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Rate my motherboard and processor purchases:

B

bluedeviltron

Senior member
____________________________________________________________________________
ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
-$175
(I'm not sure if SLI is worth it, but it's only 50 bucks more, so what the hell)

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice Integrated into Chip FSB 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor - Retail
-$203

and a GeForce 6600 GT OC 128 mb video card.
-$199
____________________________________________________________________________

1. Will all of this be compatible?
2. Will this setup run HL2 and most of the latest good looking games at pretty high settings? (almost all the way cranked up?)
3. Do any of you have any other suggestions before I buy this stuff?
 
SLI = a nono. You're getting a SINGLE 6600GT, and even if you feel the need to get another 6600GT in the future, it'll just be outperformed by something that costs like 50% of what you spent on both cards.
 
Originally posted by: t3h l337 n3wb
SLI = a nono. You're getting a SINGLE 6600GT, and even if you feel the need to get another 6600GT in the future, it'll just be outperformed by something that costs like 50% of what you spent on both cards.
Click to expand...


Then can you recommend me a better mobo? I need one with PCI-e to run my 6600 GT.
 
well, that's a config i have and shopping for vga now. nothing wrong with sli, just upgrade later (don't wait too long or the gpu revsion will change and sli no longer work) or save the second pci-e slot for something else that will come along (may be some fancy tv/cable card... i don't what cards other than video will they make for pci-e). i got a mobo with 2 pci-e just for upgrade capability... you never know what new stuff they'll have in a few years and, yes, i plan to keep my mobo this long
 
Originally posted by: bluedeviltron
Yeah, but doesn't it only have 1 PCIe x 4 slot? I need something with PCIe x 16...
Click to expand...

The ASUS A8N-E only have 1 PCI-E X16 slot, whereas

the ASUS A8N-SLI have 2 X PCI-E X16 slots (so that you can set 2 GeForce 6600GT, 6800GT, or 6800Ultra) to work in SLI.

 
Don't you think it would be worth it to pay $30-50 more for an SLI enabled board just for future upgrades? I mean, they're basically the same boards other than that, right?
 
They're not exactly the same, since the ASUS SLIs have better features (on top of the SLI capability) compared to the non SLI A8N-E.

So if you're thinking of purchasing another identical GeForce 6600GT in the near future, then by all means go for the SLI mobo.
 
The ASUS A8N-SLI in my system's been running stably since January, without a single issue.

As with other NF4 boards, you may need to update your BIOS to have the Venice recognized by the mobo.
 
Originally posted by: bluedeviltron
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131524

So I think I'm going to get the SLI version of this board since it has SLI capability and a firewire port. It's only $160, and the regular version is only about $30 less. So are there any problems at all with this board? I read in some reviews that something goes wrong with the chipset fan. I also read that you need a bios update before it will "post". Can someone explain?
Click to expand...

good for you!

chip fan can be problematic after a few months, just replace it with zalman heat sink tower thingie. mine posted fine with 1002 bios but you need an upgrade to at least 1006 to get some overclocking capabilities (unlocking the fsb, to be precise), it's finicky with memory so make you dont get the cheapo one
 
Originally posted by: QD
Originally posted by: bluedeviltron
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131524

So I think I'm going to get the SLI version of this board since it has SLI capability and a firewire port. It's only $160, and the regular version is only about $30 less. So are there any problems at all with this board? I read in some reviews that something goes wrong with the chipset fan. I also read that you need a bios update before it will "post". Can someone explain?
Click to expand...

good for you!

chip fan can be problematic after a few months, just replace it with zalman heat sink tower thingie. mine posted fine with 1002 bios but you need an upgrade to at least 1006 to get some overclocking capabilities (unlocking the fsb, to be precise), it's finicky with memory so make you dont get the cheapo one
Click to expand...

So what kind of memory do I need to get? Will that Corsair 1 GB value select work with it?
 
There's not much need for expensive RAMs in an Athlon64 systems, any Value RAMs will do, unless you use some DFI mobos that are quite picky with RAMs.
 
Originally posted by: QD
Originally posted by: bluedeviltron
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131524

So I think I'm going to get the SLI version of this board since it has SLI capability and a firewire port. It's only $160, and the regular version is only about $30 less. So are there any problems at all with this board? I read in some reviews that something goes wrong with the chipset fan. I also read that you need a bios update before it will "post". Can someone explain?
Click to expand...

good for you!

chip fan can be problematic after a few months, just replace it with zalman heat sink tower thingie. mine posted fine with 1002 bios but you need an upgrade to at least 1006 to get some overclocking capabilities (unlocking the fsb, to be precise), it's finicky with memory so make you dont get the cheapo one
Click to expand...

The Zalman NB heatsink's not for all mobos, especially not for nForce4 mobos where the NB is right next to the PCIe socket, where it'll block the video card.
 
Originally posted by: Baked
Originally posted by: QD
Originally posted by: bluedeviltron
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131524

So I think I'm going to get the SLI version of this board since it has SLI capability and a firewire port. It's only $160, and the regular version is only about $30 less. So are there any problems at all with this board? I read in some reviews that something goes wrong with the chipset fan. I also read that you need a bios update before it will "post". Can someone explain?
Click to expand...

good for you!

chip fan can be problematic after a few months, just replace it with zalman heat sink tower thingie. mine posted fine with 1002 bios but you need an upgrade to at least 1006 to get some overclocking capabilities (unlocking the fsb, to be precise), it's finicky with memory so make you dont get the cheapo one
Click to expand...

The Zalman NB heatsink's not for all mobos, especially not for nForce4 mobos where the NB is right next to the PCIe socket, where it'll block the video card.
Click to expand...



it's good for the asus a8n-sli/6600gt, plus you can always clip a few pins that are in the way
 
Originally posted by: bluedeviltron
So what kind of memory do I need to get? Will that Corsair 1 GB value select work with it?
Click to expand...

The Corsair Value Select will match up well with the ASUS A8N-SLI -- use them myself.

 
After reading the reviews of the SLI Asus mobo, I keep hearing about issues with the chipset fan being too loud. Has anyone experienced this with these boards? Is it a big deal to replace the chipset fan if it becomes a problem?

Also, what's the difference between these two:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131517
and
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131524

They look like the exact same boards...is it just a pricing mistake on Newegg's part, or is the $160 one refurbished or used?
 
All NF4 SLI boards use tiny Chipset fan that produce high pitched whirring -- not that you'd notice it, not with all the case, CPU, and GPU fans whirring away.

The cheaper one is the plain vanilla ASUS A8N-SLI.

The more expensive Deluxe version come with 4 extra SATA connectors and an extra GLAN port.
 
Originally posted by: Promethply
All NF4 SLI boards use tiny Chipset fan that produce high pitched whirring -- not that you'd notice it, not with all the case, CPU, and GPU fans whirring away.

The cheaper one is the plain vanilla ASUS A8N-SLI.

The more expensive Deluxe version come with 4 extra SATA connectors and an extra GLAN port.
Click to expand...

Are those connectors and ports necessary? What is SATA and GLAN anyway?
 
Also, I have 2 more questions:

1. Does the 6600 GT have some kind of power connector that comes with it? Does it plug directly into the power supply? Would I have to mess with something like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=12-154-001&depa=0
ePOWER EP-CABLE-VGA6 Power Conversion Cable for PCI express VGA Cards - Retail

2. What power supply should I get? Do you have a suggested brand? How many watts do I need?




(sorry about all the questions guys, I'm just trying to learn this stuff before I buy all of it)
 
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