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jimmys2 · Sun Sep 25, 2005 9:55 am

I'm gearing up to build a new AMD Socket 939 based system with SLI and I'm wondering what your thoughts are on the mobo I'm considering.
The board I'm considering is the ABIT Fatal1ty AN8-SLI Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard. Newegg sells it for 202.00 but I haven't looked anywhere else to see if I can find it cheaper. I'm not a professional PC person by any means but I have buillt a few p4 PC's and consider myself a little more advanced then the average user in understanding how they work. I'm building this PC to game on. I'll be starting out with only one video card most likely until I can buy a second one. Probably 1 gig of PC 3200 RAM and the fastest AMD Athlon I can afford. I'm putting that into an Aspire Explorer case to make it all look cool. Anyone using this board? If so, what is your configuration? I'm curious to know what works best with it, processor, RAM, Video, etc.
Thanks guys
Jimmy

LicketySplit · Sun Sep 25, 2005 10:08 am

Heh...price is up on that board..read this article and you may want to go with the DFI option.

http://techreport.com/reviews/2005q1/ab ... dex.x?pg=1

Welcome to the forums.

Usacomp2k3 · Sun Sep 25, 2005 8:29 pm

Agreed, looks a little expensive for the features.

jimmys2 · Thu Sep 29, 2005 6:39 pm

So which DFI board is compairable to the ABIT one I've been looking at? If I can get about the same thing with this other board then I'm stupid not to buy it instead. I've read both good and bad reviews on the ABIT board and I'm not sure about it anymore.
Peace
Jimmy

LicketySplit · Thu Sep 29, 2005 6:46 pm

Why dont you give the Epox boards a look see? They are every bit as good as Abit..and thats good enough for me..i use them a lot, and havent had a problem yet.

jimmys2 · Thu Sep 29, 2005 10:00 pm

Thanks for pointing out this company. Everything I've read tonight has been positive and the looks are very cool with lots of extra's. I was so impressed with what I read I ordered the EPoX EP-9NPA+ SLi Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD from NewEgg for 141.75 to the door. I also ordered a 20 pin to 24 pin adapter to get my PS connected up to it. I'm sure I'll be very happy with my newest toy. Thanks again.

jimmys2 · Fri Sep 30, 2005 5:33 pm

Ok, with this bought how about giving me a suggestion on what brand of RAM to buy? DDR 400 no doubt and I'd like a gig of it but I've looked at so much RAM my eyes are crossed now. Also, 1 stick or 2? Some come in 2 512 meg sticks while others are 1 one gig stick. Does it make a difference in performance? I know 1 stick saves space but it seems cheaper to buy 2 512 sticks.

rogue426 · Fri Sep 30, 2005 5:47 pm

I don't know why,I have never really like ABit boards,now that they're are in financial trouble would give me even more of a pause to buy one.I've always liked ASUS's boards.The new ASrock board with AGP/PCI E looks interesting as does the Jetway board with 3 PCI-E 16x slots,an ingenious way to enable SLI ,in IMHO.DFI Lanparty is supposed to be a good board too.

jimmys2 · Fri Sep 30, 2005 6:02 pm

Well, I bought the EPoX EP-9NPA+ SLi Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD motherboard and I'm sure I'm going to love it. I continue to read reviews and find info about it and haven't really read anything to leave me believing this is less then a super dooper board. I'm just wondering what RAM to put in it and I've still got to but video and processor as well. I'm not sure what to get for a processor AMD 64 no doubt but theres so many different ones. This board supports up to 4000+ CPU but I don't know which one to get. I'm sure I'll figure it out

etherelithic · Sat Oct 01, 2005 4:55 pm

For RAM, I recommend OCZ platinum. I too searched high and low for decently priced high performance RAM about two months ago when I built my shiny new system, and OCZ seems to have the best price to performance ratio. Corsair, for the most part, seemed too overpriced. I myself bought a 2GB dual channel OCZ platinum DDR400 EL kit, which amounts to dual 1GB sticks. The timings were 2-3-2-5 and it seems rock solid in the 2 months ive used this computer. I have not, nor plan to overclock, but I have read that OCZ sticks don't overclock quite as well as others. I suggest you consider buying 2GB of memory as well, seeing as you're building this machine for gaming.

jimmys2 · Sun Oct 02, 2005 9:56 am

Thats the sorta thing I need to know. Thanks for heads up on RAM and I'll set my sights on 2 gig instead of 1

Usacomp2k3 · Thu Oct 06, 2005 1:14 am

Agreed about the 2gb. If you can afford it, I would definitely use it.
I will also second the OCZ suggestion. However, on different grounds. If you just want RAM, you might as well stick with value series, such as OCZ's or Corsair's. If you want the tighter timings and/or to overclock, then OCZ's higher end can be your best friend.

jimmys2 · Sun Oct 30, 2005 11:36 am

I've got some confusion about what processor I need to buy for my board. Says it supports Socket 939 based AMD Athlon-64/Athlon-64 FX up to 4000+ with 2.0GT's Hyper Transport.
The confusion is with the 2.0GT's Hyper Transport. Is that FSB speed? The way I take it is that I have to buy a processor with the 2.0GT's Hyper Transport or it won't work with my board and I can't figure out which processor I need that has that 2.0 GT's. I know I want a 3700+ so if any of you know where the processor I need is then please link me to it.
Thanks
Jimmy

LicketySplit · Sun Oct 30, 2005 11:42 am

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103539

Usacomp2k3 · Sun Oct 30, 2005 10:06 pm

Pretty much, all hypertransport is created equally, so don't worry about that statistic.

jimmys2 · Sat Nov 26, 2005 11:57 am

Well this is what I ended up with for a system. Parts are not all here yet but should be sometime durning next week.
Aspire Explorer Case, EPoX EP-9NPA+ SLi Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD motherboard w/ AMD Athlon 64 3700 CPU, 2 gigs of Patriot memory Model PDC1G3200+XBLK dual channel, 2 GEFORCE 6800 PCI EXPRESS-128MB TV OUT, Thermaltake Silent PurePower TT-420AD(DUAL FAN) ATX 420W Power Supply, and a Thermaltake Typhoon CPU fan with RPM control.
Now 1 thing may change and that will be the PSU. I don't know if I can run all I have on 420 watts but I guess I'll see. I'll let you know what I think when its up and running but thanks for the advice and time.
Peace

Usacomp2k3 · Sun Nov 27, 2005 1:18 am

2 6800's? The cheapest I see on the Egg is $170, so for $340, you're getting 2. I'd strongly recommend getting a single 7800gt instead.

Sun Nov 27, 2005 2:28 am

jimmys2 wrote:
Well this is what I ended up with for a system. Parts are not all here yet but should be sometime durning next week.

He already placed the order. Hopefully he can change the order.

jimmys2 · Sun Nov 27, 2005 9:27 am

I want to point you guys to a review I read. This is why I choose the pair of 6800's.
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm? ... 824&page=1
This line was in the review, "A single card will give you good performance and overclockability, and buying two for SLI should still work out considerably cheaper than the higher-end single video cards while giving comparable performance. "
Now having said that I want the best hardware for the money. I looked at the 7800 and from what I read in the user reviews people are impressed with it. I haven't researched them much but I'm about to do that now. I'm still going to want 2 of them because I bought a SLI capable mobo. I'm almost certain I'll have to change my PSU out too. If I remember right these things are power hogs.
Thanks for the advice and tips guys. I though I was doing the right thing with the 6800's. I can return the cards for a refund I'm sure and then go with the single 7800 for now with hopes to add a second one asap.
Thanks again
Peace

Sun Nov 27, 2005 9:32 am

One GeForce 7800GT would be a significantly better choice than two GeForce 6800s, in my opinion.

jimmys2 · Sun Nov 27, 2005 9:42 am

Thats why I come here for advice

Sun Nov 27, 2005 10:20 am

jimmys2 wrote:
I can return the cards for a refund I'm sure and then go with the single 7800 for now with hopes to add a second one asap.

Beware of restocking fees.

That review may have been done at a time when the 7800 cost more. Especially for the 7800GT, it has come down in price a lot making the economics of that different.

jimmys2 · Tue May 09, 2006 7:44 pm

Well I built this system and been using sense about the time of my last post here in this forum.
One thing I gotta say is I had a blast building this computer. Its very fast compaired to P4 2.8 gig I was using. I overclocked my AMD to 2664. I overclocked the 6800's :roll:

Nvidia cards too and got really good results in the benchmarks so I'm pleased for now. I'll post again soon with specific specs

Kurama · Wed May 10, 2006 3:51 pm

I think the epox board was a better buy, but you should really try to get a 7800gt instead of 6800's.

LicketySplit · Wed May 10, 2006 4:27 pm

Kurama wrote:
I think the epox board was a better buy, but you should really try to get a 7800gt instead of 6800's.

Me too..but there arent many Epox lovers on this forum..and that astounds me :lol:

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Give me your opinion on this board

Give me your opinion on this board

The final configuration

Re: The final configuration

Maybe time to change order

Re: Maybe time to change order

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