Buying a 939 board.

pseudonympseudonym Michigan Icrontian
edited July 2005 in Hardware
Some of you may remember that I was building a computer for my neighbor and we decided to go for a 939 and the Epox EP-9NDA3J. Well I have had some major issues getting the board to boot (http://www.short-media.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34274 its at the end) and it looks like I'm going to have to RMA it. I don't want to deal with this anymore and I've read a few threads about this same issue happening and I've decided to just not deal with it and make him buy a better (Hopefully) board. My questions are these-

How do the VIA chipsets compare to the nForce? I'd prefer nForce I guess cause I'm familiar with it and have always had pretty good luck with them but the jump in price is really more than I wan't to spend. I guess I'm considering these 2 right now-

DFI-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136161

MSI-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130468

Any experiences with these boards? I'm generally an Abit guy but all of theirs are the VIA chipsets so I'm kinda shy of them but probably for no good reason. Any help appreciated cause I'm gonna try and get this done ASAP.

Comments

  • JimboraeJimborae Newbury, Berks, UK New
    edited July 2005
    Ok right the DFI seems to be having quite a few issues right now, usual DFI problems, i.e. crap official bios, 4 leds of death & loads of fettling required to get it running right. Its far to new & I would wait awhile for things to settle down before jumping on this DFI ship.

    The MSI was one of the first NF3 boards and is probably the most mature product. Good stable board, alot of people have been very successful overclocking it and there's good bios support too.

    I'm rather dissappointed with your lack of success with the epoch board as I was going to get one to replace my K8N Neo2.
  • Omega65Omega65 Philadelphia, Pa
    edited July 2005
    What CPU are you using? Newcastle (130nm SSE2), Winchester (90nm SSE2), Venice (90nm SSE3) or SanDiego (90nm SSE3 1MB)

    My Epox 9NDA3+....
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited July 2005
    All 3 of those NF3 ultra boards (DFI, Epox, MSI) will need a flash to boot a Venice core CPU. The Epox you selected for your neighbor is no exception and is the current leader of that particular pack. I would stay away from that particular DFI board as it is having serious bios issues and DFI is being slow to offer new bios's. The biggest thing right now that is causing problems with all current boards are the new CPU's not being recognised by the board (bios).
  • pseudonympseudonym Michigan Icrontian
    edited July 2005
    It actually came with the latest bios and I reflashed it last night with no success. It will actually boot IF I follow the procedure of turning off the powersupply, letting it discharge then either turning on the powersupply and hitting the power button very quickly, or holding in the power button and turning on the PS. Everything seems to work fine when I do that, but every once in awhile I get a CMOS checksum error. Anyone know a location for beta EPOX bioses so I can check for a new one?

    From the looks of things though, if I can't get it running tonight I'm just gonna RMA it for the MSI.
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited July 2005
    I've had the MSI board you mentioned since January and am quite happy with it. Just make sure you kill the "Cool 'n Quiet" stuff as it throttles back your CPU (and does a lousy job of it).
  • PreacherPreacher Potomac, MD Icrontian
    edited July 2005
    I heard AMD was renaming "Cool and Quiet" to "Useless and Buggy."
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited July 2005
    Preacher wrote:
    I heard AMD was renaming "Cool and Quiet" to "Useless and Buggy."
    Maybe their conscience got the better of them. :vimp:
  • ronboronbo Connecticut
    edited July 2005
    For sure, go with the MSI board. The good people here at Short Media helped me out when I was building a new system and they recommended the MSI K8N Neo2. I was always an Abit person in the past, but goodby VIA and hello nForce. Best decision I (we) made this year........ :thumbsup::thumbsup:
  • bigtimeballer504bigtimeballer504
    edited July 2005
    ge the gigabyte k8nxp -s li its freaki owange **** omfgzorz its the best i have it pwange !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! words cnt explain how good that **** is =] <3 it <33333
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