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Which one? Asus A7N8X Dlx or Abit NF7-S

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L337 M33P

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Joined
Jun 5, 2003
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I am not too engrossed with the overclockability of both these boards, I just want some honest opinions about them. From Tom's Hardware (don't flame me, I just used the comparison table) the A7N8X has everything the NF7-S has but more. I am not too concerned with the SPDIF or optical sound connectors, since the jacks are all I need for surround sound.

I am willing to shell out slightly more money for the A7N8X Dlx because of the extra features (the vocal POST reporter I like) and I already have an Asus board that is rock solid.

Also, could someone please tell me what power lines the CPUs run off in both these boards? I want to Peltier cool the CPU and need an unloaded 12V line.
 
key thing right away...the NF7-S rev 2.0 is not as much as a +12 power hog as the A7N8X...

I have a Tt 420w PSU...none of my 8RDA+'s or Abit NF7-S rev 1.1 dropped the +12 below 12...default alone on the A7N8X Deluxe my +12 was at 11.89...
 
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If you ever chose to do oc'ing the nf7 would destroy the asus, but when you weigh in features it is realy tough to say what you sould like. The only thing that i know about the extra features (i don't use any) is that people like the nf7-s's sata controler...i think.

this is a question that you will realy have to answer yourself. If you are going to use the extra features on a daily basis then get the asus and save your self the hassle of working around a mobo that is only realy better if you oc.
 
You can leave the FSB at default CPU setting and up the multi. if that is a choice...that is how you OC the CPU only...
 
L337 M33P said:
they both use the +12V rail?
bah need a pretty meaty PSU then if I am to use a Pelt.

what amd board uses the +5 rail only to run the CPU :confused:

matter of fact...what MB only uses the +5 rial...
 
I had an A7N8X Dlx v2.0 which the BIOS died after 3 days of use with minor oc attempts. Then, switched to NF7-S v2.0 and have been using it for a month with good oc. Then last week, I bought another A7N8X Dlx v2.0 because I needed to install a machine for a friend. I figured to give it another chance and if I like it, I can sell the Abit to my friend. Long story short, I am keeping the Abit and returning the Asus to get another brand for my friend.

The BIOS has more settings and is alot more stable in the Abit, not just for oc. Neither does S3 correctly but Asus corrupted my data. The extra 3Com Ethernet on the Asus is not useful for me and I actually use the one built into the chipset since I read a review that showed lowest CPU utilization for it compared to other name brand nics. You mentioned voice post which I found annoying and turned off because it's very very difficult to make out what it's saying and sounds like a broken tape.

Don't get me wrong. I did my research and bought the Asus first and after that, gave it another chance again. It just doesn't live up to the Asus name for me. I have another Asus P4P800 dlx which is like a rock as well as an old Asus CUSL2 which I've used for years. I don't think Asus did as good a job on the nForce2 board as Abit did.
 
I am tempted to purchase an ABIT m/b myself. Seems like all the good o/c'ing has come from that board from all the reading I have done in this here forum.
 
Does the Abit have a multiplier changer thing in the Bios?

Chung_chang, you seem to be contradicting yourself. You say that the Asus is the more stable of the two, yet it screwed up S3 sleep state? (never use the sleep states meself Energy star compliant NOT)

I do think that 2 CAT5 ports are a bit ott, but you can (and I did)overwrite the POST reporter's horrible speech with something a little more audible. And British.

On the website the Asus board doesn't have a +12V ATX lead socket, so does it use the ATX block connector? Thought it odd that only a couple of wires power the CPU. Of course the motherboard makes use of al the rails, but I want one that doesn't power the meaty components by stepping down the voltage from the 12V rail. Hence the Peltier problem.
 
Here is my own quote:

The BIOS has more settings and is alot more stable in the Abit, not just for oc.

I am saying Abit is more stable than Asus.

I am aware of recording your own vocal post but I'm not sure if that will solve the problem. There is a dedicated chip onboard that's responsible for the vocal post. I believe it has very low sampling rate thus the broken tape sound. Maybe if you record in a very deep tone and speak very slowly....

If you really want to give Asus a try(like I did, twice), I do suggest that you can easily return it.

EDIT: Oh yeah, Abit does have the multiplier adjustment in the BIOS. I could be wrong but I believe all nForce2 boards have it.
 
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glock19owner said:
You can leave the FSB at default CPU setting and up the multi. if that is a choice...that is how you OC the CPU only...

amd procs can't go above a multi of 12.5 or 13 i think. so it would be a total waste of time raising the multiplier. raising the fsb and lowering the multiplier is much better. Your memory gains a great deal of preformance at the increase fsb. There is no reason not to raise the fsb, none that i can think of atleast.
 
Re: ...

gouda96 said:


amd procs can't go above a multi of 12.5 or 13 i think. so it would be a total waste of time raising the multiplier. raising the fsb and lowering the multiplier is much better. Your memory gains a great deal of preformance at the increase fsb. There is no reason not to raise the fsb, none that i can think of atleast.

The reason might be that his memory isn't up to it. Also, AMD multis can indeed go above 12.5. I can't remember which bit it is, but the motherboard has to be capable of setting it to hi/lo to determine whether or not multis 12.5 and below or 13 and above will be used. I'm not sure which motherboards can do this. However, most nForce2 motherboards will let you change the multi within the range of multipliers that the chip's default was in. For instance, if you're running a 2100+, you can use multipliers of 13 or above. If you have a 1700+, you can use multipliers 12.5 or below. That is assuming you have an unlocked chip, of course.
 
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