A7N8X Deluxe 2.0 or NF7-S 2.0?

[Gerbil333]

Edit: By popular vote, I ordered an Abit NF7-S 2.0 from eXcaliber last night. Thanks everyone![/b]

My secondary system needs a new board. I won't be overclocking that rig. I demand stability and a long-lasting board. It'll be going in this system:

Abit KR7A-RAID
Athlon XP 1700+ JIUHB TBred B
Corsaor 256mb XMS2700C2 (I have Corsair 2x256mb TWINX2700LLPT for new board)
MSI GeForce 4 Ti 4200 64mb
Sound Blaster Live! 5.1
Linksys 10/100 PCI NIC
IBM 20gb Deskstar 60GXP ATA100, 7200rpm hd
Black Lite On CD-RW/DVD: 48x24x48, 16x DVD Read
Black Floppy Drive
Green Aluminum Chieftec server tower w/window
Green 12" Cold Cathode
Black Rounded IDE & Floppy cables
Enermax 431W daul fan PSU
Logitech z640 5.1 sound

The system is used mainly for watching DVD's, playing music (Winamp), e-mail & surfing, MSN Messenger 6, PSP 8, Tribes 2, and GTA3 & Vice City. It handles everything fine, but the board is old doesn't play well with multiple sticks of RAM. The computer looks amazing. I'm very happy with the A7N8X Deluxe 2.0 in my main system, so I think I want another one of those. However, the NF7-S looks great. What should I get? I can't decide if I should get the ugly board with a great layout, or the good looking board with a crappy layout (power connectors, memory slots, IDE slots all suck).

Here's what I've come up with:

A7N8X Deluxe 2.0
PROS:
-Great layout
-Stable
-More features

CONS:
-Costs ~$15 more
-Brown/Orange PCB


NF7-S 2.0
PROS:
-Great looking Red PCB
-Costs ~$15 less
-OC's better than the Asus from what I've read?? (not that I'll be doing that)


CONS:
-Terrible layout
-Only 2 of 6 USB ports are on the backplate, whereas 4 of 6 are on the Asus' backplate.

 

[Links4me]

I have the NF7-S 2.0 and I really like it. The atx power connector is not really that big a deal with that case, because you can actually run the cable inside that support bar that runs across the case (right above the latch in the picture). That is what I did on mine and it works well. The board does look nice and with the adapter that comes with the board you can put 4 more usb 2.0 in one of the pci slots.....of course you lose a slot that way....I'm also not sure that the low latency memory works that well on the NF7-S with WinXP Pro (my opinion....but I think that is why I had some problems with WinXP and I don't with Win2k...can't prove it tho').....hope that helps

 

[Links4me]

I'm assuming that that board is going into the green case? Good looking case, btw.....

 

[McArra]

I'm really happy with my asus A7N8X Deluxe 2.0. It works perfect for me and the onboard sound is very good. It also has lots of features and overclocks well.

 

[McArra]

bump

 

[Corporate Thug]

i vote NF7-s, great mobo and ASUS tech support sucks beyond belief

 

[xinxb71]

I am thinking of buying a refurbished A7N8X deluxe from newegg, however, there is no accessory coming with the board. The user review says some of them get it for free, while one of them says he got it for $20. Anyone here has a clue how to get those accessories?

Thank you.

 

[hytek369]

I had A7N8X Deluxe 1.04 and a 2.0

The 1.04 overclocked great, so I thought the 2.0 would be even better. Bought that and was disappointed.

Ended with a N7F-S 2.0. The only thing missing here is dual LAN, but who really needs it?

A7N8X Deluxe is great and feature rich, but N7F-S 2.0 takes the cake easily. It is also cheaper by $15.

 

[wluk]

i was choosing between the 2 and i bought asus then i changed my mind and got an abit instead. nf7-s just overclock better without any mods. i can do 230fsb with no problem.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

the layout on the nf7-s is terrible and if you are not going to overclock then the layout on the asus is worth the 15 bucks. i you were to overclock i would suggest teh nf7-s but since you are not then go with the layout. do you have a window on yor case btw? cause if you don't the screw the color and the ocing(cause you aren't gonna need it) and all you are left with is the layout.

 

[Gerbil333]

Originally posted by: DerwenArtos12
the layout on the nf7-s is terrible and if you are not going to overclock then the layout on the asus is worth the 15 bucks. i you were to overclock i would suggest teh nf7-s but since you are not then go with the layout. do you have a window on yor case btw? cause if you don't the screw the color and the ocing(cause you aren't gonna need it) and all you are left with is the layout.

See my original post...Yes, I have a window. I even linked to pics. It's a green, aluminum Chieftec server tower with a side panel window, a 12" green cold cathode, and black rounded cables. Looks are important. Someone above said I'd be able to put the ATX cable in the metal PSU support bar, and I believe they're right. So, the layout actually shouldn't be much of a problem, especially since I've got rounded cables. I may OC sometime. Just look at that CPU stepping -- it's one of the best 1700+ steppings you can get, and I'm sure it can run lots faster at default voltage.

 

[Sniper82]

whats the difference between the NF7 and the NF7-S? I don't need SATA and the NF7 is $30 cheaper.

 

[wluk]

Originally posted by: ^Sniper^
whats the difference between the NF7 and the NF7-S? I don't need SATA and the NF7 is $30 cheaper.

soundstorm

 

[Tetsuo]

Originally posted by: wluk

Originally posted by: ^Sniper^ whats the difference between the NF7 and the NF7-S? I don't need SATA and the NF7 is $30 cheaper.

soundstorm

Which is a must to have IMO

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Originally posted by: Gerbil333

Originally posted by: DerwenArtos12
the layout on the nf7-s is terrible and if you are not going to overclock then the layout on the asus is worth the 15 bucks. i you were to overclock i would suggest teh nf7-s but since you are not then go with the layout. do you have a window on yor case btw? cause if you don't the screw the color and the ocing(cause you aren't gonna need it) and all you are left with is the layout.

See my original post...Yes, I have a window. I even linked to pics. It's a green, aluminum Chieftec server tower with a side panel window, a 12" green cold cathode, and black rounded cables. Looks are important. Someone above said I'd be able to put the ATX cable in the metal PSU support bar, and I believe they're right. So, the layout actually shouldn't be much of a problem, especially since I've got rounded cables. I may OC sometime. Just look at that CPU stepping -- it's one of the best 1700+ steppings you can get, and I'm sure it can run lots faster at default voltage.

i know it will seem like a shameless plug but in that case a DFI LanParty NFII would look great. but it is so expensive. you seem to have a green look going with taht case so you could get a uv and the dfi it would look awesome and it perfoms about the best out there and hase about the best list of added stuff.

 

[Gerbil333]

I'm not paying that much for a board, especially from a company I've never used before. I only trust Abit and Asus right now. My last MSI board was no good (K7N2-L)

 

[Gerbil333]

I bought the NF7-S 2.0. I hope I like it as much as my A7N8X Deluxe 2.0.

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: Gerbil333
I bought the NF7-S 2.0. I hope I like it as much as my A7N8X Deluxe 2.0.

you'll like it more

 

[Gerbil333]

Ok, one question:

Which nForce drivers? On my A7N8X Deluxe 2.0, I simply installed the Asus nForce 1.16 drivers that came on the driver CD after reading that they woked the best. I've had no problems.

Should I use the drivers on the NF7-S driver disc, or download the latest nVidia 2.45 drivers from nvidia.com?

 

[wluk]

Originally posted by: Gerbil333
Ok, one question:

Which nForce drivers? On my A7N8X Deluxe 2.0, I simply installed the Asus nForce 1.16 drivers that came on the driver CD after reading that they woked the best. I've had no problems.

Should I use the drivers on the NF7-S driver disc, or download the latest nVidia 2.45 drivers from nvidia.com?

i installed the 2.45 from nvidia on the first day. however, i do experiencing some cracking sound while playing games. i think a lot of people are having the same problem too. if anyone knows a solution to it, please let me know. thanks!

 

[Gerbil333]

I won't be using the onboard sound. I've used four nForce 2 boards, and every single one has issues with the ALC650 audio:

MSI K7N2-L
MSI K7N2G-L
Asus A7N8X Deluxe 2.0
Asus A7N8X-X

Only this mobo (the A7N8X Deluxe 2.0) is a SoundStorm board, but it has the same glitches as the other 3 boards. I like my cheap SB Live 5.1's much more than the crappy Realtek ALC650 audio...

You're right. Lots of people are having problems with SoundStorm. That's why I refuse to use it.

 

[11427]

Originally posted by: Gerbil333
I'm not paying that much for a board, especially from a company I've never used before. I only trust Abit and Asus right now. My last MSI board was no good (K7N2-L)

Well, FWIW I highly recommend DFI boards. While not always the fastest, they are very stable. They make excellent work horses,... but now that they are going after the gamers, OCer, and high end users in addition to their huge OEM base,.... I think I'll have to reserve judgement on boards like the LAN Party, the AD77, NFII Ultra-AL etc. etc. Based of past experience I think they will do as well in the performance market as they have the OEM market,.... it may just take some time for people to get used to the DFI name.

Mark