A8N-E equivalent

[Dougal]

Which makes this statement "the A8n-E is SLi, you wanted direct comparison." incorrect.

I know that. Hence why I've deleted

[herulach]

The ASUS A8N-E is the only way to go if you're running a dual-core system in the future. It is one of the few S939 motherboards specifically designed for X2 support. Most others only support the X2 as an afterthought.

The A8N-E is the only single PCI-E nForce 4 board I'll use right now.

x2 Has been designed from the ground up to run on existing 939 boards, theres no need to design a board differently, although the bioses arent out yet theres nothing special asus have done to get x2 working, they maybe just have more programmers working on their bios.

[StormPC]

x2 Has been designed from the ground up to run on existing 939 boards, theres no need to design a board differently, although the bioses arent out yet theres nothing special asus have done to get x2 working, they maybe just have more programmers working on their bios.

That's sort of true but not really.

It is true that if you do not overclock just about any S939 should work with a BIOS update (although many motherboards still do not have proper X2 support). When overclocking a dual-core A64 however, it's a whole other ballgame.

The X2s need very good voltage regulation when overclocking. Also, the motherboard needs to be designed to deliver much more current to dual-cores than a single S939 CPU (which the A8N-E is).

Dual-core X2s are extremely powerful chips especially when overclocked. Powerful CPUs require more power.

[herulach]

The X2s need very good voltage regulation when overclocking. Also, the motherboard needs to be designed to deliver much more current to dual-cores than a single S939 CPU (which the A8N-E is).

As do all cpus, hence why manufacturers are moving toward more sophisticated power supply circuits, and the realisation by people that psus are worth spending the cash on

Dual-core X2s are extremely powerful chips especially when overclocked. Powerful CPUs require more power.

Again, i agree, but they dont require that much more power, the lower cache ones are 89W, the same as most A64s, and the big ones 110W, only 6W over the 'old' fxs which most good boards handle well.

[StormPC]

As do all cpus, hence why manufacturers are moving toward more sophisticated power supply circuits, and the realisation by people that psus are worth spending the cash on

Again, i agree, but they dont require that much more power, the lower cache ones are 89W, the same as most A64s, and the big ones 110W, only 6W over the 'old' fxs which most good boards handle well.

Like I said, you are talking stock numbers. When you overclock an X2 you are overclocking TWO (yes 2) Athlon 64s in one package. As long as you don't increase the voltage and you don't overclock much it's not a problem. X2s require a lot of voltage and awesome cooling to get decent overclocks though.

Just out of curiosity, how many X2s have you overclocked and how far? My guess based on your comments would be somewhere between zero and one.

[herulach]

Like I said, you are talking stock numbers. When you overclock an X2 you are overclocking TWO (yes 2) Athlon 64s in one package. As long as you don't increase the voltage and you don't overclock much it's not a problem. X2s require a lot of voltage and awesome cooling to get decent overclocks though.

Just out of curiosity, how many X2s have you overclocked and how far? My guess based on your comments would be somewhere between zero and one.

True enough, but like i said, from what ive read A8N isnt the be all and end all of X2 overclocking. Ive personally only got experience with one, in a lanparty NF4 Ultra D and after a bios flash it was dot on, got it up to about 265 IIRC

[k0nigen]

Oh now I see!

So, the Gigabyte motherboard is far better than the Asus one!

Thanks for the info guys!

[StormPC]

Oh now I see!

So, the Gigabyte motherboard is far better than the Asus one!

Thanks for the info guys!

Absolutely not, but why don't you buy one anyway and get back to us?

There's a reason why Gigabyte is more commonly referred to as Giga-shyte by many seasoned PC enthusiasts.

[Dougal]

There's a reason why Gigabyte is more commonly referred to as Giga-shyte by many seasoned PC enthusiasts.

Never had any problems with Gigabyte here.

Still have a dual PIII system running on a GB motherboard.

Asus on the other hand have been pissing me off for about two years.

[k0nigen]

Absolutely not, but why don't you buy one anyway and get back to us?

My above post was in my best sarcastic voice :¬I

There's a reason why Gigabyte is more commonly referred to as Giga-shyte by many seasoned PC enthusiasts.

What reason is that?
It would help this thread find its conclusion if you could specify exactly why not to go Gigabyte over Asus!

[Kagato]

I've always found nothing but stability with Gigabyte boards, though they've never exactly been known for their overclocking feats. I lost a lot of faith in Asus after my run-in with the A7N8X series. I had three boards which all died in the same manner - worked fine for weeks at a time without issue - turn on the next morning and they were dead a doornail. Replaced the BIOS, tried a new PSU, memory, reseat CPU, nothing. After 3 RMA's I gave up.