A8R-MVP or A8N Premium?

[WOVOW]

I?ve got my head round most components (see below) but mobo?s seem complicated, so I?ve come here to ask. Any help appreciated.

Planned spec:

A64 4200+ X2
Crucial 1GB (2 x 512 - 3200 - CT2KIT6464Z40B)
Matrox G450 (PCi)
BenQ 1640
Samsung HD080HJ SATA 80GB/8MB (OS & Programs ? may be upgraded to new single platter Raptor 74gb)
Samsung P120 SATA 250GB/8MB (x 3 ? Video Storage)
Antec P150 case c/w NeoHE 430w PSU (I know about the problems with this PSU ? will be swapped for a Seasonic/FSP if it gives trouble)

Business computer. General office work including database and web. Networked to two other computers. Increasing amounts of video work, involving some encoding and making DVD?s. Must be very quiet, stable, reliable, compatible. No gaming. No overclocking.

 

[carma]

Should there even be a question? If you want to OC please stay away from the A8R-MVP. Take it from someone who owns one.

 

[Ordeith]

Originally posted by: carma
Should there even be a question? If you want to OC please stay away from the A8R-MVP. Take it from someone who owns one.

AT's review was stellar?

Edit: ******, maybe I should've searched the motherboard forum for feedback on that board before buying one.

 

[torpid]

Is there a reason why you are looking at dual PCI-E GPU boards when you are going to use a single PCI video card? Is it just because of the SATA?

 

[Alaric360]

Ok....there are several points of consideration that could come into play when coming up with an answer to this question. The first issue that jumps out at me is whether you are wanting a motherboard with dual-GPU support for the scalability benefits or if you are just picking them out as 'good' motherboards. To quote you, you said 'motherboards seem complicated.' I'm not sure what that says to your knowledge of the subject, but I'm going to operate under the assumption that you don't know anything about the subject at all simply for the purpose of a more descriptive reply on my part...

As far as office computers go that are never going to be running in a dual-gpu config (nVidia's implementation is called SLI (Scalable Link Interface) and ATI's is called Crossfire) you'd be paying for "extra" stuff with either board. But, both are solid boards and will still work fine in an 'office' config.

From the information that you provided about 'video work' I'm thinking that you might be wanting to set up a workstation vcard in a multi-GPU config(That's what I wanna do...FireGL running slave to an x1800). Currently, ATI doesn't support FireGL cards in a Crossfire config, but I bet you that they're working hard at getting them to fly. The FireGL is going head-to-head with nVidia's Quadro FX line right now, and neither work with their respective company's multi-GPU implementation. But, the logical design of Crossfire definitely looks like it would be more receptive of FireGL cards eventually becoming supported whereas it's going to look like it'll be a lot of work to get Quadro's to work in an SLI (unless nVidia has already pulled it off. I wouldn't put anything past them)

I know that's a lot of talk about graphics cards and not about motherboards, but graphical capability is the paragon of each of the models you've given for comparison.

Another point to consider is overclocking. Now, I've got a little bit of a different opinion than most on overclocking. (First off, I know nothing of the overclocking capabilities of the A8N-SLI Premium) ...But, I do know something about the A8R-MVP, I've got one. People have been complaining and complaining about how the board won't allow them to up their vcore. (To anyone just browsing that has any interest in this topic), THAT'S BECAUSE YOU NEVER DISABLED THE ONBOARD VOLTAGE REGULATOR!!!!! [Edit: If you don't know how to do it, don't ask me because I won't tell you. If you don't know how to do it, you have no business doing it. Not meaning to sound harsh, but I'm simply being frank. Very dangerous to short out parts of your board if you don't know how to adjust to them]The board is built to be smarter than you. In general, overclocking is bad. A minor overclock is fine, because the chips are backed off slightly to allow the core to be pushed a little bit harder in a later iteration of the chip. The voltage regulator is there to keep you from pushing 2 volts through a chip that isn't supposed to ever get 2 volts. But, in general, the ratings have been set through extensive stress testing. Under NORMAL circumstances (normal circumstances do not include a liquid nitrogen cooling system ) the frequency that has been set is the best operating setting. Now, the primary factor that goes into this is the heat that is generated by the chip and the cooling system's ability to redistribute the heat and allow it to dissipate. You put in a system to get rid of the heat, and most of your problems are solved. ...But anyway, I've gotten *edit*1.8(typo said 3.8) volts with an A8R-MVP by shorting out the voltage regulator. People have been saying that they can't get 1.5. (bullcrap) Ok...that's about it. I know I went off on a tangent, but I thought I'd get up on my little soapbox while I was typing hehehe. ...Either one will be fine. If you're not going to *EVER* be using dual-GPU's I'd shy away from both of them and find a board that has a little bit better value for your usage. But, either are fine if you don't mind paying a little bit of cash for something you're not going to use.

[Edit] *NOTE* I forced an old P4 into my 939 socket just to test the board(Didn't care about the chip. The thing almost melted on me....ok, maybe not, but it got really, really hot on me) I pushed app 2(1.8) volts into it and immediately caused an open to the system as soon as I verified it with my multimeter. ...The way I feel, if you *HAVE* to go through a BIOS to overclock a system, then you have no business even trying to overclock a system, but I guess that's just the elitist in me. Do it yourself...don't let a BIOS do it for you. (Note, if you don't have a degree in Electrical Engineering, I would definitely suggest you don't start messing with the components on your motherboard unless you place no value in your system)

 

[imported_tentimes]

Don't touch the A8R-MVP with a big stick. I suggest you go read the motherboard support forums at ASUS, were they are busy ignoring this abortion of a motherboard.

Here are a list of SOME of the problems

- You can't got above +0.1V on CPU voltage due to BIOS limitation as there is some physical problem with current flow on the board they are trying to stop happening. This means you can hardly overclock the thing - so ignore the misleading article on Anand's main pages.

- There are big hiccups on the SATA throughput, meaning unplayable stuttering in games like Everquest 2.

- Doesn't support USB keyboard on boot (so if you have a wireless setup you're fooked).

- It is very unstable, period, nomatter what RAM you throw at it.

I could go on, but just go read the forums. ASUS are refusing to coment.

 

[grooge]

You could just read forums about Asus problem in general... Their nforce4 line is well problematic too. But, there is a lot of Asus board running, so they likely have more problem with board or with noob builder

Anyway, I would get the ATI one first before the nvidia one anyway, for a non overclocking quiet system...

 

[Tweakin]

I would also recommend that you do not buy the ASUS A8R-MVP...mine is one of many pending a Refund.

 

[torpid]

Well since there has been no answer to the questions posed by the responders, I'm going to suggest a BFG motherboard for their 24/7 support.

 

[GTaudiophile]

I just got an ASUS A8N-SLI Premium. Hope I'm not asking for more trouble than it's worth.

I've always owned ASUS products and they've always been great.

 

[wanderer27]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
I just got an ASUS A8N-SLI Premium. Hope I'm not asking for more trouble than it's worth.

I've always owned ASUS products and they've always been great.

The Premium is a good board - though it can be a bit of a challenge sometimes initially setting it up (varying HW & configs). Once set up though, it's solid

 

[mudboy]

I've been running an A8N-SLI Premium for about 4 months now and it's been a great board, no problems whatsoever.

Pete

 

[tuteja1986]

i had a A8R-MVP and oc my opteron 165 to 2.6Ghz . it oc quite well :! but then i bought a Asus 32-SLI which has awesome bios

 

[rbV5]

Originally posted by: tentimes
Don't touch the A8R-MVP with a big stick. I suggest you go read the motherboard support forums at ASUS, were they are busy ignoring this abortion of a motherboard.

Here are a list of SOME of the problems

- You can't got above +0.1V on CPU voltage due to BIOS limitation as there is some physical problem with current flow on the board they are trying to stop happening. This means you can hardly overclock the thing - so ignore the misleading article on Anand's main pages.

- There are big hiccups on the SATA throughput, meaning unplayable stuttering in games like Everquest 2.

- Doesn't support USB keyboard on boot (so if you have a wireless setup you're fooked).

- It is very unstable, period, nomatter what RAM you throw at it.

I could go on, but just go read the forums. ASUS are refusing to coment.

I see the OP specifically states no overclocking, but A8R-MVP isn't nearly as bad as you make it out to be from my brief experiencce with my new build.

*Pretty decent overclocker actually, my 3800 X2 @ 2.6GHz Dual Prime Stable @1.47vcore
*Using a USB Keyboard with no issues.
*Haven't tested SATA throughput so I can't comment.
*Seems stable to this point. Using 2GB of Cheap A-DATA PC 3200 @2.5 3 3 7 @1T timings.

Not too shabby for a mainstream board IMO

 

[ottawo]

Not to disagree but this board is great. If your running an ati card of course!

The ram you have if its ballistix rocks with this board. Its completely stable. I bought a good nforce mobo and RMA'd it immediately. I can't deal with consumer grade mobo being so flaky. I primarily do apps and video also. This board is perfect for that. I'm getting 2.5-2-2-7 1T @240Mhz 2.7v (pc3200) prime stable. Thats a good overclock for your X2 and check out the timings. No data loss, no BSOD, the USB does kick in after bios-not a problem unless your tweking bios,-oh I read no overclock, no nonsense- well then there is only one choice:

If you really want a kick ass workstation go for tyan dual cpu with AMD chipset>quad pumped memory!!! Then get the pci-66mhz quattro card. You could get one cheap from ebay with 2 processors, remember the new processor sockets are coming. This kicks anything in its price range and is open for HD uncompressed card, kickass sata raid etc. For 1200 bucks you could get 1gig ram X 2 X 2, 2 processors, mainboard, use onboard or pci video card to start.

Apart from that I like the asus board especially if you want mild/clocking with tight timings and stabililty. Coming from rock stable intel platforms, switching to AMD for me has been nightmare MSI NEO Nforce blah, to dream Asus/Ati MVP ahhh... Really nice, thankyou Operon 165

 

[WOVOW]

Sorry, been busy. Thanks for the response.

There?s been some reference in replies to overclocking, but as I?ve already stated, I won?t overclock. Also won?t be gaming or raiding.

I browsed the ASUS A8R-MVP forums and these forums. Would I be correct in thinking the majority of the A8R-MVP?s problems are associated with overclocking? So not relevant to me, but all the negative has frightened me off. Although I see Abit have just released a crossfire/uli1575 board, the A8T, but again, it?s not proven.

I confess, I?d only really looked at ASUS boards, because I?d formed the impression they were the best make. I?ve now looked at a few other makes, like DFI - the LanParty UT nF4 Ultra-D. I?ve also browsed NewEgg customer feedback. If nothing else I?m a little more aware of the different features available with different chips.

Features req:

At least 4 SATA ports - for my 4 drives. SATA-II would be preferable, but hardly makes any difference with current drives.

Quiet chip cooling ? passive is ideal of course, but if not, can be swapped for a quieter alternative, like the CoolerMaster Blue Ice.

PCI Express ? Not relevant now, but makes the board more future proof.

On board firewire ? needed for DV video, but can be added with a card.


...plus reliability, compatibility, stability, quiet, that I?ve already stated.


I?ve checked out all these boards: Asus A8R-MVP, Asus A8N-E, Abit AN8-Ultra, Asus A8N-SLI Premium, Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe, Asus A8N5X, DFI LanParty UT nF4 Ultra-D, Asus A8V-E Deluxe, Asus A8V-E SE, A8V Deluxe, A8V.

The A8R-MVP is now replaced by the A8V-Deluxe on my shortlist.

Asus A8V-Deluxe - Out of all the above boards listed, this has the highest score from NewEgg feedback, averaging 4.74 out of 5. Been around for a while, but all the more stable for it. Only drawback is AGP instead of PCI Express, therefore less futureproof. Half the price of the A8N-Premium.

Asus A8N-SLI Premium ? Has the spec, but lower NewEgg average feedback score of 4.45 out of 5 - perhaps due to early glitches, now resolved. I know about the firewall problems with this - I?ll just disable it. Twice the price of an A8V-Deluxe.

Which should I go for? I need to get this decided in the next 24hrs, because all the researching is becoming boring. I just want to order everything and get on with it.

 

[thepd7]

Originally posted by: WOVOW
Sorry, been busy. Thanks for the response.

There?s been some reference in replies to overclocking, but as I?ve already stated, I won?t overclock. Also won?t be gaming or raiding.

I browsed the ASUS A8R-MVP forums and these forums. Would I be correct in thinking the majority of the A8R-MVP?s problems are associated with overclocking? So not relevant to me, but all the negative has frightened me off. Although I see Abit have just released a crossfire/uli1575 board, the A8T, but again, it?s not proven.

I confess, I?d only really looked at ASUS boards, because I?d formed the impression they were the best make. I?ve now looked at a few other makes, like DFI - the LanParty UT nF4 Ultra-D. I?ve also browsed NewEgg customer feedback. If nothing else I?m a little more aware of the different features available with different chips.

Features req:

At least 4 SATA ports - for my 4 drives. SATA-II would be preferable, but hardly makes any difference with current drives.

Quiet chip cooling ? passive is ideal of course, but if not, can be swapped for a quieter alternative, like the CoolerMaster Blue Ice.

PCI Express ? Not relevant now, but makes the board more future proof.

On board firewire ? needed for DV video, but can be added with a card.


...plus reliability, compatibility, stability, quiet, that I?ve already stated.


I?ve checked out all these boards: Asus A8R-MVP, Asus A8N-E, Abit AN8-Ultra, Asus A8N-SLI Premium, Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe, Asus A8N5X, DFI LanParty UT nF4 Ultra-D, Asus A8V-E Deluxe, Asus A8V-E SE, A8V Deluxe, A8V.

The A8R-MVP is now replaced by the A8V-Deluxe on my shortlist.

Asus A8V-Deluxe - Out of all the above boards listed, this has the highest score from NewEgg feedback, averaging 4.74 out of 5. Been around for a while, but all the more stable for it. Only drawback is AGP instead of PCI Express, therefore less futureproof. Half the price of the A8N-Premium.

Asus A8N-SLI Premium ? Has the spec, but lower NewEgg average feedback score of 4.45 out of 5 - perhaps due to early glitches, now resolved. I know about the firewall problems with this - I?ll just disable it. Twice the price of an A8V-Deluxe.

Which should I go for? I need to get this decided in the next 24hrs, because all the researching is becoming boring. I just want to order everything and get on with it.

I don't pay attention to newegg ratings, only reviews from people who actually have the board and seem knowledgeable. There are people who post questions and give 5 starts, and people who get a dud and RMA and give a 1 star. Either way this skews the ratings.

 

[dadach]

hmmm...all i can say is that i have had a very little problems with a8r-mvp mobo...running 165 opteron @ 2.4 and x1800xt...rock stable

 

[WOVOW]

I'm not understanding how to use 'quote' on these forums. Did this manually:

thepd7 wrote: I don't pay attention to newegg ratings, only reviews from people who actually have the board and seem knowledgeable. There are people who post questions and give 5 starts, and people who get a dud and RMA and give a 1 star. Either way this skews the ratings.

There?s no reason why any one board would receive a greater percentage of those type of responses, compared to any other board. So it averages out, therefore not skewed significantly. I did extract some questions/answers from the A8R-MVP feedback, because there was only 32 in total (scored 4.1 out of 5 btw).

 

[Tweakin]

Originally posted by: dadach
hmmm...all i can say is that i have had a very little problems with a8r-mvp mobo...running 165 opteron @ 2.4 and x1800xt...rock stable

And I could understand this as your Opty defaults at 1.35~1.4 vcore. I sent my MVP back as it would not run stable (default settings and NO OC) with my old 3200+. Prime would fail in 30 minutes...

I liked the board for the Sound, Silence and Layout...but I think I must have just received a bad board, but I'm not gonna try another.