Motherboard suggestions

[d4dev]

I currently have an Athlon XP 2500+, and I'm upgrading to a socket 939 system soon (within the next week). I need some advice on which motherboard I should choose for my new system. I have done a lot of research, and narrowed it down to two choices:

Asus A8N-E based on the Nforce 4 Ultra OR
ASRock 939SLI32-eSATA2 based on the ULi 1697 chipset

The ASRock has SLI (not that I'm going to use it anyway, but it's a good feature to have), more RAID options than the A8N-E (although I'm not very familiar with RAID), 5.1 HD audio (which is required for Vista), as well as a CPU upgrade slot.

On the flip side, the ULi chipset is not as well established as the Nforce 4 Ultra is, the voltage options are limited for overclocking, and the ASRock brand doesn't inspire the kind of confidence that Asus does.

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I've got a Athlon 64 3000+CPU and a Radeon X850XT 256MB to go along with this setup. I'll be carrying over my hard drive, memory and DVD Writer from my earlier system.

I'm sure I'll be CPU bottlenecked, but I've heard reports that the 3000+ can be easily oced to 2.4 GHz or more, so I'm not too worried.

So what motherboard would be the better choice?

 

[Tu13erhead]

I'm biased towards Asus and Gigabyte boards, as they've given me the least problems and have had the best features.

Why bother getting a SLI board if you're not going to use it? "It's a good feature to have"? Not really, if you're not getting SLI.

Also, the A8N-E does have onboard 7.1 surround.

NF4 Ultra is a great chipset IMO.

I say go for the Asus, hands down.

 

[d4dev]

But the AsRock also has HD audio (btw, what's the difference between surround audio and HD audio?), and it can be upgraded to socket AM2 using a riser slot. Also, the SLI is true x16, not dual x8 like many board manufacturers do. Wouldn't it be more futureproof?

Asus certainly makes world class boards, and you're right, there's no way I'm going to use SLI.

That's why this is such a hard choice. Asus+Nforce 4 Ultra makes a irrestible combination, but then so does the feature Asrock + its unbeatable price!

 

[d4dev]

bump.

 

[Tu13erhead]

Originally posted by: d4dev
But the AsRock also has HD audio (btw, what's the difference between surround audio and HD audio?), and it can be upgraded to socket AM2 using a riser slot. Also, the SLI is true x16, not dual x8 like many board manufacturers do. Wouldn't it be more futureproof?

Asus certainly makes world class boards, and you're right, there's no way I'm going to use SLI.

That's why this is such a hard choice. Asus+Nforce 4 Ultra makes a irrestible combination, but then so does the feature Asrock + its unbeatable price!

1- If you don't know the difference between HD audio and surround audio, you probably don't need HD audio. I'm not sure what HD audio is, if it's actually anything useful, but I'll look into it.

2- If you're planning on getting AM2, just buy a new motherboard then. Motherboards are cheap enough that you can sell your current one and buy a new one without losing a whole lot of cash. You're better off buying a CPU that will be more "futureproof" than a motherboard.

3- In terms of reliability, Asus >>> AsRock.

4- You get what you pay for. Cheap motherboards are cheap for a reason.

 

[d4dev]

Btw, just so everyone knows, AsRock is the value division of Asus. So both their motherboards are manufactured in the same fab.

 

[Tu13erhead]

Originally posted by: d4dev
Btw, just so everyone knows, AsRock is the value division of Asus. So both their motherboards are manufactured in the same fab.

Right. Asus keeps the good boards and gives the crap ones to AsRock.

They're "value" for a reason.

 

[Tu13erhead]

After consulting Jello, HD Audio isn't really a recognized audio spec yet.

If you're concerned about your audio, buy a separate sound card.

 

[WildHorse]

Originally posted by: d4dev
...I have done a lot of research, and narrowed it down to two choices:

Asus A8N-E based on the Nforce 4 Ultra OR
ASRock 939SLI32-eSATA2 based on the ULi 1697 chipset


So what motherboard would be the better choice?

Recommend you reopen your narrow-down decision and get
DFI LanParty nForce4 UT Ultra-D (non-SLI).

If you don't plan to buy 2 video cards then don't pay for SLI.
None but the most die-hard, rich gamers need SLI.
For most, dual video cards is an extravagant waste of $.
Also don't buy SLI thinking it'll be good in case you need in the future, because socket 939 boards are about to be superceded in the market soon by the new Socket-AM2 (940 pin).

Get a really good psu in the 480Watt+ range. The group-think on this board will say you don't need that much wattage. Ignore them, because they are dead wrong. Get 500W range power supply anyway.

As for OCing your 3000+ to 2.4, lots of people clock them to 2600MHz or more.