Abit's got mobos with heatpipes!

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_Korruption_

Supreme [H]ardness
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AN8 v2.0 -- vanilla nF4
AN8 Ultra -- nF4 Ultra

AW8-MAX -- 955X
AW8 -- 955X

I'm really interested in the AN8 Ultra, though I'd like to see how efficient the nF4 cooling really is. The layout on the Abit Socket 939 boards are good for the most part, but I really hate where they have the floppy connector at -- at the bottom of the board where nobody can get good access to it. Rubycon capacitors all around do give me good confidence. EpoX is still using bunk caps on some of their models, from what I'm hearing.

Asus also has a new version of their A8N-SLI Premium here, which also features heatpipe cooling on the nF4 SLI chip.
 
Korruption, PLEASE PM me when some stores in Toronto get them, I need to get a new MB/CPU ASAP :)
I've been keeping a very close eye on the usual store's websites, but nothing yet.
NewEGG got the AN8-SLI with heatpipe in stock late last week.

As for the boards themselves:

What defines the "ultra" vs. the regular NF4 chipset?
The boards look identical and appear to have identical features....?
 
I think the Ultra has SATA-II and the hardware firewall. Either the Abit AN8 Ultra or the Asus A8N-E Premium that is coming out soon (I hope).

I'll try to remember to shoot you a message ;)
 
If SATA-II supports NCQ, then, IMO, it's definetely worth getting or paying the difference for.

As for the hardware firewall, I really don't care lol.

Thanks :D
 
hmm.... is there a non-SLI version from Asus with heatpipes? I was thinking of the Asus A8N-E (nforce4 ultra), but if there's a new updated version or something similar, t'would be nice to see...

(btw, do heatpipes really matter? i mean, do they make that much difference?? especially if no/little overclocking is going on?)
 
Viperoni said:
If SATA-II supports NCQ, then, IMO, it's definetely worth getting or paying the difference for.

As for the hardware firewall, I really don't care lol.

Thanks :D
Click to expand...


NCQ wont be of any advantage to gamers, the main group that will notice a difference with NCQ is the server market using SATA. as it will help to close the gap between sata and scsi.

edit: i shouldnt say any, but it sure wont be a huge difference at all.
 
dangfx said:
hmm.... is there a non-SLI version from Asus with heatpipes? I was thinking of the Asus A8N-E (nforce4 ultra), but if there's a new updated version or something similar, t'would be nice to see...

(btw, do heatpipes really matter? i mean, do they make that much difference?? especially if no/little overclocking is going on?)
Click to expand...

I don't know, but I wuoldn't be surprised if they release one.

The only reason for the heatpipes is to eliminate the noisy NF4 chipset's fan. By using heatpipes to move the heatsink to a more convenient spot, a much bigger heatsink can be used to cool the shipset.

Note that you'd have to have positive air pressure in your case to make this work effectively... so if you have a 120mm fan up front and a 120mm fan in your PS, I'd make sure that front fan blows more air than the PS's fan.

But who knows, air recirculation might happen anyways, regardless of if you have more airflow up front.
 
ive been looking at these for the last few days and linking anyone looking for an NF4 board too them, they look great and the AN8's are overclocking pretty well, in fact the only beef anyone over at XS has with them is limited vdimm options, which doesnt matter for me and my TCCD. im planning on picking one (the AN8 U)up as soon as i can :)
 
I see newegg has them instock now. Anyone know if the pipe will interfere with a Zalman 7700 HSF?
 
Hofy said:
I see newegg has them instock now. Anyone know if the pipe will interfere with a Zalman 7700 HSF?
Click to expand...
not hte ultra model, unless theyve added it in the past couple hours...
 
How does this overclock compared to say DFI?

I heard that ABIT has lost credibility or something? I owned a Abit IC7 for my P4C and it was outstanding....

Do they have good voltage options? Obviously not as robust as DFI but.... you see where Im Comming from....
 
NCQ is a technology that resides in the hard drive, not the motherboard. That's because the idea of NCQ is that the HD knows where the data pyhsically is on the platter, while the processor and chipset don't. Thus it is more efficient to let the drive decide what order to do its read/write tasks in. In other words, if you buy a NCQ drive, it does whatever the frak it wants regardless of the motherboard you put it in.

I am also interested in OC data for the ABit boards & would welcome an alternative to DFI. Its design once, add chipsets later philosophy leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Not to mention silent NB cooling = good.

Edit: On the other hand, is adding another intake hole to the delicate thermal design of, say, a P180 a good idea? I know with my Sonata those "Antec" stamped holes let in a crapload of dust.
 
LstOfTheBrunnenG said:
NCQ is a technology that resides in the hard drive, not the motherboard.
Click to expand...
You're right on that, but the onboard controller must support NCQ operation.
 
The heatpipes are cool, but is it really necessary? I mean it's already widely agreed upon that water cooling chipsets is overkill. My 865 doesn't even have a fan on it. Have the newer chipsets gotten that much hotter that this would make sense?
 
It looks sweet, but would there be any restictions to what aftermarket HSF you could use. It looks to me that the heat pipe is very close to the CPU socket.

Drworm2005.
 
pigpen said:
The heatpipes are cool, but is it really necessary? I mean it's already widely agreed upon that water cooling chipsets is overkill. My 865 doesn't even have a fan on it. Have the newer chipsets gotten that much hotter that this would make sense?
Click to expand...
The nForce4 chipset runs very hot. Being a single chip design (no northbridge/southbridge), everything is crammed into it.
 
_Korruption_ said:
You're right on that, but the onboard controller must support NCQ operation.
Click to expand...

I assumed that because I've never seen a motherboard on Newegg that says "Supports NCQ!" I would think that's something any motherboard maker would be really proud of. But when I was reading a review of the DFI NForce4 Ultra board, I saw something in there saying that it "supports NCQ" so I'm definately prepared to be wrong.
 
All nForce4 Ultra and nForce4 SLI chipsets support NCQ. I believe the new 9x5 chipsets from Intel support it also.
 
can someone post a site for a review on the Abit A8N Ultra
i was only able to find the Fatal1ty reviews

whats the difference?
 
_Korruption_ said:
AN8 v2.0 -- vanilla nF4
AN8 Ultra -- nF4 Ultra

AW8-MAX -- 955X
AW8 -- 955X

I'm really interested in the AN8 Ultra, though I'd like to see how efficient the nF4 cooling really is. The layout on the Abit Socket 939 boards are good for the most part, but I really hate where they have the floppy connector at -- at the bottom of the board where nobody can get good access to it. Rubycon capacitors all around do give me good confidence. EpoX is still using bunk caps on some of their models, from what I'm hearing.

Asus also has a new version of their A8N-SLI Premium here, which also features heatpipe cooling on the nF4 SLI chip.
Click to expand...

Looking good, notice they've also started using polymer type capacitors in the power section of the mainboard. I guess they've learned from the bad cap class action lawsuit.

MD
 
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