Abit AV8 K8T800 Deluxe

[CybrSlydr]

I'm assuming that it will as it's a 939 chip and so is my mobo.

Right now I'm running a 64 3500+. Would I see a noticable increase in speed were I to get the... say... 4200 or 4400?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Aenslead]

http://www2.abit.com.tw/cpu_support/amd-athlonX2-t.htm

This page shows various VIA based motherboards. I see no problem whatsoever in using an X2 in your current motherboard.

 

[CybrSlydr]

Outstanding - thanks a ton Aenslead.

 

[Aenslead]

As for the performance increases, if you render, Rip music or video a lot, or do heavy multitasking, you will notice better performance. If you are mostly games and no processor-intensive activities, then it will be a sad waste of money.

 

[CybrSlydr]

After doing some reading on these forums, that's pretty much what I figured would happen.

When are they going to come out with "gaming" CPUs - Dual Core's that can be used by present games? Would be very nice.

 

[Aenslead]

Its not actually up to the chip makers. It depends entirely on the programing Game companies use for their software. When they make them SMP aware, there will be more reason for the dual core processors on the market.

Dual core pretty much is targeted towards 10% of computer users.

If you want absolute gaming performance, try A64 4000+, but that's something any good OC can get you.

 

[CybrSlydr]

I've already got an AMD 64 3500+ Would the 4000+ really be that big of an improvment? I've only got an x800 256 Pro by Sapphire and a gig of RAM.

 

[Aenslead]

No. If you have money to spend, get a Hard Disk array or a better video card, or even a bigger monitor.

 

[uOpt]

WARNING.

The (AGP) A8V does do dual-cores.

The (PCIe) A8V-E does not, at least not until the SE version.

 

[CybrSlydr]

What GC would your recommend? I'm a big fan of ATi - I know nVidia just came out with the 7800, but it's PCI-E only. Don't really feel like chuckin out the $ for a SLI PCI-E mobo when I could just get a graphics card.

EDIT: Thanks for the input on Dual Cores w/the AGP and PCI-E mobos, Martin. Good to know information!

 

[CybrSlydr]

UPDATE: Seems that upgrading to a PCI-E mobo might be in my near future...

It's been recommended that I upgrade from my x800 256 Pro to the 7800 GTX and an SLI Mobo as the LCD monitor I wanted to get could make things difficult were I to try and play games at the native res (the monitor in question is the Dell 2405FPW).

I checked out Newegg and it appears that SLI mobo's for 939pin AMD chips have a pretty slim picking.

I also didn't see any VIA mobos, only nForce 4 (which I've read on here aren't the most stable of things).

Oy... Your help is always appreciated.

 

[Aenslead]

VIA doesn't have a dual video card capable chipset yet; yes, a PCIe is a good choice. ABIT is still a great choice, and if you try an Fatal1ty mobo, I am certain you won't be dissapointed.

 

[CybrSlydr]

Abit is the board I have now - love it, never had a single problem with it (as hinted by the title of the thread).

Is VIA coming out with any SLI chipsets soon? Based on their past performance with chipsets, do you think their first SLI venture will be as solid as the nForce 4 or would I be better served by picking up an nForce 4 instead of waiting for a VIA SLI chipset?

 

[superfly27]

Note for Abit boards. If you order an Abit board and it doesn't have the latest BIOS to recognize a new processor, then you can order a BIOS chip from Abit for $6 US if I remember well.

I don't know of any other companies that offer this. I'd like to choose an Abit board the next time I buy a mobo. But, right now I see all the features I want in an Asus K8N4-E Deluxe. Weird I'm forced to go again with Asus. I want more experience with various brands.

 

[CybrSlydr]

I like my Abit enough that I'm definately willing to go with an Abit PCI-E SLI board.

Do any of you know how that passive cooling on the SLI 2.0 Abit board is? Is the passive cooling better than slapping the fan on top of the chip?

 

[Aenslead]

Less noise is always better. Chipset doesn't really get that hot, so its pretty much ok.

 

[CybrSlydr]

Now this one may start a flamewar.... I hope you folks can be restrained enough to not devolve into that, but here goes...

SLI and Crossfire. From what I've read, SLI is out, tried and true, proven to work, but a little iffy on the implementation of things (Profiles, etc). Crossfire isn't out yet or hasn't been out very long (R520 I believe, with the R580 in the wings) and I've not seen much about it. However, what I've seen is that it might not be as fast as the SLI 7800GTX, it's got some better technical merits (SuperAA, Supertile, etc). I'll be honest - I've owned both ATi and nVidia and I prefer ATi - hence why I got the x800.

Say... in a month, what do you think the state of Crossfire will be and do you think it might surpass SLI?

 

[Aenslead]

never adopt early. Ever.

If you want an ATI mobo, like Sapphire's, wait three moths for glitches and bugs to get fixed.

I am eagerly expecting ATI Crossfire chipsets, too...

 

[CybrSlydr]

I have a Sapphire x800 256 Pro. Works fine, no complaints.

As for the early adoption - I totally understand what you mean.

From the looks of things, it's going to be atleast early October until I can afford the 2405, so that's one month. After that, another two weeks to get the mobo, then another two weeks for the first of the graphics cards.

So... I'm seeing mid-October for an either SLI or Crossfire mobo.

 

[uOpt]

SLI is only available with nVidia's chipsets. I really wouldn't do that. I'd rather take my LCD on a non-native resolution than using a NVidia chipset. Same for ATI graphics cards.

My recommendation would be to chill it out. Get a A8V-E now if you get the SE version which does dual-core CPUs. Get one PCIe card.

By the time this won't run your newer games anymore you buy a new mainboard, this time SLI, keep your RAM, CPU and graphics card and get a second card.

Always remember that the mainboard causes the most trouble but are the cheaptest component in your system. It is entirely feasable to make a safe choice now and just throw it away or sell fo $30 later.

 

[CybrSlydr]

You really like VIA that much more than nForce? Wow.

I won't do dual core b/c it won't affect my gaming and I don't do any sort of multimedia stuff aside from gaming and DVDs. Would be a waste of $.

 

[uOpt]

I used to be a Via hater until K7. The K8 Via offerings on the other hand are very solid and for me even faster (not couning I/O) than NVidia.

Being prepared for dual-core can't hurt. If nothing else for resell value.