Nforce 2 Chipsets

Garg

So what's the difference between an nForce 2, a nForce 2 400, and a nForce 2 ultra 400? And how come so few motherboards are listed as having nvidia's fancy Soundstorm audio? And is the generic stuff that many boards use instead of Soundstorm decent (ie - better than my Soundblaster Live)?

Thanks.

(- Garg, the nForce newb)

a2jfreak

Single channel vs Dual channel memory controller.

As for SoundStorm, that's because many don't have it.

Park_7677

I don't know what the difference between "Ultra 400" and "400" is.. if anything. The difference between nForce2 & nForce 2 (Ultra) 400 is that the (Ultra) 400 will hit 200 FSB officially.

panzerkw

From Nvidia:

"The NVIDIA nForce2 Ultra 400 incorporates dual 400MHz DDR controllers, delivering twice the bandwidth of typical DDR chipsets, an optimized 128-bit architecture, and 400MHz frontside bus (FSB) support for unparalleled performance. The NVIDIA nForce2 400 relies on a single 64-bit memory channel to deliver 400 MHz FSB and 400MHz DDR performance to the mainstream."

What a2j said.

Garg

Ok, but a regular nForce 2 (not 400) is dual-channel, right? Just not guaranteed to hit 400fsb? Which is ok considering I only have pc2700 ram

a2jfreak

Correct.

Mt_Goat

Face it Gargoyle. You just need to come over to the NF7-S Rev 2.0 side where you will have Dual ch DDR, SoundStorm audio, the the vegetables are green and you pee in the stream. Order one from Newegg even though they don't say Rev 2.0 that's all they have been shipping for almost 7 months now. That old PC 2700 will hold ya till ya can get some PC4000.

Garg

We don't have an emoticon for drooling...

Mt_Goat

Gargoyle had this to say
We don't have an emoticon for drooling...

You mean something like this?

pseudonym

Many of the NForce 2 boards that do not say they have soundstorm audio still have it, they just aren't allowed to put soundstorm on it if they do not have an SPDIF out (optical). My Epox 8RDA+ is one of them.

MediaMan

Gargoyle had this to say
So what's the difference between an nForce 2, a nForce 2 400, and a nForce 2 ultra 400? And how come so few motherboards are listed as having nvidia's fancy Soundstorm audio? And is the generic stuff that many boards use instead of Soundstorm decent (ie - better than my Soundblaster Live)?

Thanks.

(- Garg, the nForce newb)

The real reason, right from the manufacturer's mouth on a few companies, for the exclusion of Soundstorm is one of price. To you and I it isn't that expensive to add it. It's a few bucks BUT to a price point on motherboards trying to make it in the market where one person may choose a board because it is 3 bucks less than another...it makes a difference.

Soundstorm adds to the overall price and manufacturers sometimes do not include it to remain price competitive. It seems like a small point but it actually is a big one in marketing.


ULTRA is the "new and improved". It's like MAC...now it's purple! lol.

The other answers you have already. Hope this answers your questions.

Garg

Thanks guys, now all my questions are answered

Mtgoat, would this board do the trick?

Is the only difference between the NF7 and the NF7-S serial ata? (and $20 )

Newegg says the NF7 has soundstorm (on the "more" link), but the comparison chart on Abit's page says it doesn't, but the NF7-S does. :confused2

Mt_Goat

It also lacks SoundStorm Audio and 1394 Firewire. If there's anyway you can spring for the extra $20 go for the 'S' as the SoundStorm is better than SB Live.