asus a8n sli deluxe?

[arnold873]

any one have or know anything about this board?
is it any good?
i heard it is a bit picky with ram and sli issues?

 

[tweebel]

Google it!

Have heard nothing bad about it.

 

[TAZ]

have one, nice board, nice layout for the most part. the pins for the casemount mic/headphone ports are awkward but that's only me being picky. the BIOS is easy to use. the board is probably the most futureproof on the market. it comes with some pretty decent system monitoring software as well as a whole world of extra peripheral interfaces (midi, serial, 2xSATA's & power for external SATA HD use, more USB's than you'll ever need..)

there are a lot of BIOS features in there that i'm not familiar with though so it's gonna be a while before i'll be able to say how easy she is to configure for any major overclocking and the manual doesn't go to any great lengths to explain anything, so unless you already have a fair idea, it's not a lot of use. i personally have a lot to learn before i'll be able to use all the functions in the BIOS to their full potential.

haven't encountered any SLI issues yet, but i'm only running one 6600GT so far. as for the RAM, there is a list of the approved makes and models on the ASUS website. i'm running 2x 1GB kingston valueram (model no: KVR400X64C3A/1G)and it's fine although there's a bit more latency than i'd like. i should probably advise spending a little bit more on the RAM (guilty as charged you honor, i skimped on it).

the full system is the A8N-SLI deluxe MOBO, XFX 6600GT, 2GB RAM, 160GB SATA HD (7200 & 8MB), 480W Antec Neopower PSU, Thermaltake V5000A case, 19" Viewsonic TFT. only problem i have is with the GPU which is at 52C at idle and up to 76C loaded. been on to XFX about it but to no avail so i've a new heatsink on the way. prob should just have waited for an ASUS or Sparkle 6600 but the lead time was too long and i got impatient. not to change the thread but if anyone *knows* the optimal operating range for this GPU i'd be grateful to hear cus i've been able to find nothing concrete.

 

[arnold873]

hey thanks taz for great response

so you can use the neopower for this MB?
i didn`t think this psu was a atx12v 2.03, i`m assuming your using a lot of lead converters?

and how much difference is there with memory at cl3 than cl2?


hear me now, believe me later, trust me in between

 

[arnold873]

o t

hear me now, believe me later, trust me in between

 

[tweebel]

Unless your a speedfreak or want to do a high overclock you can live with cas3. But you shouldn't buy CAS3 if it's only a bit cheaper than cas2.

 

[arnold873]

so why is everyone telling me to buy the fastest memory?
i`m interested in games
and i though 2 gigs of slower memory was better than 1 gig of faster mem

hear me now, believe me later, trust me in between

 

[tweebel]

Right now I know of no game which needs 2 gigs of RAM. People are correct to advice to buy 1 gig of CAS2 ram instead of 2 gigs of CAS3, the CAS2 will probably be faster in games.

 

[arnold873]

really no game uses more than 1gb?
you don`t think future games will?
how much faster is cas2 than cas 3?
and what do all those other numbers mean,
2 2 2 6 ? should i go for all low numbers?

hear me now, believe me later, trust me in between

 

[tweebel]

I believe the performance benefit of 2 instead of 3 can be up to 10%. Now that seems to be a lot but you or I won't tell the difference between 60 or 66 fps. However, it can also be the difference between still playable or not playable.
The first three numbers should be low, if you want a detailed explanation you should check the memory forum.
Future games will of course use more than 1 gig, right now I believe even Half Life 2 or Farcry don't need it all.

This is the best answer I can give you, I don't really know that much about memory.

 

[TAZ]

sorry for slow response, only just noticed the question.

using the neopower, there are absolutly no lead converters needed. it has the whole "advanced cable management" thing going on which means that instead of one moster loom, it supplies you with 4 sockets and a selections of looms.
to be precise:
(attached)
-1x 24 pin main con
-1x 4pin 12v con
-1x fan signal con
(attachable)
-3x standard 3point 4pin molex power con lines
-2x SATA 2 point power lead
-1x 24-2-20pin power adaptor
-1x molex-2-floppy adaptor
-4x additional SATA power con
-1x fan-only regulated power supply cable (2 fans)

you just choose the ones you need and put the rest in storage. it's an excellent system, cuts down on stray wiring and overall bulk.

as for the ram, i'm using 2x 1gb kingston PC3200 CL2.5 and the nvidia benchmark tells me that it's a wee bit slow. son't know if that helps at all, it's just my test results.

________________________________________________________
know your limits, and never stop trying to exceed them!

 

[arnold873]

is that between cl3 2 GB`s
and cl2 1 GB ???


hear me now, believe me later, trust me in between
i`m a cop you idiot
i`ll be back

 

[arnold873]

thats good to know i thought i was
limited in psu`s i could get
one thing though does this psu have the pci express power connectors? i think 6 pin

hear me now, believe me later, trust me in between
i`m a cop you idiot
i`ll be back

 

[tweebel]

Sorry, didn't specify, no, both the same amount of RAM.

 

[TAZ]

the PSU does come with PCIe connectors yeah (don't know how i missed mentioning that) and they are 6 pin yes(3 black, 3 yellow). however, you don't need them with the 6600gt, all you have to do is patch a standard molex to the board beside the PCI slot.


________________________________________________________
know your limits, and never stop trying to exceed them!

 

[arnold873]

sounds good
but i think the thermaltake 680 watt will work better with this MB

and i`m getting the feeling that cl2 and cl3 don`t make too much of a difference

hear me now, believe me later, trust me in between
i`m a cop you idiot
i`ll be back