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Okay first things first yes I am new to the forums I would appreciate any input or feedback possible...
Okay I am looking to purchase one of the following motherboards and I am wanting a comparison between them weather it be personal opinion/experiance. I have read reviews on all..
In no particular Order..
[b]- Abit NF7-S
- Asus A7N8X Deluxe
- Epox 8RDA3+
At this stage I am leaning towards the first 2. But would appreciate any input or feedback you can give...
I've built three computers using the NF7-S and have had nothing but good luck with it. It's similar in many respects to the ASUS, but is usually cheaper and overclocks better. THe only thing I would say is replace the northbridge heatsink and place a heatsink on the southbridge (Zalman passive coolers work for both).
Can't comment on the Epox as I have never had the pleasure using one as of yet, but the other 2 are both great motherboards.
Pretty much the same as well, the NFS has a reputation for being the better overclocker of the 2 motherboards, although I use the Asus myself and have no complaints what so ever. I run my XP1700 at 2400Mhz in my Asus with no problems at all.
I would say the NFS also has the better bios of the two boards, more options to play around with if thats your thing, better voltage control as well I am led to believe. Only thing I have against the NFS is the in my opinion, poor layout of the motherboard it's self, which at the end of the is only down to personal preference.
Which ever board you go for you will not be disappointed :) If you are wanting to get the very most out of your CPU overclocking wise then go for the NFS, if not then go for which ever you can get for the cheapest.
Oh and welcome to the forums :D
One question though ... Why the NF7S and not the AN7, the replacement for the NF7 :S
The AN7 is basically an NF7-S with a new 'guru' chip on, that allows you to control the BIOS fromm windows or something. basically a bit gimicky.
Also it doesnt seem to perform as well as the NF7-S...
I would go for the Abit out of the two, i have it and its a good board, wouldnt be able to comment on the Asus though
Will
Why not the AN7, well because I have read many reviews on it and it doesnt perform as well in other area's as it should. Plus I am not an Overclocking person anyway so none of those features matter to me..
I use an NF7-S v1, and have had no issues with it whatsoever. Reliable, solid, excellent sound (better than the SBLive 5.1 I was using and less of a performance hit).
abit might be good, but its a bugdet mobo.
this soltek mobo reviewed in issue 4 of custom pc (£124), is reated (really) high they OC a 2500+ to 3200+.
and both abit NF7 and asus a7n8x were in the review.
You can get a XP2500+ to 2400Mhz and higher, that's way above 3200+ speeds, in the Asus and the Abit.Quote:
Originally Posted by serlex
I think that I will take an ASUS or ABIT over a Soltek any day especially at £124 when an NF7-S is about £70 ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by serlex
Asking people's opinons on the Asus and Abit boards are a bit like asking, "9800 Pro or 5900 Ultra?". You'll get very similar responses coz they're both very good cards (mobo's I'm talking about now), both reasonably priced and can both overclock well. They both have a very good feature list and futurability.
Saying that though, I have no experience with either of these boards but would chose the Abit due to the fact that many people prefer it to the Asus. I would also chose the 9800 Pro over the 5900 Ultra due to the same reason.
I think that people's personal opinions (word of mouth) count for more than benchmark tests, reviews by paid people and magazine articles/adverts any day.
the a7n8x deluxe in my gf's rig is quite nice
and i don't like abit :P