Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.asus (
More info?)
Wow... very impressive response... thanks! I do often use pricewatch .. and
Newegg is my preferred place of purchase - but the specific links cited are
quite helpful! I had forgotten about the video data path width issue - it
has been quite a while since I read about that - thanks!
Much food for thought, that is for certain. The word on the VM/400 board
convinced me... I can do without that! I will "simply" have to compare the
other various boards to see what foots the bill.
Thanks!
--
KWW
"Paul" <nospam@needed.com> wrote in message
news:nospam-0605040141020001@192.168.1.177...
> In article <fXfmc.30462$_41.2327615@attbi_s02>, "KWW"
> <kwalker@nospamaircooled.net> wrote:
>
> > Thanks. They have so many variations, and, while I could delve into the
> > details of the chipsets, etc... I have been way too busy of late to sift
> > through the nuances and pick the best one...
> >
> > One other thing, I was looking at the A7N8X-VM/400 and comparing it with
the
> > A7N8X-X. Granted, I was tired, but, aside from the video on the "VM",
they
> > appeared to be comparable. I was wondering if it would be a bad idea to
be
> > cheap until late in the summer and (maybe) trying the VM, then updating
the
> > video card before school in the fall.... unless there are other aspects
of
> > the Nvida chipset in the "VM" boards that is inferior...
> > Thoughts?
>
> The -VM boards don't have a lot of adjustments, so if there is
> a problem with something, you cannot adjust anything to try to
> fix it. Now, one problem right now with the -VM/400, is built-in
> video corruption when a user puts PC3200 memory in it. The BIOS
> on the -VM only understands how to set the memory according to
> the SPD chip on the DIMM, so you cannot convince the BIOS to
> use a DDR333 setting rather than DDR400. There are two solutions
> to this - one is to buy PC2700 memory, where the SPD is programmed
> with a top speed of DDR333, and the second is to buy an AGP
> video card, to take the place of the built-in video. To me,
> this negates the built-in video on this board, if it cannot
> be trusted under all conditions you are likely to encounter.
> I like to buy a board, where there is a reasonable chance that
> the components can be reused, and PC3200 memory is worth more
> to me than PC2700 would be.
>
> (You could buy the -VM, do your build, if video is a problem,
> buy the FX5200. Only if the price difference is important, and
> you have time to experiment.)
>
> Here are some links to various things you should investigate:
>
> ******
> This link will list the CPU types supported by a given model.
>
>
http://www.asus.it/support/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx
>
> There are many processor listings on the web, but I like
> this one for the colorful table. This will give you some
> ideas as to what you can buy. It lists FSB speed, and for
> best performance in this case, FSB and memory should be
> run at the same speed (FSB333 and DDR333, FSB400 and DDR400).
>
>
http://www.qdi.nl/support/CPUQDISocketA.htm
>
> Always download the manual from the download page. Read
> through the section with the BIOS screens depicted. This
> will show you what parts of the computer can be adjusted,
> like AGP speed, Vcore, Vagp, Vdimm voltages, and so on.
> Compare the virtually unadjustable -VM to the other boards.
> (I like to look at "Advanced Chipset Features", used to
> adjust CPU clock and memory timings.)
>
>
http://www.asus.it/support/download/download.aspx
>
http://www.asus.it/support/download/item.aspx?ModelName=A7N8X-X&Type=All
>
http://www.asuscom.de/pub/ASUS/mb/socka/nforce2/a7n8x-x/e1461_a7n8x-x.pdf
>
> You should also inspect all the product web pages, for any hints
> at limitations of the product. The DDR400 memory table in the
> last link is sadly out of date, because Winbond BH-5 memory is
> no longer being manufactured. Better to check Google or a
> private forum, with your prospective memory choice, to see
> if there will be problems.
>
>
http://usa.asus.com/products/mb/mbindex.htm (main listing)
>
http://usa.asus.com/products/mb/socketa/a7n8x-x/overview.htm
>
http://usa.asus.com/prog/spec.asp?m=A7N8X-X&langs=09
> ******
>
> The motherboard has built-in sound, and you may want to test
> it, to see if it is noise free enough for listening to music.
> If you get noise, try disconnecting the analog CDROM cable,
> and select digital audio extraction to get sound from the CD.
> A cheap sound card sometimes has more options than a low
> end AC-97 motherboard solution (like bass and treble controls).
>
> For video cards, an Nvidia FX5200 or an ATI 9000 can give
> good non-game performance, and in some cases, are fanless
> for less noise. You can enter a price range on this
> page, and see what "pops up"
>
>
http://www.newegg.com/app/manufactory.asp?catalog=48&DEPA=0
>
> or go to this page:
>
>
http://www.pricewatch.com/menus/m37.htm
>
> To help keep the model numbers straight, look at this
> article, and pick one of the many color charts, to see
> how the model numbering scheme is a poor indicator of
> performance. To further complicate matters, video cards
> can have the memory arranged as a 64 bit wide array or
> a 128 bit wide array, and it can be hard to tell whether
> you are getting a "bargain" or not. (I.e. Two cards
> can have the same base model number, but they may not
> have the same arrangement for the memory.) Judging by
> the Newegg page, there is a tremendous price spread
> for cards with the same "model number".
>
>
http://www6.tomshardware.com/graphic/20031229/index.html
>
> On the Newegg web pages, there is generally a "Review" link
> on the page of a product, and sometimes these reviews warn
> of video cards that fail early in their lives. If the card
> you find on Pricewatch happens to be sold on a Newegg page,
> have a look through the reviews, to see if any users have
> had problems.
>
> Have fun,
> Paul