Buying an Nforce2 board in a few days, need help picking one

[Megatomic]

Ok, I have read tons of "official" reviews and lots of user evals for many models of NForce2 boards but now that it is time for me to make my own purchase I am having a hard time deciding.

The models I am considering:
FIC AU11
Epox 8RDA+
Abit NF7-S V1.2

They all bench well and offer great features and overclockability. But which to choose.... Maybe I can rely on some of you experts to help me out. Opinions are VERY welcome. Thanks.

Edit to correct Abit model number...

 

[GiveMeDeals]

I would go with the NF7-S rev1.2, for about $20 extra you get Soundstorm, Serial ATA and a serial ATA converter which goes for about $25 retail. 8RDA+ is definitely a great too.

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: GiveMeDeals
I would go with the NF7-S rev1.2, for about $20 extra you get Soundstorm, Serial ATA and a serial ATA converter which goes for about $25 retail. 8RDA+ is definitely a great too.

I agree. Abit NF7-S. Worth the extra bucks in the long run.

 

[MatthewF01]

i know its not one of your candidates....

but my Chaintech 7NJS has treated me nicely

216fsb x 8.5 on a tbredA 1800+

plus gotta love the rounded cables and Cbox2!

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: MatthewF01
216fsb x 8.5 on a tbredA 1800+

Niiiice!

 

[Atrail]

I just bought the Asus A7N8X Deluxe in the For Sale/Trade forums.
Can't wait to get it.
Out of those I would get the EPOX..

 

[MatthewF01]

THANK YOU!

thats the first time anyone has actually complimented anything ive done pc-wise

geez, and ive been waiting for a while too


ive actually not seen many other Chaintech'ers with the latest bios (which gives us new fsb settings up to 250 from the orig. 200) hit much higher than 206 or so


yea, i guess im special!

 

[floccus]

I'd say go for the Epox, I've heard of some issues with Abit and I don't really care for them. The A7N8X Delux and non-delux are great boards and I think you should seriously give them a look-see. The deluxe board comes with Soundstorm and a bunch of other nice features (dual NIC ). Also its one of the more upgradable boards out there currently and of course the layout is supreme... no problem using extended pci cards here.

 

[Megatomic]

The only problem I have with the ASUS boards is that they are way overpriced. The standard version of the A7N8X is more than the others... The Deluxe verison is out of the question due to it being almost $150 (or more in many places).

IMHO ASUS is nice but their boards don't merit the cost premium they charge.

 

[CraigRT]

I'd either get the 8RDA+ or the Soltek SL-75FRN

those would personally be my only 2 current choices of NForce2 boards.

 

[wicktron]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: GiveMeDeals I would go with the NF7-S rev1.2, for about $20 extra you get Soundstorm, Serial ATA and a serial ATA converter which goes for about $25 retail. 8RDA+ is definitely a great too.

I agree. Abit NF7-S. Worth the extra bucks in the long run.

Agreed.

 

[Megatomic]

Crap, I just realized that the Epox 8RDA+ doesn't use the NVidia SoundStorm feature... This is a negative as I sold my TBSC to assist in funding the purchase of a new motherboard.

Also, on the Abit NF7-S, there is a connector for an additional 12V just like PIV boards. My Antec PP412X PSU doesn't have this line. Is this going to be a problem if I choose the Abit board?

 

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: SeekingTao
Crap, I just realized that the Epox 8RDA+ doesn't use the NVidia SoundStorm feature... This is a negative as I sold my TBSC to assist in funding the purchase of a new motherboard.

Also, on the Abit NF7-S, there is a connector for an additional 12V just like PIV boards. My Antec PP412X PSU doesn't have this line. Is this going to be a problem if I choose the Abit board?

If it does require extra power, it will be in the form of a regular rectangle molex connecter.. it won't use a P4 connecter on an AMD board.

 

[wicktron]

The 8RDA+ DOES use Soundstorm.

And the connector on the Abit NF7-S IS the +12v 4-pin square connector a-la Pentium4 motherboards. If you live near a Fry's, you can try to look for this connector, it will connect to a 4-pin Molex type connector and have the 4-pin square connector on the other end. I have one here that I bought from Fry's that I used for an old P4 system.

 

[paperfist]

Originally posted by: wixt0r
The 8RDA+ <STRONG>DOES</STRONG> use Soundstorm.

And the connector on the Abit NF7-S <STRONG>IS</STRONG> the +12v 4-pin square connector a-la Pentium4 motherboards. If you live near a Fry's, you can try to look for this connector, it will connect to a 4-pin Molex type connector and have the 4-pin square connector on the other end. I have one here that I bought from Fry's that I used for an old P4 system.

Could someone clear up the Soundstorm part please? Even on the Epox web site the 8RDA+ doesn't get any mention of it being Soundstorm. It uses a Realtek ALC650E vrs a Realtek ALC650 that a board like the Asus deluxe uses which gets 'credit' as a Soundstorm board.

 

[floccus]

Soundstorm is a part of the MCP-T southbridge... thus if the board uses the MCP-T then you have Soundstorm. The board also needs a D to A converter to take the sound from the board and send it out but pretty much if a board has the MCP-T southbridge than it would be stupid for the manufacturer to not take advantage of that.

 

[wicktron]

Originally posted by: paperfist

Originally posted by: wixt0r The 8RDA+ DOES use Soundstorm. And the connector on the Abit NF7-S IS the +12v 4-pin square connector a-la Pentium4 motherboards. If you live near a Fry's, you can try to look for this connector, it will connect to a 4-pin Molex type connector and have the 4-pin square connector on the other end. I have one here that I bought from Fry's that I used for an old P4 system.

Could someone clear up the Soundstorm part please? Even on the Epox web site the 8RDA+ doesn't get any mention of it being Soundstorm. It uses a Realtek ALC650E vrs a Realtek ALC650 that a board like the Asus deluxe uses which gets 'credit' as a Soundstorm board.

The Realtek codec is only used for input/output as the southbridge alone cannot handle those responsibilities.

 

[bgeh]

Originally posted by: paperfist

Originally posted by: wixt0r
The 8RDA+ <STRONG>DOES</STRONG> use Soundstorm.

And the connector on the Abit NF7-S <STRONG>IS</STRONG> the +12v 4-pin square connector a-la Pentium4 motherboards. If you live near a Fry's, you can try to look for this connector, it will connect to a 4-pin Molex type connector and have the 4-pin square connector on the other end. I have one here that I bought from Fry's that I used for an old P4 system.

Could someone clear up the Soundstorm part please? Even on the Epox web site the 8RDA+ doesn't get any mention of it being Soundstorm. It uses a Realtek ALC650E vrs a Realtek ALC650 that a board like the Asus deluxe uses which gets 'credit' as a Soundstorm board.

i remember reading somewhere that the Epox 8RDA+ has soundstorm but can't advertise it as having soundstorm because it doesn't have the optical out jack

 

[kadajawi]

hmm, that might be. But I recall one board with the MCP-T using its own codec... completely. Not a single piece of the soundstorm stuff is used. But... I doubt the quality of the Realtek DAC... can't wait till I hold my Abit NF7-S in hands (the post has it... didn't have enough cash in house as the dealer didn't inform me that they have sent it :| Now I have to wait till monday! )

Yes, the Abit HAS this P4 connector, but AFAIK it works without too. Just that it's better to use the extra connector. But there is the problem with the quite instable vcore... like you set it to 1.85 and its somewhere between 1.77 and 1.81 jumping around. But then again, the FSB should get pretty high.

 

[anomaly]

As has been said before, the 8RDA+ does have Soundstorm hardware, but it is not labeled as such. The reason being Soundstorm MUST have an optical spdif, which the 8RDA+ does not include. The hardware,minus the optical jack, is exactly the same however. I went with the 8RDA+ out of all of them. I do not need Serial ATA, as of yet there have been no performance increases using it and I already have rounded cables.

 

[przero]

The Abit should run fine w/o the 4 pin connector, But for any NForce2 board you need a strong PSU. I like the Abit myself!

 

[Megatomic]

Originally posted by: przero
The Abit should run fine w/o the 4 pin connector, But for any NForce2 board you need a strong PSU. I like the Abit myself!

I'm hoping my Antec PP412X 400W will be plenty. It always has been.

 

[bupkus]

I've been considering getting an nforce2 mobo as well (EP-8RDA+). Will my current Antec True Power 330W PS suffice?

Also, I currently have a stick of Corsair XMS 512MB in an EP-8K5A2+. It's the CMX512-2700C2

Would it make sense to get a matched pair of Corsair part nunbers TWINX256-2700LL, TWINX256-3200LL from Newegg $159, $181 repectively?

I haven't picked out a cpu yet, but I just may use the 1600+ AGOIA I have in the 8K5A2+ overclocked to fsb166, 2100+.

The 8K5A2+ would go into a pc for my nephew's son.

 

[Megatomic]

Well, I went ahead and ordered the Epox 8RDA+ from NewEgg tonight with rush processing and the free shipping. I hope I receive it before the weekend (next).

 

[k1114]

Originally posted by: SeekingTao
Well, I went ahead and ordered the Epox 8RDA+ from NewEgg tonight with rush processing and the free shipping. I hope I receive it before the weekend (next).

good to hear, now do some reading (link in sig)