BIOSTAR TF560 or Biostar TF720 A2+ or ???

[Showtime]

A bunch of people picked up that X2 BE-2400 from newegg for cheap. There has been discussion on which mobo to get (TF560 etc), but no mention of the TF720.

The TF560 is supposed to be a good overclocker and stable budget board. How does the TF720 stack up in that regard?

The TF720 is a few dollars more, but has pci e 2.0, more memory, and the bonus of on board dx10 video with vga & dvi out. I know the extra memory and new pci e slot isn't that big of a deal, but if it performs the same as a 560, it should be worth $5 for onboard video.

I was hoping to find something for around $50 shipped so if anyone has any other suggestions for stable AM2 mobo that oc's decently, feel free to reply.

Here are the 2 boards...

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-TF560A2
Specification
o Mfr Part Number: TF560 A2+
o CPU: Socket AM2+/AM2 Support AMD Athlon 64 FX/ Athlon 64 X2/ Athlon 64/ Sempron Processor; Supports AMD Cool'n'Quiet Technology; FSB 2000MT/s HT Speed
o Chipset: nVidia nForce 560
o Memory: 4x 240pin DDR2-800/667/533 DIMMs, Dual Channel, Max capacity 8GB
o Slots: 1x PCI-Express x16 slot; 2x PCI-Express x1 slots; 3x PCI slots
o IDE/SATA: 1x ATA-133 channel; 4x SATA2 ports, support RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 5
o Audio: Realtek ALC888 8+2-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC
o LAN: RTL8110SC Gigabit Ethernet Controller
o Ports: 10x USB 2.0 ports (6 rear, 4 by headers); 2x PS/2 ports; 1x Serial port; 1x Parallel header; 1x RJ45 LAN port; Audio I/O jacks
o Power Connector: 1x 24pin main power, 1x 4pin CPU power
o Form Factor: ATX, 24.38 x 30.48 cm
o Package: Retail
o RoHS compliant


http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-TF720A2
Specification
o Mfr Part Number: TF720 A2+
o CPU: Socket AM2+ Support AMD Phenom X4/ Phenom X3/ Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core/ Athlon X2 Dual-Core/ Athlon 64 FX/ Athlon 64/ Sempron Processor
o Chipset: nVidia nForce 720a
o Memory: 4x 240pin DDR2-1066/800/667/533 DIMMs, Dual Channel, Max Capacity 16GB
o Slots: 1x PCI-Express x16 Slot (Support nVidia Hybrid SLI Technology; Support PCI-Express 2.0); 2x PCI-Express x1 Slots; 3x PCI Slots
o IDE/SATA: 1x ATA-133 Channel; 6x SATA2 Ports, Support RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 5
o Audio: Realtek ALC662 6-Channel HD Audio CODEC
o Video: nVidia GeForce 8100 Graphics Controller, Max Memory Share upto 512MB
o LAN: Realtek RTL8111C 10/100/1000Mbps Gigabit Ethernet Controller
o Ports: 12x USB 2.0 Ports (4 rear, 8 by headers); 2x PS/2 Ports; 1x Serial Header; 1x Parallel Header; 1x VGA Port; 1x DVI Port; 1x RJ45 LAN Port; 1x S/PDIF-OUT Header; Audio I/O Jacks
o Power Connector: 1x 24pin Main Power; 1x 4pin CPU Power
o Form Factor: ATX, 30.5 x 22 cm
o Package: Retail
o RoHS Compliant

Edit:
Other parts in this build:
OCZ PC6400 http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820227139
OCZ Vendetta 2
Corsair HX620 Powersupply
7900GT

 

[nerp]

I personally would get a 780G board. I got a Biostar TA780G M2+ or whatnot for a good price at the egg. Excellent mATX board. See sys #2 in sig.

Any reason you're set on Nvidia chipsets?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813138105

 

[Showtime]

Not set on any chipset, just looking for a cheap stable mobo that can oc well. I don't plan to crossfire or sli so that's not an issue for me either. Anyways, I went with a TF560 open box for $54 shipped - cashback. But since it's an open box, I'll still be looking here for options. Never know what your gonna get.

 

[Zap]

Nothing to do with overclocking, but with the Nvidia 720a chipset if you get a supported video card you can do Hybrid Power. This means you plug your monitor into the onboard video output and still use a PCIe video card. When you aren't in a game, your PCIe video card shuts off and doesn't use power/create heat. Basically, just as if you were using the integrated graphics, which you are (no, won't slow down web browsing, email, Microsoft Office or watching pr0n). When you fire up a game, the PCIe GPU starts up.

Besides having a chipset/motherboard that explicitly supports it, you also need a video card that explicitly supports Hybrid Power. So far, that is the 9800 GT - but not all of them, only those that explicitly says they support it.

As for overclocking, most of the "T" series Biostar boards for AMD CPUs have been pretty decent overclockers. Unless you're getting a Phenom later on, your x2 chip should OC just fine on it. Just lower HT multiplier and memory divider, and crank up the HTT (FSB) speed. With an 11.5x multiplier, you should be good for a couple hundred more MHz even on a crappy board. On a good board, your CPU will run out of headroom before the board does.

 

[sportyinc]

Don't you find it funny yet very annoying that people on these forums are unable to read?
Not one of these responses has in any way addressed your question. It is a simple question and requires a simple answer.
I find the Biostar TF720 a great deal mostly because of the built-in Video and the DVI output and 6 SATA ports. It has a 512MB shared memory which works great.
Plus, the TF720 supports Phenom, which means you can update to Quad core later.
I also have the TF8200, highly recommended for just a few dollars more.
Unless you already have a really good PCI-E video card, go for the TF720.

 

[Xtremist]

I'm looking at this board as well. I just want a cheap/stable system to serve as a file server. My main criteria are:

- Cost
- Stability
- Ability to hook up many SATA drives

It seems the TF720 fits this bill (at least on paper). One added bonus is the RAID functionality, however I would MUCH rather do my own thing than have a flaky RAID. My data is too critical to chance losing data because of a POS RAID implementation.

Does anyone have any insight on how the RAID might perform on this board?