Nforce2 and soundstream

[SportSC4]

Which NForce2 board with the soundstream chipset would you guys reccomend? I'm trying to find it on the cheap and will either chance it with a newegg refurb or if i can find it in the FS or T forum.

I would like to hit ~220 mhz FSB (I'm using the Kingston HyperX 4000, so that shouldn't be a problem) and a XP 2600+ non-barton (but it allows me to change the FSB). In the future I will pick up another 512 meg stick and run it ddr.

What about in the Mini-ATX form factor? Is their a large difference between mini-ATX NF2 and a regular ATX NF2? If their isn't I just may go for a smaller setup.

Thanks

 

[magratton]

Stay away from the Abit NFS-7 with that RAM. I think it is fine in the DFI NFII Ultra Infinity though. the DFI would be my recommendation for getting to those FSB as well, though it is a full size form factor.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

For educational purposes- SoundStorm, micro-ATX, and dual channel DDR are the terms you want to use

Now, most m-ATX boards aren't for overclocking and those that are usually are more limited in capability than their full sized counterparts. The NF7-s is among the best nF2 overclocking boards and the Soundstorm is a bonus. I can't speak to the ram issues magratton mentions with HyperX 4000 but I do know I've seen many different brands of ram perform well on that board so perhaps the issue refered to is isolated or occurred with the older rev. of the board? Anywho, presuming the ram doesn't hold you up the NF7-s is an excellent choice and many here will give it their highest recommendation. HTH

 

[huesmann]

Just be aware that the m-ATX boards often are limited in the number of PCI slots. Of course, if you're relying on on-board everything for your sound & NIC, you really shouldn't need all that many PCI slots. TV tuner maybe, firewire maybe.

 

[arswihart]

epox 8rda2+ or 8rda3+, perfect nforce2 boards, imho

 

[Gamingphreek]

Nah the A7N8X-E Deluxe is probably the best for his purposes. It completely supports the sound storm and system utility. This board will easily make it to 220 FSB.

-Kevin