Originally posted by: mdzapeer
I am building a new system here are the specs
AMD 64 (939)3700+ san degio core 1 MB L2 cahce
Geforce 6800 GT 256MB MSI, XFX or ASUS
1 gb RAM
Creative audigy 2 zs
So which mother board would be best for me my budget is around $200+. I would like the nforce4 chipset ultra or SLI. One more question I have is that I might buy a second 6800GT later but for now I will be using a single card so should get the SLI or ultra chipset.
My greatest concerns are stability and performance, I am not intrested in overclocking anything now. I currently like the DFI LANPARTY board but I am afraid it might not be available in my region, so any other suggestions are welcome.
If you are going SLI at some point in the future, then I would get SLI now. The cost is not that much more. Also, ignore the rest of this post... Iam purchasing a new MOBO as well.
I'm only considering socket 939 PCI express ultra boards.. Here are links about each of the boards considered. So far, only DFI and Gigabyte are still in contention.
The lineup, in my original order of desire, based on intial reviews.
DFI LANParty UT nF4 Ultra-D
Abit Fatal1ty AN8
MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum Edition
Gigabyte GA-K8NXP-9 (I came upon this one while writing this dissertation)
Gigabyte GA-K8N Ultra-9
Asus A8N-E Premium
After making notes and reading even more reviews the ABIT, MSI, and ASUS were nixed leaving:
DFI LANParty UT nF4 Ultra-D
Gigabyte GA-K8NXP-9 (this one if the northbridge fan is reasonably quiet)
Gigabyte GA-K8N Ultra-9
DFI LANParty UT nF4 Ultra-D
I thought this was just for overclockers... apparently not!
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2337&p=1
http://www.anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.aspx?i=2426&p=2
http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?cid=6&id=1597
http://www.pcmoddingmy.com/content.php?review.239 (ignore the typo that referst to Ultra-B)
note this page...
http://www.pcmoddingmy.com/content.php?review.239.10 (a gigabyte chipset recorded temperatures of 71c vs 56c due to the passive cooling) The DFI fan is not supposed to be as loud as the Asus.
This mobo can accomodate a Zalman 7000 heat sink, which is a monster... I like another monster... the THERMALTAKE CL-P0114 120mm Cooling Fan/Heatsink. My guess is the Zalman may be more stable in a tower configuration. Both should cool quietly and nicely.
Comments:
Nice northbridge fan, fairly quiet
Power connectors look good (ie, don't restrict airflow)
4GB memory
Award BIOS
Dual Lan
4 UlraDMA 133 IDE drives with raid support
4 SATA2 drives with raid support across SATA and PATA drives
2 IEEE 1394 ports
Karajan audio (6 audio jacks)
10 usb 2/1.1 6 ports in rear with connectors available for 4 more
4 diagnostic LEDs
ATX form factor 9.45" x 12" (24cm x 30.5cm)
2 x16 PCIe
1 x4 PCIe
1 x1 PCIe
2 PCI (only 2... normally enough.. I don't use a soundcard)
Abit Fatal1ty AN8
http://www7.tomshardware.com/motherboard/20050513/socket_939-02.html
http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?cid=1&id=1569 (see page 2 for exotic cooling called OTES)
Comments:
This has the OTES cooling system... is that Oates? hmm, maybe I should buy this MOBO!
Nice northbridge fan, all copper!, fairly quiet
Power connectors look good (ie, don't restrict airflow) but I'm not sure about the SATA or IDE connectors
4GB memory
Award BIOS
1 Lan
4 UlraDMA 133 IDE drives with raid support
4 SATA2 drives with raid support across SATA and PATA drives
3 IEEE 1394 ports
Abit 5.1 sound, with x1 PCI slot for ABIT AudioMax with interfaces for 7.1 sound...
8 usb 2/1.1 (8 ready for use, not sure if other connectors are available)
ATX form factor (24.5cm x 30.5cm)
1 x16 PCIe
0 x4 PCIe
2 x1 PCIe
3 PCI (??? 1 x Abit audio slot)
µGuru
OTES
CPU ThermalGuard
no serial / parallel ports in back due to OTES fans... not a problem for me these days.
sheesh, I was actually considering this board until reading the hardwarezone article...
BIG problems... but they didn't like the IDE connector locations as well.
MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum Edition
http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/mainboard/mbd/pro_mbd_detail.php?UID=637
Better picture:
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1770
http://www7.tomshardware.com/motherboard/20050513/socket_939-09.html
has lots of good reviews but
http://www.anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.aspx?i=2426&p=2 excerpt
Update: After this Guide was initially written, it came to light that the MSI boards are having problems with 90nm parts. The MSI Neo4 SLI was our original high-end pick, but we changed that out after the new information. Sorry for the confusion!
Not considering because of the 90nm part problems, whatever it is. I want the 90nm becuase of the reduced heat.
Gigabyte GA-K8NXP-9
http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?cid=6&id=1568
Comments:
northbridge fan, not sure how loud
Power connectors look good (but the controller cables are VERY tightly spaced. What a pain)
4GB memory (dimm slots have 0 clearance so thick memory cards will not fit.
unknown BIOS
1 Lan (use PCIe bus instead of PCI)
4 UlraDMA 133 IDE drives with raid support
4 SATA2 drives with raid support across SATA and PATA drives
4 Sil3114 Sata link controller... I thought this was only on SLI boards (not SATA2 compliant)
3 IEEE 1394 ports
Realtek ALC850 8-channel audio CODEC (sweet!)
10 usb 2/1.1 up to 10
ATX form factor (24.5cm x 30.5cm)
1 x16 PCIe
0 x4 PCIe
2 x1 PCIe
3 PCI
Dual Power System (D.P.S.)
M.I.B. 2
IEEE 802.11g Wireless LAN card
4 SATA cables
Gigabyte GA-K8N Ultra-9
http://www.giga-byte.com/Motherboard/Products/Products_GA-K8N%20Ultra-9.htm
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1677
http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?cid=6&id=1593
Comments:
northbridge heat sink, rather than a fan (too hot?)
Power connectors look good (but the controller cables are VERY tightly spaced. What a pain)
4GB memory
unknown BIOS
1 Lan (use PCIe bus instead of PCI)
4 UlraDMA 133 IDE drives with raid support
4 SATA2 drives with raid support across SATA and PATA drives
4 Sil3114 Sata link controller... I thought this was only on SLI boards (not SATA2 compliant)
3 IEEE 1394 ports
Realtek ALC850 8-channel audio CODEC (sweet!)
10 usb 2/1.1 up to 10
ATX form factor (24.5cm x 30.5cm)
1 x16 PCIe
0 x4 PCIe
2 x1 PCIe
3 PCI
Does not have: Dual Power System (D.P.S.)
Does not have: M.I.B. 2
plus... heat sink instead of fan
Does not have the IEEE 802.11g Wireless LAN card
but, has all 8 SATA cables instead of only 4... no big deal for me...
Asus A8N-E Premium
Apparently, after half a year it has yet to be released. They have just released a Socket 754 board... I think that is the prior AGP board.
Plus, it is imperative that the fan be replaced as it freezes up.... often within days.
http://usa.asus.com/products/mb/socket939/a8n-e/overview.htm
Not considering since after 7-9 months of testing it still has not been released and the May 6 review of a board just released which supports the OLDer AGP Socket
GA-8I955X Royal
http://www.giga-byte.com/Motherboard/Products/Products_GA-8I955X%20Royal.htm
http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?cid=1&id=1563
I don't really like the layout of this board. the mainboard power connector is in the middle of the damned board!?!? but, I was going to look at it since I think it is dual core.
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