Straight Up Answer on Best MOBO

[Tyvy]

Ok, I have been reading alot on the nforce2 boards and people are saying MSI, Chaintek, Asus etc. I am looking for the best. Straight up best overall board. I am thinking about an Anthalon XP XX cpu.

Thanks for your suggestions

 

[TKH]

IF you want SPP+MCP-T mobo: Asus A7N8X Deluxe, Abit NF7-S, Epox 8RDA+
IF you want IGP+MCP-T mobo: MSI K7N2G-ILSR, Epox 8RGA+
IF you want SPP+MCP mobo: MSI K7N2-L, Asus A7N8X
... wait I'm not aware if there are any IGP+MCP mobo though...

You never know how stupid you are until you have done something stupid enough for you to realize it.
<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=22996" target="_new">My System Rig</A>

 

[NEUTRALITY]

My opinion would be the abit nf7-s v2.0. The Asus a7n8x deluxe is the best motherboard package. (emphasis on package) I like what comes with revision 2.0, though and I don't know if asus is keeping up with these revisions or not. Only thing I don't like about nf7 is no dual bios but this new revision is supposed to take care of any corruption issues. Plus the abit unlocks the multiplier if you want to OC. And it only cost me $115 from gameve.com

____________

<font color=red><i>"Do you see how my mind works??? IT IS LIKE A LASER!!!"</i></font color=red>

 

[Tyvy]

Whats is:
SPP+MCP-T mobo:
IGP+MCP-T mobo:
SPP+MCP mobo:

 

[Prof133]

* The ones with IGP have integrated graphics.

* The ones with MCP-T have more features than MCP boards. Most important feature advantage there is the nVidia APU (great audio!). Though, the Chaintech Zenith nforce2 board has MCP-T but the nVidia APU is disabled.

* Further, you may see an nforce2 motherboard advertised as having MCP2 or MCP2-T. The '2' is *sometimes* used in order distinguish it from nforce1. In other words, MCP2 = MCP for nForce2. And MCP2-T = MCP-T for nForce2. In some advertisements you may see an nforce2 mobo as having MCP and others may have it listed as having MCP2. But, don't be confused. MCP and MCP2 can be used interchangably when talking soley about nforce2.

* If I were building a high-end Athlon XP system today, I would start with Abit NF7-S Revision 2.0.

 

[Maverick494]

AFTER A LOT of research and reading reviews and such I changed my mind three times. The ASUS A7N8X has a lot of features and only has moderate amount of overclocking options. The EPOX 8RDA+ has huge amount of overclocking options and goodies, but lacks a "soundstorm" certification from nvidia (due to the lack of an included SPDIF out) and no S-ATA (for future use for me). The ABIT NF7-S has The amount of features right in between the ASUS and the EPOX. It has S-ATA, and is "soundstorm" certified. It has not quite as much overclocking options as the EPOX, but it is really close. So for me I chose the ABIT NF7-S. It is 125.00 from newegg.com and looks like I will be the happiest all around with it.


So to sum that up I reccomend the ABIT NF7-S. (God I am long winded sometimes).

Just a computer junky

 

[Prof133]

* Ever since revision 1.2, Abit NF7-S has been at/near the top among the top overclocking nforce2 boards. The best overclocker I know, <b>OPPAINTER</b>, has an NF7 series board.

* <b>Maverick</b>, which version of NF7-S did you get from newEgg?

 

[shadus]

Bad question to ask, it's an opinion answer.

On the other hand I'd probally say the Abit or Asus board.

Gigabyte and MSI aren't bad either, but generally I like abit/asus better for personal consumption.

Shadus

 

[Teq]

Methinks you'll get a lot closer to an answer by scoring problems...

Build a list of all the boards that interest you. Do forum and web searches for them and begin counting messages were everyone's bitching about them. The lowest score will likely be the best board.


--->It ain't better if it don't work<---

 

[TKH]

"SoundStorm Certified" is a stupid paper certification came out by nVidia "marketing monkeys". You don't need this certification to enjoy the same audio quality. 8RDA+ didn't get certified because it don't have discrete Rear_out and Center/Sub_out channel and a Coaxial/Optical_out (ok this may be a problem if you want to fully enjoy the realtime Dolby Digital 5.1ch via digital connection), other than this everything is the same as NF7-S (audio wise). A7N8X Deluxe didn't get certified is even more stupid, it meets ALL the hardware/software requirements for certification but nVidia just simply phase it out by "unkown reason" (it just something like I just don't want you get certified, what can you do to me?). So, if you are going to o/c: Asus is good, Abit is better, Epox is the best; if you ain't going to o/c anything: Abit is good, Asus is better, MSI is the best.

You never know how stupid you are until you have done something stupid enough for you to realize it.
<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=22996" target="_new">My System Rig</A>

 

[TKH]

The lowest score will likely be the best board

Just a second thought about this. What if that mobo is soooo carppy that nobody even bought it, so basically no one would complain aboutthis crapy mobo as no one own it?
But this would be a good way to survey all those big brand name. Asus seems to get more complaint (most memeory related), and more people will say Asus is bad because Asus is highly rated so poeple will tend to critisize if any single mistake was made. But sometimes it's true that for a big company like Asus the QA/QC should give us a better confidence.

You never know how stupid you are until you have done something stupid enough for you to realize it.
<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=22996" target="_new">My System Rig</A>

 

[FAIRESTOFTHEMALL]

Hey Ty, we're in the same boat! I'm gonna go with the A7NX8 DX b/c:

Of all the nforce2 mobos available/reviewed, the Asus is almost always gets the top performance ratings. Plus lot's of onboard goodies n room to grow, but you knew that. One thing I haven't heard mentioned much though is the integrated fan controller, which is a real bonus if silent running is a priority (is for me). Of course, you could always buy a seperate fan controller later if you end up goin with another board, but if that's the case consider the extra cash you'll hafta spend for what's included with the Asus. With regard to overclockin, I'm thinkin from what you've said so far, that, like me, you're not into it (yet). Personally I'll prolly end up tryin it out at some point, and the overclocking reviews I've read on it lead me to believe I won't be wanting for anything; it actually seems to me a better board for a noob o/c'er. Most important thing though, $.$ The Asuses (Asi?) consistantly retail on the high end of the nforce2 boards, but it's so popular you can snag one for way less if you shop around- I've been lurkin on ebay a while and there's a constant supply of em there with around 10 listed at any given time.

So that's my 2 cents, but for the record I gotta admit I'm new at this. Anyway, lemme know what you decide on and how it turns out. And BTW TKH, you've got an Asus DX now right? Speak of issues if you've had em please.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by fairestofthemall on 04/27/03 06:06 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[TKH]

Yep, I do own a A7N8X Deluxe and I'm very happy about this. I've been running an AMD AthlonXP 2600+, Kingston PC2700 x2 256MB sticks, and 3D Prophet 9700 Pro on this baby for about 3 months (nothing overclocked, I just not into this kind of thing) and no single issue arise. But it's true that dual channel DDR do get some poeple a headache because the compatibility issues are often be seen, not for me anyway.

You never know how stupid you are until you have done something stupid enough for you to realize it.
<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=22996" target="_new">My System Rig</A>

 

[mikapc]

I heard actually that epox has an addon board spdif board you can purchase that provides all the digital sound stuff

 

[TKH]

Yes, even Asus has that but it's not on board so you have to pay extra for it (duh!). But if you get this add on card for 8RDA+ you'll enjoy everything SoundStorm offer. Who need a stupid paper certification anyway?

You never know how stupid you are until you have done something stupid enough for you to realize it.
<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=22996" target="_new">My System Rig</A>

 

[FAIRESTOFTHEMALL]

Any idea what that card costs? I'm thinkin maybe since the epox boards are cheaper to begin with it might still be an option for me (I don't really care about SATA). Most impoertant though, is their support/warranty rated well? *sigh* I still like the premises of the Asus DX though, b/c it seems to have more dummy-proofing, and since this is my first ground-up sys I *really* need that. ;p

 

[TKH]

I have no idea about the price of that add on board. You should be able to get this info by emailing or calling the Epox customer service, as well as where to get one. Epox has good reputation on their warranty and product reliability, I have build 3 systems using Epox mobo. I'm currently using a Epox CU133+ PIII mobo in my old PC for more than 2 and a half years; a 8KTA3L+ for my previous PC (sold) and 8KHA for my girlfriend, and none of them have any problem. Epox is a good brand, but Asus A7N8X Deluxe gives you almost everything you need except an IDE RAID.

You never know how stupid you are until you have done something stupid enough for you to realize it.
<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=22996" target="_new">My System Rig</A>