nForce 4 Pro motherboards -- which one?

[imported_BikeDude]

So far I've seen specs from Iwill, Tyan and Asus.

Asus K8N-DL has one PCI-E x1, one PCI-E x16 and two 32-bit PCI.
Tyan K8WE has two PCI-E 16x, one 32-bit PCI and three PCI-X slots.
Iwill DK8ES has two PCI-E 16x and three PCI-X slots.

Why is it that whenever I want to buy a motherboard, the ones being offered always fall short somehow?

Three PCI-X slots are good and all, but I'd rather trade a couple of them in for some PCI-E 4x slots.

I guess it is atleast possible to use one of the PCI-E x16 slot to host even a x1 card if need be?

Any other models out there?

--
Rune

 

[ribbon13]

I have a Tyan K8WE and couldn't be happier.

Any card that you'll find useful in a workstation is still gonna have a PCI-X flavor for the next few years anyway. Important to note that the K8WE has 2 seperate PCI-X busses as well.

 

[mdchesne]

i have the msi neo4 platinum using the nforce4 pro chipset. awesome mobo. no problems whatsoever with linux or windows.

 

[imported_Kensai]

K8WE.

 

[imported_BikeDude]

Thanks guys.

Incidentally, will my old Adaptec 29160 PCI card work in one of the PCI-X slots? (PCI-X is backwards compatible with 64-bit PCI, right?)

 

[Peter]

Yes it is. You'll brake this particular PCI-X bus down to the speed of your old card (which is either 33 or 66 MHz), but it will. The only thing the PCI card must bring is compatibility with 3.3V signalling. (If it doesn't, it won't fit. Cards and slots are keyed.)

 

[imported_BikeDude]

And the (optional) onboard SCSI is on the 133MHz PCI-X bus? Are there other onboard devices on the PCI-X bus? (leaving one PCI-X bus completely empty?)

 

[Peter]

The AMD 8131 creates two PCI-X busses. One drives just one 133 MHz capable slot, the other one has two slots (66 or 100 MHz) and the onboard SCSI. Just look at the specification page on the Tyan web site. They are very specific about what busses their onboard stuff and the slots attach to.

 

[imported_BikeDude]

Hmm... Looking at ftp://ftp.tyan.com/datasheets/d_s2895_100.pdf I notice that the onboard devices (e.g. sound) have arrows pointing directly to the chipset. (except firewire which shares the PCI bus arrow)

Now compare with Tyan's socket 939 motherboard; ftp://ftp.tyan.com/datasheets/d_s2865_100.pdf. The onboard stuff (sound, graphics, etc) are connected to the arrow which reads "PCI 32/33".

If this is accurate, then that's great. I'm just slightly surprised they bothered moving audio off the PCI bus.

In any case, I'm going to buy a K8WE. My dealer tells me it can take 3-4 weeks before it hits the shelves here, so I have plenty of time to pick out a new psu, chassis, ram and video card.