A7N8X

[tha_trixta]

My question is, with the new A7N8X Asus motherboard and the Nforce 2 SPP and MCP-T chipset, can I use a Radeon 9700 pro for my 3d add on card, or does it have to be an Nvidia based card?

Also, which chipset is it that has the add on sound? Would one not rather have an add on sound card such as the Sound Blaster Audigy, rather than on board sound?

Thank for your time,

Rob

 

[ad_rach]

you can use ANY agp card with the a7n8x (within voltage limits but that only excludes a few), including rad 9700 pro.people would not be happy if nvidia imposed such a monopoly.also the a7n8x has the mcp-t as its south bridge (spp is north bridge) and that has the onboard audio.this audio is apparently good but an audigy would be better for sure so you could always put one in if you wanted and disable the onboard audio.

no matter how hard you try, you can't polish a turd. :]

 

[tha_trixta]

yes, that makes sense about the 3d card, but if using a add on sound card, is it possible to find a a7n8x with spp but no on board sound card? my logic would tell me that it would be better and easier to just have the add on sound card and thats it, not having to disable one to use another... What do you think?

Another question... i see this board has two blue ram slots and one black one? I assume that is for the dual ddr, but i read in an article on thg that you have to use 2 specific slots... so is it blue and blue, OR blue and black? Does using two slots slow your ram timings or bus speed down? ie. cas 2 vs cas 2.5 or ddr 333 vs ddr 266?

 

[Dreadnaught]

I have the sblive audigy plat but im keeping it in my other computer instead of my new one. i like the onboard soundcard that is on the deluxe. and for that a7n8x its all the whistles or skimped, so the answer is no. heck, its just a quick bios setting to disable the onboard if you would prefer to do the addon. you keep the option for later too.

my other pc is a 1.2 athlon, im getting a rf remote and making a tivo out of it, so the audigy is pretty nice for that i think. but we will see, i do like EAX stuff.

 

[halkebul]

Go for the non-pro version of the ATI 9700 - negligible performance difference. Cost about $40 less. Both are the same card, just different clock speeds. But if you feel you're somehow missing something, just overclock the non-pro - not difficult.

<i>It's your world kid!!!</i>

 

[ad_rach]

i think there will be a non-deluxe version available without the sound but i aint seen it yet.it should be no problem to disable anyway-it might even do it automatically when you put the new one in.
to use dual channel ddr on a7n8x you put one module in dimm 1 and one in dimm 3- i think that's one blue and one black isn't it.

no matter how hard you try, you can't polish a turd. :]

 

[Dreadnaught]

uhh, he said he owns the 9700 pro already, and they do make a non deluxe mobo version, but it lacks almost everything, different southbridge.

and the dual ddr is 1/3 or 2/3 when doing 2 sticks. most speficly the 1st channel is for ddr400, the other 2 sticks are for 333, so i have my sticks in 2/3

 

[tha_trixta]

HEy Dreadnaught what are your ram timings on dual ddr 333?

can you use both sticks at 333 with 2-2-2 timings?

By the way all, i am making a new webpage , its a bit rough right now, but maybe you might see something you like. Check out the computer tweaks section.
www.geocities.com/rob_dykens
I will be adding lots more to it so stay tuned!

 

[paulj]

You don't want the version of the south bridge without the audio. It also lacks a lot of other features. Get the Asus deluxe and disable the sound if you get the Audigy 2.

I am also building a system with the Asus A7N8X Deluxe and the Radeon 9700 Pro this weekend. Can't wait. Good luck on your system.

 

[Crashman]

I think that the onboard sound is better than anything Creative produces, my poor experiences with Creative tell me this instinctively. You have to remember that the onboard sound of this chipset uses a very powerfull sound processor that's built INTO the chipset, not simply a cheap add-on chip. The nForce2 is probably available without onboard sound as well, I know the original nForce was, but this takes some of the value out of it. If you're really stubborn, you can disable the onboard sound.

<font color=blue>You're posting in a forum with class. It may be third class, but it's still class!</font color=blue>