DFI LanParty NFII Ultra B

[DR]

4 port SATA, lots of USB2.0 and FireWire, Gigabit Ethernet, the FrontX and Transpo hardware, class topping Socket A performance, excellent audio, attractive looks. I'm struggling to think what else the board could do right. The layout has a couple of quirks, I ran into a BIOS issue or two, but on the whole I'm supremely impressed.

http://www.hexus.net/content/reviews...lld19JRD02NjA=

[Russ]

slightly dodgy layout in my opinion. however the 4 sata raid option is a vast improvement, not too sure about the bright colours however, bit too lairy for my liking. however i do like the blue/black colour of the board. and no fan on the heat nb is another bonus.

[undergroove]

The loss of a second rounded IDE cable would be no great loss to me from the Rev A version I've got.

Personally, I've found that if I use a second rounded IDE cable to connect my DVD-ROM & DVD-RW, the way they're installed in the case (Coolermaster ATCS-201) restricts airflow to the tope exhaust fan.

Instead I've just used a normal 80 pin cable, which I'm able to route between the offside of the case and then to the motherboard - completely avoiding any airflow snarl-ups!!

[wilsonian]

the problem i'm fancing is shall i continue to purchase 32bit CPU's or wait for the 64 bit CPU's & M/B to drop in price. i've been looking at the DFI range alot as my AT7 MAX 2 is starting to show it's age. arghhh what to do! lol

we had a DFI p4 mobo at a local lan party - very nice, u get loads of extras but the question is do u go out and buy a NF7 (£60) some UV paint and go crazy or do buy every thing in one - the DFI range.......

[Russ]

nf-7 or the extra pence for the an(i think)-7 with the guru chip(just to be different) and a bit of uv paint.

[undergroove]

Had thought about that.... but after the "dead caps" fiasco with my KA7 and a few other ABit boards I decided on the Lanparty.

Pity though, as the AN7 looks like it's hit the sweet spot.... or rather it would if it had a co-ax digital output instead of optical.

[LAUGH]

After trodding through all the MSI, Gigabyte, Asus, Abit, Epox, etc., etc., blah blah blah I stumbled upon this little baby & loved the review along with the Hexus site....finally the Holy Grail....err maybe - the mobo that is I mean, Hexus is great...

This mobo is cool and has all the bits & more than the competition from what I can see (brain dead from spec'ing & comparing - many thanks to Hexus for bringing my search to an end)....I kinda like the looks of it too, but won't be seen much as I'll be admiring my new WaveMaster 'firey red' (another great Hexus review choice instead knowing it has the kit under the hood ....I know about the 64-thingy but lets face it, alot of £ for driving a Ferrari @ 55mph @ the moment...

Enough blah & praise for now, though merited. What I'm trying to clarify on this mobo after d'loading their I/OM & using Kingston's MemCheck (non version-B I might add), is if this board can make use of a PC3200(DDR400) 1Mb Kit (x2 512) for the Duel Channel mode of course in slots 1 & 3 (DDR1/2 = channel-one & DDR3 = channel 2)?

I ask this because it appears that a 512 Kit (x2 256) is the max for DDR400 on this mobo though not clear in DFI's I/OM (if yes is this normal in comparison to others?), see Kingston for reference: -



I noticed the x2 256 DDR400 was the same config used in the review...

It will primarily be used for Gaming/Office so suggestions on the best config with the Duel Channel appreciated. I'm looking at the Kingston HyperX as the Corsair XMS seems to have alot of compatibilty issues also mentioned in their forums & in another Hexus review...

Thanks Hexus for your help...

[yashiro]

Was the 'no USB KB in bios issue' resolved? or can someone confirm you *can* use a usb kb in the bios.

Thanks, nice review Ryszard.

[Rys]

I'm pretty sure it was just sample specific. All shipping LanParty 'B' boards should have USB controller init a lot earlier in the boot process.

I'll try and confirm.

Rys

[yashiro]

Any joy?

[pjamestx]

I was planning on using this board with my Asetek kit, until I read this review and saw that there was a problem mounting the block. Is there any possible way you mount the Asetek block on this board, perhaps if you didn't use a washer/nut on the top of that hole, but only used one on the backside instead? It's going to break my heart if I have to go with another board...

[Rys]

The USB keyboard issue is sample specific, I just had a funny BIOS.

As for using the motherboard with an Asetek Waterchill, the issue is with the surface mount component near the top left hole being completely on the edge of hole. There's no space around it for the bolt to rest on. Some rubber washers around the hole MIGHT help, but I'd be wary of crushing it with the bolt eventually. Plus you'd need to do the same on all four corners, to balance it out.

I wouldn't like to use WaterChill and the DFI to be honest.

Rys

[Rys]

Here's what I mean. The red line is the gap between the hole edge and the SMT component. It's just too close, the bolt rests on top of it. The other side of the hole has just enough room.



Rys

[yashiro]

Cheers Rys, thanks for taking the time to find out.

[frenzy]

Suppose the newish SLK-900u heatsink is out of the question then?......do you reckon any of the SLK's would fit on as there don't look to be much space around the socket?

Really like this board and will probably get it anyway, just concerned with the lack of space around the socket restricting my choice of heatsink

[KLoNe]

Damn, I was hoping to get this board to plonk my new Thermalright SP-97 onto .

Anyone have any chance to see if this would work,.. is is the problem that the bolts are going to be too big and hit that thing?