What mobo do you think would be best?

[jmourao]

Hi, all!

I'm planning to upgrade my severely outdated computer, but I'm still not sure about some of the new hardware... I've decided on a AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice CPU, but I'm having some trouble deciding what motherboard would work better with it, specially in relation to overclocking.

So, here are the possible candidates. Please let me know, based on your (vastly superior) experience , which one you'd recommend. (The prices below are in local currency, just to give you an idea of the costs involved).

Abit Fatal1ty AN8 nForce4 w/Audio, Gigabit LAN, RAID/Serial ATA BOX => R$ 1046

Chaintech VNF4 nForce 4 w/Audio, Gigabit LAN, RAID/Serial ATA BOX => R$ 493

DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 ULTRA-D nForce4 Ultra w/Audio, Dual Gigabit LAN, RAID/Serial ATA BOX => R$ 720

MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum nForce4 Ulra skt 939 => R$ 785

Epox EP-9NPA+Ultra nForce4 Ultra skt 939 PCI-E Audio 8ch => R$ 585

Thanks!

 

[man_utd]

WELCOME TO THE FORUM!

Go with the DFI Lanparty Ultra-D. It is a harder board to get going, but on here you have a great support base, and your problems will most likely be wrinkled out easily.

 

[johan851]

It is a harder board to get going, but on here you have a great support base, and your problems will most likely be wrinkled out easily.

That's the problem...with a DFI board, problems are a given. Is there a good Abit board out there besides the Fatal1ty series?

 

[reddywing1]

Problems are only a given if you do not take the time to learn how all the multitude of bios setting work.

If you don't feel you can invest the time required or don't have the patience necessary then I would agree you are better off with any other board.

And welcome

 

[johan851]

If you don't feel you can invest the time required or don't have the patience necessary then I would agree you are better off with any other board.

I put a TON of time into my DFI board that I have now, and I was never happy with it. Based on my experience and a lot of results I've seen, DFI boards are really hit or miss, and at the very least, incredibly time consuming and often disappointing. For someone fairly new to overclocking, I would recommend something from Abit.

 

[jmourao]

Hi, all!

First of all, thank you all for the welcome.

That's the problem...with a DFI board, problems are a given. Is there a good Abit board out there besides the Fatal1ty series?

Yeah, I've read some good reviews of DFI boards, but also lots of people complaining about their "given problems", as you say... Too bad... I'm just not prepared to spend my money on a board and have to fight with it...

About other Abit boards, there are these (again, the prices are in local currency):

Abit AN8 nForce4 w/Audio, Gigabit LAN, RAID/Serial ATA BOX => R$ 769,00
Abit AX8 Via K8T890 w/Audio, Gigabit LAN, RAID/Serial ATA BOX => R$ 616,00

I forgot to mention before (maybe it was implicitly indicated by the list of boards), I'm looking for mobos with PCI-Express video, which forces me to pay close attention to the overall costs, since I'll have to save some money for the video card. By the way, I'm not a "power gamer" so SLI is not one of my main concerns.

Well, guess I'll have to gather more info on these boards before I can make a decision. Thanks!

 

[reddywing1]

OK. DFI is off the list. Good to know. Thank you.