recommendations for an amd-based board PLEASE

[Bob Knowlden]

Tanya,

My responses are below.

hi Bob,
thanks for the reply...
[...below...]
(snip)

where would it say rev 2? i have not seen this...

The literal answer: the board is labeled "A8V" between the PCI slots nearest
the end of the board. In smaller print, it says "Rev. 2.00". (I knew that
case window would be good for something, someday.)

As regards excessive features, I believe that the A8V Deluxe is usually not
bundled with the wireless networking card in the US. You may not want the
extra Promise drive controller, but it shouldn't add much to the cost. (I
have the Promise controller disabled in the BIOS settings. Saves a little
time at start-up.) Most mainboards come with onboard audio, and I think that
a built-in NIC is a good idea.

how about the nforce3 chipset?

The nForce3 chipset was supposed to have the best performance of its day,
although at least one review I read made it very little better than the
K8T800 Pro. The MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum
(http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-130-468&depa=1)
was highly regarded. (I read some comments that suggested it may be
unforgiving in getting set up, but people mainly post problems to Usenet and
online forums. Popular products get lots of problem posts.) I have never
seen a comparison between the nforce4 (single PCI-E graphics slot) and the
nForce3 250 Ultra (AGP).

thanks!
sincerely
Tanya

I'm not really trying to proselytize for the A8V, but I've had good
performance and reliability with the one I've used. It's my first AMD
system, and it has been a positive experience. (I got it because I had
purchased an nVidia Geforce 6800GT AGP card. I wanted to upgrade my P4
without spending a lot of money, but Intel was moving to PCI-E and DDR2
memory. The A64 system was the obvious choice at the time.)

As regards one remark you made in another post: I think that onboard
graphics are rare on Socket 939 mainboards. Newegg has one, though:

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-130-485&depa=1

It uses an ATI chipset with integrated graphics. It has a PCI-E X16 slot,
should you wish to add a better graphics card. I'm not familiar with the
board, and I believe that it's new, but ATI and MSI have favorable
reputations. Best of all, it's $91 with $3 shipping. Although it's a
microATX board, it doesn't lack features. If you're prepared to try a newish
product, it looks like am attractive package. (Disclaimer: I don't have one,
and I know no one who does.)

HTH.

Bob Kn.

 

[Tanya]

hi and thanks,
[...below...]

What will you be using the PC for if not for gaming?

internet, photo editing (low key), scanning drawings...
(i'd assume that if it was good for gaming it would be a good pc all
around?)

Are you interested in a motherboard with built-in
video to save $$$ right now?

yes however, i heard that the amd-boards with onBoard video have poor
video
(compared to intel onboard)

Where did you here this?

i've heard that in various places...is this wrong?

 

[Tanya]

hi kony,
thanks for answering

On Sun, 13 Mar 2005 12:59:17 -0500, Tanya



No, Intel Extreme graphics are just about the slowest (maybe
ignoring some Sis' boards). Often on 3rd party chipset
boards for Intel CPUs, there might be ATI video which isn't
bad, but nForce2 is still preferrible.

well, how would an nforce2 do with an athlon64 3000+ ?

Integrated video
though is a small niche, it's not suitable for modern gaming
and yet any of them are quite fast enough for 2D (typical
office, email, 'surfing, etc) and DVD/movie/etc watching.
In other words, if you're wanting to play 3D games don't
think about integrated video, but if you're not, the video
performance matters little compared to anything else.

and if i decided to go for gaming or need 3-d, i assume that i could buy a video
card and disable the onboard chip?

thanks,
sincerely
Tanya

 

[Derek Baker]

Tanya,

My responses are below.

hi Bob,
thanks for the reply...
[...below...]
(snip)

where would it say rev 2? i have not seen this...

The literal answer: the board is labeled "A8V" between the PCI slots
nearest the end of the board. In smaller print, it says "Rev. 2.00". (I
knew that case window would be good for something, someday.)

As regards excessive features, I believe that the A8V Deluxe is usually
not bundled with the wireless networking card in the US. You may not want
the extra Promise drive controller, but it shouldn't add much to the cost.
(I have the Promise controller disabled in the BIOS settings. Saves a
little time at start-up.) Most mainboards come with onboard audio, and I
think that a built-in NIC is a good idea.

how about the nforce3 chipset?

The nForce3 chipset was supposed to have the best performance of its day,
although at least one review I read made it very little better than the
K8T800 Pro. The MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum
(http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-130-468&depa=1)
was highly regarded. (I read some comments that suggested it may be
unforgiving in getting set up, but people mainly post problems to Usenet
and online forums. Popular products get lots of problem posts.) I have
never seen a comparison between the nforce4 (single PCI-E graphics slot)
and the nForce3 250 Ultra (AGP).

thanks!
sincerely
Tanya

I'm not really trying to proselytize for the A8V, but I've had good
performance and reliability with the one I've used. It's my first AMD
system, and it has been a positive experience. (I got it because I had
purchased an nVidia Geforce 6800GT AGP card. I wanted to upgrade my P4
without spending a lot of money, but Intel was moving to PCI-E and DDR2
memory. The A64 system was the obvious choice at the time.)

As regards one remark you made in another post: I think that onboard
graphics are rare on Socket 939 mainboards. Newegg has one, though:

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-130-485&depa=1

It uses an ATI chipset with integrated graphics. It has a PCI-E X16 slot,
should you wish to add a better graphics card. I'm not familiar with the
board, and I believe that it's new, but ATI and MSI have favorable
reputations. Best of all, it's $91 with $3 shipping. Although it's a
microATX board, it doesn't lack features. If you're prepared to try a
newish product, it looks like am attractive package. (Disclaimer: I don't
have one, and I know no one who does.)

Me neither. The only problem with it is that it uses the SB400 southbridge
which has cruddy USB performance:
http://techreport.com/reviews/2004q4/radeon-xpress200/index.x?pg=17 Though
if you don't have any high-bandwidth USB devices it wouldn't be a problem.

 

[Tanya]

I've got an ASUS A8N-SLI board with 2 PCI-E Slots and 3 PCI slots as well as
very good built in audio...

thanks,
is there any problem in using 1 video card? or are you using 2?

 

[Derek Baker]

hi kony,
thanks for answering


well, how would an nforce2 do with an athlon64 3000+ ?

Badly. It's for the Athlon XP.

 

[Derek Baker]

hi and thanks,
[...below...]

KC Computers wrote:

What will you be using the PC for if not for gaming?

internet, photo editing (low key), scanning drawings...
(i'd assume that if it was good for gaming it would be a good pc all
around?)

Are you interested in a motherboard with built-in
video to save $$$ right now?

yes however, i heard that the amd-boards with onBoard video have poor
video
(compared to intel onboard)

Where did you here this?

i've heard that in various places...is this wrong?

I'd say so. Many boards share their graphics regardless of CPU type. For
example ATI's RS4x0 chipsets have the same core for Athlon 64s and Pentium
4s.

 

[Tanya]

hi Derek,
thank you for replying and for the info

hi and thanks,
[...below...]

KC Computers wrote:
yes however, i heard that the amd-boards with onBoard video have poor
video
(compared to intel onboard)

Where did you here this?

i've heard that in various places...is this wrong?

I'd say so. Many boards share their graphics regardless of CPU type. For
example ATI's RS4x0 chipsets have the same core for Athlon 64s and Pentium
4s.

that's definitely good to know...i would really like to get onBoard video and if
needed get a card later.
i'll check the above (ati) chipset too....

 

[Tanya]

Badly. It's for the Athlon XP.

i'm getting the athlon 64 3000+ cpu
and i guess since nforce2 won't work and nforce4 has problems, that leaves
nforce3?
(and the other ones that have been mentioned in this thread)
thanks

sincerely
Tanya

 

[Tanya]

thanks again for replying!
[...below...]

Tanya,

My responses are below.

hi Bob,
thanks for the reply...
[...below...]
(snip)

where would it say rev 2? i have not seen this...

The literal answer: the board is labeled "A8V" between the PCI slots nearest
the end of the board. In smaller print, it says "Rev. 2.00". (I knew that
case window would be good for something, someday.)

well hopefully the retailer will make sure it is rev 2.00

As regards excessive features, I believe that the A8V Deluxe is usually not
bundled with the wireless networking card in the US. You may not want the
extra Promise drive controller, but it shouldn't add much to the cost. (I
have the Promise controller disabled in the BIOS settings. Saves a little
time at start-up.) Most mainboards come with onboard audio, and I think that
a built-in NIC is a good idea.

thanks -- i have to look at it again...

The nForce3 chipset was supposed to have the best performance of its day,
although at least one review I read made it very little better than the
K8T800 Pro. The MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum
(http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-130-468&depa=1)
was highly regarded. (I read some comments that suggested it may be
unforgiving in getting set up, but people mainly post problems to Usenet and
online forums. Popular products get lots of problem posts.) I have never
seen a comparison between the nforce4 (single PCI-E graphics slot) and the
nForce3 250 Ultra (AGP).

i hadn't seen the MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum yet -- it looks good.....

I'm not really trying to proselytize for the A8V, but I've had good
performance and reliability with the one I've used. It's my first AMD
system, and it has been a positive experience. (I got it because I had
purchased an nVidia Geforce 6800GT AGP card. I wanted to upgrade my P4
without spending a lot of money, but Intel was moving to PCI-E and DDR2
memory. The A64 system was the obvious choice at the time.)

As regards one remark you made in another post: I think that onboard
graphics are rare on Socket 939 mainboards. Newegg has one, though:

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-130-485&depa=1

thanks! the msi looks really good (first glance) plus it has good users' comments

It uses an ATI chipset with integrated graphics. It has a PCI-E X16 slot,
should you wish to add a better graphics card. I'm not familiar with the
board, and I believe that it's new, but ATI and MSI have favorable
reputations. Best of all, it's $91 with $3 shipping. Although it's a
microATX board, it doesn't lack features. If you're prepared to try a newish
product, it looks like am attractive package. (Disclaimer: I don't have one,
and I know no one who does.)

(if it is a micro atx, does it need a *special* case? (casing))?

HTH.

Bob Kn.

thanks again for the information!
sincerely
Tanya

 

[johns]

There is only one decent mobo out there right now for
that ... Gigabyte K8NS. The ASUS is notorious for
hanging on to a million outdated jumpers, and they
invariably come set wrong. Also, they are monsters
in a case ... waaay too big. The rest of them are fly-by-
nights and you will never be able to recover in a
warranty situation. That leaves the Gigabyte board
in an Antec SLK 1650 case. The other stuff .. well
ATI 9800 Pro 128 is really the best card for what is
out there right now ... and probably for the next couple
years. We are going through a time of Euro-trash
games swamping the market, and they don't need much
of any kind of card. I like the high speed Hitachi SATA
drive 160 gig for sure. I also like Sony CDRWDVD
for all that it can do, and the price is right. Pioneer is
loud .. Plextor is overpriced ... Goldstar is made broke.
AOC monitors are priced right, and I have literally 100s
of them in my labs .. for years now. Stick with Gigabyte.
The rest of them are just big talkers, and you will learn
the hard way not to listen.

johns

 

[Morituri-|-Max]

thanks,
is there any problem in using 1 video card? or are you using 2?

Just one right now, but I CAN buy another one, stick it in, and the SLI part
of the motherboard will use BOTH cards together (one card does half the
image, the other card does the other half).. SUPPOSED to increase your
gaming power.. I'm not a huge gamer, mainly cad stuff.. but figure if it
can do games fast it can't hurt for 3d cad apps once they start supporting
the use of the cards themselves to help boost 3d rendering times, radiosity,
etc.

I probably won't stick a second one in, but heck had the money at tax time,
liked the board with its optional audio ability and it had 3 pci slots in
addition to the built in lan hookups and 8 raid hookups (4 regular sata, 4
raid sata connections)..

So far I am real happy with the stability of the board, also the cpu fan
mounts easier in the 939 socket with the special bracket over the cpu plug.

Good luck with your own search.

 

[Morituri-|-Max]

thanks,
is there any problem in using 1 video card? or are you using 2?

Oh yeah, saw another post about nforce problems (possible) with the new
AMD64s you were responding to.. personally the A8N-SLI board I have uses an
nforce4 chipset and so far I have had ZERO detectable problems with them
working together.

Seeya

 

[kony]

There is only one decent mobo out there right now for
that ... Gigabyte K8NS. The ASUS is notorious for
hanging on to a million outdated jumpers, and they
invariably come set wrong.

It's not outdated to have jumpers, but it's a bit silly to
look at them as a negative thing. For the most part they
aren't set wrong but if someone can't be bothered checking a
jumper or two then it does stand to reason that they'd be
better off with a board having fewer user-configurable
settings.

Also, they are monsters
in a case ... waaay too big.

Big boards are also desirable, unless the particular case is
too small for 'em.

 

[JAD]

what operating system...what programs do you run(other than the card games)?

 

[Tanya]

Big boards are also desirable, unless the particular case is
too small for 'em.

why are big boards desirable?
thanks

 

[kony]

why are big boards desirable?
thanks

They allow lower heat density design, better trace routing,
often removal of memory without fiddling with video card,
better access to jumpers/cables/etc, often larger power
planes, potential for more PCI slots, better location of
power socket(s), better structural stability of PCB by
having the right-most tray standoffs used, etc. Certainly a
larger board won't necessarily provide all these benefits,
but certainly some, depending on the particular board.

It boils down to what the case will accomodate... squishing
everything together when it's not necessary is of no benefit
at all.

 

[Tanya]

Oh yeah, saw another post about nforce problems (possible) with the new
AMD64s you were responding to.. personally the A8N-SLI board I have uses an
nforce4 chipset and so far I have had ZERO detectable problems with them
working together.

Seeya

thanks for the information (re: the nforce4) and the other posts' info re: the
sli)
i have to look at the ASUS A8N-SLI board again -- it does sound good...
thanks,
sincerely
Tanya

 

[Tanya]

hi johns,
thanks for the info...

There is only one decent mobo out there right now for
that ... Gigabyte K8NS.

the retailer i will use told me to 'stay away' from gigabyte (GIGABYTE
GA-K8NS ULTRA)
i don't know much about that brand...

The ASUS is notorious for
hanging on to a million outdated jumpers, and they
invariably come set wrong. Also, they are monsters
in a case ... waaay too big. The rest of them are fly-by-
nights and you will never be able to recover in a
warranty situation.

which are fly-by-nights?
MSI?, soltek?, abit?

That leaves the Gigabyte board
in an Antec SLK 1650 case. The other stuff .. well
ATI 9800 Pro 128 is really the best card for what is
out there right now ... and probably for the next couple
years.

thanks for the advice on the card -- didn't know where to start!

We are going through a time of Euro-trash
games swamping the market, and they don't need much
of any kind of card. I like the high speed Hitachi SATA
drive 160 gig for sure.

i like maxtor (have had one)

I also like Sony CDRWDVD
for all that it can do, and the price is right. Pioneer is
loud .. Plextor is overpriced ... Goldstar is made broke.

thanks -- again didn't know where to start...

AOC monitors are priced right, and I have literally 100s
of them in my labs .. for years now.

Stick with Gigabyte.
The rest of them are just big talkers, and you will learn
the hard way not to listen.

johns

thanks...

 

[Tanya]

They allow lower heat density design, better trace routing,
often removal of memory without fiddling with video card,
better access to jumpers/cables/etc, often larger power
planes, potential for more PCI slots, better location of
power socket(s), better structural stability of PCB by
having the right-most tray standoffs used, etc. Certainly a
larger board won't necessarily provide all these benefits,
but certainly some, depending on the particular board.

It boils down to what the case will accomodate... squishing
everything together when it's not necessary is of no benefit
at all.

thank you, kony...
that is good to know now and not later... that's the only onBoard video
based board i can find so i guess i'll go agp (it's been around longer)
are you familiar with this one?
SOLTEK K8TPRO-939 ATHLON64 S939 K8T800 DDR AGP 5PCI SATA RAID SOUND
1000LAN MOTHERBOARD
i've read 2 good reviews...
thanks
sincerely
Tanya