Nforce2 or KT400

I've had my heart set on buying an Epox 8RDA+ for a while now because it really is the best board around. I would have to buy a seperate RAID card because the 8RDA+ include it. The motherboard itself isn't cheap so it means I cant afford as a graphics card as I would have hoped. I've considered the Asus and Abit Nforce2 boards but unfortunately, the vcore doesn't go above 1.85v

I've recently been thinking about some of the KT400 boards because they are cheaper and the money saved would go better towards a decent graphics card. I couldn't achieve a 200FSB but a 185 should be possible.

Your comments please... Also, please answer the follwing questions:

How high a PCI bus could I get with a Maxtor DaimondMax Plus 9 8Mb 7200RPM 80Gb and a SoundBlaster 1024 Live?

Can any of the KT400 boards see a Tbred B as being unlocked?

Can any of the KT400 boards access the multys below 12.5 with no chip modifications?

nforce2 is better than kt400 and you will not regret with 8rda+

NForce2 is the way to go,forget the KT400.

1. How high a PCI BUS can your chosen components run at? That's up to luck but those Maxtors have been known to run at 40MHz PCI but remember that’s not a guaranty. SBLive! products are know to go south by 46MHz PCI but again mileage may vary.

2. No, not all. This is not a chipset feature but it is with the manufacturer's decision to include the ability of the motherboard to read 5BIT FIDs.

3. Same thing as #2.

I pick KT400. No need for multiple voltmods just to get stable at high FSB which is an added cost. No need for heatsinks on everything just so that it doesn’t burn up which again is an added cost. If you want a 2% increase in 1 benchmark/application & have slower I/O performance then go ahead with the NF2 but if you want an everyday machine stick with the KT400. With the money saved from the multiple voltmods & heatsinks you can use that money to help your video card budget. Running 185MHz/370FSB is really no problem on any platform as long as you have the right memory.


EDIT: Just for spelling

Thanks very much for your help Sonny

Which KT400 board would you recommend?

Do you know which boards can read the 5BIT FIDs?

I use the KD7 - RAID rev 1.1 & can read 5BIT FIDs


When I was still running a Palomino but its the same thing with my T2B.


So can the rest of the KT400 KD7 - B | S | G family & the AT& - MAX2 but it's a little pricey. Would I recommend the KD7 series? I went through 3months of headaches to get it running the way I want it & there are a lot of users who hate them & as much that like them. Best thing to do is to read up on the ABIT section & see for yourself how people like it or hate it. Do I like it? Hell YES