Motherboard Help pls...

[Hullz-Modz]

Hey guys,

I'm about to upgrade my socket 754 system, to a socket 939 but could use a little help selecting a motherboard.

I'm definatly purchasing an AMD Opteron 146 CPU s939, so no doubt i'll be needing some nice OC utils/features or just whatever will give me the best performance/power so i can get a good proc out of this chip.

I dont think i'll be getting x2 PCI-E Gfx cards in the near future, so just the one x16 PCI-E slot will be sufficient, although if theres an AGP slot it would be a bonus, but not a must.

2x 1GB of pc3200 DDR400 2.5cas RAM sticks will also be used, but i'd really like the option of x4 DIMM slots for future upgrades.

On-board sound/video/lan is not required.

Heres a few MBs i have my eyes on:

Sapphire Pure Innovation PI-A9RX480 Gruper PCI-E (Socket 939) Motherboard

Asus A8N-SLI Premium (Socket 939) Motherboard

Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe nF4 (Socket 939) Motherboard

Abit Fatal1ty AN8 SLI PCI-E (Socket 939) Motherboard

I dont quite know which is best, for what i need, can anyone give me a few pointers please?

I know they're all from Scan, but if theres an MB elsewhere that'll do the job i'm asking, then thats fine.

Thanx for listening/reading guys, hope someone can help.

[BUFF]

if you only need 1 PCI-E gfx slot look at Ultra boards rather than SLI e.g. ABIT KN8/AN8 Ultra, ASUS A8N-E etc.

& your links are all at Tekheads not Scan ...

[Hullz-Modz]

& your links are all at Tekheads not Scan ...

LOL Thats what i get with having SO many tabs open

[Hullz-Modz]

Any more opinions guys?

[mattyp]

More of a general opinion than specific knowledge of those mobos youve outlined.

But ive always found Abit to be absolutely ROCK solid with many great features and never ever a DOA, whereas had issues with Asus and Gigabyte, never fitted sapphire mobos so couldnt comment on them.

[Hullz-Modz]

ok thnx, noted

Had a few Asus's myself and not had any problems with them at all.

Just the OCing ability on them is rubbish to say the least.

[Ricco]

Good luck on the 146 - seems they are gone now.....
(say caBYE)

best choice for you -

clough road PCworld, get yourself a DFI ultra-D for £99

[Hullz-Modz]

Either that or Nemax (Boulevard Units or Ferensway),

or Quaytech, top of Prinny Quay, although i despise using them.

Actually been thinking of heading towards a DFI, bad reviews from the Asus A8N's etc. Plus the fact i'll be OC'ing and DFI would be the best way forward.

I'm just not sure which DFI board to go for, using my previous requirements, although i'm not fussed whether it has 1 or 2 PCIe x16 slots.

The systems gonna be in the living room, while the GFs watching TV, so its gonna have to be a quiet build too

[BUFF]

The systems gonna be in the living room, while the GFs watching TV, so its gonna have to be a quiet build too

Abit AN8 Ultra - no whiny chipset fan to go wrong.

[Ricco]

Either that or Nemax (Boulevard Units or Ferensway),

or Quaytech, top of Prinny Quay, although i despise using them.

Actually been thinking of heading towards a DFI, bad reviews from the Asus A8N's etc. Plus the fact i'll be OC'ing and DFI would be the best way forward.

I'm just not sure which DFI board to go for, using my previous requirements, although i'm not fussed whether it has 1 or 2 PCIe x16 slots.

The systems gonna be in the living room, while the GFs watching TV, so its gonna have to be a quiet build too

Problem is none of them stock DFI.

PCworld do, and @ £99 is a decent price.

[Speed]

I've got a ASUS AN8-E and it's the best motherboard I've purchased in a good while, I've no need for SLI and with a quick Zalman passive northbridge heatsink installed it's silent. In fact it's so good I plan to get 2 more for my primary rig as well as my sisters computer. It's good value, cheapest I've found is at Scan with free postage.

[user1453]

I would go for the asus a8n premium, it has a passive heatsink away from the gfx cards. The low profile heatsink in the nfs boards (under the gfx cards has been causing my friend problems. Also with the premium you get loads of sata connections and a motherboard that overclocks well.

[Speed]

I would go for the asus a8n premium, it has a passive heatsink away from the gfx cards. The low profile heatsink in the nfs boards (under the gfx cards has been causing my friend problems. Also with the premium you get loads of sata connections and a motherboard that overclocks well.

I have to disagree there, he isn't looking for a SLI board with loads of features he won't use. He is also going to be paying a "premium" for that board.

Overclocking could also be tricky as the passive heat has caused problems with many users.

[sanchezxxx]

I have the cheap Asus board with NF4, 939, pciex and 4ram slots. A bargain at £64 No problems as yet. Seems to have plenty of overclocking options although I have not pushed too far yet.

[Speed]

Indeed, the same board I recomended, it's very good for the money.