The big nforce4 SLI mobo list

[jitspoe]

I'm building a new system, and the number of motherboards to choose from is pretty crazy. My primary concern is stability. I'm planning on getting a venice CPU and a 7800GT, leaving open the possibility of getting a second 7800GT later on (or perhaps other cards will come out that would require a second pci-e slot). I just went through newegg and put together a list of all the sli mobos. I also kept track of the number of reviews, and how many of them seemed to complain of trouble. It seems like around 10% of them were bad for just about every motherboard. Perhaps some others will find it useful, so here's the complete list:


EPoX:

$125.00 - EPoX EP-9NPAJ SLI Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813123251
2 reviews
$137.00 - EPoX EP-9NPA+ SLi Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813123246
22 reviews, a couple ram problems, but no DOA's I saw


BIOSTAR:

$79.00 - BIOSTAR N4SLI-A9 Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813138253
44 reviews, 8 bad, some performance issues


GIGABYTE:

$92.00 - GIGABYTE GA-K8N-SLI Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128306
10 reviews, 3 bad
$106.00 - GIGABYTE GA-K8N Pro-SLI Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128301
98 reviews, 9 bad, raid problems


MSI:

$99.95 - MSI K8N SLI-F Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130527
0 reviews

Foxconn:

$125.50 / $100.50 - Foxconn NF4SK8AA-8EKRS Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813186062
4 reviews, so-so
$120.00 - Foxconn NF4SK8AA-8KRS Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813186059
0 reviews


Albatron:

$109.00 - Albatron K8SLi Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813170147
17 reviews, nothing below 4 eggs, but some complaints about thermometer and compatibility with X-Fi.


ABIT:

$109.99 - ABIT KN8 SLI Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813127225
17 reviews, 2 rma's
$139.00 - ABIT AN8 SLI Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813127207
48 reviews, ~8 stability issues


ECS:

$115.00 - ECS KN1 SLI Extreme (1.0A) Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813135203
13 reviews, 1 bad (doa)


JetWay:

$129.99 / $119.99 - JetWay 939GT4-SLI-G Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813153030
24 reviews, 5 bad


DFI:

$122.00 - DFI nF4 SLI Infinity Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136164
10 reviews, 3 bad
$165.00 - DFI LP UT nF4 SLI-D Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136158
14 reviews, didn't see any failures
$169.95 - DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 SLI-DR Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136157
79 reviews, 8 bad



ASUS:

$122.00 - ASUS A8N-SLI Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131524
116 reviews, 12 bad (approx - lots of rmas)
$159.99 - ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131517
561 reviews, ~60 bad (most complaints about chipset fan failing)


eVGA:

$125.00/"free" - eVGA 133-K8-NF41 Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813123251
72 reviews, 8 bad


The EPoX reviews seem pretty decent. I've heard bad things about biostar in the past, and the reviews were rather medeocre, so I'll probably steer clear of that. I don't know much about gigabyte, but it sounds kind of average. I've heard lots of bad things about MSI on the forums here, and there are no reviews on newegg, so I'll probably stay away from that, too. I had never even heard of Foxconn. Hadn't heard of Albatron, either, but the reviews seemed really positive. I just wish there were more of them. I've always used abit in the past, and they seem OK. Don't know anything about ECS or JetWay. I've heard lots of people raving about DFI, but at the same time lots of problems and difficulties. Seeing as I'm more concerned with stability than overclocking, I may stay away from that. I've also heard decent things about ASUS, and there are a ton of reviews for them, so they must be pretty popular. eVGA is just a jetway, from my understanding, but since I'm already planning to get a 7800GT, it's tempting to just get this mobo with it for "free."

I guess my top 3 picks would be:

$125.00/"free" - eVGA 133-K8-NF41 Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813123251

$109.00 - Albatron K8SLi Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813170147

$122.00 - ASUS A8N-SLI Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131524

Probably answered my own request there in the process of making this thread, but any comments? Anybody have any first-hand experience with the Albatron?

 

[Shimmishim]

dfi ultra-d is the way to go.

 

[Zenbeatnik]

Any reason you're not considering the A8N32-SLI Deluxe?

 

[jitspoe]

Originally posted by: Zenbeatnik
Any reason you're not considering the A8N32-SLI Deluxe?

Because it's more expensive and a number of people had complained about failures (particularly with the chipset fan). What does it offer that the other does not?

 

[aLeoN]

Originally posted by: jitspoe

Originally posted by: Zenbeatnik
Any reason you're not considering the A8N32-SLI Deluxe?

Because it's more expensive and a number of people had complained about failures (particularly with the chipset fan). What does it offer that the other does not?

The A8N32-SLI Deluxe uses passive cooling as well as the A8N-SLI Premium. You are right to say they are out of price range however.

 

[Zebo]

Asus ABIT DFI MSI or Gigabyte are all fine choices.

After that you need to consider what's imporatant.. Some have passive chipset design, some have spread out memory for better natural cooling of ram if you're OCing. Some have nicer colors and better board layout.

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: Shimmishim
dfi ultra-d is the way to go.

How you get SLI with that board? Modding and Sli bridge peice? Also wer'nt you sayin these board kills?

 

[jitspoe]

After reading some reviews and looking at benchmarks, the Albatron K8SLi seems like a nice mobo, but it might be a bit small for my tastes. I think I'd rather make a spacier computer with better air flow.

The A8N32-SLI Deluxe is too new and too expensive (and out of stock). Since my primary concern is stability, I think I'm going to stay away from this one for now. A8N-SLI Premium is a possibility. I guess I missed that one while putting the list together. What does it get me over the ASUS A8N-SLI, though? An x4 pcie slot? Does anything even use that? Additional SATA and LAN? Probably won't need it. Why pay another $40 for stuff I won't use?

 

[CyberFlas]

If you are going to get a DFI Ultra-D and try and mod it to run SLI, you might as well just get a DFI SLI Infinity. It costs one dollar more and oficially supports SLI.

 

[One43637]

i'm a big fan of the Asus A8N32, but if it's out of the question i personally would go with your Asus, and DFI mobos that you listed.

 

[jitspoe]

Kind of off topic, but the ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe popped up on newegg's "One Day Sale", yet it's still exactly the same price...