Help Me Choose Between These 939 Boards, Please

[stimpy1]

Can anyone enlighten me as to the advatages of one of these socket 939 boards over the other. I just saw these Foxconn boards and they got me wondering.


FOXCONN "NF4UK8AA-8EKRS" NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra Chipset
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=13-186-037&DEPA=0

FOXCONN "NF4K8MC-RS" NVIDIA nForce4 Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-186-040&depa=1

FOXCONN "NF4K8MC-ERS" NVIDIA nForce4 Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-186-052&depa=1

CHAINTECH NVIDIA nForce4 Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU,
Model "VNF4"
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-152-053&depa=1

CHAINTECH NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU, Model "VNF4/Ultra"
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-152-049&depa=1

MSI "K8N Neo4-F" NVIDIA nForce4 Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-130-491&depa=1

I think I have the MSI and Chaintecs figured out, but the Foxconns have me confused. I've noticed that some on the forum have had good experiences with the Chaintech boards. Please pass on your experiences, observations, and recommendations. Thank you.

 

[mwmorph]

DFI "LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D" NVIDIA nForce4 (139.99)
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-136-152&depa=1

there's a reason why it's so often recommended this. 2x pci-e slots and 1 pencil line can mod it to a fully capable nforce4 sli chipset mobo. might be on the expensive side but the capabilities, stability and oc people get out of this is worth it.

 

[Alex]

Originally posted by: mwmorph
DFI "LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D" NVIDIA nForce4 (139.99)
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-136-152&depa=1

there's a reason why it's so often recommended this. 2x pci-e slots and 1 pencil line can mod it to a fully capable nforce4 sli chipset mobo. might be on the expensive side but the capabilities, stability and oc people get out of this is worth it.

second that!

 

[l Xes l]

ditttto

 

[SNM]

Originally posted by: mwmorph
DFI "LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D" NVIDIA nForce4 (139.99)
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-136-152&depa=1

there's a reason why it's so often recommended this. 2x pci-e slots and 1 pencil line can mod it to a fully capable nforce4 sli chipset mobo. might be on the expensive side but the capabilities, stability and oc people get out of this is worth it.

When are people going to stop saying that? The new boards have this ability stripped out of them, and even the older boards won't work with newer nVidia drivers.

 

[ribbon13]

That is correct, but its still the best non-SLI board out.

 

[Ike0069]

From my research, I would choose the MSI Neo4 or the Chaintech. MSI has more features and better OC'ing (which is why it costs more), but both seem to be quite stable.

 

[Machine350]

DFI if you're an overclocker, Chaintech if not.

 

[rise]

Originally posted by: SNM

Originally posted by: mwmorph
DFI "LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D" NVIDIA nForce4 (139.99)
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-136-152&depa=1

there's a reason why it's so often recommended this. 2x pci-e slots and 1 pencil line can mod it to a fully capable nforce4 sli chipset mobo. might be on the expensive side but the capabilities, stability and oc people get out of this is worth it.

When are people going to stop saying that? The new boards have this ability stripped out of them, and even the older boards won't work with newer nVidia drivers.

thank God someone else said it too. i see mwmorph, as well as others, constantly referring to this non-existant "feature" as a reason to buy the board. it is a very good non-sli board. i'll probably get it myself when the venice comes and i finally get my amd set up.

 

[stimpy1]

So I guess there's not much confidence in Foxconn. The DFI is over my budget :frown:

 

[rivethead]

Actually, if you search a little harder in the Motherboards forum, you'll see there are many satisfied Foxconn owners. I believe Foxconn is the second largest mobo maker out there. It's only recently that they've entered the retail market. The use to just supply mobos to others.

I narrowed my choices down to the Foxconn and the Chaintech VNF4 Ultra. I ended up going with the Chaintech. I decided on the Chaintech because:

1) it was less expensive (primarily because it does NOT have a Firewire controller/port...but I didn't need that).
2) it is more seasoned (it was one of the first NForce 4 Ultra boards released...there have already been 2 BIOS updates vs one for the Foxconn).
3) the Foxconn chipset fan is supposed to be fairly loud (and noise level was a consideration of mine).

I looked at the DFI, but I couldn't justify spending the extra $40+ for an extra PCI-E socket that I won't use (I have no interest in SLI).

Really, it comes down to what you're going to use the board for. If you're an overclocker, the DFI is probably worth the extra money.

 

[mwmorph]

what about this?
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2322

 

[JoLim24601]

Didn't they say they were going to put epoxy paint on it or something so it wouldn't be possible anymore? That article is over 2 months old.

 

[imported_Kensai]

Originally posted by: franguinho

Originally posted by: mwmorph
DFI "LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D" NVIDIA nForce4 (139.99)
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-136-152&depa=1

there's a reason why it's so often recommended this. 2x pci-e slots and 1 pencil line can mod it to a fully capable nforce4 sli chipset mobo. might be on the expensive side but the capabilities, stability and oc people get out of this is worth it.

second that!

 

[MrControversial]

The Chaintech is good for price and I got a decent oc out of it as well. The price can't be beat.

 

[mwmorph]

read this. it's not the paint, just chipset drivers.
http://forums.vr-zone.com.sg/showthread.php?t=20409&page=2&pp=15
70.xx and lower are compatible, but there are modded drivers out there above 70.xx.

 

[Rike]

Originally posted by: mwmorph
what about this?
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2322

Link Important text from this link is below my comments.

Translation: The DFI Nforce4 Ultra is a good mobo. If you are very determined, you may be able to mod to SLI. You will have to find a DFI bridge chip, which will be difficult. Nvidia's drivers will try to work against you and future updates will make it worse. Good luck, you're going to need it. If you really want SLI, buy it. Again, the DFI Nforce4 Ultra is still a great mobo.

UPDATE 2/05/2005: nVidia has acted to prevent, or at least make it more difficult, to mod the Ultra board to SLI. First, DFI has advised us, and posted on their website, that they will NOT sell the SLI bridge to buyers of the Ultra board. Second, nVidia has advised us that future shipments of the Ultra chipset have been modified so that the mod to SLI will no longer be possible. An additional side effect of this second action is that the "Dual Video" mode, which performs at about 90% of SLI performance levels, will only work with nVidia SLI drivers 66.75 or earlier. If you do a quick check of web driver postings you will see it is now very difficult to find 66.75 drivers. With a chipset modded to SLI the "Dual Video" mode worked through 70.xx versions of the nVidia driver. nVidia also made it clear they will continue to make driver changes to prevent functioning of any "non-standard" (8X/8X) operation of their SLI driver. This also throws into question whether the VIA "dual graphics" mode on the 894 Pro chipset will ever work with nVidia graphics cards. If you are interested in the current UT Ultra-D we suggest you buy one now if you can find it. Future versions of the UT Ultra-D will not have the same capabilities as a result of these actions.