Recommend the most stable mobo for skt. 939, PCI-E

[Fraggable]

I got this DFI NF4 Ultra Infinity yesterday and had nothing but problems with it. I flashed the BIOS to the newest version, installed everything, even installed Windows XP SP2 and a bunch of other stuff, rebooted, and it all went to hell. Now I have to flash the BIOS every time I restart. DFI has virtually no support, just the forums where people know less than here.

The board is going, I've already made that decision. My question is what is the most stable board or series or brand out there? I am considering the Fatal1ty board just because no one seems to have problems with it. It's pricey but if it works, I'll take it.

It can be SLi or not, I have a X1800 XT right now and don't plan to go croosfire. If I go SLI, it will most likely be later on with an AM2 socket anyway.

 

[Heidfirst]

If you could find an Abit AN8 Ultra I would say get that but you won't so how about a KN8 Ultra instead?
Asus A8N-E is supposed to be pretty unfussy.

 

[jlbenedict]

Abit's don't seem to like those Sound Blaster cards much either..
I previously had a few issues with a SB Live 24-Bit card with both the regular AN8 and the AN8-SLI...

oh yeah... the words "stable" and Nvidia socket 939 do not go hand-in-hand

 

[Fraggable]

I'm looking at the K8N now, I like the features and it's based on the NF4 ultra, so my current RAID 0 array is likely to transfer well. Also, the pic on microcenter's website shows a passive NB HS. That's a big deal for me, since my DFI's NB heatsink is easily and by far the loudest, whiniest part in my system. It runs at 100% all the time.

Before you recommend I slow it down, remember, if I try entering BIOS I end up flashing it a few times before I can get back up...

 

[the cobbler]

Originally posted by: Fraggable
That's a big deal for me, since my DFI's NB heatsink is easily and by far the loudest, whiniest part in my system. It runs at 100% all the time.

why don't you just go into bios and fix the problem? I set mine to shut off <30C and to run fullspeed only when it reaches 55C. never hear it, and it never goes much above 2000rpm

 

[Heidfirst]

Originally posted by: jlbenedict
Abit's don't seem to like those Sound Blaster cards much either..
I previously had a few issues with a SB Live 24-Bit card with both the regular AN8 and the AN8-SLI...

oh yeah... the words "stable" and Nvidia socket 939 do not go hand-in-hand

Creative & stable don't usually go hand-in-hand either

 

[sygyzy]

Never heard of stability issues due to a sound card.

 

[jlbenedict]

Originally posted by: Heidfirst

Originally posted by: jlbenedict
Abit's don't seem to like those Sound Blaster cards much either..
I previously had a few issues with a SB Live 24-Bit card with both the regular AN8 and the AN8-SLI...

oh yeah... the words "stable" and Nvidia socket 939 do not go hand-in-hand

Creative & stable don't usually go hand-in-hand either

:thumbsup:
I agree with that as well.

 

[russki]

get an asrock 939sli32-esata2 its cheep and good

 

[skdevnath]

Originally posted by: Heidfirst
If you could find an Abit AN8 Ultra I would say get that but you won't so how about a KN8 Ultra instead?
Asus A8N-E is supposed to be pretty unfussy.

AN8 Ultra is also not stable, my system hangs randomly when I use onbord USB connector. Now I am facing one more problem, where I can't boot with my Seagate Sata HD (300gb)

 

[Heidfirst]

Originally posted by: skdevnath
AN8 Ultra is also not stable, my system hangs randomly when I use onbord USB connector. Now I am facing one more problem, where I can't boot with my Seagate Sata HD (300gb)

The AN8 series is very stable with single-cores which is what I believe the OP wants to run .
Unfortunately some people with nF4 (not just Abit AN8 it's been seen on other mfrs boards) have problems with dual-cores & USB2.0.

 

[kudukudu]

you could go for a workstation quality board like the tyan K8E-SLI which uses the nforce 2200 professional chipset instead of the nforce4.

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=333&num=1

Only downside with a board like this is price (around US$250 ) and that it requires an EPS12V compliant power supply.

 

[imported_scoobydoo]

Originally posted by: sygyzy
Never heard of stability issues due to a sound card.

VIA chipset + Creative Soundblaster Live = Disaster