NF7S v A7N8X ?

CryptoCrypto W.Sussex UK Member
edited September 2003 in Hardware
OK chaps, my new PC is on its way. I've finally ordered an Antec case and PSU and now I need to decide what to put in it.

I'd sort of convinced myself on an Abit NF7-S with a 2500 Barton, but I can't finally make up my mind. The Asus A7N8X Deluxe seems to have some very loyal fans also.
Komplett are currently offering the NF7 for £85 and the A7N8X Gold Edition for £88. Anyone know what the Gold Edition means?

I have to build the rig by stealth so that Mrs Crypto dosen't see the huge increase in the credit card bill ;) So slowly does it.

Main use for this PC is folding 24/7 :fold: , digital photography and video, internet stuff and word processing. Not really looking to overclock a huge amount, I don't want a roaring heater in my small study.

To help me make up my mind, I was looking around, without success, for a building/tweaking guide for either of those two boards, a bit like Paul's FAQ for the Abit KT7. I read every word of that several times before comitting myself to my first build, and that trusty KT7 is still running and folding like a good'un :thumbsup:

Probably a boring thread for you very clever blokes out there, but I'd appreciate some guidance.

Cheers

Crypto :D
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Comments

  • TemplarTemplar You first.
    edited September 2003
    If it's just a folding rig, I doubt it's going to matter much which you chose. I've read that the A7N8X Deluxe does have some problems. There was two page thread about the chassis intrusion mechanism going off when it wasn't intentionally setup, for example. Others have said the board has problems without delving into specifics, but I'm sure the board works since I've seen praise in other places. I'm not too educated on the NF-7 besides that Abit boards are more overclocking-enthusiast friendly. If it's just a folding rig, I'd go with whatever you can find cheapest. Get 512mb of Memory. It runs pretty cheap now, and it's the most common thing to have since it runs so effectively with Windows. You can try Crucial, Corsair Memory, or Newegg.

    For a HDD, just find some 20gb drive from Newegg. Video card isn't going to matter much either, but a nice project would be to turn it into a media station for watching TV/DVDs when you're bored with work and don't want to leave the nice office chair. Any All-In-Wonder line of cards are good for this. A 9500 or 9700 version will probably be cheapest and still give you a good amount of muscle.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited September 2003
    The A7N8X is an outstanding board, even for mild to moderate overclocking. The NF7 only has a major advantage in serious overclocking- for example, I can get my JIUHB DLT3C 1800+ to 2.3GHz-2.4GHz in the A7N8X, but I can get it to 2.51GHz on the NF7.
  • a2jfreaka2jfreak Houston, TX Member
    edited September 2003
    Go with the NF7-S v2.0!
  • LIQuidLIQuid Raleigh, NC
    edited September 2003
    i agree with a2jfreak, i have a nf7-s 2.0 and this board just plain kicks ass
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    I had an extremely bad experience with an Abit board once, and I'll never use one again.

    That being said, I'm going to recommend the A7N8X-Deluxe. As long as you get a new one with the Ultra-400 chipset. A simple overclock of your Barton 2500+ is to up the FSB to 200 (maybe a little more VCore as well), and voila, you've got a 3200+! This can be accomplished easily on either board with the Ultra 400 chipset, and should work without a hitch on any 2500+... Just put a decent heatsink/fan combo in there and you'll probably run cooler than a stock 2500+ even at 3200+ speeds.
  • LIQuidLIQuid Raleigh, NC
    edited September 2003
    lol one bad board.... man ive had so many abit boards its not even funny, all worked perfect... My a7v-266-e though, sucked
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    And how.

    One board. Heh. That's lame.


    NF7-S 2.0. Ain't nothin' overclocks better.
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    LIQuid said
    lol one bad board.... man ive had so many abit boards its not even funny, all worked perfect...

    You don't understand quite how bad that one bad board was... I've built two systems with boards from PCChips that were better... :eek2:

    My bottom line: I've NEVER had a problem with an Asus board that I didn't cause. I have had problems with Abit boards that the board caused. :wtf:
    LIQuid said
    My a7v-266-e though, sucked

    lol, man, one bad board... :vimp:
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    He never said he'd never buy it again, however, which is far less drastic than your own statement. Besides! You own a DFI Lanparty... ;D
  • LIQuidLIQuid Raleigh, NC
    edited September 2003
    hahahaha
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    Yes. The DFI LanParty was given the highest reviews on every comparison I've seen it in, and all positive reviews I've seen it reviewed in alone. And its included items are far superior than either the NF7-S or the A7N8X-Deluxe, more than offsetting the $35 price difference I pad.

    //edit: it's just too bad I can't afford more HDD space, to use the built-in PATA RAID. Or the SATA RAID. It's got both...
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    Yer. Unfortunately, no world-class overclock has ever been done on a DFI LANParty. No world-class benchmark has ever been done on a DFI LANParty. No ungodly stable system has ever come from a DFI LANParty.

    Perhaps there's a reason?

    Then again...Gigabyte boards get high scores too. And everyone here will tell you they're crap. :scratch:

    Peripherals mean nothing to most everyone here, so it's a moot point.
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    Fortunately, I'm only going for an overclock to the stock FSB of the Ultra 400 chipset, so any Ultra 400 board would work for me there. And since I bought the thing for the peripherals, I'm not "most everyone here"

    That's why I wouldn't recommend a DFI to most everyone here, I'd recommend an A7N8X-Deluxe.

    If, by some random miracle, Abit ever honors the spirit of the warranty on the board that went bad and gives me a new one (they blamed me when it was within the RMA period, then admitted they used sub-par capacitors on the board AFTER my warranty period had expired), I might consider buying from them again. Until I get an apology at least (as if that'll ever happen) I'm going to stick with Asus. And, in the case of my primary rig for the next year until I jump on the Opteron of AMD-64 bandwagon, I guess I'll stick with the DFI also.

    < legal disclaimer mode >BUT! ! ! Please don't get me wrong, I wouldn't recommend the DFI to anyone who wasn't looking for what I was looking for in a board.< /legal disclaimer mode >
  • WuGgaRoOWuGgaRoO Not in the shower Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    could the dfi lanparty make it all the way up to 400 fsb?
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    WuGgaRoO said
    could the dfi lanparty make it all the way up to 400 fsb?

    It'd better... it's got the nForce2 Ultra 400 chipset... and if it doesn't I'll be SURE to let you know!
  • a2jfreaka2jfreak Houston, TX Member
    edited September 2003
    GHoosdum, I had three (3) Epox boards go south on me inside of 7 days! That was a few years ago so I decided a few months back I would give them another shot. I ordered an 83DA+. What a pile of trash. That's 4-for-4 on Epox boards. I do think I'll never purchase one again.

    You don't have to purchase Abit again if you don't want, but I think one bad board isn't a reason to completely rule out a company. I'd give them another chance.

    That said . . . I hope your DFI kicks some butt!!!! It's a nice board. :thumbsup:
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    It wasn't so much the mechanical failure as the poor customer service that I object to...

    And thanks for the well-wishes. I hope the DFI is better than your Epox's were ;)
  • Al_CapownAl_Capown Indiana
    edited September 2003
    Ghoosdum... i have an article somewhere where it tells of a company that stole the blueprints from some other company andused them to make cheap transistors. These were problems for all brands of boards. I'll do my best to find that article, which was in maximum pc, tonight and scan it in.
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    Go with the winner here which is the NF7-S.

    BTW

    It is never fair to judge a company by one product nor a single experience. I have learned that customer service is what you make of it. Getting mad at the dweebs that answer the phone does no good and if you aren't happy with what you are told ask for a supervisor or even call back later to get another person. And always present yourself professionally and keep calm.
  • LIQuidLIQuid Raleigh, NC
    edited September 2003
    the 3 Epox board ive had were fecked... 2 dies and 1 wouldnt save o/c settings in the bios... like if i set the FSB to 200 on a locked 1600+ palo.... and set the multi to 13... it would still boot at defualt settings :o ?

    Anyway, i stick with my opinion... get an nf7-s and be happy... like the rest of us. :P
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    Or get the Asus A7N8X-Deluxe and be happy like the rest of us ;)
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    I owned 2 EPoX boards on 2 different chipsets. The 8KHA+ and the 8RDA+. Both died the same way. Memory support went flaky, LAN died, system crashed, board never booted again.

    That's one company I will <i>not</i> buy from again. Couple that with the countless tales of failure on the web, it's surely an affirmed.

    As for the A7N8X...Sure, you get one and join those few...Those dwindling few who have one.
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    Thrax said
    As for the A7N8X...Sure, you get one and join those few...Those dwindling few who have one.

    Nice try, bud! ;)

    Every time we've posted a poll about nForce2 motherboards, about half of the vote went out to the A7N8X... it's just that most of the Asus owners aren't quite as vocal as the Abit fanbois. No offense... :werr:
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    Surely the number has dropped hereabouts as the amount of NF7-S owners has EXPLODED since MTGoat and myself first started playing with the 2.0s. There HAS to be a few converts out there. :D
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    I'll grant you that... or if not dropped, the number of Abit users has probably grown.

    Unfortunately. ;)
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited September 2003
    In the past (almost) year, my grandparent's business has bought something around 10 or more A7N8X-based systems, in addition to the A7N8X-DX I have at home. None of them (except mine) has been a problem, and I killed mine myself (twice). If you're not planning on overclocking, there's no reason to get an NF7. The ASUS has more features- coax S/PDIF, Dual LAN- than the NF7-S does. I'd get the ASUS.
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    Thrax said
    Surely the number has dropped hereabouts as the amount of NF7-S owners has EXPLODED since MTGoat and myself first started playing with the 2.0s. There HAS to be a few converts out there. :D
    Now now don't be throwing my name around so freely. :p

    No matter which way you look at it there are enough happy campers in both camps to make each a good board in its own rites. I do see almost equal numbers of people praising the Asus as I do the Abit. I do see pretty much equal numbers of people with their share of problems with both boards. Now please bear in mind that I am being unbiased and if I could dredge all the posts from all the sites I visit and put them here right now I would do it but it is simply too much to do. I see more people with strange problems with the A7N8X than the NF7-S. Another is a question I need answered since I have been happy enough with what I have that I haven't paid attention to; Does the current Ultra 400 A7N8X unlock T'breds like the Abit? Back to buisness. Who really needs 2 NIC's and the very few other goodies not on the NF7-S? If it wasn't the more stable board then why would it be the far superior overclocker of the two? Stability goes a long way toward the ability to clock beyond the normal stock parameters. When I bought my board I had already gone through 2 Epox 8RDA's and 2 others and took 2 weeks looking at all the facts of all the NF2 boards to come to my conclusion. Brand loyalty and heresay had nothing to do with my decision. It was based on lots of facts and only the facts.

    Book 'em Danno
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    mtgoat said
    Does the current Ultra 400 A7N8X unlock T'breds like the Abit?

    I'm not sure exactly what you mean the Abit does, but even my old (non Ultra 400) A7N8X-Deluxe unlocks both the multiplier and the FSB on my TBred-B XP2100... I've upped both multi and FSB (13.5 and 166, respectively) with no stability problem...

    I can't quite make 200 FSB on this board, maybe 180, but then again it's not the Ultra 400 chipset. Sure bet the Ultra 400 chipset could do at least 210 FSB on the new revision A7N8X...
  • edited September 2003
    I've got both an A7N8X Dlx 1.04 and an NF7-S 2.0 and I'll try to give you an unbiased opinion here. Both are good boards and will make a good base for your rig, but my Asus board will not unlock multipliers across the 12.5 barrier and the NF7-S will. What this means is that if you want to run a multiplier on a proc that comes with a multi higher than 12.5, then the lowest multi you can run on the Asus board would be 13, without modding the proc or doing the wire trick in the socket. The same story with procs that have a multi 12.5 or less; you can't go higher than 12.5 without modding the proc or socket with the Asus. The Abit board will address the full range of multipliers with no problems. That is the deciding factor in my case. I won't talk about fsb overclockability between the 2 because my Asus board only has the A2 stepping of the northbridge and it doesn't overclock higher than around 188 fsb reliably, but that is a limitation of the early stepping of the northbridge and not the mobo itself. As far as features go, the Asus board has a couple of extra features, but I don't make use of them anyways so it's no loss to me, not having them on the Abit board.


    As far as Abit reliability is concerned, I've never had any problems with any of the 3 Abit boards I've owned and 1(a BH6) is 5 years old and still chugging away in a friend's computer, running a P3 1000E. Any manufacturer can turn out an occasional bad board, be it Asus, Abit or whoever else you can think of. One thing that has impressed me with the Abit boards is the ability to successfully run procs that weren't even concieved of when the board was built. I bought the BH6 when the P2 450 was the fastest thing out there and I bought my KG7-R board when the Tbird 1200 was the baddest proc around and now the BH6 runs a coppermine 1000 and the KG7 has an XP2400(modded to an XP2600/266) in it with just bios updates.

    Just my $.02 worth for you.:)

    EDIT: spelling:rolleyes2
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    EXCELLENT post Mud! :thumbsup:
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