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Thread: Advice On Budget nForce2 M/B's.....

  1. #16
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    Once you get the kinks straightened out and learn the idiosyncrasies of the chipset (esp. with timings), the nForce2 becomes smooth as silk and lightning fast.

    The Asus A7N8X and ABIT NF7 are on the top of my list as well as the much loved/hated/adored 8RDA+. Trust me, you can't go wrong with these boards. There's a big safety margin with all of them.

    When you spend too little, though, you start having problems. And those are exactly the issues you'll get if you go with the Gigabyte or the Soltek. Ever check those boards' vcore/vdimm signals with an oscilloscope? Ever looked at the caps and compared them with quality boards? Then you'll know why they are so... easy to kill; everyone has the devil's touch with those.

  2. #17
    Member diesel604's Avatar
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    Up and running...bought CPU+MB+RAM from NCIX (re-opening sale)

    SYS SPECS:
    XP2500+ (AQXEA 0331)
    Evercool CUD725 HSF
    Soltek NV400-L64 1.1G
    1 x 512Mb PC3200 Infineon DDR
    GF3 Ti200 64MB
    Maxtor 40Gb HD
    LG 16X DVDROM
    PowMax 350W PSU

    Did the customary Sysopt Barton OC:

    Running 11x200Mhz - 2200Mhz (3200+ level) default voltage 1.65V
    Memory synchronous at SPD timings
    CPU Ext. Temp = 39ºC under load
    CPU Diode = (gotta look it up)
    Case Temp = 31ºC

    Running silky smooth so far...only ran Sandra and SuperPi stress test. Will conduct Prime95, F@H later this week.

    EDIT: one concerning thing...could be the PSU...getting 11.60 - 11.50V on 12V rail is it because the ATX12 4 pin connector is being used? or extremely crappy PSU (says 17A on 12V rail)
    Last edited by diesel604; 08-29-2003 at 02:54 PM.
    Athlon XP Barton 2500+ @ 2.2Ghz | Air Cooled | Sapphire Radeon 9550 SE 128Mb | Soltek nV400-L64 | 512Mb Infineon PC3200 DDR |

    http://www3.telus.net/diesel604/diesel604/Tbred-A%20badge.bmp

  3. #18
    Member Cee-W's Avatar
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    PowMax 350W PSU
    PowMax is weak, I would suggest a better PS with these specs'

    +3.3V - 30A
    +5V - 50A
    +12V - 25A
    -5V - 0.5A
    -12V - 0.8A
    +5VSB- 2.0A

    You are gonna love this board as you come to understand it better.

    XP-1700+@XP-2600+(218x9.5)
    Soltek SL-NV400-L64 /MB
    AOC-CUD-715 H/S-Type 44 compound
    Maxtor D740X-6L040L2 ATA/133
    Ultrplex40max SCSI-CD
    Yamaha 4X6 SCSI-CD-R
    GeForce4 Ti4200
    Achieve 500w PS
    512mb PC-3200
    Win-98SE/WinXP pro sp1
    Last edited by Cee-W; 08-29-2003 at 03:29 PM.

  4. #19
    Member Cee-W's Avatar
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    When you spend too little, though, you start having problems. And those are exactly the issues you'll get if you go with the Gigabyte or the Soltek
    CauseticVapor, your 2 cent is noted, but it is obvious you have not read or choose to over look the reviews regarding the SL-NV400-64/L64. The construction of the board is as good as any quality Ultra nforce2 dual channel board.

  5. #20
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    I wouldnt doubt Cv on this, he knows his motherboards, and Gigabyte do have a reputation for shody-ness, i myself wouldnt touch one with a ten foot barge pole

    --Jakk

  6. #21
    Member Cee-W's Avatar
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    Originally posted by Bigjakkstaffa
    I wouldnt doubt Cv on this, he knows his motherboards, and Gigabyte do have a reputation for shody-ness, i myself wouldnt touch one with a ten foot barge pole

    --Jakk
    I don't doubt him, his statment is to general. I am only defending the Soltek board in question (SL-NV400-64/L64). I have this board, the feedback between diesel604 and I is about this board .

  7. #22
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    http://www.overclockers.com/articles721/index04.asp

    Proof of one of the points CV made

    --Jakk

  8. #23
    Member diesel604's Avatar
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    Its true you get what you pay for and remember this was about budget M/B's. While this board isn't cream of the crop or for enthusiasts.... it's alright for me (the el-cheapo person that I am). I did not want to pay more than what I paid for my last setup - darn RAM prices!

    I would have loved to pick up an 8RDA+ or NF7-S or A7N8X but it would have meant skimping out on other components.

    I'm trusting that with progress the M/B manufacturers (hopefully) improve on previous models.

    Bottom line a good entry level (no RAID, SATA, SOUNDSTORM) nForce2 board and I'll add.... NOT an enthusiast board
    Athlon XP Barton 2500+ @ 2.2Ghz | Air Cooled | Sapphire Radeon 9550 SE 128Mb | Soltek nV400-L64 | 512Mb Infineon PC3200 DDR |

    http://www3.telus.net/diesel604/diesel604/Tbred-A%20badge.bmp

  9. #24
    Member cheapster's Avatar
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    I think you may have missed an opportunity for a very good budget Nforce 2 board. I really like my Shuttle AN35N. And I am not alone. It is a solid performer and am currently running my XP1700 JIUHB at 11.5x175 with a single stick of Kingston Valueram PC-2700. Very fast, stable and cheap. I am half tempted to upgrade a couple of KT333 systems with the same board, I like the Shuttle so well.
    <A HREF="http://www.sysopt.com/cgi-bin/ocdatabase.cgi?go=1&k=cheapster

    " TARGET=_blank>http://www.sysopt.com/cgi-bin/ocdatabase.cgi?go=1&k=cheapster

    </A>

  10. #25
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    every manufacturer cuts corners. We saw the debacle associated with the gainworld g4200 (im prety sure it was gainworld) and thier blown capacitors. Judge each board on its merits not on the perception of the company. We arent talking cars here.

  11. #26
    Member ichorid's Avatar
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    i ahd a gigabyte for age, and it was great!!

    i dropped a crew in it once while it was running on its side and there was a flash, a bang and a little area of the pcb became blackened. but it kept working

    it took overclocking to kill it \


    who wants some ram??

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