Stability issues with the nForce3 250 chipset???

[mbf]

Hi there!

Just stumbled on this article over at The Inquirer.

It doesn't really say much, but (probably as intended) it makes you speculate. The question is, has anyone heard these apparent "issues" described in more detail, or can we simply put this down as ill will from ABIT towards nVidia? Apparently they haven't been on good terms for quite a while since ABIT decided to stop making nVidia-based graphics cards.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Abit said that it is committed to using the Nforce 3 250, despite what the article says below. The misunderstanding appears to have arisen because people in the factory do not know Abit's roadmap, the head office in Taiwan said today. Apologies to Abit and to readers. 11 June 2004. Ed.

Looks like they just talked to some goober on the floor who was spreading FUD.

 

[mbf]

Originally posted by: DAPUNISHER
Looks like they just talked to some goober on the floor who was spreading FUD.

I think so too. At least this is the first time I've heard about any problems attributed to the nForc3 250 chipset.

On the other hand I do find it a bit odd that nForce3 250 (or even nForce3 250gb) based boards are relatively few and far between. Off the top of my head I can only list four (six) nF3 250gb releases and five "plain" nF3 250 releases: MSI K8N Neo Platinum (and the MSI K8N Neo FIS2R, which is more or less the same board but listed separately at www.msi.com.tw), Epox EP-8KDA3+/J, ASUS K8N-E Deluxe (will this board *ever* be released?!?!) and the Soltek QBUIC EQ3801 barebone. Of the "regular" nF3 250 flavor we have the Chaintech VNF3-250 and the ZNF3-250, as well as the GA-K8NSNXP, GA-K8NS Pro and the GA-K8NS from Gigabyte (what where they smoking at Gigabyte when they decided to go with the regular nF3 250?!?!?)

Although the above covers a good share of the top tier mobo manufacturers, it still leaves a lot to be desired IMHO. Especially compared to the wide selection of K8T800 (Pro) based boards. Of course, they all just may hold back for PCIe and socket 939 support...

 

[DAPUNISHER]

I think the missing features are intentional in order to create a "budget" 250 solution, while allowing for driver development to continue. nV is evidently working feverishly on the platform drivers for the 250GB and one potential source of instability is this since so many users have Norton software that could be what the sources at Abit's factory were referring to.

 

[mbf]

Hmm... Could be... Sounds quite plausible at least. Then again I wouldn't touch any software with "Norton" written on it with a 50 foot pole. Not after localizing Norton Utilities back in 96 (or 97). I got a look "behind the scenes", and that was more than enough for me. Especially the Disc Doctor tool; it would constantly find "errors" to be fixed, and woe him or her who would do that....

As for Gigabyte boards using the vanilla nF3 250, they didn't really strike me as budget boards, at least neither the GA-K8NSNXP nor the GA-K8NS Pro. Chaintech's offerings are a totally different matter, though.

 

[mechBgon]

The thing about the Gigabytes, if you look at their diagram in the manual, is that they have a ludicrous number of bandwidth-sucking items that are all sharing the PCI bus. If you actually put it all to work at the same time... Heh.

 

[mbf]

Originally posted by: mechBgon
The thing about the Gigabytes, if you look at their diagram in the manual, is that they have a ludicrous number of bandwidth-sucking items that are all sharing the PCI bus. If you actually put it all to work at the same time... Heh.

Exactly, so I'd hardly call that a budget-oriented solution...

Doesn't really help that most of their features are built into the nF3 250gb... Cannot even excuse their decisions based on the cost-saving angle! Alas, their new socket 939 nForce3 250 Ultra-based board seems to implement most if not all features in the nF3 250. And apparently it runs single channel too (so I can upgrade the memory at leisure)... May be worth the wait instead of that socket 754 board I had in mind.

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: mbf

Originally posted by: mechBgon
The thing about the Gigabytes, if you look at their diagram in the manual, is that they have a ludicrous number of bandwidth-sucking items that are all sharing the PCI bus. If you actually put it all to work at the same time... Heh.

Exactly, so I'd hardly call that a budget-oriented solution...

Doesn't really help that most of their features are built into the nF3 250gb... Cannot even excuse their decisions based on the cost-saving angle! Alas, their new socket 939 nForce3 250 Ultra-based board seems to implement most if not all features in the nF3 250. And apparently it runs single channel too (so I can upgrade the memory at leisure)... May be worth the wait instead of that socket 754 board I had in mind.

Ooooo, interesting link! :Q I'm going to download the manual and scope it out, thanks for this!

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Good points about how not using features native to the chipset makes little sense. Also an interesting link about the Ultra chipset, thanx :beer: I had to laugh when I saw the bundled software

"Norton Internet SecurityTM Included
Norton Internet SecurityTM 2004 is the essential protection from viruses, hackers, and privacy threats. It protects user during the online activities such as e-mailing, shopping, banking, and game playing."

They give you everything you need to trash the forcewares and make trouble for yourself later :laugh:

 

[mbf]

You're both very welcome!

Also, who said upgrading (or building a rig from scratch) shouldn't be adventurous?
So, kudos from me for including Norton software... I know what *I* would do with it, but hey I'm certainly not everyone... and everyone is entitled to a bit o' fun!