Gigabyte or MSI

[kwik]

I want to buy a new computer, I looked at these 2 boards. Any suggestions which one should i get Gigabyte 7N400 Pro (nForce2 Ultra) or MSI K7N2 Delta-ILSR (nVidia nForce Ultra).

thanx.

 

[Schadenfroh]

the gigabyte

 

[3sixes]

kwik

I have the 7n400pro, been a very good board for me.

Here are some links to gigabyte sites, lots of good info to check out
my alias there is dafanman, so if you go there and have any questions, ask away






Nforcershq forum


Amdmb forum

 

[Zepper]

It's a toss up. The Gigabyte has a slightly better layout (the PSU cable plugs in where it won't affect cooling as much). But the MSI is a neat red color for those with exhibitionist cases.
. It has been a while since I used a Gigabyte mobo but I don't remember any great problem with any of them. I'm currently using a low-end MSI mobo and I really like it. Just depends on features and layout preferences. I doubt there is significant performance diff.
.bh.
:Where's the :sun: ?

 

[carpenter]

Hi 3sixes dafanman, I'm going to eat crow and recommend the 400Pro. 3sixes knows the frustration I went through setting up this board, but now that I have it running well, it is a great board. I have a MSI KT3 Ultra running raid in my other box and it's a good board too. But it doesn't come close to the bench marks that I'm getting with this board not running raid. And as mad as I was getting and as much as I bad mouthed this board on the forums, if I give it a recommendation, it is deserved.

 

[Corporate Thug]

Gigabyte in a heartbeat

 

[phoeneous]

I like the 7VT600-L for the $$$. Im assuming it will support a 2500+ Barton 333?

 

[3sixes]

carpenter

Well hey there carpenter,

Glad to hear that you and that motherboard are finally getting along.
Some had issues getting this up and running, for me it was pretty much plug and play.
Luck of the hardware gods I guess.

Did you get preachers final mod?


Im starting to seriously think about a xp2500 and running it at xp3200 speeds, keeping the xp1700 as a back up chip.

Laterz

 

[Ecliptic]

I had a msi K7N2 Delta-ILSR board once and the vcore ranges from 1.54 to 1.71 (it was set to 1.6) So I would say stay away. I currently have a abit nf7-s and vcore only range from 1.58 - 1.62. It is my understanding that all nforce2 boards have vcore fluctuations. Nvidia needs to get their act together :frown: .. and they need to release IDE drivers!

 

[carpenter]

No, I've been trying to get preacher's latest installed and for some reason keep getting an error in the download. I've been gone on vacation and haven't had time to mess with it much. I've been thinking of going to the 2500 too. Also thinking of going to different memory. I don't think the PC2700 is getting the most out of this board.

 

[3sixes]

Carpenter,

Send me your email and I will mail to you.

Send to 3sixes@repairman.com

 

[carpenter]

Email sent.

 

[kwik]

Thanks all for the feed back. I also read the review of the Gigabyte on this site of the higher model 7nxxp and it is great.
will get it with xp 2500 and report back how it goes.

 

[carpenter]

Hi kwik, you'll like either one. The NNXP or 400Pro, depends on whether you need the dual lans or DPS. The "other" forum has a wealth of info on either. 3sixes, my email is rsz28@comcast.net.

 

[hasu]

Since you guys like to talk about GA-7N400PRO2 I will fire my question here..

I am thinking of upgrading my ABIT KR7A-133R to the newer nforce2 ultra board.
Gigabyte 7N400PRO2 has all the features I am looking for viz., IEEE1394/Plenty of USB 2.0/Raid or extra IDEs (for my 4 hdd+dvd+cdrw)/SATA/multi channel sound/nice layout etc.

An important feature which I miss in my ABIT compared to my old EPXO 8k7a is the keyboard power on.

My question is this -- does 7n400pro2 has keyboard power on? Or, is there any mother board out there with all the features of 7n400pro2 plus keyboard power on?

 

[3sixes]

hasu
I just checked my manual for you, page 61 shows that feature to be available.

 

[hasu]

Originally posted by: 3sixes
hasu
I just checked my manual for you, page 61 shows that feature to be available.

I have downloaded the manual from here.

The section on "Power management setup" from page 54 onwards talk about the "Power On By Mouse" and "Power on by keyboard" feature. But I was wondering if it is same as power on from a complete shutdown or is from S3(Suspend to Ram) state?

3sixes, can you please verify that it can be powered on (using keyboard) after completely shuting down from Windows?

thanks

 

[hasu]

Choosing a good motherboard is becoming a rocket science ..
I just read in nForceHQ that there is no way to decrease the CPU voltage in a PRO 2 motherboard. (Also some one said the default voltage is about 0.05 v above the nominal vcc!!). (original info here).

 

[3sixes]

hasu

Power on by keyboard does work, just got thru verifying.

If I were looking for a giga nforce2 board right now, I would still persue the pro version, even though discontinued, or go with the 7nnxp

 

[novice]

I have been a loyal MSI fan for a number of years, but when it came time to finally try an Nforce 2 board I looked in a completely different direction. I ordered a Shuttle AN35N Ultra 400, and have been very happy with it. It soundly slaps my two MSI KT3 Ultra 2 systems, even though all 3 systems run comparable setups. (XP1700 "B" T-Breds, Geforce 4 Ti4200 128 mb vid cards, 8mb cache 80 gig HD's and Win 2K) I am even using the onboard sound that came on the Shuttle, even though I have a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz sound card for it. The onboard LAN is working great as well, and it was very easy to get up and running. Being a thrifty sort, I just thought if I could get a quality Nforce 2 board that would be a good performer for less than $70 shipped, why not? I have not been disappointed by my shuttle. Check out some of the threads here and here regarding the Shuttle motherboards. You will see I am not the only one to be pleasantly surprised by their performance and value. I still like my KT Ultra 2 systems, it is just that the Shuttle is a notably higher performer.

 

[Boonesmi]

msi has a great RMA policy
i had a stack of old/dead mobo's i was able to very easily RMA the msi and asus boards.. but i had to throw out the giga-byte boards (3 yr warranty is nice )

 

[hasu]

I have just ordered GA-7N400PRO, because it has all the features I am lookin for in a single board. This is going to be my first Gigabyte ever. It is becoming difficult to get GA-7N400PRO. PRO2 version is available in plenty though. Hope everything will be fine if I upgrade the BIOS to newest available.

 

[Hyperlite26]

I cant offer advice about those specific models of Mobo's but I can speak on my experience between MSI & Gigabyte.

I went with MSI on my 1st build, 2nd and 3rd, solid as a rock! No problems whatsoever and they are still all running (family donated systems) On my 4th build I decided to go w\ the long anticipated Gigabyte 8inxp. It sure has not impressed me and especially at $255 I paid for it.

I have cold boot problems with the 8inxp and reboot problems... and the Gigabyte tech service sucks. I emailed them many times about my issues and they still have not replied back. I finally gave up. The system runs ok after it boots up but it's sporadic on the cold boots & reboots. Might work fine 3 or 4 boots in a row and then the next 2 or 3 times it wont boot and you have to shut the power off and try agn, or agn until it will come up.

There's a simple fix for it probably but I had even posted here about the problem and didnt get any feedback so I just live w\ it, but I doubt I'll buy Gigabyte agn.

As far as MSI tech support goes, I dunno, never needed them. Hmmm! :light: