nForce3 or nForce4 ???

[ToXiCRaGE]

Hello everyone,


I am hoping to upgrade my old rig (XP 1600) for something newer. I would like something that will be good for a long time (so that in the future I can upgrade a faster CPU and still keep my mobo). Here are my questions for which I could not find any answers as of yet.

1. Main difference between nForce 3 chip and nForce 4 chip - (on which v.cards platforms are those chips based on? MX series?).

2. I have a GF3 TI500... if the nForce 3 and/or 4 have onboard video, should I use that or my GF3?

3. I am planing to get one of the two mobos (thus the NF3, NF4 dilema. Both are identical price):
- Gigabyte GA-K8NF-9
- Gigabyte GA-K8NS Ultra-939

Which one would be faster, and serve me longer into the future.

4. Does the GA-K8NF-9 (NF4 platform) support AGP cards?

**** I am planning to use them with a 939 AMD 64 3000+.


Thanks for any imformation you can provide me with.

 

[Demo24]

Originally posted by: ToXiCRaGE


4. Does the GA-K8NF-9 (NF4 platform) support AGP cards?

no

 

[Veramocor]

Will any of the nforce 4 boards have a AGP slot so that you could start with an old AGP card then upgrade to PCIe later?

 

[ts3433]

The NF3 and NF4 chipsets have no onboard video. NF3 is AGP, NF4 is PCIe. To add to your list of boards, the Epox boards and MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum are good for NF3, and the Chaintech VNF4/Ultra is a good non-SLI PCIe option.

What are you planning to use this for? If you're gaming, think about upgrading that GF3. Generally, you see more gaming boost with a faster video card than with a faster CPU, but your XP 1600+ would bottleneck most everything horribly. Also make sure to get a gig of RAM for this (2x512MB PC3200).

Originally posted by: Veramocor
Will any of the nforce 4 boards have a AGP slot so that you could start with an old AGP card then upgrade to PCIe later?

It's called nForce3...

I saw one implementation of AGP with PCIe x16 on an Intel board, and AGP performance was terrible since it ran off the PCI bus.

 

[ToXiCRaGE]

Thanks guys for such a quick response.

Yes I am planing to use my rig for gaming but I do not have the money right now to buy a new Express PCI (or whatever thay are called) video card. If I would choose the NF4 mobo, then I got no video card so I would have to shell out money for that as well.


Do you guys think that NF4 is the better shot into the future?

 

[ts3433]

Meh, I'd just build AGP right now, since you can't currently upgrade your video. Then just upgrade to something good as soon as you can. Whatever that is (I would recommend a 6600GT or 6800 of some sort) should last for a while. By the time a video upgrade is really necessary, you'll probably be looking at a new board/processor anyway.

 

[kindest]

Originally posted by: ToXiCRaGE

Do you guys think that NF4 is the better shot into the future?

better and only way to go in the future.

 

[ToXiCRaGE]

I just might go with the nForce 3. Seems like it is tested and true and be around (with AGP cards) for a while. I have done some reading on PCI-Xpress and although the technology sounds good, only time will tell if it will take off on a large scale (and I am not that adventureous ).

 

[ts3433]

Don't get me wrong here--PCIe will eventually take off on a large scale. It's designed specifically to gradually succeed PCI and AGP. I just recommend building AGP for now, because it'll be easier for you to keep using the Ti500 for a while, and the ideal replacement 6800 series card should last almost as long (depending on your finances and your need to always run everything at 1600x1200 maximum details, the latter of which I presume is nonexistent since you've been happy with your Ti500 for so long).

 

[bradley]

By the way, if you do decide to go the nForce4 route, realize that a new power supply might be in order - one preferably made within the last 8-10 months. The PCI-E spec demands special connectors, 24-pin, as opposed to 20-pin, and plenty of juice on the 12V rails. A lot of people are stunned upon seeing 24-pin connectors on their new nForce4 motherboards.

Also, until the nForce4 goes through a few revisions, nForce3 based boards will remain slightly faster. Obviously, an nForce3 will be, in all likelihood, far more bug free and stable, in comparison to a recent nForce4 board.

But, if you're truly up to the challenge, I wouldn't let either sway me though. In particular, that DFI nForce4 board does look like a real winner, right out of the box.