Should I go for a DFI motherboard, if i am a newbie ??

[ahmadka]

Here is a post I made in dfi-street.com...more or less still explains what i am trying to ask:

hello to all here at dfi-street.com !!! This is my first post here at dfi-street.com ...let me present my 'debut' and my initial argument...

i have been planning a custom PC for the last about 7 months...A have a general interest in computers, and understand stuff to some extend, but am not really of a customizer....i bought my last PC, a branded HP PIII....but now thats getting too old n slow...since i have played games on my ps2 for the last 4 years, i didnt have much knowledge of building a customized PC 7 months ago...

for 7 months, i have been reading materials for all kinds of PC hardware sites, discussing hardware, etc...in about december, i came up with the following configuration:

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ venice
MSI K8N Neo4 SLI/Platinum
MSI Geforce 7800GT Lite
2 x 512MB Crucial Ballistix RAM PC4000 (i forgot the timings 😛)
200GB (or 300GB) SATA (any good company)
ePower Tagan u22 480W PSU

In December, i had uni exams, so i didnt return to my research for a few weeks...now i have returned a few days ago, only to find out that:

MSI K8N Neo4 SLI/Platinum
MSI Geforce 7800GT Lite

are no longer available....

I have changed MSI Geforce 7800GT --> eVGA Geforce 7800GT

for the motherboard, i have looked in DFI, which i ignored before...cuz i concluded that DFI is for extreme overclockers who are experts in overclocking, whereas i only know overclocking in theory (which i have read in the past 6-7 months), and have never really overclocked practically....so i thought maybe i can get MSI board first, and overclock a bit on it....when extreme overclocking is then needed, i can move on to DFI....

after reading comments left by users at newegg.com, i have come to think whether i really should go for a DFI board or not...cuz there people have filled in complaints reading DFI boards....

some say DFI boards are recommended, but some say that its not meant for newbie PC builders...

I should mention that although i have a fairly high knowledge about the software side, and basic knowledge about hardware, i have never built a system completely from scratch before....only tweaked with my existing PIII system....

I am confused whether DFI motherboard is a good option for me or not, and if it is, which one of the following is best for me:

DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 SLI-DR Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard
DFI LANPARTY nF4 SLI-DR Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard
DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 SLI-DR Expert Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard


I hope that the above crap is not tooo long (although i know u must be sleepy 😛 ).....but please not that i am a newbie to DFI ...

thanx in advance...

 

[vanvock]

I've heard winning like that from day 1 about these boards. The deal is that they are designed with overclocking in mind but it is NOT mandentory. That's one reason I got mine thinking that if it could take what the mad OC'ers had to dish out life with me would be a walk in the park. At this stage of the game most any question or prob you may have has already been covered.

 

[ahmadka]

the thing is, i looked at dfi street...and have realized that putting together a new rig with a DFI board can be complicated....plus, i contacted my local PC components retailer...he said he has never heard of DFI ?!?!?!

 

[Allio]

Of course you don't need to overclock with a DFI board, but really, that's what you're paying for. That's what they're known for. You're not paying a price premium for amazing stability or extra features.

I would recommend the Epox 9NPA+Ultra over a DFI any day, as they're cheaper, anecdotally more stable, and will still overclock like mad if you need to. Sure, you've got a 90% chance of a DFI board working fine for you out of the box, but there is also the chance that it won't like your RAM or your PSU - as nf4 goes, DFI is among the pickiest. You're going to be pissed off if you're one of the minority with problems.

Basically I'd recommend you to get a DFI if you have some kind of special need for it, but otherwise there are cheaper boards that will do what you need. That's just me, I'm sure there are a tonne of people who are completely happy with their DFI purchase, and that's fine.

 

[vtohthree]

For practical purposes, I am noob with modern day overclocking. My last two builds before my current one were 486 DX2's. I have the DFI LanParty Nf4 Ultra-D. I love it, I love the flexibility that it gives me and the features, along with the spacing for the dual channel and ram cooling set up. I want to buy another one in fact, to do a similar build with an Opteron 165.

Bottomline, with some wise mentoring and confidence, you can do a lot with the DFI Lanparty's, new or not. And even then, you're a noob today, but maybe an enthusiast tommorow, either way your DFI board is ready to overclock.

 

[ahmadka]

ok thanx for the advise guys 😀......the people at dfi street say that people get problems with the DFI boards when they dont look at the recommended components.....and if i get the recommended components, then there is no chance of errors.....

is this correct ???

 

[rise]

is this correct ???

yes. looking at the parts you listed, you're in good shape anyway. i'm not too familiar with that psu but tagans are supposed to be nice from what i've seen.

the dfi sli-dr was my first complete build and i liked it so much i've built 6 more (sli-drs and ultra-d's) 😛

as said, do your research, get good quality components with it and take your time and its a great board. my first oc was done largely on "auto" settings, just increased the htt and the volts some.

plus, you have such a huge amount of info on the board available, not just at dfi.street but xstreme systems, hard, extrteme oc etc.

don't sweat it. i'd get the ultra-d.

edit- just re-read and you said they claim there is "no chance" of problems. i don't think i need to say that that is not true. not with any board or component.

 

[Liver]

I recommend getting a DFI board. They are quality boards, and I will most likely be using DFI motherboards exclusively now. Lotsa areas to tweak in the BIOS, but it is not mandatory to tweak. Paying a little extra to tweak, but you are still getting a stable and quality motherboard.