Weighing Mobo Options

I have been wanting to replace my KT4 Ultra mainboard, and am perplexed between the Abit NF7-S VER 2and the Gigabyte 7N400L1 boards.
If someone could be so kind to let me know what kind of performance settings are being achieved and what configurations use to get them with either of these boards, I would be a happy man

Replies are welcome to: [email protected]



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MSI KT4 Ultra
XP1700+ (10*166)
512 DDR 3200
Radeon 9500 pro

Well I can't speek for the Gigabyte 7N400L1 board, but I know a little about the NF7-S. IMHO the NF7-S is the best board out there for AMD's. I've got a 1700+ running at 2.5gigs on air, Prime 95 stable for 48+ hours. If you get the NF7-S, you'll very happy with it. It's a great board & comes with a lot of extera's also. Like SATA support, RAID 0 & RAID 1, firewire, and a few other things. I really like how you can adjust the settings in BIOS. Lots of flexiability. If you're planning on overclocking, the NF7-S is an excellent choice.

Yes, I indeed intend to O/C
that is the reason to ditch the KT4 Ultra, solid board, too temperamental and low core voltage
also, I have read lots of reviews on the Gigabyte 7n400pro and 7n400l1 and find much praise also

Thanks for your help, because I will be sticking to air cooling at oc speeds

Just don't skimp on your cooling or psu. Amoung many other things, these two things can mean the differance between an average oc or really good one. Of course there are lots of other variables, but people sometimes tend to cut corners with these to save a little cash. Especially the psu.

Ducker,
Does the wattage or the maker of the psu prevail as the biggest factor in a psu? I have a 350 watt psu, but didn't pay attention as to who made it.

Also, how would you rate the Tt Volcano 9 as for a cooling system.


Thanks,
Computerbias

Does the wattage or the maker of the psu prevail as the biggest factor in a psu? I have a 350 watt psu, but didn't pay attention as to who made it.

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The maker definitely! If you go with psu's made by Antec, Fortron, or Sparkle, you shouldn't have any problems. Wattage claimed by various manufactures is often misrepresented or just plain wrong. These manufactures are known to make quality psu's. And there are a few others as well. These three just come to mind now.

Also, how would you rate the Tt Volcano 9 as for a cooling system.

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I'd go with one of the SKL hs's and put a Smart Fan II on it. The Tt Volcano 9 is ok, but if you really want to push your oc, go with an SKL 900-A or 800-U, or even the Thermalright SP-94.

Thanks, Ducker