When I read that I was about to leap in with a counter-argument BUT I'll say this instead. Socket 754 is a transitional standard. Add to that; Socket 462 but either is not quite dead yet.
It would be very true to say that Socket 754 is a dying standard for enthusiasts like ourselves. That could almost be upgraded to a "dead" standard. I don't think any of us would consider Socket 754 for a flagship rig.
But...would any of us turn our noses up at a 3200+ Socket A processor if it were a stinky good price as a second PC? Would any of us turn our noses up to a Socket 754 processor if it were a stinky good price? Providing we had a motherboard laying about or that too at a stinky good price?
"We" aren't the market for Socket 462 or 754 but there is a market out there or one that will be created by price point.
I digress.
SmiDog
Just my 2c but I've always had very good success with the LG DVD burners both 4x and 8x. I've got three of them and no coasters. Both DVD+/-RW and CDRW are cheap. In my main sytem I always have both to copy CD to CD. Or burn music CDs quickly on the CDRW or backup my files onto DVD.
I understand that s754 could be considered a "dying" standard........but what about socket A? If s754 is dying, i would have to say that socket A is dead.
I mean aren't we going to see semprons in s754? s754 isn't going anywhere for some time, while they are trying to phase out socket A right now....hence the good prices on leftover amd-xp stock.
Anyway for all of you nay-sayers....here's a s939 system he could get if he had to get something now.....
$119 abit av8 pro
$365 amd a63 3500+ - retail
$158 512mb mushkin pc3500 level 1 (256 x 2)
$93.49 hitachi 160gb sata
$76.50 nec 2510a
$89 kingwin kt-424
$195 msi 9800pro
I understand that s754 could be considered a "dying" standard........but what about socket A? If s754 is dying, i would have to say that socket A is dead.
After seeing the prices for s939 chips, you can bet I would/will consider s754 for my flagship rig. s754 will have a bit of staying power although I don't believe it'll be as long lived as the s462 was.
Just wanted to say my NF7-S v.2 is 2 weeks old now and it's a terrific board.
I agree with the others that the onboard sound is all you'll need.
Question for the other NF7 owners. Why are there two power connectors. For a week I ran the board with only the ATX power plug plugged in... and it ran fine... But now i found out there is a second power connector (the 4 pin square one)... I plugged it in too for the hell of it... What is it for?? extra current for overclocking???
Also when you first install windows, remember to use the FLOPPY included with the MOBO to install the SATA drivers... (hit F6 when booting from cd).... I spent an hour wondering how to get a SATA driver when i found a floppy buried at the bottom of the box.
The extra 2x2 connector is technically designed to "Smooth out the voltage flow" but it's a P4 connector, so we've wondered these last eighteen months why it's even there.
I'd like to get around $700. This is what I've got so far:
$90 Lian-Li PC-78
$123 Pioneer-A07XL (Might get the 107 instead, thats $40 less)
$84 Western Digital 1200JB HD
$168 Corsair XMS 3200XL 512MB
$91 Abit NF7-S 2.0
$77 Athlon XP Mobile 2400+ 266FSB 512K OEM
Comments
When I read that I was about to leap in with a counter-argument BUT I'll say this instead. Socket 754 is a transitional standard. Add to that; Socket 462 but either is not quite dead yet.
It would be very true to say that Socket 754 is a dying standard for enthusiasts like ourselves. That could almost be upgraded to a "dead" standard. I don't think any of us would consider Socket 754 for a flagship rig.
But...would any of us turn our noses up at a 3200+ Socket A processor if it were a stinky good price as a second PC? Would any of us turn our noses up to a Socket 754 processor if it were a stinky good price? Providing we had a motherboard laying about or that too at a stinky good price?
"We" aren't the market for Socket 462 or 754 but there is a market out there or one that will be created by price point.
I digress.
SmiDog
Just my 2c but I've always had very good success with the LG DVD burners both 4x and 8x. I've got three of them and no coasters. Both DVD+/-RW and CDRW are cheap. In my main sytem I always have both to copy CD to CD. Or burn music CDs quickly on the CDRW or backup my files onto DVD.
I mean aren't we going to see semprons in s754? s754 isn't going anywhere for some time, while they are trying to phase out socket A right now....hence the good prices on leftover amd-xp stock.
Anyway for all of you nay-sayers....here's a s939 system he could get if he had to get something now.....
$119 abit av8 pro
$365 amd a63 3500+ - retail
$158 512mb mushkin pc3500 level 1 (256 x 2)
$93.49 hitachi 160gb sata
$76.50 nec 2510a
$89 kingwin kt-424
$195 msi 9800pro
total = 1095.99
Wait and learn young Grasshopper. Wait and learn.
Also if you havent ordered you can get a SLK-900 for $20:
http://svcompucycle.com/thslcl.html
KF
I agree with the others that the onboard sound is all you'll need.
Question for the other NF7 owners. Why are there two power connectors. For a week I ran the board with only the ATX power plug plugged in... and it ran fine... But now i found out there is a second power connector (the 4 pin square one)... I plugged it in too for the hell of it... What is it for?? extra current for overclocking???
Also when you first install windows, remember to use the FLOPPY included with the MOBO to install the SATA drivers... (hit F6 when booting from cd).... I spent an hour wondering how to get a SATA driver when i found a floppy buried at the bottom of the box.
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=14-102-268&DEPA=0
I wouldn't go with anything less nowdays.