*** Official Athlon 64 Motherboard Thread ***

[TDon]

When can we expect to see the NForce3 250 based motherboards hit the market?
The only reference to a release date is "this fall". Any other details available?

Thanks

TD

 

[Wesley Fink]

Any release date is speculation for nForce3-250, bu the latest we've heard is to expect it with Socket 939. That would make it about January.

I am very concerned that no one else is talking much about NO AGP/PCI lock on any VIA A64 boards. To me this is a major issue that could kill the board's sales to Enthusiasts. If any of you see reviews that show evidence of a PCI/AGP lock on VIA, please post the info here. The chipset is excellent otherwise.

 

[pelikan]

The few reports I've read from actual users who have both the via and nforce3 all say that the via chipset is faster, but that, of course, without the agp/pci lock you just can't get as high of an overclock. So right now the nforce3 is the way to go.

 

[edaskew]

How does this look for a killer system?





Lian-Li PC-601 USB2, 11-Bay, Aluminum Cases. Color: Silver,
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[TDon]

Originally posted by: Wesley Fink
Any release date is speculation for nForce3-250, bu the latest we've heard is to expect it with Socket 939. That would make it about January.

I am very concerned that no one else is talking much about NO AGP/PCI lock on any VIA A64 boards. To me this is a major issue that could kill the board's sales to Enthusiasts. If any of you see reviews that show evidence of a PCI/AGP lock on VIA, please post the info here. The chipset is excellent otherwise.

Wes,
The AGP/PCI locking feature was one of the reasons I was hoping that the NForce3 250 boards would be out sooner than later. I had assumed the NForce3 250 would be available supporting the Socket 754? I should remember that one should never assume. I guess I will need to be patient and see how this develops. I would really like to give the Athlon64 a turn for my next upgrade.

Thanks for the feedback, it is appreciated.

TD

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: TDon

Originally posted by: Wesley Fink
Any release date is speculation for nForce3-250, bu the latest we've heard is to expect it with Socket 939. That would make it about January.

I am very concerned that no one else is talking much about NO AGP/PCI lock on any VIA A64 boards. To me this is a major issue that could kill the board's sales to Enthusiasts. If any of you see reviews that show evidence of a PCI/AGP lock on VIA, please post the info here. The chipset is excellent otherwise.

Wes,
The AGP/PCI locking feature was one of the reasons I was hoping that the NForce3 250 boards would be out sooner than later. I had assumed the NForce3 250 would be available supporting the Socket 754? I should remember that one should never assume. I guess I will need to be patient and see how this develops. I would really like to give the Athlon64 a turn for my next upgrade.

Thanks for the feedback, it is appreciated.

TD

Here's a link to nVidia's press release about the nForce3's: clickie Note that there are two nForce3 150's for desktop systems: the nForce3 150, and the nForce3 Pro 150, evidently for A64 and for A64FX/Opteron 1P, respectively. And at the bottom:

PC systems and motherboards based on the NVIDIA nForce3 250Gb and the NVIDIA nForce3 250 MCP will be available later this year.

I hope "later this year" isn't too far off, because I'd really like to have the features that nF3 250 is offering.

 

[JSSheridan]

About the sound quality on the nForce3 150/250 boards. Are there any significant improvements in the quality of components and output? I'd like to see 24bit playback and >100 S/N from the analog outputs. Thanks. Peace.

 

[TDon]

mechBgon,

I checked out the link you provided. It looks like I will wait to see what the NForce3 250Gb brings to the table. Looks to me like the NForce3 250 chipset will bring features similar to Intel's 865 and 875 chipsets. Plus the prices on the A64 3200+ should be down a bit from where they are today by the time this new chipset hits the market. Hopefully I can be patient, it is not one of my strong suits.

Thanks for the info.

TD

 

[mechBgon]

Sure thing... I'm in the same boat.

 

[Wesley Fink]

My launch review tested two VIA Athlon64 boards and one nVidia NF3-150, and I found absolutely NO difference in performance between the chipsets. EVERYTHING else was the same. Tom's Hardware made some bold statements about VIA being so much better, but I certainly did not see it in my tests. One of my VIA boards was the MSI which is using CoreCell to Dynamically overclock to give higher scores - Tom's gave them an award for the CoreCell on the 865 - and even it was NOT faster. I did, however, have the D.O.T. turned off so I could fairly compare to the other boards.

My first tests of the boards DID show VIA faster, but after careful setup for fair comparison they were essentially equal. Remember that VIA may be running 800 HT at 3.2GHz in both directions, but their chipset has a North and South bridge that only talk at 533mb/sec. That negates a lot of the advantage. nVidia's single chip is only running 600 HT but it talks to the CPU at 3.6GHz. There is more to this whole story than it first appears. If VIA DOES implement AGP/PCI lock, which will be a first for them, then the VIA will become at least an equal choice.

 

[Wesley Fink]

Mushkin has just released CAS2 Registered ECC DDR400 Memory. We will be reviewing this as soon as all the new parts get in. For more information check out www.mushkin.com

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Thanks Wesley, that info on the VIA vs NF3 is exactly what I've been wanting to know, and from a source I trust. I've been eyeing this badboy but the ATX connector is so close to the AGP slot I fear my 5800ultra won't have enough room to fit or at the very least will end up with the connector pressed against the backside heatsink....

 

[DevilsAdvocate]

I picked up a new A64 3200+ and MSI K8T Pro the other day from Computer Builders Warehouse. Paid $499 for the pair. Hella good deal.

I'll let you know how it goes, installing it and all.

 

[pelikan]

Originally posted by: DevilsAdvocate
I picked up a new A64 3200+ and MSI K8T Pro the other day from Computer Builders Warehouse. Paid $499 for the pair. Hella good deal.

I'll let you know how it goes, installing it and all.

Great deal! Good luck!

 

[bex0rs]

What drivers should I use on an SK8N? Will nVidia's "ForceWare" 2.45 work on this board, or should I use the individual component drivers on Asus's website?

~bex0rs

 

[jesseschulman]

Does any A64 Mobo support more than 3GB of Memory????? I cannot seem to find one.

 

[Wesley Fink]

nVidia's latest platform drivers work fine on Asus SK8N.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

This needs it's sticky back ^

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: jesseschulman
Does any A64 Mobo support more than 3GB of Memory????? I cannot seem to find one.

I highly doubt you need more than 3GB of memory!

This is the most exciting thing to happen to the AMD camp in a very long time...like since the Thunderbird.

 

[MichaelD]

Whoops, d/p.

 

[NFS4]

I just ordered this combo:

http://www.accessmicro.com/content/products/productinfo.cfm?partnumber=AMBUNFICK8800TAAKT

Athlon 64 3200+
FIC K8-800T K8KT800 Athlon 64 Motherboard
http://www.fica.com/site/html/products/mb/detail.asp?cat_id=240000049&C_ID=240000804

I'll let you guys know how it goes when I get it installed

 

[Turin39789]

what are the retail options for nforce3 150 boards? I cant seem to find any, when can we expect these

 

[mechBgon]

There are some Gigabyte nForce3 150 boards at Newegg and other online retailers, such as the 8KNPro. I'm afraid I look at these, with all sorts of high-bandwidth stuff jammed onto the tired old PCI bus, and I see my A7V333-RAID all over again. I'm holding out for the nForce3 250Gb boards, I think.

 

[TDon]

Agreed mechBgon. Holding out for the NForce3 250.

From Anandtech's Computex Day 5 Coverage:
http://www.anandtech.com/IT/showdoc.html?i=1888&p=5

Jetway also had their nForce3 motherboard on display, the N3KA. This board is based on the nForce3 150 chipset and is of the Socket 754 variety. Around this time, we learned from a manufacturer close to NVIDIA that the graphics firm was attempting to ship their new South Bridge, MCP-S1000, next month. The ?S? in <i>MCP-S1000</i> stands for native Serial ATA support, and the ?1000? stands for 10/100/1000 GbE (Gigabit Ethernet) support. nForce3 chips with these two new technologies are expected to hit the market in November.

It sounds to me like they may be referring to the NForce3 250. I can hold out till November or soon thereafter, I guess. It isn't that far away..... I hope.

TD

 

[mechBgon]

We're planning to put in a gigabit switch at work for our servers and heaviest users, and an nForce2 board with the MCP-S1000 southbridge would be simply perfect for next fiscal year's system builds, maybe paired up with the new & improved WD Raptors that have command queueing and fluid bearings. So now I have two things to look forward to, MCP-S1000 for nForce2, and nForce3 250