which motherboard

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computermaineack

New Member
I am in need of a new mobo, and I can't decide between which of these 6 to choose from:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...27:11340,727:10630,727:10689,740:7596&bop=And

I like the 2 gigabytes that have 8 SATA connectors. However, to keep my options open, I want to have more than one PCI-Ex16 slot.

I also like that the 2nd Asus has built in wifi, and I also like that the eVGAs have 2 full-speed PCI-Ex16 ports.

I really can't decide...specs for the comp are:
2gb (1gbx2) Corsair Ram
8800GTS
Q6600
 
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PC eye

banned
Do you use pci devices? The Asus models see 3 pci slots according to the information seen there for the 6 sata port SLI models seen. One thing found when going to choose a make and model board for the new build here was verification of specifications right at Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, DFI, and Abit for boards looked over at newegg. On a few there were some errors found.

The problem seen here with the Asus model selected sounded familiar with the AM2 board to the 3 bad Asus boards a friend saw last year on a 939 model. Lately Asus has seen some bad boards get out. The board here is the second for this build that saw the first quit after 3 days of use.

So far the replacement is on the second full day and seems to be running well. Last year a friend received 3 doa boards in a row on one model and was advised to choose a different one or a different make. Asus does offer it's onw A.I. overclocking feature seen on most newer models. When you decide look over the specifications seen on that model's online user manual found at that manufacturer's support site to verify information on it before ordering.
 
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computermaineack

New Member
In this computer I have two PCI cards- my TV tuner and my wifi card. Obviously, with the Asus I wouldn't need the wifi card, however I may rethink buying an Asus board now because of all the dead boards they seem to be shipping...
I think the eVGAs are the likely choice...
 
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PC eye

banned
Well that was seen with only one model last year by a totally different vendor to start with. But this type of problem isn't limited to only one make. At the time that was the A8N SLI Premium while the 939 in the old build here is the A8N SLI model that has seen great results. The Asus model he then chose as the alternative is still running strong now.

It was simply a surprise here seeing a board quit in 3 days while seeming to be running good. Bad caps on the board seem to be the cause for that. Otherwise the people have been staying with Asus for years. The one thing you have to look at there however is the features you want to see as you look through the various makes and models like those seen listed there.

You were first favoring the Gigabyte models for 8 sata ports and are now looking ath EVGA models for having 3 pci slots. Remember to look at the user manual for a board to verify things. I ran into a few goofs on info lately. That was when comparing 2 to 1 ide channel models and offering more then 2 pci slots on different models then. The AMD model by Asus selected for use here(M2N-E) does have 3 pci slots and 6 sata ports on the single ide channel board selected. I then ordered the optical drives needed according to seeing one ide hard drive with a cd writer slaved to that and the 18x sata type dvd burner. You build around the board you choose.
 
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computermaineack

New Member
looking ath EVGA models for having 3 pci slots
Click to expand...

It's because of the 2 full speed PCI-Ex16 slots.

I looked at the Asus with Wifi, and the lowest rating it has is 3 eggs, so I'm reconsidering my decision to rethink buying an Asus... :rolleyes:

If it were you, based on quality and features, which one would you choose?
 
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PC eye

banned
The Asus line here would be for an AMD model not Intel. I have been going through Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, DFI, and Abit models when looking for certain things for the new build here. But this isn't for a strictly gaming build. Besides having a few of the more popular like HL2, Prey, Fear, and even older ones like Soldier of Fortune I+II, and Return to CastleWolfenstein running on both XP and Vista I often work with video capturing and editing plus multimedia thrown into the mix making this more of a work horse type build.

The new build here consists of the following;
board: Asus M2N-e
cpu: AMD AM2 6000+ X2
memory: 2gb Kingston DDR2 800 Hyper X
video: MSI Radeon HD 2600XT 512mb
sound: currently and tempory? Creative Xreme Audio
storage: 250gb WD ide(Vista) 2 WD 500gb sata(XP Home on 1st - 2nd storage/backup)
case: Antec Nine Hundred
cooling: Zalman CNPS 9700
tuner card: AVerMedia MCE 1500 Ultra TV also Cyberlink PowerProducer, PowerDirector, PowerDVD 6.0 in use

I guess that means another Asus board for this build. For an AMD quad core model later?
 
ThatGuy16

ThatGuy16

VIP Member
IF you get a SLI board, AMD: 590sli. Intel: 680sli. Because both models will allow both pcie slots to run at x16. But if intel i wouldn't settle for less than a board with the nforce 680.
 
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PC eye

banned
It's still going to be upto you for the final decision since it's you own build this will be going into.
 
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PC eye

banned
When going with the new build here I went for the board with 6 sata ports and one ide channel over 2 ide and only 4 sata ports. It took a 700w model supply just to see 6 sata power connectors! You were anxious on the Gigabyte models that see 8 there. You would probably end up using a sata to ide power adapter to run that many.

I haven't heard any bad stories on EVGA boards so far. Hopefully you won't get one with bad caps like the Asus model I have here saw. One article seen a few years covered far more then one brand being effected. So you are down to selection by features which more or less what you wanted.
 
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computermaineack

New Member
I originally wanted the 8 SATA connectors because I have quite a large number of harddrives, 4, to be exact, plus my DVD burner. Whenver I buy a new drive (because I run out of space on the others) I don't like to pull out a drive because that means I need to transfer the data to another harddrive, thus making the purchase of a new hdd slightly redundant. But I think 6 will be fine for now... :p
 
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PC eye

banned
Here I filled a 500gb WD sata model fast from video capturing and obviously am running more then one version of Windows with Vista on the one remaining ide in the new build. Eventually I will simply add one or more larger 750gb satas to cover the storage and backups needs here instead of adding the same size drive over and over.
 
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computermaineack

New Member
I don't just add the same size drive, that's why I said it's slightly redundant. It just seems...inefficient...to be moving 500gb of data onto a new 750gb drive and having only an additional 250gb of space, rather than just adding a new drive and having 750gb of space to fill up.
 
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PC eye

banned
The idea here is not just moving the 500gb but adding that 250gb less partitioning as a 500gb actually see 465gb along with a second 750gb model. That frees up the second 500gb for Vienna? Linux or some other combination. If left un OSed it serves as a backup drive for Vista while the video captures and other things are done on XP. No new Vista ready tv tuner card by the same company or software patch from them for the current one. :rolleyes:

The other option in mind would simply be moving Vista to the second sata and running a few distros on the ide drive. That would be later when a Vista ready card and another larger sata model are added in.
 
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computermaineack

New Member
Well, I got my motherboard today, and whilst reading over the features table on the back, I saw this: "Quad Core Support: (check) Quad Core Overclocking: blank". My facial expression was something like this: :eek:

I contacted Newegg and they said that since the mobo is still unopened and in the plastic, they will let me return it for a refund and waive the restocking fee.

So I'm back in the market for a mobo. I've gone through 680i motherboards and here are what I narrowed it down to:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...9456,2968:22574,2968:19453,2968:22403&bop=And


My main questions are: what is the difference between the 680i LT SLI chipset and the 680i SLI chipset? Will I see a noticeable difference in OC'ing between the chipsets? My CPU will be a Core 2 Quad Q6600. I hear the NF68-A1 is good for OC'ing a quad core, but is it worth the extra $40?

Thanks alot for the help.
 
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PC eye

banned
The one thing I like about Asus boards is their own ocing feature found in the bios and the cpu recovery proceedure if you crank the settings(multiplier, voltage) and the system stalls. You simply shut everything down if you go too far and the factory defaults are seen on the next startup. There's no more need to remove the battery in order to clear the cmos.

As far as ocing between the different models you would have to ask someone who runs and ocs primarily Intel boards. You're talking to an AMD fan who favors NVidia chipsets. The make of the board as well as model and features, abilities will vary for obvious reasons. But it also depends on the hardwares involved like cpu. video card, and memory.
 
mep916

mep916

Administrator
Staff member
computermaineack said:
Well, I got my motherboard today, and whilst reading over the features table on the back, I saw this: "Quad Core Support: (check) Quad Core Overclocking: blank". My facial expression was something like this: :eek:
Click to expand...

That's hilarious! Not your situation - that sucks. The smile you used to describe your frustrations!

I contacted Newegg and they said that since the mobo is still unopened and in the plastic, they will let me return it for a refund and waive the restocking fee.
Click to expand...

Right on!

computermaineack said:
I hear the NF68-A1 is good for OC'ing a quad core, but is it worth the extra $40?
Click to expand...

Okay, I own this identical board. Besides the nTune software, which doesn't work, I love it. The software problems may be due to Vista - people that use it on XP say it works.

Anyway, I have had mixed results with OC'ing the Q6600. The stepping of the CPU, either B3 or G0 is suppose to make a difference - G0 being the better stepping. I have the B3 stepping. Using Prime95, I couldn't go beyond 3.2 GHz (BSoD after 20 minutes). Granted, I'm new to overclocking, and probably don't know WTF I'm doing! :( Other troubleshooting issues have led me to restoring the clock speeds of the CPU and memory until I find out what's going on. This is probably just inexperience on my part. I bought this board because of it's excellent reputation. I'm sure it will work well for you.

The onboard LED is cool too. Over 100 troubleshooting codes! Hopefully, you won't see any. :D
 
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PC eye

banned
Well that's one food for thought there on this. With ocing on any system the key ingredient is taking one step at a time to see what works best seeing a stable running system when you are through. Sometimes you back off with the cpu multiplier to bring the memory clock up(fsb in some sense) or lower that to raise the cpu multiplier. Gain a little experience there before tampering with voltages to avoid... :eek::eek::eek: !!! ???
 
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