Best nForce2 motherboard around?

[appu]

With cost not being an issue, and stock and overclocked performance assuming
importance, which would be the best nForce 2 motherboard today? The one
constraint I have is that I need to have the 4 mounting holes around the socket
to install a Swiftech HS. My main motive is gaming, and heavy, long compilations
of software. I can't upgrade my CPU, RAM and graphics card rightaway so I'm looking
to get the rest out of a good motherboard.

I was thinking that an nForce2 400 should serve my purpose because Anandtech
reports have shown no noticeable performance gains with the dual channel capable
Ultra 400s. I am doing some market research myself but what I'm looking for is user
experiences with various mobos.

Thanks everyone.

Bye,
Appu

 

[MDE]

It would help to see what CPU, video and memory you have now, but I'd suggest the Abit NF7-S, with the Asus A7N8X Deluxe a close second.

 

[appu]

I've got an Athlon-C (1400 MHz) Tbird, 768 MB of Mushkin Hi-Perf Level II 222 PC2100 DDR
(512 + 256) and an ASUS GF3 card with 64 MB of memory. The whole setup is more than 2
years old but my current motherboard (an MSI K7 Master) is just about as good as a square,
brown frisbee.

I don't need SATA RAID capabilities also, strictly speaking, but if the price differential is not
too much (<10 USD) there's no problem. However, I will appreciate IrDA, Firewire etc.

Thanks.

Bye,
Appu

 

[Mike99Pgh]

I think you need to save your pennies and do a whole system upgrade when you have the cash. I can't see what benefit you will get by putting that old hardware on a new mobo.

 

[appu]

That's true. What I intend to do now is somewhat foolish but I can't even boot into
my machine now and I need it for a lot of work. I was thinking maybe that I'll go
with a good motherboard for another year before upgrading the entire thing.
My parents can use the old box afterwards anyways .

Bye,
Appu

 

[MDE]

Yeah, with that old stuff you're better off saving up for a major upgrade unless your current motherboard is about to die.

 

[novice]

If you need a stable, fast, cheap nforce 2 overclockable motherboard, check this out: Shuttle AN35N Ultra 400

 

[Twsmit]

The Abit A7N is supposed to be good. Its the newest out there. Basically they took the NF7-S, fixed some layout issues and added the guru software overclocking. From the benchmarks its about 1-2% better than the NF7-S. If i had a reason to upgrade to another NF2, i would probably get it.

 

[MDE]

Originally posted by: Twsmit
The Abit A7N is supposed to be good. Its the newest out there. Basically they took the NF7-S, fixed some layout issues and added the guru software overclocking. From the benchmarks its about 1-2% better than the NF7-S. If i had a reason to upgrade to another NF2, i would probably get it.

There's been a lot of reports of those things being buggy and not overclocking as well as the NF7-S. There was also a fiasco about some boards coming with cut traces to fix some issue.

 

[JBT]

Originally posted by: MonkeyDriveExpress

Originally posted by: Twsmit
The Abit A7N is supposed to be good. Its the newest out there. Basically they took the NF7-S, fixed some layout issues and added the guru software overclocking. From the benchmarks its about 1-2% better than the NF7-S. If i had a reason to upgrade to another NF2, i would probably get it.

There's been a lot of reports of those things being buggy and not overclocking as well as the NF7-S. There was also a fiasco about some boards coming with cut traces to fix some issue.

yep I havn't heard much good about the A7N's

I would go with an NF7-S or A7N8X DLX both are good but I would learn towards the Abit since its cheaper though.

 

[RussianSensation]

NF7-S. But I think you should definately consider DFI LANPARTY NFII Ultra B - Features and General Overview Review if price is not an issue. It hits 260FSB in overclocking and has features growing out of its A**. PLus it glows under a UV light in the dark and you can bet no one has it in their rig so you'll have an elite rare board to brag to your friends about.

*NOTE* the B version has 4 mounting holes around the socket unlike the first revision A version so you are all set.

Edit: now that I read your question more carefully I agree with the other guys that you are better off just buying a new rig since all of your components are way long overdue for an upgrade so might as well get the new socket 939 AMD or 775 P4 in 4-5 months unless you are itching for an upgrade now (in that case get some 2.8C and Abit IS7/AsusP4P800 or AMD 64 3000+ and AOpen A86-L).

 

[Corporate Thug]

NF7-s

 

[appu]

Yeah I was going to get a new rig sometime post-summer but a couple of days back,
my machine suddenly stopped listening to me. Even if it boots, it hangs up in like a few
moments, effectively as good as not booting at all.

I'm actually looking at the power supply right now. Maybe I don't need a new mobo
after all, if it's the power supply that's blown up instead!

Good to hear that the DFI LanParty 'B' Rev. has those 4 mounting holes. Also, thanks
to everyone for pointing out the shortcomings of the standard NF7.

Bye,
Appu

 

[Tango57]

If you still want to think about getting a new nforce2 mobo I'd recommend the Biostar M7NCD for AMD chips. That's what I'm using now since I had pc problems similar to what you're experiencing now but I was on a budget to upgrade at the time. It's only $53 at Newegg right now but for extras you only get onboard LAN and 6.1 audio. It got great buyer reviews however and I'm pleased with the board myself.

 

[MDE]

I'd like to point out to everyone that he's in India and Newegg prices are probably irrelevant.

 

[appu]

It's poll time here and the government has removed import duty on all
components except motherboards .

Now, if my local AMD reseller (he's a distributor for AMD mobos as well)
has the board I want, that would be great. Else, I might have to ask one of
my friends in the US to ship it to me. Support would be an issue, but I'm
having to deal with it now anyway. I didn't buy my current rig locally .

Bye,
Appu

 

[Bonesdad]

If you are going to re-do the whole thing in a few months anyway, I'd opt for an inexpensive NForce2 mobo, like the AN35N Ultra. Then when you need to redo the whole box, look into the A64's. The whole computer base is undergoing a kind of paradigm shift, and Athlon XP will give way to A64, don't wanna get left behind right away do you?

 

[StageLeft]

I just bought the NF7-S. I was swayed by reports of stability and overclockability, but also to a great extent the superior onboard sound.

It was a tossup between it and the an35n, which is bloody cheap. Also the NF7-S has gone up $10 since I bought it last week (at newegg).

 

[WobbleWobble]

I'll recommend the Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe. It also has the 4 mounting holes by the CPU.

 

[Mem]

DFI LANPARTY NFII Ultra B gets another vote by me .

Over@HotHardware Link, they have the DFI LANParty NFII Ultra B vs. ABIT AN7 review.

 

[InlineFive]

Abit NF7-S. Period.

 

[Ionizer86]

If price is absolutely not an issue, I also vouch for the DFI LanParty NFII Ultra.

 

[CraigRT]

Soltek SL-75FRN2-L

 

[appu]

Couple of last questions. Given that I've two differently sized memory modules
of the same brand and make (one is 512 MB and one is 256 MB) will it be OK
to use them in a dual-channel configuration? If it's not I'll probably go for an
nForce2 400 board instead of an Ultra and save a bit. The Soltek NV400* boards
look good but don't have those mounting holes so I'll probably have to settle
for an A7N8X-X or something else.

Bye,
Appu

 

[b3b0p]

Originally posted by: MonkeyDriveExpress

Originally posted by: Twsmit
The Abit A7N is supposed to be good. Its the newest out there. Basically they took the NF7-S, fixed some layout issues and added the guru software overclocking. From the benchmarks its about 1-2% better than the NF7-S. If i had a reason to upgrade to another NF2, i would probably get it.

There's been a lot of reports of those things being buggy and not overclocking as well as the NF7-S. There was also a fiasco about some boards coming with cut traces to fix some issue.

Wish I would have know this before I got my AN7. I have already had a couple crashes and strange errors and they were when I overclocked it (2500+ -> 3200+). What do you mean by "cut traces"?