Which nForce?

[ConnyG]

Howdy!!!

I am trying to decide which nForce board to go with but having some trouble. The Abit NV7-133R would be a go if it wasn't for that badly placed capacitor.
An MSI K7N420 would be nice for when I upgrade the next time, then it could be my next Linux server (though I heard it isn't possible to get all the integrated
feature of the nForce working under Linux). Right now I have a Geforce 2 Pro which will have to do for some time.

Or maybe I should go for a good KT266a/KT333 motherboard? What about VIA today, have they gotten their act together with stability issues and IDE-prestanda?
I have an SB Live! Value right now and the sound is good enough (might get an Audigy later after summer).

So, any recommendations? The only requirement is that the Zalman CNPS5100-Cu cooler must fit on the motherboard. Integrated LAN would be nice but not a necessity, USB 2.0 would be nice, the more USB ports the better (got 3 devices now), integrated sound is nice if it is good quality (SB Live! equivalent or better). Integrated graphics is not necessary though.

Stability is most important though, I will definately not be overclocking so no real need for that.

 

[Odeen]

The NV7-133R is the Abit SL6 of nForce boards.

Remember the SL6? CPU Softmenu II, and stability problems. The Asus CUSL2, out at the same time, along with the MSI board (which was almost as good as the CUSL2, just picker about memory), with stepless CPU frequency control and amazing stability beat it to a pulp, and rightfully so. Only with a later-released SA6/SA6R was Abit able to come out with a competitive mobo.

Well, in the age of everyone and their dog releasing boards that give you the ability to dial in your CPU at precisely the frequency you want the NV7-133R has.... CPU Softmenu II. And again, IMHO, the Asus A7N266-C is a superior product.

(When it doubt... buy the Asus. Seriously)

 

[Heretik]

I'm running on the Asus A7N266-C right now. I've only had it up and running for 4 days now, but no problems so far. Very stable and fast.

As far as your cooler fitting on the board, I really couldn't tell you although from what I understand it can fit an Alpha PAL 8045. It has none of the "extras" that the Abit board comes with (RAID, USB 2.0, ATA-133). It does come with an 2 extra USB headers (for total of 4 ports). The integrated sound is very good although I can't seem to get rear channels to work but this is supposedly a driver problem that (hopefully) will be fixed.