First time builder going A64

[Fin015]

I've spent a while now watching as nVidia's nForce3 chipset motherboards hit the market, trying to decide which one to buy. At first I was leaning towards the MSI k8n-neo platinum, but it seems to me that a lot of people have had odd problems with it. Most of them appear to get resloved eventually, but I'm looking for as little hassle as possible I see that recently Asus has released their entry in the nForce3 field, the k8n-e. I'm looking for a hassle-free, fast, reliable motherboard, is the Asus k8n-e the one? If not, which athlon 64 motherboard would you recommend as fast and largely problem free?

Other probable hardware specs, in case it makes a difference:
Athlon 64 3200+ newcastle (2.2ghz)
2x512 Mushkin PC3500 Level II
Abit GeForce4 TI 4200 (an old card I have around, will be upgraded once HL2/Doom3 are out and benchmarked)

Thanks!
-Fin

 

[Scorponok]

I've asked myself this same question. looking forward to seeing some responses

 

[jkresh]

k8n-e is very stable, lots of features, and asus is one of the top manufacturers of motherboards. Currently having a problem, cant get past 220mhz on an overclock and not htt control, should be fixed in a bios update, but who knows.

 

[Fin015]

Sounds good to me, I'm not planning on overclocking (at least to begin with) so that doesn't sound like much of an issue for me. I've been watching newegg, pondering the buy all day, now I go there ready to buy and they've sold out! *doh*

-Fin

 

[sisooktom]

The ASRock K8S8X is an awesome board if you don't mind it being light on features. But it is really fast and stable. I just built my first system with it a couple of months ago. BTW Fin, can I ask why you're looking to get that RAM? Isn't it very expensive?

 

[SpikeyNL]

One thing you might find interesting is that the Asus board is a socket 754 motherboard. You will not be able to upgrade the CPU on this board in the near future since AMD will focus on socket 939. The price for a socket 939 CPU is higher then a socket 754 CPU, but you will be able to upgrade the board in the future. If you plan to by a socket 939 motherboard, have a look at the MSI K8N Neo2 nForce3 Platinum and read this review: Socket 939 Roundup: Battle at the Top. If you plan to by a socket 754 motherboard, have a look at the MSI K8N Neo nForce3 250GB Platinum. It's not that I think that Asus doesn't have any good motherboards, they do have great boards, but MSI just has the best AMD64 boards as we speak. And, if you don't like MSI, have a look at the Abit AV8 for example. But then again, it is possible that there will be a better board tommorow (talking hardware here...). I beleive Asus will come up with a new socket 939 board soon with a nVidia nForce3 chip!
Spikey

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

He can atleast upgrade to 3700+. Also with the money he saves going socket 754 now he can easily cover the cost of a new mobo+ a little of the processor when he goes to upgrade in the future.

 

[jkresh]

also, within the year we will be seing dual core processors from amd and pci express in full swing, so the likleyhood is even if you go 939 now, you will upgrade your board when you upgrade your proc.

 

[Macro2]

Soltek

 

[Fin015]

Thanks for all the input everyone. I'm still inclined to go socket 754, since as you said, to go 939 with all the new hardware goodies will require another motherboard upgrade anyway, and they are significantly more expensive right now.

SpikeyNL: I've looked at the MSI K8N Neo Platinum a lot actually, but I see lots of people having assorted odd issues with it, and as I said I'm looking for hassle-free. They don't even seem to have reliably fixed the misread temperature issue, which seems especially prevalent with the 3200+ Newcastle. I'm taking a bit of a gamble on the Asus, considering it hasn't been out long at all and hasn't been reviewed, but so far the only issue people seem to be having with it is the limited overclock; something that doesn't affect me right now as Im' not planning to OC right away (if at all), and which will likely be fixed with a BIOS update. Better boards are always coming out, it's just a matter of me finding the one that's not gonna be a pain in my a$$ until I upgrade it

sisooktom: Thanks for the tip. The ASRock looks like a nice board, but it's a little too light for what I'm looking for. And the Mushkin 3500? I've got a good deal on it from a friend, cheaper than value ram

Thanks again everyone, I'll be placing my order at newegg shortly. Wish me luck!
-Fin

 

[sisooktom]

Originally posted by: Fin015
sisooktom: Thanks for the tip. The ASRock looks like a nice board, but it's a little too light for what I'm looking for. And the Mushkin 3500? I've got a good deal on it from a friend, cheaper than value ram
-Fin

Cool, I just wanted to make sure you weren't under the impression that high $$, low latency RAM is worth it I can see what you mean re the ASRock. It is a little feature light, but the SiS chipset is highly underrated and the freaking board just plain works. Good luck with whatever you wind up with, if you're not OCing then it looks like the Asus is a good bet.

 

[Scorponok]

Originally posted by: sisooktom

you weren't under the impression that high $$, low latency RAM is worth it

please explain, I'm kind of a newb in ram

 

[imported_dawurz]

Very pleased with my Asus K8N-E. It's been nothing but stable and error free since the first boot (running at stock for now).

If you're considering MSI, here's one person's experience with the K8N-E over the Neo Platnium:
http://forum.msi.com.tw/thread.php?threadid=55226&sid=

Dawurz