Need a quiet, stable, nF4 Ultra board, no OCing - DFI's and Epox's warranties?

[archcommus]

I only want Ultra because I'm not sure what HDD(s) I may or may not purchase during the time I own this board. A year from now I might still have this board and want to purchase a SATA II drive. If I had a plain nF4 board I'd have to buy an expansion card or accept slower speeds on my drive. Rather not do either.

Socket 754 vs. 939, I really just wanted 939 because it's generally accepted as the newer, and more futureish, tech, as in, it's what's moving forward, and 754 isn't. Besides, if I get a socket 939 board, couldn't an X2 chip be dropped into the same motherboard in the future with a simple BIOS update if I wanted to?

Based on ChicagoPCGuy's opinion, perhaps that Epox board will be a good choice. The ECS could be fine, as well, I just personally don't know much or have any experience with the brand.

HOWEVER, above all, I would probably go with the DFI Ultra-D if it is indeed as quiet as Bonesdad mentioned. I've been getting mixed opinions on this, I don't know if it's annoyingly loud or plenty quiet. So far have found no warranty information on DFI's site, though. That's a negative in my book.

 

[vanvock]

DFI, Asus or Epox would be a good choice. Definatley 939. Noise shouldn't really be a problem since you're not oc'ing. The DFI & probably the others support AMD Cool&Quiet which tones everything down until you need it. At the very least you can set the fan on temps in the BIOS to stay off or low speed until it gets hot, which it probably won't if you're just poking around.

 

[archcommus]

But does Cool 'n Quiet apply to the chipset fan?

 

[archcommus]

Anyone know about DFI's warranty?

 

[archcommus]

Or Epox's for that matter?

 

[Chode Messiah]

what about an abit fatal1ty or an abit 3rd eye

 

[archcommus]

Way too expensive for my needs.

 

[archcommus]

Can't for the life of me find ANYTHING about DFI's or Epox's warranties. Anybody?

 

[Promethply]

AFAIK, most mobos only have a 1 year warranty.

 

[Promethply]

Originally posted by: archcommus
But does Cool 'n Quiet apply to the chipset fan?

Cool'n Quiet only control the CPU fan.

 

[ChineseDemocracyGNR]

The recently announced AN8 Ultra uses passive cooling. It's a 2.0 revision to the AN8/Fatal1ty AN8, which are known to be very stable boards.

 

[archcommus]

Originally posted by: Promethply

Originally posted by: archcommus
But does Cool 'n Quiet apply to the chipset fan?

Cool'n Quiet only control the CPU fan.

And that functions by varying the speed based on the temps? Or by other factors as well?

 

[Promethply]

Cool' n Quiet just lower your CPU voltage and downclock its speed, so in my case, my Newcastle Cored Athlon64 3500+ that runs at 2200MHz default, and 1.5V is downclocked to 1000MHz and some very low voltage when idling, to enable it to run cooler, so that the CPU fan doesn't have to operate at full RPM, which in turn makes your CPU fan quieter.

 

[archcommus]

Originally posted by: Promethply
Cool' n Quiet just lower your CPU voltage and downclock its speed, so in my case, my Newcastle Cored Athlon64 3500+ that runs at 2200MHz default, and 1.5V is downclocked to 1000MHz and some very low voltage when idling, to enable it to run cooler, so that the CPU fan doesn't have to operate at full RPM, which in turn makes your CPU fan quieter.

What is the fan hooked up to on the motherboard that enables it to vary its speed based on the temperature, which itself is a result of the CPU's speed based on my activity.

 

[archcommus]

ALSO...looks like Anandtech recommend the VNF4! Now I'm not sure if I should consider it once again! AND it's passively cooled, so no noisy fan, at least according to the picture on Newegg.

 

[Iron Woode]

I will be going with a DFI NF4-DAGF.

Has everything I will need and not expensive either. Offers great performance whether OC'd or not. (I checked several reviews of this board).

But it is just a plain NF4 board.

 

[The Pentium Guy]

I'd recommend the EPoX 9NPA+Ultra. If you're looking for something that might last you quite a bit longer (epox has chinese capacitors, so I'm really not sure how long these things will last), check the ABIT AN8 Ultra which can be had for $122 at newegg I think.

Please see the link in my signature (the sticky at the top of this forum) for an overview of some boards.
I don't see anything wrong with the Chaintech VNF4Ultra - he's not gonna be overclocking at all. That should serve his needs perfectly fine.

-The Pentium Guy