Help choosing motherboard and ram

[spiral out]

Ok i posted this in the wrong forum earlier.

I am having real trouble deciding which motherboard and ram to get, i want to overclock. I am stuck between the Abit an8 ultra and the asus a8n-e, i really don't need SLI. Which do you guy's think is the better of the two and also what ram would you suggest for overclocking?

[BUFF]

I like my AN8 Ultra
OCZ PC3200 rev 2

[sawyen]

Abit AN8 ULTRA... definitely..

OCZ PC3200 rev 2 or Corsair XMS 3200 XLPT

Crucial Ballistix runs micron chips.. they're as good if not better than TCCDs.. mine tops around 270MHz on really loose timings

[ajones]

If you're talking overclocking, then you may want to consider the DFI mobos. Check out www.dfi-street.com for info on recomended configs.

[spiral out]

Thanks guys, for the replys, just a couple of more questions, if you don't mind.

Is the abit board stable and how is it for overclocking as i am new to this and i have read that it is a bit tricky. the most i have done is turn a 2500xp into a 3200xp on a abit nf7 board.

Also regarding the dfi board i could be interested in this but when i contacted kustompcs to ask if my psu could handle the board they said they we're going to stop selling them and hinted towards reliabillity as the reason why. Is there a big problem with reliabillity with these boards?

[sawyen]

DFI boards are prefectly capable boards.. they're just abit.. well.. mood driven at times. If you treat it with enuf lov and respect (not literally.. technically just means correct settings), it'll deliver..

Abit AN8s are all rounders.. they perform stellar at stock speeds.. while not as overclockable as the DFIs, they are also high HTT flyers. I can vouch that ABIT pushes everything on their boards to its limits.. even the capacitors and MOFETS are of stellar quality..

I am using an AV8 while I tweaked me m8s AN8 Fatality.. AN8 will work fine at 300HTT, as long as your CPU permits.. they also have a pretty high envelope for raw clockspeed overclock.

[BUFF]

I think that you will find that Kustom are stopping DFI for the same reason that Scan did ....

[spiral out]

what was the reason?

[ajones]

Could it be that Scan sell pretty much only Corsair RAM, and DFI boards don't like Corsair memory? (NOTE : They will work with Corsair RAM, but more often than not, you need to tweak the timings and voltage. When I tried TwinX XMS LL, they did not work with stock settings).

If you go down the DFI route, expect to have to match the board up with appropriate memory and PSU. This isn't as restrictive as it sounds, just means you have to shop around. Best place to check out requirements is DFI Street. There's oodles of information there, including recomendations for which PSU to buy, what memory works, settings, timings, mods etc and more BIOSs than you can shake a large stick at!

[BUFF]

Could it be that Scan sell pretty much only Corsair RAM, and DFI boards don't like Corsair memory?

Nope, that's not the reason.
http://forums.hexus.net/showthread.p...light=dfi+scan

ABIT nF4s don't seem particularly keen on Corsair either - they'll run but need tweaked.

[spiral out]

Ok i think i have decided on this setup, as i would definetly need to buy a new power supply to run the dfi board. I have a nexus 4090 at the moment and i would really like to keep it to keep the costs down. Or do you feel this PSU will not be enough for the abit board either?


Abit an8 ultra
AMD 3000 venice
XFX 6600gt
Antec super lanboy case
1 GB OCZ PC3200 rev 2 hopefully if i can stretch to it
New sata II samsung 250GB hard drive

[BUFF]

Or do you feel this PSU will not be enough for the abit board either?

Simple answer is I don't know because I haven't seen anyone running the combo ...

At least with a 6600 you are keeping the power requirement down.

[spiral out]

Ok 1 more question, after looking at my budget i have been looking around for some cheaper RAM and just wondered what your opions are?

http://www.tekheads.co.uk/s/product?product=604995

http://www.microdirect.co.uk/Product...186&GroupID=57


If they really are no good i will hold off a little bit and save up for OCZ PC3200 rev 2

[spiral out]

Ok i have decided on the crucial ballistix ram as it fit's into my budget nicely.

http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/part...BL2KIT6464Z402

Should i get this or go with the pc4000 RAM?

[Karl|Neo]

It doesnt really matter, the PC3200 is just the PC4000 with tighter timings, it just depends on what your going to be using it for more, and peace of mind (Ie. High FSB's - PC4000 just for the rock solid guarantee that it will work).

Karl