Upgrade to Nforce 2?

[MrPabulum]

Sup all,

Currently I'm running a Palomino XP 1900+ on the Asus A7V8X-X board (KT400), with Samsung PC2700 memory. I plan to purchase a Barton 2500+ chip, and was wondering whether the performance increase the Nforce2 provides is worth replacing my current mobo. I do plan to overclock the chip to 2800+ levels. Thanks for any help!

 

[MARMADUKE]

yes..but upgrade memory and go ..with 8rda+..or nf7...whatever you do dont buy asus!

 

[l3ored]

whats wrong with asus? (a7n8x deluxe?)

 

[MARMADUKE]

here is a hint

 

[MrPabulum]

hmm..so the consensus is yes? If I do, that means a memory upgrade..hmm..that'll be a few $$

Manufacturer could be Asus, Epox, but it has to be reasonably priced and stable if I do upgrade. By the way, I've had good experiences with Asus and MSI, not so good with Abit and never with Epox.
The refurbished Asus A7N8X Deluxe looks good...

So, no contrarians? :evil:

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: l3ored
whats wrong with asus? (a7n8x deluxe?)

i have had a a7n8x deluxe (rev 1.04) for about 6 months and it kicks butt

 

[ethebubbeth]

I love my asus a7n8x deluxe. With the latest bios (1004 for the 1.xx revision, 1005 for the 2.xx) the multiplier is unlocked for thoroughbreds and bartons. I just changed the multiplier from 11x166 to 12.5x166 and lo and behold i have a 2800+

 

[Doh!]

If you have the original Samsung (not the Samsung chips on generic layers) then you have a good chance of running them at 200 or a little higher at CAS 2 settings. I have 6 sticks of Samsung PC 2700, all above 200 at CAS 2.

 

[MrPabulum]

I remember reading about a way to tell the quality of Samsung chips. What was that designation again? CB3? CL3? Oh, that Asus refurb is very tempting...

 

[Insane3D]

You should be happy with any of the nForce2 offerings from the mainstream companies like Abit, Epox, and Asus. The Asus has the most features, but generally doesn't o/c as high as the Epox and Abit boards will. The Epox is probably the better choice if you want more of a stripped down pure o/c'ing board, and don't need things like S-ATA/RAID. The best of the bunch right now, IMO, would be the Abit NF7-S Rev2.



:beer:

 

[KF]

Originally posted by: MrPabulum
Sup all,

Currently I'm running a Palomino XP 1900+ on the Asus A7V8X-X board (KT400), with Samsung PC2700 memory. I plan to purchase a Barton 2500+ chip, and was wondering whether the performance increase the Nforce2 provides is worth replacing my current mobo. I do plan to overclock the chip to 2800+ levels. Thanks for any help!

Is worth $100 more No. The difference will be hard to notice. Is it worth it to go to higher speed memory? No. It will be even harder to detect a difference.

 

[Corporate Thug]

first, i would get rid of your current board. i think you'll have no problem selling it @ the FS/FT forum for a reasonable price. then put that money towards the nforce2 and minimizes your losses. i must also agree with Insane3d, the NF7-s is the best nforce2 board

 

[zephyrprime]

I really don't think it's worth it at all. I checked out ebay and a A7V8X only goes for about $55 so even if you sell your current board, you'd still need at least another $30 which could otherwise go to buying a better CPU.

And you have to consider the time spent on installing a new MB. Time's money.

 

[MrPabulum]

I just examined the results of Anand's Nforce2 roundup, and to be honest, I'm less inclined to purchase it. Though faster to be sure, it's not a large enough gap. I think I'll purchase a Barton 2500+ and see what kind of overclocking results I can produce on the KT400. Thanks for the help!

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Originally posted by: MrPabulum
I just examined the results of Anand's Nforce2 roundup, and to be honest, I'm less inclined to purchase it. Though faster to be sure, it's not a large enough gap. I think I'll purchase a Barton 2500+ and see what kind of overclocking results I can produce on the KT400. Thanks for the help!

That's a wise decision overall but if you need RAM buy soon because it won't be long now till they start jacking prices back up for the Holiday season and you'll want to kick your own a$$ for not buying it when it was cheap

 

[lenjack]

You didn't mention your OS. you may know this, but nforce2 does not work with W95 or W98.

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: lenjack
You didn't mention your OS. you may know this, but nforce2 does not work with W95 or W98.

People still use those OS'es?!?!?!

Actually, there are NF2 drivers for Win98 IIRC.

Edit:

Yep...Win9X/ME drivers located here. Looks like 98SE and ME are supported, not Win98 original or Win95.

 

[ponyo]

Save your money. You won't be able to tell the performance difference.