Need an NF4 mobo reconmendation

[AznAnarchy99]

Im making the switch to AMD soon so i need some tips on NF4 mobos.

SLI is important (might not use it, but having the ability to upgrade is nice)
Silence (not too loud, im coming from 4 tornados, and im tired of them)
Overclocking is a must. Most important factor for me.
Stability. Gota be able to run every day, loads for hours of gaming
Price, $200 area

Im currently looking at the DFI SLI-DR, A8N-SLI Premium, and the Abit Fatal1ty AN8 SLI

 

[vanvock]

The DFI's been a great board for me. The only thing I wish it had is wider spacing between the vid slots like the Asus. The Abit looks like a cool board but the way things sound they may not be around much longer?

 

[AznAnarchy99]

About the DFI, its it able to use 2 cards in SLI that take up 2 slots? like a 7800gtx with a zalman cooler?

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

SLI is completely useless. It is NOT an upgrade path. 2 6800 Ultras in SLI get outperformed by a 7800GTX. 2 6800 Ultra's in SLI would have cost you about $1000. A 7800GTX now costs ~$500. That's a huge difference. Just get a non-SLI board like the EPoX 9nPA+ Ultra/MSI Neo4 Platinum/DFI Lanparty Ultra-D. You might want to replace the fan on the Neo4 Platinum though, because I heard it has a loud NB fan.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

I think the idea of the SLI is, buy one decent card today, then two years from now buy that exact same card for near dirt cheap and SLI it. I think one problem is that you don't double your video RAM that way. If you start with one 6800 GT with 256 MB and then add a second one with 256 MB you get double the pipelines but still have 256 MB.

I looked at the EpoX boards at NewEgg a few days ago and the difference betwee the Ultra and the SLI board was $34. (Otherwise the boards are the same, presumably.) Is the $34 worth it to be able to upgrade later on the cheap?

Let's suppose that you start with a 6600 GT today and hope to add a second one two years from now when they're at $50. So it would basically cost you $34 + $50 = $84 to add a second 6600 GT two years from now. (Perhaps the cost would be lower on eBay for a used one.) Would it be better to spend that $84 to add the second card or would that $84 be best put towards purchasing a newer, more powerful card for $200?

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Originally posted by: WhipperSnapper
I think the idea of the SLI is, buy one decent card today, then two years from now buy that exact same card for near dirt cheap and SLI it. I think one problem is that you don't double your video RAM that way. If you start with one 6800 GT with 256 MB and then add a second one with 256 MB you get double the pipelines but still have 256 MB.

I looked at the EpoX boards at NewEgg a few days ago and the difference betwee the Ultra and the SLI board was $34. (Otherwise the boards are the same, presumably.) Is the $34 worth it to be able to upgrade later on the cheap?

Let's suppose that you start with a 6600 GT today and hope to add a second one two years from now when they're at $50. So it would basically cost you $34 + $50 = $84 to add a second 6600 GT two years from now. (Perhaps the cost would be lower on eBay for a used one.) Would it be better to spend that $84 to add the second card or would that $84 be best put towards purchasing a newer, more powerful card for $200?

That is NOT the correct idea of SLI (However, most people think that way, which is bad )... The actual idea is to combine 2 of the most powerful cards on the market (2x7800GTX) for the absolute best graphics solution of the time. You waste a TON of money on this, but it's for people that just can't wait for performance and want to increase the size of their e-penis... If you sell your old card, you could use the money to buy a much more powerful card. 2 6600GT's even get outperformed by a 6800. SLI'ing 2 6600GT's in the future for an "upgrade" would be like SLI'ing 2 Geforce Ti4's today...