Purchasing Today! Need advice on NF4-SLI boards!
- Thread starter mikable
- Start date
Can't give you a perfect answer, but from looking at the boards ASUS has the most problems although most seem to be attributed to PSU problems (keep in mind that its been in the market for about a month over any other SLI board). Gigabyte and MSI have solid boards out, and I've seen very few complaints about them here. MSI's board has creative onboard audio which would be a plus for a gamer. Finally DFI seems to be the number 1 board out there right now, especially if you're into overclocking.
My standings would be
1-DFI
2-Gigabyte
3-MSI
4-ASUS
Concerning the PSU, never heard of it, but for the price there are plenty of very good prooven PSUs.
My standings would be
1-DFI
2-Gigabyte
3-MSI
4-ASUS
Concerning the PSU, never heard of it, but for the price there are plenty of very good prooven PSUs.
If I was buying today I would get the DFI. As for power supplies I heard that you should void dual rail if going sli. But maybe that was just a Asus issue?
Anyway if $85 is most you wanna spend I would get a Tagan 480 thats probably the best PSU you will get in that range that should be able to handle a sli setup.
Anyway if $85 is most you wanna spend I would get a Tagan 480 thats probably the best PSU you will get in that range that should be able to handle a sli setup.
Well, that PS happens to cost $85 I was wondering if it was a rebadged quality unit. I'm willing to spend for a quallity PS! Especialy considering I'll be going SLI withing 6 months, and you can't run a porche on regular unleaded! Hmmmm, DFI huh, gona look at it. Any other opinions? Remember, while I do Some OC'ing, stability, and features, are more important to me!
I plan to get the DFI, if I can ever find them in stock. Or just get their Ultra-D and mod it into an SLI.
GuitarDaddy
Lifer
- Nov 9, 2004
- 11,465
- 1
- 0
I have had the ASUS for two months now, and it has been trouble free and rock solid. I would highly recommend it. It is definately the most mature and likely the most stable choice. The only unresolved issue with this board at this point is the inability to run ram over 250mhz(DDR500) 1T, which if your not a hardcore overclocker is not an issue. And it is well documented that with the A64 platform memory speeds only slightly increases performance. I,m running my 3200+ at 2.6ghz with ram at DDR480. And its currently selling for less than MSRP
The reason there are so many problem posts here for the Asus is as of now there have been many more of the Asus boards sold than all the other NF4 boards put together. And only the people with problems post on forums like these. And the early postings from the other NF4 boards are showing the same exact issues as the early adopters of the Asus. If you get a guality power supply with plenty of amps on the 12v you will have no problems with the Asus board.
For hardcore overclockers who must squeeze every ounce of performance out of their rigs, the DFI or MSI boards will have a slight edge over Asus as long as its limited to 250 1T. Although these boards look very promising for overclockers they are just now hitting the market and performance and stability is still to be seen.
Bottom line is if you must be on the bleeding edge of overclocking get the DFI or MSI, but if you want dependability, features, support and the the best SLI layout you should get the Asus. And at around $170 its also the best priced option IMO
The Abit AN8 Fatal1ty is an interesting newcomer for overclockers also
The reason there are so many problem posts here for the Asus is as of now there have been many more of the Asus boards sold than all the other NF4 boards put together. And only the people with problems post on forums like these. And the early postings from the other NF4 boards are showing the same exact issues as the early adopters of the Asus. If you get a guality power supply with plenty of amps on the 12v you will have no problems with the Asus board.
For hardcore overclockers who must squeeze every ounce of performance out of their rigs, the DFI or MSI boards will have a slight edge over Asus as long as its limited to 250 1T. Although these boards look very promising for overclockers they are just now hitting the market and performance and stability is still to be seen.
Bottom line is if you must be on the bleeding edge of overclocking get the DFI or MSI, but if you want dependability, features, support and the the best SLI layout you should get the Asus. And at around $170 its also the best priced option IMO
The Abit AN8 Fatal1ty is an interesting newcomer for overclockers also
Contrary to the idea that there are only complaints from the Asus owners, the Asus board is worth considering and there are a lot of happy A8N-SLI owners.
It has a lot of space between the two PCIe slots which is great for air flow and cards with big coolers. The A8N-SLI-Deluxe is packed with features, and has been the most stable board I've ever owned.
About the only unresolved issue that is worth noting with the Asus board is the 1T command rate issue above 240 to 250. Running your memory faster than this (one person has reported getting to 260) will require a 2T command rate. You said you are a "moderate OC'er", so I doubt this is an issue.
It has a lot of space between the two PCIe slots which is great for air flow and cards with big coolers. The A8N-SLI-Deluxe is packed with features, and has been the most stable board I've ever owned.
About the only unresolved issue that is worth noting with the Asus board is the 1T command rate issue above 240 to 250. Running your memory faster than this (one person has reported getting to 260) will require a 2T command rate. You said you are a "moderate OC'er", so I doubt this is an issue.
True, I OC only after I get things running, and stable. I never push the stability, not worth it for me! Well, no clear leader! I should have made a poll!
Well, no clear leader! I should have made a poll!
GuitarDaddy
Lifer
- Nov 9, 2004
- 11,465
- 1
- 0
Just as I've read in many NF4 previews, the onboard memory controller of the A64 chips is the great equalizer making it very hard for mobo makers to distinquish themselves.
All of the NF4 boards will be fairly equal performance wize, so your choice really comes down to features and personal preference
And overclockability will be determined more by the particular chip that you get, than the motherboard IMHO. You can get the DFI board with its high voltage settings and ultimate overclocking tweaks, but if you get a chip that tops out at 2.4ghz a plain Jane NF3 board with the same chip that reaches 2.6gz will put a whoopin on you.
All of the NF4 boards will be fairly equal performance wize, so your choice really comes down to features and personal preference
And overclockability will be determined more by the particular chip that you get, than the motherboard IMHO. You can get the DFI board with its high voltage settings and ultimate overclocking tweaks, but if you get a chip that tops out at 2.4ghz a plain Jane NF3 board with the same chip that reaches 2.6gz will put a whoopin on you.
Yea Guitar, I think you put in a nutshell. Quality of construction, and the particular feature set I desire. most any of the tier 1 mobo's will most likely have the same amout of problems in the long term.
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