What is the best nF4 Ultra/SLI mobo?

[Ackbar]

All things should be considered including:
Bios update support
Features
Space available to fit CPU coolers (ie. XP-120 and/or Zalman coolers)
Onboard audio quality
and (most importantly) Overclocking options/ability!
(other considerations may also be of interest)

 

[DfiDude]

i would also go with the dfi, i read a lot of good reviews on dfi. But its all in your perspective of things, for me i would like to get the Asus A8N sli deluxe or the dfi. Abit i dono about them...the warranty for the an8 i read was only for 1 year, for me that would probably mean that the mobo wont last that long.

 

[homercles337]

Avoid Abit, probably go with the DFI, seems to be the best OCer. However, the MSI (i have one) is only a hair slower for OCing--like 1-2%.

 

[Ackbar]

Originally posted by: homercles337
Avoid Abit, probably go with the DFI, seems to be the best OCer. However, the MSI (i have one) is only a hair slower for OCing--like 1-2%.

I'd like to add that DFI mobos have had a known DOA problem recently. Abit AN8's seem to so far have been flawless from what I've read of problems that people have had. But to put this in perspective, the AN8 came out last so they've had the most time to improve off others.

 

[thanatos355]

90% of the people i know with dfi board have had NO prolems with them. the rest can be contributed to bad ps or ram selection.

 

[DfiDude]

i dont the dfi that the video cards get so close to the chipset, but thats just me.

 

[DfiDude]

i also heard that the asus a8n sli deluxe is come really close to become competitive with the dfi's from the new bios on the asus. But for me im trying to decide between dfi ultra and asus a8n, they are both good mobo's

 

[Waylay00]

Yes, there is a new beta BIOS supposedly that fixes the 250 1T problem on the ASUS. Of those selected, I would go woth the AN8. Comes with many features, and not many have been reporting any problems.

 

[Ackbar]

Originally posted by: Waylay00
Yes, there is a new beta BIOS supposedly that fixes the 250 1T problem on the ASUS. Of those selected, I would go woth the AN8. Comes with many features, and not many have been reporting any problems.

Do you feel that the $50+ price difference is worth it? To be honest, I haven't seen a $50 improvement in the performance of the AN8 to justify it's high price.

 

[Waylay00]

Yes, I do. It comes with many great features (OTES, RAM OTES, etc) That alone would cost more than $50. And they aren't loud either.

 

[Ackbar]

Originally posted by: Waylay00
Yes, I do. It comes with many great features (OTES, RAM OTES, etc) That alone would cost more than $50. And they aren't loud either.

Interesting... as far as overclocking is concerned... how do you feel that it matches up compared with the DFI? Most people are led to believe that the DFI is a god at overclocking and nothing else has as many features/options or can overclock as high.

 

[Trashman]

Wonder why the Abit AN8 Fatal1ty is getting such a bad rap around here?
I realize its a bit high priced, and no SLI options, which is popular for some.
I was holding off getting the DFI NF4-D board till there were some reviews on the AN8.
Just wierd that no reviews have popped up, can't wait to much longer, was hopin by mid-March on new system build.
From the very little thats out there though, seems the AN8 is a good board.

 

[Waylay00]

The AN8 has a little quirk about not allowing VDIMM of above 2.8v, but a rep said that this issue will be adressed in a new BIOS. Overall, the percentage of DOA boards with the AN8 seems to be low, as a reason you don't see many people posting about it. Also, you could just get the regular AN8, which is the same exact thing except without the LED's and the OTES stuff and about $50-60 cheaper.

 

[thanatos355]

Originally posted by: Waylay00
Yes, I do. It comes with many great features (OTES, RAM OTES, etc) That alone would cost more than $50. And they aren't loud either.

who needs otes or ram otes when you can slap on an xp-120 and a good 120mm fan on the dfi?

 

[Trashman]

Besides OC features, 1 thing that I like about the Abit over DFI, maybe be minor for most, but the DFI has 2 pci slots vs Abit has 3pci....would like to have that extra pci.
SCSI card, leadtek tv/tuner and soundcard...so thats a + for me

 

[DfiDude]

the abit an8 is ok...i mean there is a lot of cooling on the mobo but, i have to also see some more reviews about it on its performance and stability.

 

[Ackbar]

Originally posted by: Waylay00
The AN8 has a little quirk about not allowing VDIMM of above 2.8v, but a rep said that this issue will be adressed in a new BIOS. Overall, the percentage of DOA boards with the AN8 seems to be low, as a reason you don't see many people posting about it. Also, you could just get the regular AN8, which is the same exact thing except without the LED's and the OTES stuff and about $50-60 cheaper.

Unfortunately, the regular AN8 is an nForce 4 non-ultra AFAIK. So the cheaper version is more on par with the non-ultra boards and still kinda expensive.

 

[DfiDude]

yea the an8 is pretty expensive (fatal1ty) version, but i would chose that over the regular abit an8. For you guys would u get the abit an8 or the asus a8n sli?

 

[Ackbar]

Originally posted by: DfiDude
yea the an8 is pretty expensive (fatal1ty) version, but i would chose that over the regular abit an8. For you guys would u get the abit an8 or the asus a8n sli?

Personally, I wouldn't get the A8N because of all the problems that people had initially. To me, I don't think they've done a good enough job of bringing a good product out to market when it was released and just corrected the issues as they came up later.

 

[Trashman]

Originally posted by: DfiDude
the abit an8 is ok...i mean there is a lot of cooling on the mobo but, i have to also see some more reviews about it on its performance and stability.

i agree, and that's that overall deciding factor whether or not it's worth payin $40-50 more for, if it's on par with DFI.

 

[DfiDude]

thank you ackbar and trashman for your responses. So i guess the abit will be on my list for me amd. I will read more reviews on the abit an8 and keep you guys in touch with any problems or anything. Supposedly im building my computer in the summer so i cant wait W00T.

 

[Waylay00]

Well, by summer most BIOS issues will be resolved, and plenty of reviews will be out, so I wouldn't worry about it. For me though, I have to decide before tomorrow

 

[ChineseDemocracyGNR]

The ABIT is more expensive but it's a very high-quality mobo, the only socket 939 with a 4 phase power circuit (that I know of). The only thing missing is high Vdimm, but I don't think high Vdimm is a good idea on an Athlon 64 so I don't really care about this, and someone mentioned they promised to fix that with a BIOS update.

 

[Ackbar]

Originally posted by: ChineseDemocracyGNR
The ABIT is more expensive but it's a very high-quality mobo, the only socket 939 with a 4 phase power circuit (that I know of). The only thing missing is high Vdimm, but I don't think high Vdimm is a good idea on an Athlon 64 so I don't really care about this, and someone mentioned they promised to fix that with a BIOS update.

I tend to agree as well, it seems that they put very high quality components in it. I wonder how that stacks up against the DFI mobo in terms of quality...

 

[DfiDude]

for me im thinking to cancel the abit and go for msi. Msi K8n Neo4 Platinum seems like a really good board for overclocking, even if your not overclocking its really stable and has good prerformance. Thats what im actually thinking to get.