Whats a good NVIDIA nForce2 Ultra 400 board?

danball1976danball1976 Wichita Falls, TX
edited June 2004 in Hardware
What is a good board that will work fine with the memory I have (Corsair PC3200 XMS 1GB -- 512x2). Also I was going to upgrade to a AMD Athlon XP Barton and a nVidia GeForce FX5900

I was thinking of the following boards, which is best?

ABIT AN7
<img src="http://images10.newegg.com/productimage/13-127-167-04.JPG"&gt;

CHAINTECH "7NJL1-APOGEE"
<img src="http://images10.newegg.com/productimage/13-152-017-08.JPG"&gt;

Epox EP-8RDA3+
<img src="http://images10.newegg.com/productimage/13-123-198-07.JPG"&gt;

Asus A7N8X-E Delux
<img src="http://images10.newegg.com/productimage/13-131-478-02.JPG"&gt;

GIGABYTE "GA-7NNXP"
<img src="http://images10.newegg.com/productimage/13-128-190-04.JPG"&gt;

DFI "LANPARTY NFII ULTRA B"
<img src="http://images10.newegg.com/productimage/13-136-138-04.JPG"&gt;

Comments

  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited May 2004
    One of the ones you didn't list, and one of the best.

    Abit NF7-S 2.0

    It's superior to the AN7 because unlike the AN7, it doesn't suck and come with ****ty revisions.
  • muddocktormuddocktor
    edited May 2004
    Thrax wrote:
    One of the ones you didn't list, and one of the best.

    Abit NF7-S 2.0

    It's superior to the AN7 because unlike the AN7, it doesn't suck and come with ****ty revisions.


    My thoughts exactly. Plus, it's been around a while and much is known about their performance. Another plus with the NF7-S is that it has use of the whole range of multipliers; important when overclocking a mobile XP proc.
  • danball1976danball1976 Wichita Falls, TX
    edited May 2004
    Alrighty then. I shall choose the ABIT NF7-S v2.0 (even though it will be after sometime after July that I will buy it)

    As for the Barton chip, should I go with a 400Mhz or a 333Mhz one, since I have that PC3200 which is 400MHz DDRAM.
  • fatcatfatcat Mizzou Icrontian
    edited May 2004
    NF7-S v2.0...

    i luv mine :)
  • danball1976danball1976 Wichita Falls, TX
    edited May 2004
    Also, which 5900 nVidia card should I get? I currently have a PNY Verto GeForce Ti4200 w/64MB
  • danball1976danball1976 Wichita Falls, TX
    edited May 2004
    Oh, and what I want to upgrade to, it'll cost almost $700!
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited May 2004
    You don't want a 5900 either. It's inferior to both the 9800 Pro and the 9800 XT.
  • danball1976danball1976 Wichita Falls, TX
    edited May 2004
    But is it better than the Ti4200?
  • fudgamfudgam Upstate New York
    edited May 2004
    Lose the 3200+, I have my 2600+ xp running at 2.34 on the nf7-s 2.0 ( 11.5 x 204).
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited May 2004
    Yes, but that's not the question you should be asking.

    A trabant is better than a Model T, but you don't want the Trabant do you?

    The 9800 Pro at $207 here is significantly better than the 5900SE and only $5 more.
  • danball1976danball1976 Wichita Falls, TX
    edited May 2004
    fudgam wrote:
    Lose the 3200+, I have my 2600+ xp running at 2.34 on the nf7-s 2.0 ( 11.5 x 204).

    Your crazy, you know that. That 1GB of PC3200 was the most expensive component of my system at the time I bought it (Jan 24, 2003) I paid $416 ($430 plus shipping) for that Corsair PC3200 XMS, and I am not going to give that up.

    //--//EDIT//--//
    Oh, you mean the Barton 3200. Why should I not buy it? I currently have a XP2600 2.08 (12.5x166.6667) overclocked to 2.25GHz (166.6667x13.5), and I doubt it can do 400Mhz FSB
  • muddocktormuddocktor
    edited May 2004
    Thrax ain't leading you wrong, Danball, on the 9800. They are some great vid cards and the price is getting right.

    Also, here's another vote for dumping the 3200+ and getting a mobile 2500 or mobile 2600. My 2600m does well over 2500 MHz and Geeky has a 2600 that's getting over 2600 MHz. :thumbsup:

    Danball, you misunderstood him; he's talking about the XP3200+, not your memory. ;D

    EDIT: Here's a link to the mobile 2600.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited May 2004
    I also vote for dumping the 3200+ in favor of a 2500 or 2600 mobile.
  • danball1976danball1976 Wichita Falls, TX
    edited May 2004
    Whats the difference between the mobile 2600 and the Barton?

    I also chose <a href="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-362&depa=0&quot; target="_blank">this</a> ATI Radeon card.
  • muddocktormuddocktor
    edited May 2004
    Mobile Bartons, like the 2600m I linked to for you, are hand picked processors that run their rated speed at less vcore than a desktop proc. Plus, the mobile procs are still totally unlocked so that you can run any multi or fsb speed with them, unlike the desktop counterparts.;)

    That Sapphire 9800 Pro should do you nicely for a vid card. :)
  • danball1976danball1976 Wichita Falls, TX
    edited May 2004
    I'm guessing that they will run cooler even when overclocked. Such as it is, my AMD Athlon XP 2600 2.08@2.25Ghz is running at 54C Core/46C Surface full load right now
  • botheredbothered Manchester UK
    edited May 2004
    See my specs below. Same RAM, same CPU with an NF7s and 9800 pro. It all runs very nice.
  • Omega65Omega65 Philadelphia, Pa
    edited May 2004
    danball1976 wrote:
    I'm guessing that they will run cooler even when overclocked. Such as it is, my AMD Athlon XP 2600 2.08@2.25Ghz is running at 54C Core/46C Surface full load right now

    My 2400+ XP Mobile does 2.3ghz (11x 210mhz) @40c Full load (FAH 24/7)

    XP Mobiles are the cream of the Athlon crop. AMD is doing the same thing with Opterons as noted here
    AMD is performing a neat little trick to produce low power Opteron chips, we also learn. The firm grades 248 Opterons (2.2ghz) and test them for power consumption. The best of the bunch are downclocked to 1.4GHz and sold as low power 30W units, but at 248 prices, while the 1.4GHz category means they're really equivalent to Opteron 240s. The next best of the bunch are clocked to 1.6GHz and sold as 55 watt parts, although they're really equivalent to 242 parts.
  • JimboraeJimborae Newbury, Berks, UK New
    edited May 2004
    Imho the NF7-s rev 2.0 is a great, stable board for running a 200fsb but every NF7-s I've had, apart from one, would not do over a 220fsb stable. I know others here have not encountered this problem though.

    However if you want to overclock to insane speeds then get a DFI lan party. Mine and many others will do upto 250fsb (my memory holds it back higher than this). the only problem is questionable build quality and lack of decent official bios support.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited May 2004
    As for the mobile athlons:
    Both of mine (2600s) do at least 2.68GHz stably on air cooling; one of them does 2.756 with a little bit of help from a cold air intake system; I haven't tried that on the other one yet though.
  • danball1976danball1976 Wichita Falls, TX
    edited May 2004
    I never overclock by FSB anyway (if its a 400FSB chip, the FSB stays at 400FSB)
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited May 2004
    That is the worst way to do it, too.
  • Omega65Omega65 Philadelphia, Pa
    edited May 2004
    XP Mobiles are FSB266 (133mhz/DDR266) and Multiplier Unlocked. You can set it to FSB400 (200mhz/DDR400) and whatever multiple you want.

    I haven't heard of a XP Mobile that Wont do 11x 200mhz = 2200 mhz @ v1.65 (or lower)
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited May 2004
    I'd like to put in my 2 cents on the XP-M as well... go for it! I've got an XP-M 2400+ running at 2.3GHz and I love it! It's better than the XP3200+ because, well, it's the same core for a lower price!

    Second, buy the ATI and you won't regret it; I promise!

    Third, I've had the Asus A7N8X series of boards and I've got an NF7-S 2.0 in my primary rig, and I must say I like the Asus boards better. The NF7-S is a better OC'er, but if you're sticking at or under a 400MHz FSB, the Asus is the better choice, IMHO. On the -E Deluxe, you get GbE, as well as dual LAN ports. Plus the NB is passively cooled, so that's one less potential point of failure. Over 400MHz FSB the choice becomes the NF7-S, however.
  • LawnMMLawnMM Colorado
    edited June 2004
    Thrax wrote:
    Yes, but that's not the question you should be asking.

    A trabant is better than a Model T, but you don't want the Trabant do you?

    The 9800 Pro at $207 here is significantly better than the 5900SE and only $5 more.

    You advise retail only on those or are the sapphire knockoffs worth the price drop?
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited June 2004
    Sapphire cards aren't exactly knockoffs... Sapphire makes some of the highest quality graphics cards out there. In fact, many "built-buy-ATI" products are actually made by Sapphire for ATI.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited June 2004
    ATI doesn't allow ****ty companies to make their cards. There are no "Shady manufacturers" like there used to be with nVidia.
  • mmonninmmonnin Centreville, VA
    edited June 2004
    I have my 2400 Mobile at 200*12 or 2.4 GHz. So you can keep your RAM and stock speeds.
  • GobblesGobbles Ventura California
    edited June 2004
    another testimonial for the abit NF7s.. When I went to rebuild my system, I was leaning hard to intel but I took a chance and bought the nf7s as it did not have via on it, and well its been a stable performer. It has given me the stability that I always sought after with my abit kt7. Software wise im pretty abusive and I have very few problems.

    Im hoping the nf3 250 will turn out to be as good as I wont ever buy via again...

    Gobbles
  • EQuitoEQuito SoCal, USA
    edited June 2004
    danball1976 wrote:
    Oh, and what I want to upgrade to, it'll cost almost $700!
    I always wonder why you upgrade to "older" stuff about once a year when you don't even take advantage of your current components by OC'ing them to their full potential.

    Get yourself a refurbished NF7S v2.0 for about $50 at NewEgg and OC the hell out it! until (2/3 months) the S939 mobos and CPUs come down in price.

    GL
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