NF7 vs 8RDA+

[brennan77]

I'm building a budget box for a family member. They aren't overclocking and just need a stable and reasonably powered system. I've already gotten the ok to switch out my T-Bred B for the 2600+ mobile XP. They wouldn't know it I hadn't told them anyway. So far my current max with the new CPU is roughly 2450mhz at 1.85v. My question is whether it's possible the NF7 that I ordered would do well to replace my 8RDA+. Again, my dad is very PC illiterate and in the end the switch would be completely unnoticable to his PC needs. It wouldn't be like he would be getting the short end of the deal with a 8RDA and a Tbred reasonable clocked as opposed to the mobile and the NF7.

So is it worth switching to try it out? Would the NF7 offer better overclocking? I know the CPU is supplied off the 12v line on the NF7, which would be one major advantage over the 5v line on the 8RDA+. I figure I wouldn't even need to change drivers as they are both nforce 2 boards with the same onboard features. I bet it'd boot right up without a hitch.

 

[brennan77]

Well now I seem to be running stable at 1.7v for 2400mhz. I think I need to go through a bit more testing to come to some real conclusions, but the question still stands. Will the NF7 offer any real advantages?

UPDATE: After realizing what a dolt I am, the point is moot. Somehow I managed to buy a NF7 - S2 motherboard, which pretty much bites for overclocking. It was a dumb move and was my fault for being hasty when ordering, but it seems like it's easy to make this mistake.

 

[Chixofnix]

i'd like to see this answered anyway... i've been sitting on my 8rda+ for a looong while now...

no problems w/ the motherboard so far in operation, and it's cranking out the OC in my siggy as we speak, though i'm sure it's my current bottleneck (FSB)...

 

[Tyreal]

Ouch. The NF7-S2 is a really @#$%er when it comes to overclocking. You cannot even change the multiplier as far as i know. But i have had past experiences with the NF7-S ver 2. As long as your 12v is pretty strong and your ram can take it, you can go for miles.

No experience with the other board though

 

[brennan77]

i'd like to see this answered anyway... i've been sitting on my 8rda+ for a looong while now...

no problems w/ the motherboard so far in operation, and it's cranking out the OC in my siggy as we speak, though i'm sure it's my current bottleneck (FSB)...

Well, our question will be answered soon. It turns out that I was too curious. I just purchased an Abit NF7-S Version 2 that should be here next week. I'll let you know.

BTW, the NF7-S2 has found its proper place in my dad's office. It's running a T-Bred B 1800 at 2200mhz with 1.7v at 190mhz on the FSB, I believe. It's stable and does what it does but has no features to speak of in the bios.

 

[brennan77]

Well, I'm now running my chip at roughly 2450mhz with 1.81v. My 12v line is looking low though, which is odd given that I have a nice Fortron 530Wt unit. Maybe I need to adjust the rails or something, but it's not as stable on that line as I would have expected.

 

[Avg]

What is so special about the NF7 is the amount of adjustments it has and it's ability to get higher fsb oc then other boards, right now I'm using a AN7 cause the mem controller on the NF7-S has gone bad, the only thing that I found both the NF7-s and AN7 to be bad at is the mem bandwidth, at 200mhz fsb I get around 2900s with the NF7 and even lower with the AN7.