Gigabyte help----almost ready to purchase!!!!

[zha4fh]

Hello everyone,

i am 2mm away from buying the gigabyte GA-7N400 Pro with the AMD2700, yet amd.com does not list this mobo on its recommend list.
what do u guys think??? Will i have any problems???

Other info: i really like this board because of it slew of features, esp. IDE RAID support. However, my decision will be made on the XP2700 cpu. I want this even though it may not be a best value.

Also, can anyone please suggest memory??? I will probably only get (1) 512mb to start with. Please be specific. I am not that smart and am new at this stuff......

Mucho thanks.

 

[3sixes]

zha,
I have that board, with a xp1700 now running as xp2700 11x200 1.85v
I am running corsair 3200 xms c2, 2 256 sticks that will run either 5.2.2.2 , 6.2.2.2, or 11.2.2.2 timings, currently 11.2.2.2.5

Some are reporting slow raid speeds, and others are saying its ok, I dont know didnt buy for raid, bought for more storeage capability.

I would reccommend you consider 2 256 sticks of ram, that way you presumably would allways have 1good one if the other went bad, with 1 512 if it goes bad, youre stuck.

Key thing if you get the board, read the setup sheet, lots of people creating problems for themselves from jump street on that.

Me, im loving this board, took my xp1700 to a nice o/c speed with little effort, runs all my games, tv tuner, apps without any hesitation.

There are new bios out for the board yesterday, I will pass as my shipping bios f8 is rock solid, I have no need to change.

Let me know it ya need info

 

[MAW1082]

I have that board. Really like it. IDE RAID can also be used as a 2 additional normal IDE channels. Easy to setup, stable. Currently running a 2500+. Also 4 RAM slots is a plus.

 

[mudboy]

I have it, it's a sweet board, I'm very glad that I bought it.

Pete

 

[zha4fh]

MAW1082 and Mudboy... thanks.
but i have now been reading some folks are having problems....quite a few posts actually....people flash their own bios just to get it to work...I assume that you guys havent had any problems????

That would be my worst nightmare. I have never built a box before...(not as easy as i first thought).

What is your opinion on these "problems"?

thanks.

 

[3sixes]

Let me start off.

There is an amazingly high incidence of people who just flat out did nothing to prepare to assemble their systems and therefore should have problems.

There are many reviews of the board avail for all to check out that clearly state that certain multiplyers are not available, that there are no holes for larger hsf mounting, ect. Yet everyday you can find those who purchased and after the fact still want to complain about it.

It really is very simple, you check out what ever documentation comes with the board, read the manual, instructions sheet what ever, you install hsf correctly with some type t.i.m, install ram per setup instructions, add video card, and all necessary power connectors and set fsb switch if applicable and proceed.

Alot of people are flash happy, Me im still running the f8 bios that shipped with the board because there is nothing wrong with it. Flashing bios to address issues that were created by user error will never work and can only lead to more problems.

I have never come across a motherboard that could not be setup, unless defective.

You just have to take your time and know what youre doing, or ask alot of questions.

One other thing, in 10 years of building systems I will rate this one as one of the smoothest setups ever!!!

Im not focused on proc speeds currently but would like to know why the 2700, seems most are getting the 2500 and running it at 200fsb for xp3200 speeds.

 

[zha4fh]

Originally posted by: 3sixes
Let me start off.

There are many reviews of the board avail for all to check out that clearly state that certain multiplyers are not available, that there are no holes for larger hsf mounting, ect. Yet everyday you can find those who purchased and after the fact still want to complain about it.

It really is very simple, you check out what ever documentation comes with the board, read the manual, instructions sheet what ever, you install hsf correctly with some type t.i.m, install ram per setup instructions, add video card, and all necessary power connectors and set fsb switch if applicable and proceed.


You just have to take your time and know what youre doing, or ask alot of questions.

3sixes thanks for your effort to post. i appreciate it.
i think i am on the same page as you. RTFM.
a few more ?: what is "hsf" and "tim"?

additionally, although i am not buying this board to oc, i know that with time (and some reading) i will eventually try it.
the issue of not have certain multipliers with this board....is this a concern i should consider if i am going to want to oc in the future??

thanks again!

 

[3sixes]

hsf= heat sink fan t.i.m= thermal interface material or heat sink compound.

Ideally today if you were to attempt to overclock, you would want to do so by raising the front side bus or fsb.
So if the cpu that you buy is a 166fsb cpu, the thing that you would want to to do overclock it is change the fsb to 200, allthough you have to be selective about which processor you start with if youre going to try and overclock it, different speed cpu's overclock differently, that why I asked why the xp2700 and not the xp2500 which pretty easily goes to 200fsb.

 

[zha4fh]

thanks again 3sixes!

I was going to get the xp2700 just because it is only $137.00. the xp2500 is only $88. not much of a difference. The 2700 just seemed like a good priceerformance.

Do you recommend the 2500??? I dont care about the $$. And like i said before, oc is probably going to happen, but I dont want to push anything (no water cooling, etc.).

I was planning on building a top-quality system.
budget is ~
200 > mobo (w/RAID)
100 > power supply (400w and QUIET)
150 > case (lian li)
100 > cooling, other accessories.
150> memory.
I have everything else i need.

Thanks again. i really appreciate your help.

cheers!

 

[3sixes]

Make sure and look at the raid issues, I personally dont raid so Its not an issue to me, I just wanted more hd capability.
Some are unhappy with the raid speed, some are not, you have to decide if this affects you.

If youre thinking overclocking, understand that the fastest processor is not the best overclocker, example, you are talking about purchasing a xp2700, I on the other hand have a xp1700 that I run as a xp2700, its all in the cpu.

You should do some research as to which amd cpu's are currently the most overclockable, and I have not been focused on cpu's lately so I really dont know, however ive seen enough to have a good idea that the 2500 barton seems to be the cpu of choice in many new post.

You can browse the cpu forums at various sites, and there are a few overclockers cpu database's out there.

For sure make sure about the cpu, you would hate to get all this other stuff and find out that you bought a cpu that perhaps is not as overclockable and thus not run as fast as a cheaper/lower speed one!

Might want to check out sysopt.com overclockers database. And vrzone.com has an athlon xp database that very good.

Oh, your welcome

 

[zha4fh]

Thanks again 3sixes

the more i learn about this stuff, the more i am thinking about just buying a Dell....LOL.
i will check those websites....it seems pretty amazing to me that the 1700 is able to oc by that large amount....this complicates things.

cheers!

 

[3sixes]

zha,

Its not really that amazing just a matter of matching the right components along with good cooling.

There are some with the same processor who push it much higher, I consider this to be a mild or reasonable overclock and one of the best values for the money.

The xp1700 tbred b cpus were and still are one of ther best overclockers, this one is acutally a marked down 2500.
I did some quick spot checking yesterday different forums about cpu's and overclocking, If i we to be buying another proc today with the intention of overclocking it would be the xp2500 barton.

 

[zha4fh]

I am dizzy....man-o-man.
I will probably pick up the 2500 or 2700. those sites you recommended are good (along with this one!).
My intention was to never push the limits. just optimize, get the right components that flow nicely when put together...anyway, thanks for your repeated replies, your help is very much appreciated.

Cheers!

 

[3sixes]

Think thats dizzying, here is some more food for thought

check out amdmb.com:
overclocking forum, they have a thread xp1700 vs xp 2500 you may want to read