How long has the non-Deluxe A8N SLI been available? It looks like it would
suit my needs perfectly but I'm a bit wary about buying the first revision
with v1.00 BIOS of a motherboard - I've been burnt before :-)

I've read a few messages about instability on here.

I was going to get an AMD 64 3000 and two sticks of 512MB DDR400/PC3200 RAM
to use with a Innovision 6800GT PCI-E video card (already bought this, by
mistake).

Cheers, Rob.

"Rob Nicholson" <rob.nicholson@nospam_unforgettable.com> wrote in message
news:9VdHd.436$(E-Mail Removed)...
> How long has the non-Deluxe A8N SLI been available? It looks like it would
> suit my needs perfectly but I'm a bit wary about buying the first revision
> with v1.00 BIOS of a motherboard - I've been burnt before :-)
>
> I've read a few messages about instability on here.
>
> I was going to get an AMD 64 3000 and two sticks of 512MB DDR400/PC3200
RAM
> to use with a Innovision 6800GT PCI-E video card (already bought this, by
> mistake).
>
> Cheers, Rob.

It is basically a very good stable board. For a 1st revision board I do not
see any reason to fault it. BIOS 1002 very stable. It may be a good idea
to check that your RAM is on the ASUS QVL (Tested Ram List). as a few Athlon
S939 boards can be a bit moody over RAM. With two sticks of RAM you will
no-doubt be wishing to run the board in Dual Channel mode. Again, I have
found no problems there. I think you will be very happy indeed when if you
run this board with an Inno 6800GT PCI-E.

Whatever you do, don't but Gigabyte.

Rob Nicholson wrote:
> How long has the non-Deluxe A8N SLI been available? It looks like it would
> suit my needs perfectly but I'm a bit wary about buying the first revision
> with v1.00 BIOS of a motherboard - I've been burnt before :-)
>
> I've read a few messages about instability on here.
>
> I was going to get an AMD 64 3000 and two sticks of 512MB DDR400/PC3200 RAM
> to use with a Innovision 6800GT PCI-E video card (already bought this, by
> mistake).
>
> Cheers, Rob.
>
>
I have the A8N-SLI with 1 gig Crucial ram (dual channel) an AMD 3500+
and 6600GT. I have found it extremely stable and very fast. I have had
mine since Dec 24th, long enough to see problems but none so far. I have
stayed with the same BIOS and have resisted the urge to reflash. You
will note that people with instability/problems have been using the Beta
MB drivers. My advice - don't!

I bought Asus because of past positve experience and have no regrets so far.

Ron

> to check that your RAM is on the ASUS QVL (Tested Ram List). as a few
> Athlon
> S939 boards can be a bit moody over RAM. With two sticks of RAM you will

Will do - I noticed a list of approved RAM on the ASUS web site and Kingston
was listed, which is available from Dabs.

> no-doubt be wishing to run the board in Dual Channel mode. Again, I have
> found no problems there. I think you will be very happy indeed when if
> you

Yes, hoping to use this feature, what kind of speed increase does it give?

> run this board with an Inno 6800GT PCI-E.

This all started when I was bought Doom 3 for Christmas :-) Won't run on my
old system. Bloody expensive game this is turning out to be!

> Whatever you do, don't but Gigabyte.

Ah ha, now there in obviously lies a story. I've bought several Gigabyte
boards over the years (current board is a Gigabyte) but I've had the
occasional bad board, esp. on the slightly less popular systems like dual
AMD MP systems. The top is always off that system :-)

The bits are all sat in my Dabs wishbasket waiting to me to click BUY! Going
to need a new power supply as well though. Would love a couple of SATA hard
disks but that's going to have wait.

Thanks, Rob.

> I have the A8N-SLI with 1 gig Crucial ram (dual channel) an AMD 3500+ and
> 6600GT. I have found it extremely stable and very fast. I have had

Thanks for the reply. I should think about a faster AMD 64 but it's hurting
the wallet already :-)

Cheers, Rob.

"Rob Nicholson" <rob.nicholson@nospam_unforgettable.com> wrote in message
news:uufHd.3$(E-Mail Removed)...
> > I have the A8N-SLI with 1 gig Crucial ram (dual channel) an AMD 3500+
and
> > 6600GT. I have found it extremely stable and very fast. I have had
>
> Thanks for the reply. I should think about a faster AMD 64 but it's
hurting
> the wallet already :-)
>
> Cheers, Rob.

May I suggest that you gor the 3200+, it's cheaper and I have not found any
perceivable difference to the 3500+. Sure it comes out better in
benchmarks, but in the real world I cannot see any difference.

Whatever you go for, you'll be very happy, you can then wait until the price
of FX-55 comes down to Earth.

Jon

"Rob Nicholson" <rob.nicholson@nospam_unforgettable.com> wrote in message
news:XpfHd.2$(E-Mail Removed)...
> > to check that your RAM is on the ASUS QVL (Tested Ram List). as a few

> > no-doubt be wishing to run the board in Dual Channel mode. Again, I
have
> > found no problems there. I think you will be very happy indeed when if
> > you
>
> Yes, hoping to use this feature, what kind of speed increase does it give?


> Thanks, Rob.

Rather unsurprisingly it effectively doubles the memory bandwidth. Not too
sure it is that noticeabley faster than single channel in the real world,
but in benchmarking software, it is absolutely stunning.

40 PC,
what was your prior system and did you notice much difference?
IE is it enough to make an upgrade from a P4 2.8 GHz worthwhile?
(I am not into graphics).

"40 PC SOCKET SET" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:41ed8799$0$16576$(E-Mail Removed)...
>
> "Rob Nicholson" <rob.nicholson@nospam_unforgettable.com> wrote in message
> news:uufHd.3$(E-Mail Removed)...
>> > I have the A8N-SLI with 1 gig Crucial ram (dual channel) an AMD 3500+
> and
>> > 6600GT. I have found it extremely stable and very fast. I have had
>>
>> Thanks for the reply. I should think about a faster AMD 64 but it's
> hurting
>> the wallet already :-)
>>
>> Cheers, Rob.
>
> May I suggest that you gor the 3200+, it's cheaper and I have not found
> any
> perceivable difference to the 3500+. Sure it comes out better in
> benchmarks, but in the real world I cannot see any difference.
>
> Whatever you go for, you'll be very happy, you can then wait until the
> price
> of FX-55 comes down to Earth.
>
> Jon
>
>

"Mercury" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:csk39r$9ii$(E-Mail Removed)...
> 40 PC,
> what was your prior system and did you notice much difference?
> IE is it enough to make an upgrade from a P4 2.8 GHz worthwhile?
> (I am not into graphics).

Previous system was Athlon 1Ghz, so as you can imagine the change of gear
was very noticeable and like a breath of fresh air. I have tried A64 3200+
and 3500, but saw no noticeable improvement. As for the comparison with a
P4 2.8, I think you would do well to stick with what you have, as the most
advantageous aspect of the A8N is the SLi graphics, and that would be of
little use to you, as you say you are not big on graphics.

Jon

Thanks.
I'm always telling people not to bother with upgrades unless they are 100%
or more...
However as a s/w developer I have to begin supporting 64bit sooner or later.
I would prefer to wait for dual core to become affordable... but that may be
a year or more at least.

The prior system was a dual P2 400 ==> P4 2.8. The dual still has
advantages.

"40 PC SOCKET SET" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:41ed9a5f$0$16586$(E-Mail Removed)...
>
> "Mercury" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:csk39r$9ii$(E-Mail Removed)...
>> 40 PC,
>> what was your prior system and did you notice much difference?
>> IE is it enough to make an upgrade from a P4 2.8 GHz worthwhile?
>> (I am not into graphics).
>
> Previous system was Athlon 1Ghz, so as you can imagine the change of gear
> was very noticeable and like a breath of fresh air. I have tried A64
> 3200+
> and 3500, but saw no noticeable improvement. As for the comparison with a
> P4 2.8, I think you would do well to stick with what you have, as the most
> advantageous aspect of the A8N is the SLi graphics, and that would be of
> little use to you, as you say you are not big on graphics.
>
> Jon
>
>