A7N8X Deluxe questions, FSB, Barton and BIOS questions.

[Sarlok]

Hey folks.

I've gone through 5 or 6 pages of posts here, done a search and read a few posts on the ASUS A7N8X Deluxe mainboard already, but still want to know/clarify a couple of things.

I plan to get this board pretty soon, just after I finish deciding on the rest of the stuff on my current wish list.

However, I've got a few concerns.

1) Reading the specs on ASUS website, I see this in the memory section:

400* / 333 / 266 / 200 MHz
( * PCB 2.0 or later version )

Does that mean I have to flash the BIOS to v2.0 (or later ;)) in order to get 400mhz/DDR3200 memory working in it?

If that's the case, would DDR3200 work with a Barton CPU? Would it be worth it? (I've always had trouble working out what ram works with what CPU/FSB).

2) I was also a bit confused over Barton support. I would have to flash the BIOS to get a 2500/2800+ working with it, right?

3) How well does this board compare with ASUS' A7V8X-GBL (KT400 Chipset)? I've seen a few benchmarks, but couldn't really compare them to one-another. Would it be worth getting the A78VX for the Gigabyte LAN and the builtin firewire (And native DDR3200 support?
I just know the A7N8X is fast, and made with gaming in mind, so yeah. :cool:

4) Just how badly, do I have to bend the Capacitors on the A7N8X board to fit a Thermalright SLK-900-U heatsink on it?
I know on Thermalright's website, they say severely, but has anyone already done so by any chance?

Okay, that's it. Thanks for reading all that, even if nothing else.

[Tick]

Originally posted by Sarlok

However, I've got a few concerns.

1) Reading the specs on ASUS website, I see this in the memory section:

400* / 333 / 266 / 200 MHz
( * PCB 2.0 or later version )

Does that mean I have to flash the BIOS to v2.0 (or later ;)) in order to get 400mhz/DDR3200 memory working in it?

If that's the case, would DDR3200 work with a Barton CPU? Would it be worth it? (I've always had trouble working out what ram works with what CPU/FSB).

2) I was also a bit confused over Barton support. I would have to flash the BIOS to get a 2500/2800+ working with it, right?

3) How well does this board compare with ASUS' A7V8X-GBL (KT400 Chipset)? I've seen a few benchmarks, but couldn't really compare them to one-another. Would it be worth getting the A78VX for the Gigabyte LAN and the builtin firewire (And native DDR3200 support?
I just know the A7N8X is fast, and made with gaming in mind, so yeah. :cool:

4) Just how badly, do I have to bend the Capacitors on the A7N8X board to fit a Thermalright SLK-900-U heatsink on it?
I know on Thermalright's website, they say severely, but has anyone already done so by any chance?

Okay, that's it. Thanks for reading all that, even if nothing else.

Some answers for you....

1) the PCB ver 2.0 supports Barton cores out of the box! It also comes shipped with the latest Bios! Many are useing the PC3200 and the PC3500 in this board with litte problems!

2) See answer 1)

3) I cant compare since I only have the a7n8x dlx ver2.0 But for OCing and the features you cant go wrong!

4) I use an SLK800 on my board and the Capcitors are not even close to the heatsink! (Severley) would mean the caps touching the PCB when bent!

For the record check out the nForcersHQ (http://www.nforcershq.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=13) for a more diffinative look at the problems and issues! Keep in mind if you get this board make sure its a ver2.0 before you buy it! I know NewEgg is shipping the ver 2.0!

Also update winblows to SP1 with all the updates BEFORE you install the nForce drivers!

Mine runs like a dream, Yet to OC but just sitting back to burn in a month or two!

Tick

Asus A7N8X Dlx ver 2.0
XP2700~SLK800
2x256 OCZEL PC2700
Radeon 9800
W/D 120G 8mmb
Xaser III

3DMarks (http://www.sysopt.com/forum/attachment.php?s=&postid=879225)

[Izdaari]

Originally posted by Sarlok
Hey folks.?

3) How well does this board compare with ASUS' A7V8X-GBL (KT400 Chipset)? I've seen a few benchmarks, but couldn't really compare them to one-another. Would it be worth getting the A78VX for the Gigabyte LAN and the builtin firewire (And native DDR3200 support?

4) Just how badly, do I have to bend the Capacitors on the A7N8X board to fit a Thermalright SLK-900-U heatsink on it?
I know on Thermalright's website, they say severely, but has anyone already done so by any chance?
Tick answered the rest well enough, so I'll just comment on these:

3) Compared to any KT400 the nForce2 is faster. Compared to the newer KT400A its about a tie for speed with maybe a slight edge to the nForce2. However, I don't really trust VIA chipsets, since I've had hardware compatibility problems with them with some extremely common hardware (i.e., USB, CD-ROM drives that were listed by MS as compatible). That was on the older KT133 and haven't had problems with the KT266A, but I still feel a little burned, to the point that if the nForce2 hadn't come out when it did, I would have gone Intel instead of another VIA board.

Gigabit LAN is meaningless unless you have a gigabit network set up at home, and if you do I wonder why you'd bother. On 100mbs LAN, file transfers seem to take about as much time as they would from my local hard drive.

The A7N8X board has native PC-3200 support and in the Deluxe version, Firewire, with the installation of the included bracket.

4) If Thermalright says the 900 is tough to get to fit, I'm sure they're right. I don't like the idea of bending capacitors to make a HS fit. But the 800 fits no problem, and is more than good enough, so just use that.

[Sarlok]

Thanks guys, I appreciate it. I should be able to manage from here on out. :)

[finger51]

I just found this comparison at gamepc

CHECKIT (http://www.gamepc.com/labs/view_content.asp?id=a7n8xd&page=2&MSCSProfile=95385A1F52DEA1A229D5B375420544649B98E7 590D168F4A3471A8E3564B54B9860BA958B7B16889D4A96062 6113DBD4A973E59C9EA3E4BC3EE44FFCEF0621DE3307F71F71 70947FF218A4D6318099E5DC788C7C28153FBA3E910F9A6087 27AA24AFFADC2C942983AA412DAC07A9EF14A9BEA994060CB7 4209ABB59499D5618A0C989B9D009B5E1E)