Which high end sct 939 mobo ?

[X Neo X]

Im looking to get a really nice mobo for my new pc which ill be putting together soon.
At the moment i am currently looking at three boards.

ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe

DFI LANParty UT NF4 SLI-DR Expert

ABIT Fatal1ty AN8 SLI

Im most keen on the asus mobo, since it seems to have a good cooling system, good layout and excellent bios options for tweaking, the dfi's lack of s-ata II is dissapointing, although it is possibly the best over-clocker of the lot. the fatal1ty i read some good reviews about it, but it doesnt appear to be a great over clocker, and layout might be a cause for concern. some good cooling systems though.

Which out of those three would you recomend me buying, or perhaps there is a better nforce 4 sli board like the msi k8n diamond that is worth buying,

thanks.

 

[Sentry2]

If you're looking to run SLI on the Asus with an X-Fi or any other pci card for that matter it all won't fit(only if the video cards are dual-slot though). I think the DFI easily has the best layout of the bunch(same as Asus A8N-SLI). I don't like the layout of the new Asus board. I mean really, if you buy a $250 board you should be able to run 2 dual-slot video cards and a nice sound card without having to worry if it's gonna fit. Who wants 2 512 GTX's with onboard sound. Not me.

Anyway, just got the DFI in today. I'm gonna finish setting it up when I get home from work. The only problem I've had with it so far is it won't run my cards in SLI. Screen goes black after windows loads. Probably just need a bios update or something.

I'd say go with the DFI Expert. If you don't plan on running 2 dual-slot video cards, then I would go with the Asus. Haven't really heard anything about the Abit. GL

 

[stability99]

I have Asus A8N-SLI Premium and A8N32-SLI Deluxe. All I can say, they are very stricky and still have alot of bugs.

Read this:
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=29&threadid=1759853&enterthread=y

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=29&threadid=1760678&enterthread=y

http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=8171

 

[Wentelteefje]

The Abit is a very good one, but solely because of Fatal1ty's signature on it... It will sport massive overclocking options, no doubt, although the feature set will only be the same as practically any other SLI mobo...

Would pick the Abit first, then the DFI, and as last one the Asus...

 

[X Neo X]

Yes, the abit has a lot of good overclocking option, and the guru pannel seem quite good as well as unique, however it wouldnt appear to be a great overclocker. as it become unstable at arround 215mhz HTT. the dfi was arround 100 higher and the asus wasnt far behind using an AMD 4000+ i think. i am unlikley to have 2 dual slot cards. the abit's unability to overclock to a decent speed, the dfi's lack of s-ata II support and the asus's inability to have 2 dual slot graphics cards and my lovely x-fi fatal1ty sound card in use simultaneously are dissapointing, each motherboard really does give with one hand whilst taking with the other. What would it take to make a decent mobo without a major downside ?

Can some1 tell me if i can use 2 single slot gfx cards and 2 standard pci cards at the same time?

 

[Wentelteefje]

I don't really know what review you've been reading, but the AN8 Fatal1ty SLI is one of the best overclockers around...

 

[X Neo X]

Originally posted by: Wentelteefje
I don't really know what review you've been reading, but the AN8 Fatal1ty SLI is one of the best overclockers around...

mabey but since the reviews im comparing were for other top end mobos it could have created the illusion that it was a poor overclocker.

 

[Wentelteefje]

Originally posted by: X Neo X
Can some1 tell me if i can use 2 single slot gfx cards and 2 standard pci cards at the same time?

This seems like a tricky issue... Normally it should just work out, but there won't be much of a margin between the lower card and the PCI ones (except if they're half-height)... BTW Abit provides somethin called the OTES SLIpstream VGA cooler with the mobo... See it here...

EDIT: Some overclocking numbers...

270MHz
331MHz and 309MHz
260MHz
HotHardware.com: 310MHz

By no means bad for a SLI mobo...

 

[X Neo X]

Slightly more tempting but i can help feeling that whilst with the others im paying for some extra stuff whilst with the abit im paying for some guy's name who plays doom 3 online.

 

[Wentelteefje]

Agree completely on that one, but Fatal1ty is a Painkiller expert...

 

[X Neo X]

mabey if he was #1 in cs:source i might be a bit kinder
it looks like a decent mobo, but i think the asus is better to be honest.

 

[Wentelteefje]

None of 'em is "bad"... Sure, pick the one you'd like eh, we're just trying to help, but it's up you to decide...

BTW this isn't meant sarcastically or so... It sounds a bit like it, sorry...

 

[X Neo X]

no problem lol, if i didnt want people oppinions then i would of posted, its just no-one has convinced me away from the asus yet. i dont have a monitor capable of 1600 x 1200 so the Asus lack of space for 2 dual slot cards and nothing else is very unlikley to effect me, however i already have a sata II drive and so the dfi's lack of sata II support is much more of a concern and will effect my decision more than the extra 1fps you might get because its slightly better at overlocking. the abit looks decent, however given the choice i would rather not pay $50 for some guys signiture on it.