Best Performing Nforce4 Board?

RoosterUSMC

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 16, 2004
Messages
276
My friend will be upgrading his comp with a Winchester 3200 and wants to know whats the best game performing Nforce4 non SLI mobo out there? He will be doing a little OCing. Ive been doing some research and the best performing non SLI mobo seems to be the DFI LANParty UT Ultra-D am I right? What do u guys think?
 
YEAH but the MSI SLI is really close and costs 170+shipping the dfi is 220+. So...
 
As I'm sure you are aware of, you can ignore the above post because it doesn't answer your question. As for the DFI NF4 Ultra, all of the reviews that I have seen have pointed toward it being one of, if not the best, overclockers motherboard. It's available for $147 w/ free shipping at zipzoomfly.com. If your buddy is looking for massive overclocking, this one is the one to go for.it offers up 4.0 volts for the memory.
 
plus if he orders soon, his DFI Ultra board will easily mod to become SLI capable if he ever wants it.
 
You dont need 4 volts for your memory to overclock. My MSI SLI Platinum overclocks to 300 HTT with 2.75 memory volts and 1.50 CPU volts,buy the right components and you dont need a hot running system to get good results. Theres a lot of bad issues with the DFI boards i would stay clear of them untill they get a good revision available.
 
ScYcS said:

broken when arrives,improper packing of part by DFI.
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=873072

here from Hard forum:
Damn there are alot of issues with DFI's NF4 mobos.

From all I have been reading im sure some bios fixes will clear alot of the issues up, but it really does sound like they need a new motherboard reversion to take care of some of the bigger issues.
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google for more,i have an MSI so i dont have any issues.
 
DFI best for overclocking.
Stock performance, no real difference between mobo.
for me, i would go with a8n-sli premium when it comes out
(1) the problems with the board will be all sorted out, and it will have taken all the best features from other boards
(2) which everyone seems to gloss over, running any sort of dual slot cooling in any other board other than the asus is impossible, as the board at the back will overheat hugely. also, large watercoolers are impossible...therefore the dfi is great, but you can't proprely oc dual graphics cards.....

therefore, i would personally go with ASUS (-cue calls of being stupid, naive etc.etc.)
f
 
I dunno anymore. I'm also in the market for a Nforce4 ultra board (non SLI). I'm torn between the DFI, the Epox and the chaintech or the MSI, with MSI being my least favorite (pricewise, don't need all the features anyway).

Epox looks good, but not many people use it it seems. DFI seems to have some probs and the Chaintech....no active cooling on the chipset.

I really don't know anymore.
 
It seems to be a bit of luck with the draw on the DFI MoBos a lot of ppl just plugged and played other ppl have had issues to no end. However two things about the DFI:

A) U really, really want a Good PSU! That help with a lot of the issues with this MoBo.
B) If U don't like to tweak dont get it... U will need to tweak A Lot with this one just to get it up to speed - the pro of this is that the sky is the limit if u are good at tweaking. So the really [H]ard likes the DFIs. (Now I don't know if it is the [H]ard ppl who has had trouble or if it is the [H]ard wannebees or general but a guess could be that if u dont know Very Well what U are doing U will run in to issues)

Now as for the issue of the Karjalan box crushing the on-board switches I belive DFI is all over that one and also that all the retailers are aware of this now.
 
Im waiting to see what Abit brings to the table in the N-Force 4 flavor b4 i buy a new board
 
Baker_God said:
plus if he orders soon, his DFI Ultra board will easily mod to become SLI capable if he ever wants it.

Even if it is moded, its a 2x - 16x SLI combo, and NVIDIA might make there drivers not run it... True SLI is 8x - 8x....so even if he gets a early version of the board furture drivers might kill the posibilty of SLI on a Ultra board...

correct me if im wrong...
 
For stock performance and features I love my gigabyte K8NF-9, but I can't recommend it for overclockers. But the bios should make that much obvious when half the settings you need are in their patented hidden menus.
 
Frallan said:
the pro of this is that the sky is the limit if u are good at tweaking. So the really [H]ard likes the DFIs

yep agreed, its the best ocing mobo there is, period.

CMAN said:
You dont need 4 volts for your memory to overclock. My MSI SLI Platinum overclocks to 300 HTT with 2.75 memory volts and 1.50 CPU volts

ur one overclocks like that cuz uv got TCCD(or similar mem). not everyone has them.

heard of the OCZ VX and the new twinmos(infineon) sticks? and what about the BH-5/6 and the CH-5 Wbond chips? they do need close to 4V to OC to the extreme. the VX is actually guaranteed upto 3.5v, so u need the DFI mobo for that. U mite also get a DDR booster with another mobo, but that adds upto the cost.

DFI is ' the ' mobo for oc'ers. for other people who dont OC, dont bother getting the DFI.
 
I'm a DFI fan myself so I'd say go for the Ultra-D and mod to SLI.

I've heard of and experienced first hand that MSI has some definite quality control problems. Had to take back more MSI boards than anything else. Even more than ECS. I'd say it was just my bad luck with MSI, but I've got numerous friends who have had problems as well. Plus, I've read on a number of forums about people buying MSI based on reviews, but having to return or RMA them soon afterwards because they were screwed up.

Personally, I'd stay away from MSI. I won't buy anything from them anymore. If overclocking is what you're looking to do, there is no choice other than DFI.
 
OCZ'S news ddr500 vx will do 500mhz at 222 at like 3.3 v and as far as i know the only mb that will put out the volts is the dfi one
 
I(illa Bee said:
Even if it is moded, its a 2x - 16x SLI combo, and NVIDIA might make there drivers not run it... True SLI is 8x - 8x....so even if he gets a early version of the board furture drivers might kill the posibilty of SLI on a Ultra board...

correct me if im wrong...

well you've got it half right. With older nvidia driver revisions you could run it in 2x-16x SLI mode with out doing the mod, but the new drivers have disallowed it. But since the Ultra and SLI are on the same mobo, all that is needed to do is connect a bridge and it becomes the SLI board (I did it with a pencil :D ). I would have reccomened the MSI aswell but I've had bad experiences with my past MSI purchases. Though many people are having great luck with their Neo4 boards, I guess its more of a personal thing.
 
I say if he wants "a little" overclock, go with the Asus board as it will be much easier to configure and make run. For massive overclocks with lots of tweaking needed, go with the DFI board. Matters your knowledge of BIOS tweaking and how much effert you want to put into it.
 
Right now DFI is where its at. If I were to get a A64/FX, I would get the DFI mobo.
 
IMO there's no question about it if any OC'ing is involved: DFI.

My room-mate is not very good with computers, but he still got the DFI board and we set it up together. The reason he got it is because he wants the best capabilities for OC'ing whenever his new chip starts to show its age.
 
I(illa Bee said:
Even if it is moded, its a 2x - 16x SLI combo, and NVIDIA might make there drivers not run it... True SLI is 8x - 8x....so even if he gets a early version of the board furture drivers might kill the posibilty of SLI on a Ultra board...

correct me if im wrong...

hmm, if you cant run it as 2x -16x, a simple trick is tape the back portion of the connector to force 8x. then again, the pencil mod will turn the ultra chipset into SLI.
 
First of all, nVidia got rid of the pencil mod with their latest drivers, so you'd have to use an old driver set ad infinitum.

Secondly, from what I've seen the Foxxcon NF4 board is actually the fastest (at stock speeds) although it's not really targeted at the "enthusiast" market so much.
 
no they didn't, the motherboards are the same. When the Ultra is modded it becomes the SLI, the drivers can't tell. What was disabled was DFI's 16x/2x SLI that worked with an un-modded ultra board.
 
Baker_God said:
no they didn't, the motherboards are the same. When the Ultra is modded it becomes the SLI, the drivers can't tell. What was disabled was DFI's 16x/2x SLI that worked with an un-modded ultra board.

QFT. Nvidia drivers do not allow 16x/2x SLI but if you mod the Ultra chip it doesn't matter, it physically becomes an SLI chip and therefore the BIOs/drivers see it as such and you can run 8x/8x. You still need to find an SLI bridge pcb though. 3rd party manufacturers will be making them soon I imagine but even then I don't believe it would be that hard to make your own.

Just for the record, I have had no issues with my Ultra-D that haven't been resolved with a BIOS update.
 
one thing to note though, msi's audio solution is better.
that and i prefer the less bold color schemes draw me over to the MSI side ;)
 
MSI board is $137 shipped, at zzf right now. As for the DFI there were alot of issues with it not liking certain memory.(new bios out to fix it) The only thing i hate about the DFI is the loud ass chipset fan and the inability to swap it out. The video card hangs right over the fan..The pwmic(mofets I think.) gets real hot too.
 
ufot said:
MSI board is $137 shipped, at zzf right now. As for the DFI there were alot of issues with it not liking certain memory.(new bios out to fix it) The only thing i hate about the DFI is the loud ass chipset fan and the inability to swap it out. The video card hangs right over the fan..The pwmic(mofets I think.) gets real hot too.

If anyone is going to be overclocking, odds are they are going to have a highend cooling system or water cooling system. Chipset fan noise will not be noticable over a decently powered fan or water pump. Even with a moderately quiet system, chipset fan noise isnt an issue. I cant hear my chipset fan when I run my Panaflo M1A at 7v.
 
patriot71 said:
If anyone is going to be overclocking, odds are they are going to have a highend cooling system or water cooling system. Chipset fan noise will not be noticable over a decently powered fan or water pump. Even with a moderately quiet system, chipset fan noise isnt an issue. I cant hear my chipset fan when I run my Panaflo M1A at 7v.


You must not have this board. I can hear that damn chipset fan over my water pump, two 120mm fans, 80mm blowhole, and two 80mm fans blowing through my black ice micro II radiator! It's way louder than all of those combined. I'm on the search for a waterblock that will fit in there right now, but I'm not too hopeful.
 
Dangermouse said:
You must not have this board. I can hear that damn chipset fan over my water pump, two 120mm fans, 80mm blowhole, and two 80mm fans blowing through my black ice micro II radiator! It's way louder than all of those combined. I'm on the search for a waterblock that will fit in there right now, but I'm not too hopeful.

I don't believe this is a problem with all of the DFI NF4's. I can't hear my chipset fan at all, even before it went into my 6-fan case. :)
 
I can't hear my chipset fan at all as well. I have the DFI Ultra-D and a very quiet system with Enermax silent fans. Even at full power, my chipset fan is barely audible.

I think you might have a faulty fan unit maybe.
 
Well my friend got the DFI Ultra-D and he loves it. His computer is super fast now and the guys over at DFIstreet have been helping him set up his OC.

Hes really happy with it.
 
Winchester cores don't care for a lot of extra voltage, TCCD ram is as easy to get as VX and overclocks well within MSI's limits. The board uses quality mosfets, runs cooler than the DFI, especially if you are pumping out more than 3.2 volts to VX memory. MSI has the best onboard audio solution of any mobo out now, and DFI's look hideous. Granted the DFI will get you a higher overclock with the right power supply, and ram, and a good overclocking cpu (who knows if you'll get that). But it won't be all that much different from what you can do with the MSI, with the right ram, a decent power supply, and a good overclocking cpu (who knows if you'll get that). I'll take the MSI
 
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