Which DFI NF4 Board Should I buy?

[RationalThoughts]

I'm confused on the differences between Lan party and lan party UT. I want the DFI NF4 board that everyone else has that is killing it. There are so many models though I'm getting confused when looking at NewEgg as to which one to get. All input welcome! Thanks

 

[Mucker]

This one: http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=246486

It is moddable to Sli......

 

[cubeless]

i have the board that mucker points to, and it's a great board - can be a little daunting for a novice, though... gotta add $10 to replace the nf4 chip cooler, imho...

i've got a non-sli infinity ordered, to see if it's as good as they say... $84 and should perform like the lanparty for everything i do (bought a sli board but seem to keep buying ati single card video...)...

 

[Kakumba]

Dont worry about the UT, I got the DFI Lanparty UT SLI-DR Expert, its the killer, but can be daunting....

 

[RationalThoughts]

What's the difference between the lan party and the UT? Also I don't want the one where you have to mod it to make it SLI. Is the expert the one with a million options for OC? I want the top dog comparable to the ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe. I would get the ASUS board but I want a UV board so it looks sweet.

 

[Kakumba]

The Expert is the top of the line for 939. All DFI boards are great for overclocking, the Expert is the best around.

UT simply means it doesnt come with the PC-Transpo thingy, which I dont need coz its for Mid-Tower cases. A quick look at my local supplier shows that there is only one non-UT DFI Board, the SLI-DR. so yeah, dont worry about it, the board itself is fine.

 

[WildHorse]

--------------------------------------------------------Sil3114-------------------Diagnostic--
----------------------------------------------SLI-------RAID-------FrontX-----LED Connector

Lanparty nF4 SLI-DR..........................Yes..............Y................Y.......................Y

Lanparty UT nf4 SLI-DR......................Y.................Y................No.....................N

Lanparty UT nF4 SLI-D........................Y.................N................N......................N

Lanparty UT nF4 Ultra-DR....................No...............Y................N......................N

Lanparty UT nF4 Ultra-D......................N.................N................N......................N

I have the last one. It's the same one that Mucker linked you to above. It's a super good board, but over 1 year old now. In fact I think it's being, or has recently been, discontinued.

The "no" under SLI is easily changed to Yes with a simple fix you can do with an Xacto knife & a #2 pencil. But not me, because I don't need 2 video cards.

You don't need the FrontX panel of connections if your case already has ports in front for USB & Firewire, like my CM Stacker case has.

The improved, "expert" version that DFI brought out later is reputed to be challenging to get tweaked properly, even for overclockers with long time experience, according to postings on dfi-street.com. I'd be reluctant to attempt the "expert" mobo.

This has been my first DFI mobo, & because of my great experience with it, I'll be a good DFI customer in future.

RationalThoughts, I suggest you keep your eye on this!

Edits: done to align columns

 

[Kakumba]

Yes, I must say Im a bit apprehensive about my new build with teh Expert. have done this a few times, but not with a board *quite* this advanced. will keep you posted when I actually get everything.

 

[RationalThoughts]

Thank you Scott! I appreciate it. That's exactly what I was looking for was to know the features as well. Is the Sil3114 Raid?

 

[CP5670]

There is also yet another board called the Lanparty UT nf4-D, which is the same as the Ultra-D but without the SATA2 support or the second LAN controller (although the SATA2 can be enabled through another pencil hack similar to the one for SLI). And there is also the rare SLI-DR Venus, which is almost identical to the Expert and is not available any more.

I have a UT SLI-DR and an Ultra-D. Both are overall excellent boards, especially the newer revisions. I think their only real shortcoming is the location of the chipsets and the whiny fans on them.

 

[Pens1566]

The expert isn't that bad if you get quality components (PSU, ram) that it's known to play well with.

 

[Kakumba]

Yes, the SIL3114 is a RAID controller chip. controls up to 4 Sata 1.5Gbps HDDs in RAID 1, 0 and 5. there is a newer chip, the SIL3214? or is it 3124? anyways, thats the one that does 4 Sata 3Gbps drives.

 

[acegazda]

Hey
I've heard its hard to mod the UT nF4 ULTRA-D to SLI and even harder to get an SLI bridge so if you've got the $ to spare, go with the SLI-d expert. **DFI is the best for customization and overclocking...too bad i dont do that yet**

 

[Kakumba]

Yeah, the SLI bridge. I happen to have one spare, but you may not be so lucky. if you want SLI, buy an SLI board. its just easier.

 

[DidlySquat]

There is also a (non-UT) Lanparty Ultra-D, slightly more expensive than the Lanparty UT Ultra-D. As you can guess the non-UT version comes with the frontX kit.

Kakumba (talk about stupid aliases), how did your build with the expert board go ?

 

[Kakumba]

Originally posted by: DidlySquat
There is also a (non-UT) Lanparty Ultra-D, slightly more expensive than the Lanparty UT Ultra-D. As you can guess the non-UT version comes with the frontX kit.

Kakumba (talk about stupid aliases), how did your build with the expert board go ?

Stupid Alias?

anyways, still waiting. need to talk to the bank, get them to give me money so I can actually afford to buy the rest of the system.... I will let you know a soon as I do build it (next month I hope, depending how quickly watercooling parts arrive)

 

[aidanjm]

wouldn't it make more sense at this stage to wait a little bit and move to the new socket?

 

[The Pentium Guy]

Originally posted by: aidanjm
wouldn't it make more sense at this stage to wait a little bit and move to the new socket?

Not much performance increase... besides it'll be a little bit before they get the bugs out.