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| Thread ID: 35418 | 2003-07-11 23:39:00 | Gigabyte Motherboard Advice Required. | Steve Askew (119) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 159089 | 2003-07-11 23:39:00 | Hi all, I'm looking at purchasing a new motherboard for the computer I'm about to build. I intend to go the AMD way & I want to purchase a board that will perhaps allow me a bit of upgrading in the future. EG: faster proccessor & more ram & serial ATA HDD's. The two boards i have been looking at are the Gigabyte GA-7N400PRO & the Gigabyte GA-7NNXP The main diference I can see is the GA-7NNXP has dual lan & DPS (Dual Power System) I'm not sure what DPS does? Is it worth spending approx $120 more for the GA-7NNXP ?Is it a better board? Intended use will be for Internet, gaming & I also intend in the future to install a DVD Writer & put home videos to dvd. I'm looking at purchasing an XP2600+ cpu & further down the line upgrade to a faster CPU. Any thoughts & comments apprieciated Cheers Steve |
Steve Askew (119) | ||
| 159090 | 2003-07-12 00:56:00 | Dual Power System (DPS) With the Voltage Regulator Module (VRM), the Dual Power System delivers a total of 6-phase power circuit design to provide more solid and durable power supply for the new generation AMD platform. Both DPVRM and onboard power circuit working simultaneously, providing a total of 6-phase power circuit. Should any power circuit fails, the remaining power circuit will keep working as main power circuit. Also other major differences between the two : GA-7NNXP Gigabit Lan nVIDIA nForce 2 IGP chipset DPVRM connector AGP Pro GA-7N400 Pro 10/100 LAN nVIDIA nForce 2 SPP chipset Cheers :) |
SKT174 (1319) | ||
| 159091 | 2003-07-15 22:03:00 | Thanks for replying, sorry for not getting back sooner PressF1 was down on saturday & I was down since sunday(sick). I'm now looking purchasing the GA-7NNxp as it looks like it might be upgradable for maybe 6-12 months & seems to have plenty of features. Perhaps someone out there can recomend a better board than the one I'm looking at? Also just curious to know if AMD make a XP2600+ with the Barton core? most people seem to say the Barton core is the Bees Knees,Any comments on the Barton core will be welcomed too. Cheers Steve |
Steve Askew (119) | ||
| 159092 | 2003-07-16 10:06:00 | Has anyone any ideas about Steves queries? Is haveing a dual Lan and Dual Power System device worth the extra $120?l | Terry Porritt (14) | ||
| 159093 | 2003-07-16 12:51:00 | hi steve, you might like to consider soyo dragon ultra platinum, have had 2 of these boards running, absolutely no problems whatsoever, they run kt400 chipset, check them out at www.starlyte.co.nz. excellent value for money hth. |
greenglass (1432) | ||
| 159094 | 2003-07-17 04:08:00 | thanks, I had a look at the soyo dragon ultra platinum & while at soyos site I notice they are due to release a new board using the VIA KT600 Chipset Motherboard for AMD XP 3200+ Processors with 400MHz FSB. Hmmm Walks away even more unsure what to buy?:| Cheers Steve |
Steve Askew (119) | ||
| 159095 | 2003-07-18 00:51:00 | I've just upgraded from my ol' MSI K7T Ultra and Athlon XP 2000+ to a MSI K7N (with bluetooth, 8x AGP etc) and an Athlon XP 2400+ combo... So far so good... | turangilee (4211) | ||
| 159096 | 2003-07-18 02:44:00 | Dont buy a mobo with the VIA KT600 chipset its not really worth the money, at the moment the best chipset for the AMD platform is the nForce 2 . You wont have to worry much about upgradeability as Skt A is very close to the end of its life and most boards you are able to buy currently (based on nForce2 + KT600) will run any future CPU released on the Skt A platform . I would personally reconmend any of the below boards: Abit NFS-7 Epox 8RDA3+ Soltek SL-75FRN2-RL (these boards are all the top of the line range from their respective manufactuers, it is possiable to get the same boards but with less features for a lower price) the new nForce 2 board from leadtek looks good but its very hard to find reviews and opinions on at the moment so is sort of untested . The Asus nForce 2 board(A7N8X) is good but overpriced and doesnt really provide any benefits to the above cheaper boards . You havent really specified a price or what you need to it do, do you indeed to overclock? if so stick with the nForce2 . If you want something on the cheap for a pretty standard system, the GIGABYTE GA-7VA is good, based on the slightly older VIA KT400 chipset and is very basic . I use this board for girlfriends and mothers who dont need all the extra features . In conclusion I personally think you cant go wrong with a mobo based on the nForce 2 chipset . Soltek is cheap, abit overclocks like mad and the epox has dual nics some other fancy stuff . |
Pete O'Neil (250) | ||
| 159097 | 2003-07-18 06:56:00 | Thanks for the opinions, I had a feeling from what I been reading here & on the web that the Nforce2 chipset is the way to go at the moment . I don't want to overclock, Well not yet anways . I want a board that supports raid as it can give you an extra 4 ide devices . I want to run a dvd-Rom,Dvd-Writer & 3 Hdds & also a removable Hdd caddy for backup purposes . Further down the track I wish to put home Video of the kids etc onto Dvd . Gaming at the moment has been limited by the computer we have,An HP with about 11mb onboard graphics . It Sux . So further down the track it would be nice to have a machine that will be capable of playing some of the newer titles . I Also figure that if I buy a mobo with some modern features I wont be saying "I wish I'd got that on my board" Price is not really an issue except I wont be getting an XP 3200+ CPU just yet at $900 odd bucks . Cheers Steve |
Steve Askew (119) | ||
| 159098 | 2003-07-19 06:25:00 | ok that makes it a little bit easier, if you want onboard raid with the nForce chipset your only option is the gigabyte board. Out of their selection i would reconmend: Gigabyte GA-7N400 Pro tw.giga-byte.com their is a cheaper option and a more expensive option. The one above seems to suit your needs plus wont break the bank. Since its nForce its gonna have some overclocking features but from what i've heard their not the best, they should be fine for some lite overclockin. This board is really feature backed so i dont think you would suffer from "I wish I'd got that on my board". If you dont like the look of this board then you could always grab another nForce board and chuck in a RAID card. I dont know enough about RAID to reconmend a chipset or card, perhaps another forum member could help with that. I would have to reconmend the Athlon XP 2500+ at the moment it really does seem to be the best value for money Athlon at the moment. Plus it uses the "newish" Barton core so it has the extra cache. |
Pete O'Neil (250) | ||
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