IS ANYTHING GOOD????

[pfisto]

Well after so much research I can only come to one decision there are no good 939 M/B out there. I have built many puters before and as allways trying to get a straight answer is like asking about religon. My point here is I have read all the reviews on the ASUS,MSI,ABIT mother boards and yes for the most part all the sites doing the reviews all say what a wonderful product we have reviewed. Then go to the forums and start reading all the problems so many people are having. Now I understand for the most part these forums are used by 2 types of people the first one is the person looking for information to make an inteligent purchase and the second is the person who has made this purchase and can't get the darn thing to work. Now knowing all this right now Iam the first person looking to make the leap of faith. Now I don't expect to not have any problems with my setup as I will probably have to purchase more hardware than I plan on but I can deal with that and I also know that there will be lemons but having said all this I still need to upgrade my old system and since there seems to be to many problems with the 939 boards at this point......... This is where you come in. I am not asking for the perfect system not even the BEST sytem just a system that has been proven reliable. Most of my systems have been ASUS and I will be doing alittle overclocking not real aggressive. I guess I will be needing a MOTHERBOARD,RAM AND POWERSUPPLY AND MAYBE A VIDEO CARD. So let me hear all the good stuff.
Thanks Mike

 

[Ioo]

Motherboard - MSI K8N Neo2 or wait for nForce 4
RAM - OCZ Platinum Rev.2 PC3200
Video - Geforce 6600GT or Radeon X800 non-pro (not out yet)

Really the question you need to answer is are you willing to wait for nForce4 and Pci Express, or not. That will impact what you can choose from.

 

[gobucks]

i'd wait for nforce4 at this point, at the very least you should wait to see how it fares before you potentially throw your money away. Asus has boards en route to etailers as we speak, so I'm sure we'll be hearing all about them in the coming week or 2. If the boards suck, then just go with an NF3 or K8T800 system, but I imagine NF4 will be something worth waiting for, especially when the wait is likely just a week or so.

As for other recommendations:
Video: 6600GT, hands down. Simply wails on anything in its price range right now (X700XT doesn't count, since ATI can't even make the damn things until the next revision of the silicon, and the X800 non-pro won't even be paperlaunched for another month at least, and I don't hold much hope of being able to buy one before late feb/early march). I like the XFX Dual-DVI for $179.
CPU: Since you're not overclocking much, it's up to you. Anything in the 3000+ - 3500+ range is a good value, it just depends on your budget. All 3 models can hit 2.6GHz (assuming 90nm parts), so there will be as much overclocking potential as you want. At stock, I like the 3200+ for $190, for overclocking it's hard to beat the 3000+ for $140.
Memory: If you're not a hardcore overclocker, don't bother with $275 extreme low-latency memory. It's just not worth it. Paying a $125 premium for maybe 5% performance boost over CAS3 DDR400 just isn't worth the extra $$$$. For the same price, you could get a 3500+ over a 3000+ for like an 18% boost, or a better video card for an even bigger boost (look at 6800GT versus 6800NU for example). Go for some Mushkin or Corsair Value Ram, both are like $150 for a 1GB kit, and have room for at least some mild overclocking (maybe DDR433 or 450), and the CAS is like 2.5, which isn't too bad.

 

[jackeyzhao]

Originally posted by: gobucks
i'd wait for nforce4 at this point, at the very least you should wait to see how it fares before you potentially throw your money away. Asus has boards en route to etailers as we speak, so I'm sure we'll be hearing all about them in the coming week or 2. If the boards suck, then just go with an NF3 or K8T800 system, but I imagine NF4 will be something worth waiting for, especially when the wait is likely just a week or so.

As for other recommendations:
Video: 6600GT, hands down. Simply wails on anything in its price range right now (X700XT doesn't count, since ATI can't even make the damn things until the next revision of the silicon, and the X800 non-pro won't even be paperlaunched for another month at least, and I don't hold much hope of being able to buy one before late feb/early march). I like the XFX Dual-DVI for $179.
CPU: Since you're not overclocking much, it's up to you. Anything in the 3000+ - 3500+ range is a good value, it just depends on your budget. All 3 models can hit 2.6GHz (assuming 90nm parts), so there will be as much overclocking potential as you want. At stock, I like the 3200+ for $190, for overclocking it's hard to beat the 3000+ for $140.
Memory: If you're not a hardcore overclocker, don't bother with $275 extreme low-latency memory. It's just not worth it. Paying a $125 premium for maybe 5% performance boost over CAS3 DDR400 just isn't worth the extra $$$$. For the same price, you could get a 3500+ over a 3000+ for like an 18% boost, or a better video card for an even bigger boost (look at 6800GT versus 6800NU for example). Go for some Mushkin or Corsair Value Ram, both are like $150 for a 1GB kit, and have room for at least some mild overclocking (maybe DDR433 or 450), and the CAS is like 2.5, which isn't too bad.

great recommendations for guys like myself who does not have a huge buget, very practical. props

 

[Steeplerot]

GIGABYTE GA-K8NS Ultra-939 111$ Rock solid stable all the OC stuff you could need, NF3-Ultra goodness, tons of features raid all that stuff -keping my 3000+ winchester at 2.55 daily 34-38c on cheap geil 3200 ram.
15$ heatsink lol. http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=13-128-263&depa=1

Not the most known board since it is brand new but it it has been awesome to use and OC.
If your not interested in a MSI chipset as I was not and looking for something way cheaper then the other boards in it's class . Highly recommended.

 

[blckgrffn]

I just RMA'ed my first epox 939, I am hoping that once I have that back I will be able to give it a thumbs up. I realize there are some bad boards in every batch, but it is still damn disapointing. I was able to get my 3000+ to 2.38 ghz, while not great is certainly VERY much faster than my AXP 3000+ ;-) Good luck!

 

[Andres3605]

msi neo 2 + 3200 winchester+ OCZ gold (http://www.newegg.com/app/View...20-146-883&depa=0) + Antec sonata


i always get quality ram, but if you dont want something especial just get Corsair value ram

 

[Hatebot]

Originally posted by: Steeplerot
GIGABYTE GA-K8NS Ultra-939 111$ Rock solid stable all the OC stuff you could need, NF3-Ultra goodness, tons of features raid all that stuff -keping my 3000+ winchester at 2.55 daily 34-38c on cheap geil 3200 ram.
15$ heatsink lol. http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=13-128-263&depa=1

Not the most known board since it is brand new but it it has been awesome to use and OC.
If your not interested in a MSI chipset as I was not and looking for something way cheaper then the other boards in it's class . Highly recommended.

I'm planning on getting a 3000+ winchester as well. I've been doing some research about decent mobos and it seems that there are problems with everything. Did you have to flash the bios to update it, and does that board support 90 nm stuff ? Thanks.

 

[wicktron]

the msi is the premiere s939 mobo. enough said. it's been proven in many circles.

nforce4? that's another story that we'll have to wait and see.

 

[pfisto]

Gobucks,
Thanks for the reply everything you have said makes sence. I probably should wait for the new boards but we all know how hard that is. What I was originaly looking at was the OCZ power supply, either the corsair or ocz ram (3200 rev 2) the video card you mentioned and I have used asus the last 2 builds so it was them or abit,msi. Believe me I'm not going to overclock very aggresive but I love to tinker so the better ram will help. The cpu will be a min 3000+ but probably the 3200. I spend much time reading these posts on all the forums just trying to funnel all the info then make my decision but these 939 seem to be a hit or miss setup which I would love to avoid as we all would. But at any rate thanks everyone for the advice.
Pfisto

 

[gobucks]

if you just want a little bit of overclocking room, I like Andres idea of the OCZ EL modules for $215. I imagine they have a bit of overclocking potential if you relax the timings. Anyways, yeah, it is really hard to wait for new stuff, especially when it's been delayed so much, but the wait really is almost over, and "buying blind" now and not even giving future hardware a chance is a recipe for regret and disappointment. After all, who wants to see a great new platform emerge 1 week after you get your system?

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: jackeyzhao

Originally posted by: gobucks
<snip>

great recommendations for guys like myself who does not have a huge buget, very practical. props

Agreed, good all around advice from gobucks.

 

[CubanlB]

I like anything... besides, your trying to hard, if it does what you need its good. Heck, Im on a 2100+ on a kt333 board, it works and I consider it good



enough. good enough.