Gigabyte GA-7N400 Pro thoughts?

[HotKetchup]

This board seems like a diamond in the rough with the Ultra 400 chipset, dual bios, 4 IDE ports, and 4 ram slots (a first among nforce2). But I keep hearing that it has some issues. I've heard multiple accounts of failure to post, cpu heatsink compatability, no cmos reset jumper, "popping" during recording with pro audio pci cards, etc. Does anyone have experience with this board? I really want the 4 ram slots...

 

[wicktron]

I've heard nothing but great things about the board.

 

[mudboy]

My thoughts are that I just ordered one and can't wait for it to get here.

Pete

 

[Insane3D]

Eh.. Gigabyte. :frown:

Should be a decent board as long as you aren't planning on overclocking much...

 

[HotKetchup]

Acutally, I do plan on ocing quite a bit. Which boards would be better for ocing?

 

[Insane3D]

Check out the 8RDA+ for a "no frills" o/c'er, or the Abit NF7-S Rv 2.0.

 

[een]

What's wrong with gigabyte and o/cing? I heard they are fine, and the four slots, they are great if you want to add additional double channel rams

 

[3sixes]

HotKetchup
I have had this board for about 1 1/2 months, I have found this to be a smooth, stable, solid motherboard with good onboard audio, overclocked my xp1700 to xp2700 speeds with absolutely no problems. Have had this board as high as 210 fsb, and have just recently seen a post somewhere where someone was at 230 fsb.

If u get one, just make sure and read the manual, save yourself alot of trouble.

This board was perfect for me because I wanted the extra Ide connectors, will not use raid.
And I wanted the dual bios. the stability and 200+ fsb were a bonus.

Highly reccommended

Here is my setup:
7n400pro
xp1700 dut3c
Corsair 2 256 xms C2
Coolermaster HHC-001 hsf

I run cpu voltage at 1.85v, I have lots of fans and no cooling problems what so ever.

So my xp1700= 1.4ghz, now xp2700=2.2ghz

My bios settings :
sys performance: expert
Fsb frequency: 200
cpu interface: aggressive
memory timings: 11-2-2-2
agp frequency: I locked it at 66
thermal throttling: disabled

vcore +10
dim +0.2
agp +0.2
cpu voltage 1.85v

This is on the f8 bios that shipped with the board, I would pay special attention to the ram timings, as the standared school of thought on ram timings have changed for the moment with regards to nforce2 chipset boards.

 

[carpenter]

I bought one of these boards a couple of weeks ago and it's like you said, a diamond in the rough. It's too bad Giga doesn't offer some support because everyone is having a ton of issues with it. I can't believe none of the reviews say anything about these things because it's a wide spread problem. When it runs, it runs great. When it doesn't, it doesn't run at all. Black screens, reboots, mem incompatibility, sound, you name it. It needs an updated bios and they just aren't putting them out fast enough. I've stuck with the board so far, but it has just about used up my patience. I took it in to the shop and the tech called and said he had it running. When I got there, he had it running alright, in single channel mode. I could have gotten a KT600 cheaper if I wanted that. The onboard LAN doesn't work, hasn't since day one. I put in a spare card to get lan. The main problem is customer support. It isn't there. I e-mailed Giga 4 days ago and still no response. Check out NForcersHQ and go to the giga forum. It's full of people trying to fix a bunch of problems. I hope everyone spreads the word on all the new nf2 mobo's, because the reviews sound like they are God's gift to the AMD world and they all have a bunch of issues that aren't being addressed by the companies.

 

[carpenter]

Hi 3sixes, I remember you from the nforce site. We talked there. You were right about those timings, they do have to be loose. You sound like you got one of the few boards that work, but let these people know that a lot of people are having a lot of problems right now. Like I said, a diamond in the rough. I went through the manual with a fine toothed comb and tried everything suggested many times. I'm not an expert, but I'm not a newbie either. I figure if I'm having the problems, many are going to. And from what you see at the nf site, that's the case. I just want people to know that if they buy this board, they better have patience.

 

[3sixes]

carpenter

Hey dude, yeah i think we have conversed before.
Thats a whole change of thought process on the memory timings thats for sure.
Dont know if I got one of the good boards or not, I did take my time researching,
installing, tweaking and tuning up, it worked out well for me.
While I agree that there are folks who have real issues, raid speed, pro audio recording,lan not working, ect...
There is an equal number of users who did not have a clue what they were doing from jump street!
How many times did you see: 12vpower not connected, fsb switch not set, inadequate power supply, ram that proved to have errors once memtest was run, ect....

If I had to buy another nforce2 ultra 400 today, I would again buy this same board

 

[carpenter]

I agree with you on a lot of what you are saying. I couldn't believe the number of people who didn't hook up the 12v and didn't changed the fsb switch. That's one of the first things you look for. And I also couldn't believe how many didn't go into bios right off the git go and set up their settings. I've had a glimpse at what this board is capable of so I haven't returned it yet. The key word is yet. After having set up many boxes, again not an expert, just experienced and going through what I call my standard list, I couldn't believe some of the problems I had. I still can't believe they didn't include any 12 multipliers. And the support is so slow in coming for what is suppose to be a high end board. Do I sound a bit frustrated 3sixes? But you've been on the hq site and know I'm not alone. I think this board has a lot of potential, but I want people to know the truth before they buy. It's not an easy street.

 

[3sixes]

carpenter
Peep this, my understanding of gigabytes overclocking philosophy is that they promote fsb overclocking over multiplyer, dont remember where, but I read that somewhere.

Support?, personally never expected any, Its been my experience over the last several years that the only one supporting us IS US.

Thats the great thing about forums, I have never come across a system/board that couldnt be setup, unless of course the product was defective, I believe that there is allway an answer, I think you just have to know how to look for it.

As far as people knowing the truth, you are correct, people should know what they are getting into, and there in lies the problem, alot of people will not take the proper time to see if what they are about to purchase adequately meets their needs.

 

[carpenter]

I agree. Did you notice how many people bought this board and it was their first system build? I feel sorry for them, they are in for a rough road. I'm not bashing this board, like I said I think it has a lot of potential. If you or I put out a product in the USA that had this many issues, we would end up having to do a recall. Sometimes I feel like the mobo companies think they can sell us anything and we'll buy it. And they are over there and we are over here so figure it out on your own guys. And in a way, they are right. We do keep buying it. Thank God for American inguienuity. Glad to see you have yours up and running and glad to see that you are still helping others with their boards.

 

[wiin]

Where can I get this board? I want a 2nd GA-7N400 Pro because of the IDE RAID. Newegg doesn't have it anymore.

 

[3sixes]

wiin

I noticed the other day that tigerdirect.com had them.

 

[DahDee]

How's the onboard sound on this board (and the Pro2, if different)? Looks like it is not Soundstorm, right?

Edit: Looks like the Pro has Soundstorm (MCP-T) but the Pro2 does not? What's up with that?!

Links:

Pro: http://www.giga-byte.com/MotherBoard/Products/Products_GA-7N400%20Pro.htm

Pro2: http://tw.giga-byte.com/MotherBoard/Products/Products_Spec_GA-7N400%20Pro2.htm

 

[DerwenArtos12]

the pro 2 uses the mcp instead of the mcpt which is the difference in the boards and the difference in sound.

 

[Blain]

No mounting holes for Alpha type HS... sucks.

 

[3sixes]

DahDee
If youre considering getting one of these boards, there are some things you should consider.
The original pro is discontinued, allthough there are probably lots still in the pipeline.
The pro2 is giving some issues as the bios by default is overvolted to the cpu, not a problem I guess if youre and overclocker.
Limited Bios/overclocking/tweaking for the pro2 as compared for the pro, plus the pro has a modded bios avail for it.

So in terms in what is the difference,
Yes the pro has mcpt.......I really like my onboard audio for everything I do.
There are major differences in the everyday feature set of the pro vs the pro2 imho.

 

[DahDee]

Thanks for the info on Pro/Pro2; I can get a refurb Pro for $65, but I'm concerned it'll be bare and I'll have to go hunting for the various plates/connectors. The Pro2 is $121 new.

 

[DahDee]

Originally posted by: DerwenArtos12
the pro 2 uses the mcp instead of the mcpt which is the difference in the boards and the difference in sound.

They also added gigabit LAN to the Pro2, right?

 

[clicknext]

If the fan they use is the same as the one on the 7VAXP, and it sure looks like it, then you will probably be replacing it within a year.

 

[bluephi1914]

i have the Gigabye 7n400 Pro 2,

what are the issues with it ?

i cant seem to over clock.. dont know what it is, but i tried the FSB @ 200 and the system was unstable

 

[3sixes]