From what I hear it's a hit-or-miss thing with many non Ultra 400 nForce2 motherboards whether or not they unlock the multi properly... my Asus will unlock the multi above 12, some may not. I've heard of that issue on several other boards, but not yet on an Ultra 400 board of any brand. Just what I've heard, though, so don't quote me on that.
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Geeky1University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
edited September 2003
Mudd, I think you need a bios update or something, as I have both an A7N8X-Deluxe 1.04 and a NF7-S 2.0 myself, and both automatically unlock all the CPUs I've run in them (TBred As Bs, Bartons) and allow a full range of multiplier adjustments- e.g. 11x on my AIRGA 2200 and 14x on my JIUHB 1700.
As for reliability/stability:
NF7- I'll reserve judgement for now, since I've only had it a few weeks and it's been on only a few hours because with the Tornado on it that I needed to beat Thrax's 3DMark score, the thing is unbearably loud. However, for what it's worth, my JIUHB DLT3C 1800 is stable at 2.51GHz which (for those of you who can't do math ) is almost a 1GHz overclock out of a 1.5GHz chip.
A7N8X- Mine were absolutely rock solid until I killed them (overclocked too high, couldn't handle it. I've had 3 of them since December of last year...). I've got one in a file server that's been on 24/7 since March without a second of downtime (WinXP Pro). Our newer CAD/CAM systems at the office all have A7N8X boards in them, and they've been just fine (Win2k Pro).
Like I said, I think the only major advantage the ABIT has over the ASUS is the overclockabilty. It (the NF7) does, however, have one major disadvantage that I forgot to mention- the layout on that board is easily one of the worst I've ever seen, for one reason. Anyone involved with the decision to put the power connector on a motherboard near the ATX I/O plate deserves to be shot. Even more so if they put the ATX12v connector there instead/as well. I can't stand the power connector placement on the NF7 because it interferes with cable routing and just generally gets in the way. I repeat that everyone involved in the decision to put it there (on every board that has it there, not just the NF7) deserves to be shot.
Thanks for the inputs chaps, I guess I'm no nearer making a decision between the two though.
Looking around various forums, both boards seem to have their quirks and problems and also their loyal supporters.
Maybe I'll toss a coin
I think the Gold Edition A7N8X Deluxe merely includes extra software suites.
As for looking for a decent guide to each board (like Paul's FAQ) I can't find any comprehensive single article, but any amount of articles dealing with individual issues.
I've got time to wait though as I've got to let the credit card cool down, can't let Mrs.Crypto see too many purchases in one month.
Flipping a coin in this case is probably a decent approach since both boards are actually very nice.
I have the NF7-S v2.0 and love it.
I actually bought mine because I purchased one for the system I built for my mother and fell in love with it. I had to RMA her board once though because it had a few issues, but the second board is flawless and my board is great too.
This is how I would choose (if I were in your shoes): Do I need/want VERY HIGH stability and limited overclocking, or do I want HIGH STABILITY with high overclocking?
Since my system isn't a server, I opted for the overclocking route, but I can say I've not experienced ANY instability issues due to the board, so the old "Asus is better for stability" and "Abit is better for overclocking" only seems to hold true for the second quote when comparing these two motherboards. But, in general, I'd say Asus normally does make a slightly more stable board. If I were building a server, I'd look to Asus or Tyan probably, not Abit.
Comments
As for reliability/stability:
NF7- I'll reserve judgement for now, since I've only had it a few weeks and it's been on only a few hours because with the Tornado on it that I needed to beat Thrax's 3DMark score, the thing is unbearably loud. However, for what it's worth, my JIUHB DLT3C 1800 is stable at 2.51GHz which (for those of you who can't do math
A7N8X- Mine were absolutely rock solid until I killed them (overclocked too high, couldn't handle it. I've had 3 of them since December of last year...). I've got one in a file server that's been on 24/7 since March without a second of downtime (WinXP Pro). Our newer CAD/CAM systems at the office all have A7N8X boards in them, and they've been just fine (Win2k Pro).
Like I said, I think the only major advantage the ABIT has over the ASUS is the overclockabilty. It (the NF7) does, however, have one major disadvantage that I forgot to mention- the layout on that board is easily one of the worst I've ever seen, for one reason. Anyone involved with the decision to put the power connector on a motherboard near the ATX I/O plate deserves to be shot. Even more so if they put the ATX12v connector there instead/as well. I can't stand the power connector placement on the NF7 because it interferes with cable routing and just generally gets in the way. I repeat that everyone involved in the decision to put it there (on every board that has it there, not just the NF7) deserves to be shot.
Looking around various forums, both boards seem to have their quirks and problems and also their loyal supporters.
Maybe I'll toss a coin
I think the Gold Edition A7N8X Deluxe merely includes extra software suites.
As for looking for a decent guide to each board (like Paul's FAQ) I can't find any comprehensive single article, but any amount of articles dealing with individual issues.
I've got time to wait though as I've got to let the credit card cool down, can't let
Cheers
Crypto
I have the NF7-S v2.0 and love it.
I actually bought mine because I purchased one for the system I built for my mother and fell in love with it. I had to RMA her board once though because it had a few issues, but the second board is flawless and my board is great too.
This is how I would choose (if I were in your shoes): Do I need/want VERY HIGH stability and limited overclocking, or do I want HIGH STABILITY with high overclocking?
Since my system isn't a server, I opted for the overclocking route, but I can say I've not experienced ANY instability issues due to the board, so the old "Asus is better for stability" and "Abit is better for overclocking" only seems to hold true for the second quote when comparing these two motherboards. But, in general, I'd say Asus normally does make a slightly more stable board. If I were building a server, I'd look to Asus or Tyan probably, not Abit.