I've been promised an A8N32-SLI in stock for me tomorrow (if I want it) but I'm getting the worries about whether its really what I want.
Heres phase 1 of what I'm building, the parts are either ordered or here already.
3800+ X2 (With Si-120)
2x 1GB G.Skill 3200 (2-3-2-5)
500W Seasonic S12
Inno3d 7800GT
X-Fi gamer
I have a promise TX4000 raid card and a 4 drive PATA array of 250GB 7200.8s and as you know the A8N32 has only one spare PCI slot where really I need 2, one for the raid card and one for the X-Fi.
The A8N32 does have PATA raid but I have no idea how stable it is, no idea how well it performs compared with a dedicated Promise card and of course if I use up all 4 IDE channels with the 4 7200.8s, theres no IDEs left to boot an optical drive, nor is there anywhere for my 5th scratch drive (ide again).
Now i do my burning on an external DVD but usb externals are a pain to boot from and sometimes its handy to have an IDE optical drive as not everything works from an external.
Also the A8N32 does not allow overclocking with CnQ operating. I hope to overclock to around 240 or 250 FSB, no more as higher than that generates more heat than is useful as I want it quiet when Im not gaming.
The A8N32 is a great board, the 8 phase power is what attracted me but I hear temps are a problem, its not as cool as I expected (or the advertising hype suggested) and I just dont know if im going to be unhappy if I do get it.
What else is there that is stable at 250mhz, with one more slot? A8N-SLI? the DFI-D? I hear complaints that both boards have their problem points- I just dont know what to do.
Any suggestions would be great, thanks!
Heres phase 1 of what I'm building, the parts are either ordered or here already.
3800+ X2 (With Si-120)
2x 1GB G.Skill 3200 (2-3-2-5)
500W Seasonic S12
Inno3d 7800GT
X-Fi gamer
I have a promise TX4000 raid card and a 4 drive PATA array of 250GB 7200.8s and as you know the A8N32 has only one spare PCI slot where really I need 2, one for the raid card and one for the X-Fi.
The A8N32 does have PATA raid but I have no idea how stable it is, no idea how well it performs compared with a dedicated Promise card and of course if I use up all 4 IDE channels with the 4 7200.8s, theres no IDEs left to boot an optical drive, nor is there anywhere for my 5th scratch drive (ide again).
Now i do my burning on an external DVD but usb externals are a pain to boot from and sometimes its handy to have an IDE optical drive as not everything works from an external.
Also the A8N32 does not allow overclocking with CnQ operating. I hope to overclock to around 240 or 250 FSB, no more as higher than that generates more heat than is useful as I want it quiet when Im not gaming.
The A8N32 is a great board, the 8 phase power is what attracted me but I hear temps are a problem, its not as cool as I expected (or the advertising hype suggested) and I just dont know if im going to be unhappy if I do get it.
What else is there that is stable at 250mhz, with one more slot? A8N-SLI? the DFI-D? I hear complaints that both boards have their problem points- I just dont know what to do.
Any suggestions would be great, thanks!
