Need some Nforce 3 installation tips....

[canadianpsycho]

Hey all, got a NF3 mobo on the way (MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum). I've been Intel since the 845 chipset days, so I was wondering if anyone can point out or give me some tips on what I need to know for this build.

Setup:

MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum
FX-53
2x512 OCZ Gold PC3700 Rev. 2
BFG 6800GT OC
TB Santa Cruz
2x36 GB Raptors in RAID

As of right now, I'll be installing, in order:

-XP
-SP1
-Chipset drivers
-Network card drivers
-DirectX
-Nvidia graphics drivers
-Santa Cruz drivers
-Whatever selse is left.

Is there anything else I should know? Any sort of quirks or anyhting? Are there better or worse chipset drivers? Is SP2 worth installing, or wait it out a bit longer?

Thanks.

 

[EvilManagedCare]

I just built a new system as well for an nForce 3 250 Gb board (LAN Party UT 250), and you'll be pleasantly suprised at how easy this will go. After you install the board and OS, Windows will probably recognize the vid card and install drivers automatically. You will of course want to update them later. All you do is fire up the nForce driver package for the chipset and you're all set. Don't select the option to install the Audio driver since you're using a separate sound card. Also, make sure you disable the onboard sound in the BIOS prior to booting the OS (I'm assuming there is onboard sound).

I have installed SP2 and had no problems. It wasn't an option to skip it since it was on the install disc. If possible, take Black Viper's advice and download a copy of SP2, install before hooking up to the internet to update Windows. Although it may not matter as long as your onboard firewall is active.

In a nutshell, your order of doing things looks okay, just that your network card drivers will be part of the chipset drivers so you save a step. If you upgrade to SP2 you won't need a separate installation of DirectX as it includes the latest version.

Hope this helps. Also, hope these tips don't sound patronizing. I am by no means an expert myself and I don't know what your level of expertise is.

 

[canadianpsycho]

Thanks for the tips... Built quite a few rigs, just wasn't sure if there was any tricks to the nforce boards. Also haven't used SP2 yet.