K8T890 or NF4 ??

[anim8]

Hi. Soon i go out to buy a new computer, but i cant choose the motherboard.

I looked into MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum and ABIT AX8.


What i want is a stable system, No problems and issues, high quality.
I dont care about overclock, and price. If you can list some issues with both cards, it could be nice.

I also wanna know something about what VGA will be the best to the motherboard.
The VGA should be Sapphire Radeon X800XL or MSI 6800GT.

CPU A64 3500+


I heard that nforce4 dont work well with a ATI card, so i wanna know if this is correct.

Please, if the system looks bad, just say what i should buy.

SRY about my bad english!!

 

[imported_Kensai]

MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum! Runs very nicely with ATI cards. Either way, go MSI.

 

[imported_Starman]

Avoid the KT890 chipset. It's not compatible with the upcoming AMD X2 processors.

 

[anim8]

Yea, i heard that about K8T890, but iam not going to use X2 cpu's. I will never change the cpu anyway.

Few month ago i tried with ASUS nforce4, but i got problems and returned it. It was performance problems, problems with SATA, and finally problems with the ethernet controller.

I'am worried if MSI got the same problmes, because its the same chipset.

 

[ryanv12]

well, VIA's chipsets tend to be even buggier. Just roll the dice on another NF4. AMD-compatible chipsets aren't as good as Intel chipsets, but NF4 will be the best you can get.

 

[anim8]

okay... I think i go for the NF4.

 

[anim8]

if not P4.. argh..
I hate to buy new PC.

 

[ChicagoPCGuy]

I can tell you the EPoX 9NPA+ Ultra is highly stable and trouble free. I am using one, with a high overclock yet, and it is ROCK stable. I am using nForce 6.53 chipset drivers, and all options are enabled except NCQ, which I found actually slows you down (read it first, and then I decided to benchmark it myself and confirmed it). I am also using Active Armor and the nVidia Firewall--very nice stuff. The K8T890 chipset has serious issues, not the least of which is incompatibility with the A64 X2. That is why most manufacturers are not even using that chipset.

 

[anim8]

okay.. Thank you all for info.

I've comming so long, so i dont know at all what system to choose.

I've heard that AMD and its chipset nForce 4 has A LOT of issues. AMD is faster, but its not what i going after. I'am a extreme perfectionist; which means, i want my system to be 100% stable if possible.
I know a few people with a the nForce4 system, and they complain about blue screens, all the time. I really dont wanna be in the same situation, and thats why i am thinking about Prescott now. But i heard about issues with Prescott as well

Actually, i buying this system for playing WoW, but unfortunately Athlon64/nForce4 should have some problems there too (for some). People get disconnected, have performance issues and so on.

Some says that Prescott is incompatible with WinXp SP2, and it should easily be overheated.

I also heard problems with the i915p chipset

Can anyone nelp me build a good stable system with no issues at all, or only few issues.. I really hate problems.
If any can tell me, i also wanna know if AMD just are incompetent in nature, because my currently P4 is very stable, and i have never seen a BSoD.

The big question is what is best (not performance) AMD Athlon64 on nForce4 or Intel P4 Prescott on a i915p board???

Well, i'am totally confused, and readed too much about each system, so help me please if you can...

 

[furballi]

I have the Abit AX8 with the 890 chipset. Had a shutdown issue but that was resolved with the Via 520A drivers. Yes, the board will not support the dual core AMD CPU unless you wait for the release of the 890A chipset. Still it's a solid board that will allow me to hit 260 MHz FSB without much Vcore.

NF4 drivers can be a problem with DVD burner proggies. I like the passive heat sink of the 890 chipset. And the delivery price of the Abit AX8 is only $95. Note that you will need a floppy to load the SATA drivers when installing windows. Just hit the F6 key when you see the windows prompt to add new drivers, and install ALL 3 DRIVERS from the floppy.

I would suggest that you overclock via the BIOS instead of OC GURU in windows if you decide to go with the Abit AX8. Sometimes, OC GURU will lock on to a particular setting, forcing you to reset the CMOS/BIOS. Another gripe is that you can only trim the fan voltage down to 8V in the BIOS. I would like to see 5V.

 

[anim8]

ahh.. ok. Do you know when 890A will be released?

Btw, i will not overclock at all. I dont need a overclocking friendly system.

 

[Rock Hydra]

Another reason to avoid the curreint K8T890 chipset is that the southbridge is that from the K8T880 platform. They're old and don't support the new I/O features that the nForce 4 does.

 

[anim8]

okay.. Will K8T890 Pro be better then.. ?

 

[furballi]

The 890A many show up in a few weeks. The NF4 has more bells and whistles, but all tests show that it is only about 2% faster than the 890 combo. Since you have no intention to overclock, this is a mute point.

Some vendors use the word "Pro" when they add another IDE channel to the motherboard. There may be a better southbridge in the pipe within the next few months. This should support NCQ. Course my informal test did not show any performance gain with NCQ. PATA is still the quickest if you want pure SPEED from the hard drive. Another bonus with the PATA hard drive is that you don't have to worry about loading the SATA drivers.

If you don't plan to overclock, then you can purchase 2 x 512MB of Corsair Value RAM for $81. Just plug and play with the AX8. I wouldn't even worry about the lack of support for the AMD dual processor.

I take it that you're not a gamer (hence no overclock). Most average users would be perfectly happy with the AMD 64 3000 Venice and an X300 video card. This option will yield the most value and stability for your $.

Finally, make sure you have a good case that will keep all your internal components COOL. I like the Antec SLK3000B for $46. You can install a front 120 mm case fan to cool the hard drive bay. This is very important if you want to achieve a stable PC platform.

The Antec features a side vent that will allow the CPU cooler to blow room temp air into the CPU heatsink. Speaking of the CPU cooler, check out the Zalman 7700Cu. This big CPU cooler will also cool the MOSFETs and RAMs on your motherboard.

 

[theMan]

http://www.anandtech.com/tradeshows/showdoc.aspx?i=2444&p=3

http://www.anandtech.com/tradeshows/showdoc.aspx?i=2444&p=5

 

[THESANTINI]

when i buy a chip do i need to buy a heatsync too?

 

[furballi]

The retail CPU will come with a CPU cooler. If you want better cooling and less noise, then you need to add the cost of a CPU cooler.

 

[anim8]

thank you all. I appreciate your help.

furballi> i'am a gamer. Actually i use all my time to play games. I just dont like to overclock, even if it dont damage my system, but thanks for info anyway.

 

[anim8]

/sorry for bump

What about a Prescott 6xx system. It should be okay right? I always heard that AMD have a high failrate, and is very unreliable, otherwise Intel should be very reliable. I dont know how true it is anymore.

 

[Aenslead]

There is little reason not to go with nVidia nForce 4... but that statement about K8T890 not working with X2 is true but only for the very first steppings. The problem was detected since AMD started shiping devolpers with their processors, about two or three months ago, so IF you decide to go VIA, then you will almost certainly have a compatible motherboard for X2.

 

[anim8]

will you recommend NF4?

 

[Macro2]

I like the passive heat sink of the 890 chipset. And the delivery price of the Abit AX8 is only $95.

 

[anim8]

Okay.. I dont care much about noise... But it seems, that no AMD chipsets is reliable so it think i go to buy a Intel system so i can get a reliable system.

 

[Macro2]

RE:"But it seems, that no AMD chipsets is reliable so it think i go to buy a Intel system so i can get a reliable system"

You were just an Intel fanboy all along weren't yah? LOL.
Remember that most all hear are building their own and a lot are overclocking. And you wonder why they have "issues".

BTW, Intel has had it's share of buggy chipsets.

Both the the VIA890 and the nForce4 work very well especially if you don't overclock.

 

[furballi]

I'm running my AX8 at 255 MHz FSB. No problem. I can push it up to 268MHz with Corsair Value RAM (DDR333 instead of DDR400), but the CPU will run HOT (don't want to increase the 92 mm fan above 1900 rpm).

AMD 64 3000 and VIA890 give the best balance between stability, heat, noise, price, and speed.