HELP Choosing Motherboard!!!

shadow88

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I've really wanted to buy a new system that had been in my thoughts for a long time. Everyone says wait unless you need it/really really want it but heres my case:

What I'm planning to put in the system to avoid bottlenecks of the nice X2s is the following:

Budget: 2200-2400 CDN

Thermaltake Armor
Enermax Liberty 620W
AMD Athlon X2 4400+
OCZ 2gb titanium (only for the 3.0V warrenty :p)
Raptor-X 150gb or two 74gb raptors (raid 0) Which is best?
XFX 7800GT
Sound Card possibly::: Audigy 2 ZS (take the little pressure that onboard sound cards have but better than none)

Everyone wants to know first off what the user plans to do with the computer in order to judge components. For me, I'm a gamer, getting into web design, and pure multi-tasker. Programs I wish I could have open at all times w/out killing performance is Photoshop, CS:S, WMP/winamp, Firefox, MSN and office or misc programs. If anyone would like to comment/offer suggestions for my main components so far, let me know :p

As far as budget goes, I have quite a deal to spend since this desktop will also be used for university (WORD PROCESSOR!!! w00t! hahah) I always like to get a fairly expensive motherboard because down the road I rarely run into problems. For graphics in terms of money spent, I think the 7800gt is a good choice for me since I never need the latest and greatest but woud like to be up decently high in performance vs price. RAM is definitely 2GB. Went to a friends house and truely saw the difference between 1GB and 2GB, loading time, anything it does help.

For the motherboard, as you noticed none was up there, I'm stuck. I was looking at the Lanparty DR-SLI and just noticed that there is a Lanparty UT DR-SLI. I have no ider what the difference is :S

Down the road I would like to leave the option open to buy another 7800gt when the price comes to around $200. I'll buy another card and put them in SLI. Please don't suggest me getting ATI over SLI. I've never been a fan, I've had and come into contact with a lot of their cards and was just never happy, not to mention other friends experiences as well. I've encountered enough problems over and over again. Maybe just bad luck but, SLI it is. I'm stubborn... lol

So, with that said, i've decided SLI compatibility is a definite. Also, overclocking a huge possibility since I know places where I can get my hands on a mid range watercooling system to add to my Tt Armor Case. The cpu can be easily overclocked 400mhz w/ water cooling and the RAM can push up to 3Volts :p

Motherboard company posibilities, there is always Asus in my mind. In terms of motherboards, they have always been really solid and good with lots of life on em for me, yet I've only slightly overclocked an old board out of bordem :S I really don't know people experiences in terms of overclocking with their boards and how stable they remain when OC'd and would love to hear from people and their experiences offering advice.

My friend suggested I look at DFI and in particular the Lanparty DR-SLI and I recently noticed that there is a Lanparty UT DR-SLI. What difference is there?

Unfortunetly, I've had my bad expierence with MSI boards and expierenced horrible customer care so they are way out of the question.

With all this said, can anyone suggest a good motherboard for my needs? Maybe there is another really good solid motherboard maker that I don't even know about. Hit me with something :p I'd love to hear from anyone stating their opinion and if you can give me a reason for the choice.
 

purelithium

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I love my Epox 9npa+ Ultra But it's not SLI.

I know that the Lanparty UT DR-SLI is basically an updated version of the DR-SLI with the Nforce-4 Ultra Chipset, which brings SATA II and other minor improvements along. I would suggest you get the newer version, as newer versions are generally better than older ones. It's up to you.

You'll love your system. I actually wish I had 2 of mine so I could run windows and Linux at the same time... Vmware just isn't enough anymore haha.
 

dizman

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This is kind of erie cause it sounds like your practically building the system I just did, lol (Even the same PSU!)

You can check my sig below but the only differences are your getting X2 and I went with Opteron (run cooler and OC further (w/ the Zalman my Opty runs idle at 27C)) and different cases

From my research there is only two mobos you would want to look at here. The one I got DFI UT NF4 DR SLI Expert for thee best OC options or the Asus A8N32 SLI x16 (I think that is the right model the only one with SLI x16 chipset) for slighty better graphics performance and still good OC abilities. You know which I have and my roommate has the other so not only from ppl recommendations but from personal experince so far (we both just built our systems last week) I know there good stuff.

I believe for all mine below (minus DVD-Rom and X-Fi card I already had) I spent about $2000 USD on it.

Hope this helps a bit if you have more questions let me know, I'll try and help
 

shadow88

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You can check my sig below but the only differences are your getting X2 and I went with Opteron (run cooler and OC further (w/ the Zalman my Opty runs idle at 27C)) and different cases

In terms of performance what is the difference between the 4400/4800+ and the Opty you run? Water cooling is definetly going to be an option for me so overclocking shouldn't be bad.

I think if I overclock it at least 400Mhz I should be operating around the speeds of an fx60 which should last me a longggg time :D
 

dizman

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You can check my sig below but the only differences are your getting X2 and I went with Opteron (run cooler and OC further (w/ the Zalman my Opty runs idle at 27C)) and different cases

In terms of performance what is the difference between the 4400/4800+ and the Opty you run? Water cooling is definetly going to be an option for me so overclocking shouldn't be bad.

I think if I overclock it at least 400Mhz I should be operating around the speeds of an fx60 which should last me a longggg time :D

I'd say on stock speeds of 1.8Gghz (each core) my Opteron 165 is around the 4200/4400 X2 level. But the 165 (170, 175, and 180) OC super easy on air to at least 2.6Ghz, easy. But most can get 2.8-3.0Ghz on air (not all but most) but for sure on water. I know RichLPS (that right?) can only get his Opteron 175 to 2.7Ghz but from stock of 2.0Ghz that's pretty good in my book and up to FX60 lvls. And Opterons don't need much volt increases and such. When I got mine it was only like $20 more than the 3800 X2 which it out performs for sure.
 

shadow88

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Which is better the DFI UT SLI-DR or the DFI SLI-DR?

I know above it says the UT is the newer/better one, but I swear I remember reading the opposite :p
I'm really confused :S
 

purelithium

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Does Epox make good motherboards? Have you overclocked at all?

Pfft! Epox make good motherboards? Of course. They are one of the top makers.

http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2465

If you read it, you'll see that the DFI and the Epox tie for the best of the NF4 Ultra.

I chose the Epox because it offered optical audio, but I couldn't find any definitive answers if the DFI did or not.

And yes, I do overclock. I upped my 3800+ from 2.0 to 2.3 on stock cooling(in my sig). I haven't tried any further, but I wouldn't be suprised if I can go further.
 

dizman

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Well no matter if you use it right away or not you want a mobo with nForce4 SLI chipset. Even if you don't use SLI right away the SLI chipset is better than the Ultra even just with one vid card.

all the UT stands for is something like UV Reactive, all the SATA/IDE/RAM and so on connectors are UV Reactive for if you put a Black light in your case and yes the UT is the newer line.

The Expert board cost a a bit more but it adds 4 phase power which I believe (I knew it just been a while since I had to quote it, correct me if I'm wrong) makes it, use and supply power, to the parts more effeicently. The Asus SLIx16 mobo has 8 phase power, even better. The Expert also adds a few other things which I forget off the top of my head atm.
 

Newf

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Asus A8N-SLI Premium ATX $166.99 + $5.65
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131540
EpoX makes good boards. I recommend them when money is tight. You do not have this issue. I see DFI boards as a niche maker for overclocking gamer fanatics. Their boards can set up screaming systems, but they can be touchy to set up just right. It doesn't sound like you want to spend countless hours doing this. That leaves Asus. I think the above board will give you what you want because:
1) Asus boards are rock-solid stable.
2) Asus spends the R&D for good design and frequent BIOS updates. Some see this as a negative but it's not. This is excellent support for all the minor glitches that new hardware brings to existing boards.
3) Asus backs their products well, and respond when you contact them.
4) Asus has a very low failure rate.
You pay somewhat more $ for these advantages than with some other choices. Your own statements tell me Asus is what you need. If your requirements were different, I may well recommend something else.
 

shadow88

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It doesn't sound like you want to spend countless hours doing this.

Assumption before realization dude :p I love spending tons and tons of hours maybe 1hour at a time or maybe more but I love fine tuning my system.

Harder to setup = fun fun fun :p

Basically, I want performance and at a reasonable cost. How much time and effort it takes to get there, I don't really mind.

Thanks for the input :D
 

Newf

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...I love spending tons and tons of hours maybe 1hour at a time or maybe more but I love fine tuning my system.
Harder to setup = fun fun fun.
Basically, I want performance and at a reasonable cost. How much time and effort it takes to get there, I don't really mind...
OK, so now you seem to better fit the profile of a DFI buyer. Go for it.
 

shadow88

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Well, I was just reading about the a8n32-SLI and had a question.

Does the DFI LANPARTY UT SLI-DR motherboard have the x16/x16 SLI. I read that the a8n32-sli has proper SLI x16 for both cards, instead of the typical x16 for both cards.

How much of a difference does this make when two cards are SLId together?