos355]

opinions are like....well, we all know what they're like. a million and one people can tell you that their board is rock solid stable and never gives them a problem, but that doesnt have ANYTHING to do with the board you will receive.

 

[rise]

Originally posted by: Macro2
Why do people always want to know opinions AFTER they have already ordered the part?

actually, because this is the first purchasing "kinda-mistake" i made, as i ordered it sunday morning kinda bleary eyed from the night before and i forgot about the whole sli mod/non mod thing. when i clicked a link from hot deals i just half-scanned the specs quickly, saw the 2x 16 and was like, screw it, just order it already. i was tired of reading the countless reviews/benchies/opinions.

but at any rate, the more i think about it, i'm not going sli for a while, if at all, so i'm sure i'll be happy with it.

 

[thanatos355]

well, with options from ati like the x800xl and the x850xt, you dont really need sli.