Which would you choose?

[phillyman36]

Hey im doing a rebuild i think its coming down to Abit vs Intel. Im not a overclocker but wouldnt mind having some soft overclocking settings that wont mess up my board. I want stability, reliability and speed. Any suggestions are welcome here are the links

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-121-184&depa=1

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-127-152&depa=1

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-127-153&depa=1

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-121-184&depa=1


http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-121-182&depa=1

i was going to go with Abit but hear they have trouble with the attached fan but im not sure

 

[o1die]

I'd go with the abit max 2. The northbridge fan can be disconnected if the noise bothers you, but I don't recommend it. I have a northbridge fan on my msi board, and can't hear it over the cpu fan.

 

[Jeff7]

A lot of motherboard manufacturers seem to skimp on the northbridge cooling fan and use things with cheap sleeve bearings. You can remove the fan and oil the bearings, but that may or may not last for long before it starts getting noisy. Options are:
Get another chipset heatsink/fan, like this.
Or, if your case temps aren't too bad, a passive heatsink will do the job just fine.

 

[raynman68]

I'll second Jeff7's comments about the cheap cooling fans on the Northbride. My MSI K7N2 went out on Friday. They are shipped a replacement yesterday, but I picked up the Zalman you linked to over the weekend and it works just fine. I'll just keep the factory replacement around in case I have to RMA it.

I neber noticed a Nortbridge fan over my CPU, GPU, or case fan until it started going out.

If had to choose between these boards I would have to cast my vote for the Abit IC7-G MAXII.

I have run many Abit boards and have had no problems with them that I could attribute to the board and not my adventures in overclocking.

Hope this might have helped in some small way.

Robert
My uncle has a country place
that no one knows about