The Fox or the Chain? Please help me decide

[rivethead]

I've been researching socket 939 mobos for my new rig and I have my choices narrowed down to either the Chaintech or the Foxconn NVIDIA nForce 4 Ultra boards.

After reading as much as I could find on the AT forums and all the reviews, here's how I see it:

Both are 'budget' socket 939 boards with some overclockability and basic features (that's fine for me since I don't plan on being a serious overclocker) and basic performance.

The Chaintech is less expensive by about $10. T

The Chaintech is passively cooled. This is bad if you're an overclocker, good if you want quiet (I want quiet first, overclock second). The Foxconn is actively cooled.

The Foxconn comes with a Firewire port, Chaintech does not. I don't have a need for Firewire now, so no big deal. I can always slap a $10 Firewire card in the Chaintech at a later date, if needed.

The Foxconn supposedly comes with a VERY detailed manual covering everything including all BIOS settings. The Chaintech has a very basic manual. I'm a noob, so I'd prefer detailed over basic. However, I cannot seem to find the Foxconn manual on their website, so I haven't seen first hand how much info they give. I have read the Chaintech's manual and it is basic.

The Chaintech may be turning into an actively cooled board in future versions (at least that's how I interpret Chaintech's response to x-bit labs review/findings/destruction of their board).

I would like to hear some opinions good or bad on these boards, to help me make my decision.

Specifically, I'd also like to know:

1) For Foxconn owers, is the chipset fan noisy? I've seen nothing to indicate this. Also, is this chipset fan thermally controlled by the mobo (only comes on at high temps) or does it run all the time?

2) All mobo's with nForce 4 Ultra are coming with nVIDIA nTune performance tweaking software. The nVIDIA nTune software is a MAJOR selling point for me (should it be? It certainly sounds cool based upon the description on nvidia's website, but I realize that's marketing in play there). Does the Foxconn board play nice with the nTune software. I know the Chaintech has some issues (can't update BIOS through nTune).

Thanks in advance for taking the time to offer me your answers/opinions on this choice.

 

[rivethead]

Ok, so now I hear that the Chaintech boards currently being shipped are now actively cooled.

So....

1) Anyone with a Foxconn board care to comment on the fan noise?

2) Anyone with a new Chaintech board care to comment on the fan noise?

3) Does the Foxconn board work well with NVIDIA nTune performance tweaking software?

Thanks!

 

[ChicagoPCGuy]

Originally posted by: rivethead
Ok, so now I hear that the Chaintech boards currently being shipped are now actively cooled.

So....

1) Anyone with a Foxconn board care to comment on the fan noise?

2) Anyone with a new Chaintech board care to comment on the fan noise?

3) Does the Foxconn board work well with NVIDIA nTune performance tweaking software?

Thanks!

Hey. I have the Foxconn nF4 Ultra board, just not installed yet. I will be building the PC in about a week, and will let you know.

I think the Foxconn board is the better of the two. The on-board Agere Firewire is higher end than the the VIA VT6307, and the board is also larger by a considerable margin and that is good for stability inside your case (less potential stress on the board by bending it when installing power and cards) and just room in general around the CPU socket. Both are budget boards, but the Foxconn benchmarks slightly faster (just as fast any of the higher end ones). The other thing is Foxconn used Rubycon capacitors for the on-board voltage regulator module--which is a GOOD thing. Rubycons are basically the best, along with United Chemi-Con.

The disadvantage to the Foxconn is that it does not overclock well, and Foxconn refuses to release a BIOS that is more overclocker friendly (at least that is what I have heard, they have reportedly said to the OCWORKBENCH site operator BlueTooth "nothing broke, so nothing to be fixed")

Further, if you look around the reviews on the web for the Foxconn board, it is well liked for it's stock speed and stability, but I think it does have issues at present with nTune. There may have been a review or two that pointed this out--go digging for web reviews.

 

[rivethead]

I appreciate your reply. I'm doing my ordering next weekend, so I still have plenty of time to research.

It sounds to me like your opinion is that the Foxconn is a better built, higher quality board. That's very important to me as I don't upgrade often (this is my first build after owning a Gateway for five years) and I want something stable that will last.

I didn't see any issues with nTune discussed in the reviews I read (neoseeker and x-bit labs, I believe), but I plan on going back and re-reading them. I do know the Chaintech had an issue with nTune, though.

nTune is a big selling point for me as I don't know much about overclocking and I don't really plan on exploring that area. But if nTune can do some basic overclocking for me....and let me save the profiles (one for quiet, one for gaming, etc.), then I think I would really value nTune and use it often.

Again, thanks for the reply and let me know what you think of the fan noise when you get your board up and running.

Good luck with the build.

 

[ChicagoPCGuy]

Originally posted by: rivethead
I appreciate your reply. I'm doing my ordering next weekend, so I still have plenty of time to research.

It sounds to me like your opinion is that the Foxconn is a better built, higher quality board. That's very important to me as I don't upgrade often (this is my first build after owning a Gateway for five years) and I want something stable that will last.

I didn't see any issues with nTune discussed in the reviews I read (neoseeker and x-bit labs, I believe), but I plan on going back and re-reading them. I do know the Chaintech had an issue with nTune, though.

nTune is a big selling point for me as I don't know much about overclocking and I don't really plan on exploring that area. But if nTune can do some basic overclocking for me....and let me save the profiles (one for quiet, one for gaming, etc.), then I think I would really value nTune and use it often.

Again, thanks for the reply and let me know what you think of the fan noise when you get your board up and running.

Good luck with the build.

Hey. Going back and thinking about it, it might have been Chaintech that had the nTune issue, not the Foxconn. I think I got that one mixed up. Yes, the Foxconn is reportedly highly stable and above average in the quality department. If X-Bit liked it, then that says a lot because they are pretty tough. Neoseeker is a joke IMHO, but it is another reference point nontheless. I think the fans on both boards are going to be a little on the loud side. I will give you a full report upon building the PC. Take care and good luck.

 

[Silversierra]

I have the vnf4 ultra. I like it, and it's cheap. Mine is blue with passive "zenith ve" cooler. People say it oc's really good. I haven't tried yet. Majorpayne has his 3000+ 1.8 oc'ed to 2.7 I think(300htt). It has all the features I need. I would recommend it.

 

[rivethead]

"If X-Bit liked it, then that says a lot because they are pretty tough. Neoseeker is a joke IMHO"

I agree. I found the x-bit review to be much more detailed and it felt more objective to me. However, I certainly would like to see AT do another NForce4 round-up and others do some reviews.

But I doubt I'll wait that long before buying a board. I've been researching this stuff since January and I'm about researched out. For me, it's time to buy and time to build!

 

[rivethead]

Bump

I'd sure like to get more comments.

Any Chaintech folks out there with the active cooling care to comment on the noise.

Also, I sounds as if neither the Chaintech nor the Foxconn have temperature controlled cpu fans....those fans run continously. This may be a noob question, but is that a standard thing?

But both of these boards can control the case fan speed (and power supply too, I believe) based upon temperatures?

 

[slash196]

I don't have either board, but IMO, nTune is worthless. I never, ever use it. So I wouldn't worry too much about it.

 

[rivethead]

Worthless? Because it doesn't work, or because you don't use because there is something better?

nTune is very attractive to me. I'm not an overclocker, but if I can squeeze some mild performance increases just by running nTune, then I'm all for it.

 

[ChineseDemocracyGNR]

You can always use ClockGen if nTune doesn't work.

Foxconn fixed the overclocking issue, read:
http://www.ocworkbench.com/2005/foxconn/articles/overclocking%20NF4UK8AA/p1.htm
The BIOS is not public yet, you have to be registered at OCW and ask the admin for the BIOS. But it should probably be out soon.

The fan on the Foxconn board is loud, and it's not controlled by temperature.