Choice of mobo...

GrimStoner · Post by **GrimStoner** » 14 Nov 2004, 23:08

It has recently been brought to my attention that my desktop technology has been "lagging"... And have thus decided upon a rather timely (Christmas) upgrade...

My q ... What mobo? Prospecting the AMD 64 range, my obvious choice was Gigabyte. Not just because they are relatively cheap, but also from the good service I got from my current one, the 7VT600-L. It has survived a good few thunderstorms and even a failed PSU modding attempt.

My mindset was always that the mobo just ties everything together, thus I require the bare minimum in a mobo just to satisfy the hunger of my other hardware, i.e. DDR400, SATA.

I know gigabyte aren't the only contenders, but I do not know all the various mobo brands and their pros and cons.

Suggestions?

Rayne · Post by **Rayne** » 14 Nov 2004, 23:12

Get either nForce3 now or nForce4 later if your willing to wait a mth or 2.

Gigabyte is good. Might wanna consider MSI, ABIT & ASUS also.

Post by **Azgard** » 14 Nov 2004, 23:13

GrimStoner wrote:My q ... What mobo? Prospecting the AMD 64 range, my obvious choice was Gigabyte. Not just because they are relatively cheap,

Anything Gigabyte is expensive, you're paying for the name. They are not cheap but do offer good quality, not as good as some other makes though. Like MSI, DFI, Asus and Abit.

GrimStoner · Post by **GrimStoner** » 14 Nov 2004, 23:24

Also...

I have used since the conception of my new computer (Barton 2800+, 7VT600-L) traversed the whole hsf desert. Yes, desert. As this is about the the temperature at which my cpu ran. I have used the generic AMD one, the Thermaltake Volcano 7, and just recently invested in the Cooler Master Jet 7, which was particularly well spoken of by a certain computer store's attendant, promising of sub-zero temperatures and noise levels so low, you could hear mice fart.

However (as viable as this may sound, given this excellent review by a particular store's attendant), it fails to keep my CPU at a level below 55'C. Heavy loads... 64'C.

What good CPU coolers are available, without resorting to water cooling or phase changing?

dammod · Post by **dammod** » 14 Nov 2004, 23:25

I really love my mobo!! Get an ABIT u won't be sorry

I know they r a bit pricy but it's worth it. (lucky me, i won mine

)

Rayne · Post by **Rayne** » 14 Nov 2004, 23:30

(lucky me, i won mine

Lucky indeed. You bugger.

The_RecruiT · Post by **The_RecruiT** » 15 Nov 2004, 02:01

Hey

Definitely have a look at the new DFI UT 250 GB Mobo (Socket 754)

Excellent overclocking ability and great performance. There's an in-depth review on http://www.anandtech.com about it.

Cheers

ADV4NCED · Post by **ADV4NCED** » 15 Nov 2004, 15:52

MSI K8T Neo, it has excellent performance, Good Price, although the drivers for that board is a lil dodgy.

But...I think the best would have to be the Asus K8V Deluxe K8T800 Motherboard. Good chipset, great performance, Easy to use (put together) and I think the price is pretty good too.

Macphisto · Post by **Macphisto** » 15 Nov 2004, 16:23

ABIT!!!!

Belix · Post by **Belix** » 15 Nov 2004, 16:26

ASUS!!!!

MrBean · Post by **MrBean** » 15 Nov 2004, 19:55

Hi Grimstoner,
Ok, having owned and overclocked Abit, Asus, Gigabyte and DFI, I would reckon the best board at a very competitive price now would be the nForce 3 250 board from DFI, the UT-250GB.

I doubt you will find a better board, I even credited my 2 day old Gigabyte K8NSNXP at Rectron after receiving the DFI..cost less than 1/2 the price of the Gigabyte! And it outperforms the Gigabyte by miles.

Your decision, but yeah, this board is not sitting on top of the world benching scene for nothing...together with it's Intel counterpart, the DFI 875P-T they are extremely good boards - why?

Well, a while back, the top board designer at Abit, Oscar Wu, left Abit and teamed up with DFI....and the 875P-T (Intel) and UT 250GB (AMD) are results of his engineering prowess... I own both these boards, and have to say they are some of the best I have ever owned.

Simple decision really

Br,
MrBean.

Rikkelz · Post by **Rikkelz** » 15 Nov 2004, 20:44

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

God has spoken!

I would have to agree with MrBean(god). I've heard alot about the DFI mobos lately and never anything bad.

Booswig · Post by **Booswig** » 20 Nov 2004, 14:27

Who stocks the DFi Motherboards in SA, who are the dealers ?

Post by **Iceblade** » 20 Nov 2004, 14:35

Booswig wrote:Who stocks the DFi Motherboards in SA, who are the dealers ?

Axiz

Post by **Iceblade** » 20 Nov 2004, 14:36

MrBean wrote:Hi Grimstoner,
Ok, having owned and overclocked Abit, Asus, Gigabyte and DFI, I would reckon the best board at a very competitive price now would be the nForce 3 250 board from DFI, the UT-250GB.

I doubt you will find a better board, I even credited my 2 day old Gigabyte K8NSNXP at Rectron after receiving the DFI..cost less than 1/2 the price of the Gigabyte! And it outperforms the Gigabyte by miles.

Your decision, but yeah, this board is not sitting on top of the world benching scene for nothing...together with it's Intel counterpart, the DFI 875P-T they are extremely good boards - why?

Well, a while back, the top board designer at Abit, Oscar Wu, left Abit and teamed up with DFI....and the 875P-T (Intel) and UT 250GB (AMD) are results of his engineering prowess... I own both these boards, and have to say they are some of the best I have ever owned.

Simple decision really

Br,
MrBean.

what board for 939 socket

Post by **Azgard** » 20 Nov 2004, 17:06

I know at the moment DFI is still working on their socket 939 board, won't be available for a while still. Not sure of any other good 939 boards.

Post by **Iceblade** » 20 Nov 2004, 17:20

when will the dfi lanparty 939 be launched?

Post by **Azgard** » 20 Nov 2004, 17:30

Not really sure, probably sometime in the first half of next year

Post by **Iceblade** » 20 Nov 2004, 17:41

That long

feo · Post by **feo** » 21 Nov 2004, 16:10

Iceblade wrote:That long

I don't think I can wait that long.

Post by **Iceblade** » 21 Nov 2004, 17:03

Same here

But for Lanparty I think I will have to