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Choice between Max 3 or Max II?

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IC7-Max3


Ssetre said:
Max 3 is barebones(comes with back plate) and sits at 130.00

Max II is brand new and retail and it sits at 115.00

Help me choose!
Click to expand...

Check the specs.

MAX II 533 MHz FSB and 845 Chipset DDR 333 RAM

Max 3 800 MHz FSB and 875 Chipset, DDR400 RAM plus a ton of other goodies to go with it.
 
Last edited:
I think he means IC7 Max3 vs. IC7-G Max II (not the IT7 Max II). If so, then get the IC7-G Max II unless you need 6 SATA channels (Max II has 4). The Max 3 has a gimmicky OTES cooling that is not that good and it has Vdimm up to 3.2v, but anything above 2.8v is unstable, so it's worthless anyway unless you do some modding.
 
same max, 2.8vdimm, i would pick the max2. since its brand new, and it come with everything
 
Hmm good point. I guess there are no other differences besides a gimmicky fet cooling setup, 2 sata ports, and vdimm?

If there isn't I'll just take the max 2 then. Since at the end of the day they are both 130.
 
Its the IC7-G MAX II Advance not the IT one :p.

Also just to toss a wrench into the soup how about a full retail DFI Lanparty Pro875 board?
 
People are just voting on a mobo without saying why. The IC7-G actually has more robust mosfets and power circuitry than the Max 3. This is important for power hungry Prescotts.
 
Alrighty, I'm siding with you on this one and will take the Max II.

Hope I see some improvement over my AI7(excellent board). Actually will I see any improvement?
 
I have both AI7 and IC7-G. The AI7 is a better Northwood overclocking mobo, but the IC7 series handles Prescotts better. However, without knowing the full system specs and O/C history of the AI7 system, I'm reluctant to go out on a limb and tell you to spend the money to buy a new mobo that might only gain you an extra 100 MHz. You might be ahead of the game by just saving up for an eventual platform change. Socket 478, AGP, and DDR is fading.
 
Well... My AI7 won't crack 255/260 :( Which means I have to throttle it back to 250 for some good wholesome 3.0ness on my 2.8(D1) Mobile. Also I tossed my 2.0 into the Max 3 and it was bios stable at 250 where as no matter what I did on my AI7 it would hard lock in the bios. Also this was under a very crappy hsf and had the chip idling in the mid 40's. My 7700cu keeps em in the low thirties, I idle at 1-2c above ambient with my case side on.

Also for some reason it won't let me access the multi's that should be there on my Mobiles. I have a standard speedstep and a enhanced one. It tells me the multi's are there but something is blocking my access to the multi's.

But your right not sure if its worth investing just to see how high my chips can go. Because I am guessing one of them has 3.4-6 in it. Hmm I do have a 2.0 Mobile and I can sell the AI7 to recoup the cost.
 
ive had my ic7-max3 for well over 1 a year and i absolutely love it.
But if i had a choice between teh max3 and max2 id go for the max2 because its got a stronger tolerence for prescott chips.
 
Some OC'ers are disappointed with the Max3. But I love mine. I use all 6 SATA ports. It's the best mobo I've ever owned. Has everything I need, and none of the features I don't need. I hacked off the OTES shroud so that just the fan is still attached to my mobo. Works great with my case's wind tunnel, which exhausts air straight to the back of the case. There are some other great mobos out there, but the Max3 is perfect for my setup. If you're a heavy OC'er, you may want to explore all of your options first. There's plenty of user feedback on this site.
 
calcal said:
i can get my 3.0c to 4 ghz with 1.6vcore and no mods....im not disapointed
Click to expand...
That's sweet! :attn:
I'm still testing some different hardware configs. But as soon as my rig is all put together, I'll see how high I can get and I'll be sure to post here. I have no plans to do a volt mod. I'll just see what I can max with good old cooling!
 
I like my Max 3, but its pretty dated. I seriously cant imagine paying $130 for a socket 478 motherboard at this point! I say save the dough and spend it upgrading platforms like batboy suggested.
 
I agree with Stockhatch in that I can't see paying that much for a platform that is pretty much dead. I just built a machine with a Fatal1ty mobo, and I am so jealous (because it ain't mine) the board is a real screamer with all the settings you want in a board, ddr2, pcie, sata, and MicroGuru options in the bios and with the optional guru clock, you have access to presets which will overclock your box when playing a game, and throttle back to your original settings after you exit the game. the options are too many to list here, but it is still a kik butt mobo.
Sad note: this box will never be overclocked by the owner as he's not a clocker.
 
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