Is this S939 board suitable for my needs?

[TurtleCrusher]

Foxconn NF4K8AC-8EKRS NVIDIA nForce4 Socket 939 ATX MB w/LAN $33.99 plus S&H

I currently have an Asus A8AE-le mATX with one PCI-express x16 and three pci slots. It has 4 DIMM's and two sata 1.5GB ports. The Foxconn board has one PCI-Express x16, two PCI-Express x1 and four PCI slots, four DIMM's and four SATA ports.

The reason why i want to upgrade to a retail motherboard is because i would like to overclock my processor and tighten my ram timings. Here is my current setup:

AMD x2 4200+ 2.2GHZ 512K L2 per core, socket 939 Manchester.
Thermaltake TMG A3 92mm Enter CPU Cooler
4GB (4x1GB) Super*Talent PC3200 at 3-3-3-8.
ASUS A8AE-le mATX
Sapphire Radeon HD3850 512MB GRRD3 Single Slot
Creative SB Audigy Gamer PCI 24-bit
Raidmax Hybrid 530-SS Modular PSU (12V1=20A 12V2=17A)
Antec Silver P180 ATX Case
Seagate 200GB 7200RPM SATA 1.5GB HDD
Maxtor 80GB 7200RPM IDE HDD
Acer AL2216Wbd 22" 1680x1050 5ms
Dell E177FP 17" 1280x1024 8ms

Now, the board i currently have came with my Compaq SR1750NX and all of the bios options are locked. I can overclock with clockgen, but i dont trust it and it cant improve timings. My CPU cooler keeps the CPU ice cold (Currently at 34C with 40% load. I use AS Ceramique.) And i believe the ram can overclock very well as the heat spreaders look heavy duty. I'm aiming for 2.5-2.6Ghz, do you think this board could get me there? Also, the two PCI-express x1 slots look promising for more upgrades.

 

[FireTech]

The Foxconn nForce 4 boards are not renowned for their overclocking ability - the opposite in fact.
A quick Google of reviews will reveal the reviewers disappointments... Sorry.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

How high do you think it'll go? I'm not looking for any serious overclocks. Is 2.4Ghz attainable?

 

[FireTech]

http://www.pcstats.com/article...?articleid=1819&page=2

"we weren't sure how things would go when it finally came down to overclocking. Of course, since the NF4K8AC-8EKRS lacks any multiplier controls we did not expect to get very far...

We started out the overclocking at 200 MHz, raised the motherboard clock speed in 5 MHz intervals. The first few attempts went smoothly enough, and then promptly cut out at 216 MHz.

Attempts to push the NF4K8AC-8EKRS faster than that created BSOD issues while booting Windows, so it overclocking is certainly not one of the hallmarks of this board. We even tried adjusting the memory timings and system voltages, but to no avail.

Realistically, its poor overclockability shouldn't be much of a surprise considering this motherboard is not marketed towards enthusiasts, but rather mainstream users."

I suspect you'll have to be happy with what you've got or eBay the processor etc and move to a new platform.
Unfortunately the Global meltdown means upgrades are that much more expensive......

 

[poohbear]

i'd recommend buying one of the DFI NF4 mobos. If there's a hall of fame for overclocking mobos, they'd be in it. U might be able to find em used for $25-$40. I wont pay anymore for something as old as NF4 personally.

 

[nerp]

If you can find a stray EpoX 9NPA+ or 9NPA3ULTRA or something, they should boost you up too.

 

[Binky]

I own that board. It's very stable and a great board overall. It is NOT a great overclocker. I never got more than about +10% on it. The NF4 fan/heatsink is incredibly loud and needs to be replaced with a passive zalman, preferably with a silent fan blowing on or near it.

 

[FireTech]

Originally posted by: Binky
The NF4 fan/heatsink is incredibly loud and needs to be replaced with a passive zalman, preferably with a silent fan blowing on or near it.

or an HR-05 SLI

 

[Rhoxed]

the board died on me in a week, went back to my MSI K8N Neo-4 Platinum has served me well for almost 3 yrs now

 

[killster1]

just because ram has heatsinks doesnt mean it overclocks.. but the mobo is fine.. you wont find a matx let alone a 939 matx that overclocks great.. if its cheap id go for it.. if not id scratch your whole box and get a cheaper c2d that will smoke it..

i had matx 939 foxconn that overclocked fine with some good ram.. who cares about multi's if you have good ram..