ASRock K8NF6G-VSTA - the new choice for budget builds?

[hurtstotalktoyou]

Hi, all.

I've been eyeing this board to serve in a secondary PC (so both I and my fiance can work at the same time). The Sempron 2800+ is only $40 shipped, and can overclock to 2.4 GHz easily, a virtual Athlon 64 3300+. If the K8NF6G can do the job on that front, it would be quite a savings at $94.12 total (CPU + board).

ASRock K8NF6G-VSTA manufacturer information

According to the above site, the board has got the following:
Supports DDR400/333/266 with 2 DIMM slots, maximum capacity up to 2GB
Hybrid Booster - ASRock Safe Overclocking Technology
Untied Overclocking : During Overclocking, FSB enjoys better margin due to fixed PCIE/ PCI Buses

The online manual gives the following information concerning BIOS voltage control:
Multiplier/Voltage Change - This item is set to [Auto] by default. If it is set to [Manual], you may adjust the value of Processor Multiplier and Processor Voltage. However, it is recommended to keep the default value for system stability.

So, I can lower the memory ration, lock the PCIE/PCI busses and raise voltage (to a maximum 1.550V, according to the manual). There remains two problems, though: Can I lower the hypertransport ratio, or is that locked down with the PCIE/PCI busses? Also, how far can I raise the CPU FSB (I was hoping for 300MHz)? I can't seem to tell from the manual.

 

[tomatom]

Why not consider a similar board with AM2 socket ?

< http://ww.asrock.com/product/AM2NF6G-VSTA.htm >

( ! add a " w " to the above link ! )

gain 4 memory slots , dual-core possible upgrades , thus
longer useful life ...

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

Well, sure, but when you factor in the price of the CPU it comes out to be $66 more expensive! When you're on a tight budget, that's a lot of money. Besides, at that price an 805 seems like a better idea.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Have one of these on the way for a system build, will post back if anyone is interested in the results. This is an old thread, so so did you ever buy it OP? If so, how do you like it?

I went with it because I have 512mb sticks of PC3200 lying around unused, but zero DDR2. Not to mention $33 for the Sempr0n 2800+ makes it dirt cheap, since I have several unused A64 coolers about too.

 

[cobrar1995]

DAPUNISHER,


I was just searching the net for reviews on the ASRock K8NF6G-VSTA Socket 754 motherboard and this post came up in the search. I am very interested on your thoughts and a build review. I want to put this in my second PC which currently has a problematic Asus K8N with the NForce 3 chipset. The built in NIC is terrible with the NForce 3 drivers. I and many others could never get a Nvidia GForce 6800 GT AGP to work properly due to corrupt video etc. I wnet through three cards and gave up. I want to retrofit my AMD 3000+, memory and all with this motherboard since I could pop in reasonably priced 7600 gt PCI express and still add some life for gaming etc. Please reply and Thanks!

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Welcome to the AT forums, cobrar1995 :beer:

It will be here today, so I'll post back later tonight or saturday, with initial impressions.

 

[hasenfrasen]

The odd (and sad) thing with the board is that it will not allow locked (down and up) Semprons to adjust its vCore voltage.
On the other (good) side, my Sempron 2800+ with a core stepping of DH-E6 can be clocked from 1.6 GHz up to 2.4 GHz
on default vCore! I didn't have to do anything else, just increase the HTT/FSB and adjust down the HTT multiplier for the NB/SB.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Used the following parts-

ASRock K8NF6G-VSTA rev 1.02
Sempr0n 64bit 2800+ OEM, coupled with a retail cooler that shipped with the 32bit variant.
1x512mb PC3200 CL3
WD SE 80GB PATA HDD
Samsung 18x lightscribe DVD burner
Chieftech mid-tower w/350w PSU
OS: XP Home SP2. Migrated from old system and fully updated. All drivers are from included Asrock CD.

Easy, trouble-free build. Position of power connectors isn't my favorite, 1 IDE, 2 SATA connectors *nV RAID0/1 capable*, 2 PCI, 1 x1PCIe, Realtek HD 8ch audio, and the 6100 IGP, are the meat&potatos.

The manual that ships is very basic and multilingual. The .PDF manual on the CD is more encompassing and detailed. The shipped bios dated 08/03/06 lacks the overclocking settings that are covered in the advanced section of the manual. It has been runing about 6hrs now, problem free, and has been through 10 consecutive runs of 3DMark'03, 2hrs+ P95TT blended, successfully burned a music CD and data DVD, watched a few chapters of a DVD, and underwent a full scan with active virus shield. Vcore fluctuates a little, but that may be the generic PSU. Temps are great, as expected with a stock 2800+ sempron, and C&Q is enabled. It has a 4pin CPU fan header that they state requires a 4 pin fan to work with their quite fan bios feature, but I just used the 3pins for the AMD retail cooler and left that feature disabled. It works fine, and evidently still provides RPM and fan speed control, as it hasn't exceeded 3200rpm yet.

You can use the IGP with a PCIe card for multi-display too. The bios settings and config are covered in the .pdf manual. They also provide a seperate mini-guide for using SATA hotswap.

To conclude my initial impressions, It is an inexpensive mATX with good IGP, and as long as it shows longevity, I'd call it a winner.

Also, Good to hear hasenfrasen has one that has the overclocking settings in the bios, 2.4ghz on default vcore ain't too shabby! What is the date of the bios?

 

[cobrar1995]

DAPUNISHER,

Thanks for giving me the details. I will pick one of these up. Any chance you might pop in a dedicated video card or are you happy with the onboard? I just thought I would ask due to the PCI Express X16 slot.

 

[cobrar1995]

hasenfrasen,

Are you adding a video card to your setup?

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Originally posted by: cobrar1995
DAPUNISHER,

Thanks for giving me the details. I will pick one of these up. Any chance you might pop in a dedicated video card or are you happy with the onboard? I just thought I would ask due to the PCI Express X16 slot.

It is for 1 of my nieces, and the PSU is fairly cheesey. I couldn't add anything more powerful than a 7300GS to it now, with that PSU. If you really need to know, I'll hook it to 1 of my good PSUs and add a 7900GS and post some benchies for you I'm already certain it'll make a nice budget gamer with your 3000+ and a 7600GT though.

 

[hasenfrasen]

Originally posted by: cobrar1995
hasenfrasen,

Are you adding a video card to your setup?

Nope, this is a dirt cheap system for my computer in the sched/garage.

I got a reply from an AsRock techie where he stated that the locked Smprons doesnt support adjustable vCore. Well... guess I have to look for a vcore mod. Shouldn't be that hard - but then, reach for 2800 MHz... when all I do with it is to play mp3.

(edit)The bios is p1.40 12/19/2006(/edit)

 

[cobrar1995]

DAPUNISHER,

That would be awesome if you could hook it up to the better PSU and post some benchmarks. That is alot of extra time on your part. I would greatly appreciate that and it would be helpfull to see an old system matched with a newer card.

Thanks in advance!

 

[cobrar1995]

DAPUNISHER,

I am thinking of installing a XFX GeForce 7600GS 256MB PCI Express x16 for only $69.99 after a $40.00 rebate. Let me know how the benchmark goes since it will help me decide if my older buggy system is worth the upgrade. Heck it will only cost me a little over a $120 for the motherboard and this video card. I am hoping that it will be a big improvement over my NVIDIA 5700LE AGP but I wasn't sure if the 7600 GS would benfit from the older 3000+ processor.

$69.99 7600GS from Buy.com
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=203000306&adid=17653&dcaid=17653

Thanks Again!