DFI Infinity NFII Ultra or ABIT NF7-S to oc an AXP-M?

LeChuck

Weaksauce
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I'm looking to put together an oc'ed Athlon XP mobile system. From what I gather, the DFI has the highest ram voltage of an NF2 board and is then potentially the greatest over clocker, while the NF7-S is the most stable, reliable NF2 mobo around and a forum favorite.

Which do you recommend?

I don't anticipate oc'ing my memory, as I'm currently looking at the 1gb kit of Kingston ValueRam PC3200 here...
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-141-423&depa=0
...and so I don't imagine I'll be going much beyond a 200mhz fsb with a 12 or 12.5 multiplier on a 2500+ and so I don't think I'd use the DFI's extra voltage options. And while I'm reasonably confident in my ability to troubleshoot tech, at least with the help of internet sites such as this one, this will the first system I've put together with the intention of oc'ing and so stability, reliability, and relative simplicity would be nice.

Sounds like I've talked myself into the NF7-S, but I'd still like to know what you all think.

Thanks
 
My Kingston ValueRAM can run at a 235MHz front side bus. I have a NF7-S v2.0 too.

The results from the DFI Infinity II will be around the same as with the NF7-S v2
 
Thanks for the response, but I'm going to bump it once in the hope that I get a few more responses.
 
I have a lan party b, love it so far... awesome bios support and features.

Either way, you end up with a great board.
 
IMO, I say get the dfi, there known for the highest fsb overclocks.
I have a lanparty b that runs constant at 9x250 at 6 2 2 2 2 timings and havent had any trouble.Im limited by my cpu right now but am ordering a mobile next week.Good luck with whatever you choose, both are excellent boards.
 
no problem. about your memory, if you have the extra money you might want to think about higher speed dimms for a higher fsb sync. remember a higher fsb is better then overall MHz. like 200x12.5=2500MHz would noticably perform less then 250x10=2500MHz. since im limited to ~200 fsb aswell, i wouldnt mind picking up a few of these moduals at a good price...

Kingston HyperX Series 512MB DDR PC-3700 @ newegg for $120 shipped...

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-144-132&depa=1
 
From what I've read in the threads to which jwill linked, both boards have soundstorm.

However this leads to a question I've had for a while; I know getting a dedicated audio card takes a load off of the cpu, but does that apply to the integrated audio in a mobo or is that integrated chip independently powered hardware with it's own proc?

I'm in a dorm and use headphones so I don't need an audigy 2 ZS, but I'll get an audigy if I need it to take the load off the comp.

Thanks again.
 
Originally posted by LeChuck
From what I've read in the threads to which jwill linked, both boards have soundstorm.

However this leads to a question I've had for a while; I know getting a dedicated audio card takes a load off of the cpu, but does that apply to the integrated audio in a mobo or is that integrated chip independently powered hardware with it's own proc?

I'm in a dorm and use headphones so I don't need an audigy 2 ZS, but I'll get an audigy if I need it to take the load off the comp.

Thanks again.
Actually, the nForce APU in the MCP-T has about as much gaming muscle as the Audigy series, and is the only non-Creative solution that supports OpenAL and D3D Sound in the hardware. If Nvidia would finally get their standalone boards based around the APU, they could kick some Creative ass and Creative couldn't just buy Nvidia out. Game support aside, I haven't seen a motherboard based around the APU that uses a better DAC than the Realtek ALC650, and the 4-layer mobo is a hostile environment for analog signals also the mobo manu's rarely design excellent shielding in order to cut costs. So, if you wish to have the best analog output possible (headphones), I would look into the Audigy series, but you might not be able to hear the difference, and you already have excellent gaming support with the MCP-T APU, so it's up to you.

As for the OP, I would go with the DFI... in fact, I have an Infinity on the way as my NF7-S v1.0 died and just out of warranty. I have been researching the DFI boards at AMDMB's forums and the best overclocking BIOS's seem to be the beta 1/21 and Oskar's 2/17.b01 with 12/18 ROMSIP & latest SATA BIOS but every board reacts differently to the BIOS versions. I must warn you that if your board's BIOS dies with a beta or alpha BIOS on the chip, DFI will send it back unrepaired so you should be prepared with an extra BIOS chip or BIOS Savior for about $20~25. Also if you want to overclock to high FSB's, look into slapping a small heatsink onto the small square ICC chip across from the AGP slot under the DIMM slots between the two half circles (search AMDMB for "hot spots" for more details). This little bastard routinely gets above 76 degrees Celsius at high FSB's and can cause DIMM issues. The VDD Mosfet above it and to the left also gets above 70 degrees so you should put some sinks on those too.

I'm hoping to take my board up to 250MHz with my dual sticks of BH-5 goodness :D Good luck
 
Yeah...DFI may give you higher FSB compared to the NF7-S v2.0, but look at memory benchmarks. NF7-S has tighter timings. So, what do you want? Perhaps a couple MHz FSB higher (if you're lucky) for bragging rights? Or better performance from a better board? Abit rules, NF7-S is by far the best nforce2 board out there and always will be...nuff said. :D

As for the audio, yeah SoundStorm kicks ass. So many people have thrown away their audigy's because of it.

About the vdimm...just mod the NF7-S with 1 wire, 1 resistor, and some solder...then give it all ya want. Takes 5 minutes and costs nothing. I wouldn't base my decision for a motherboard over it's RAM voltage options in BIOS, at least when one board can easily be modified to give more.

If you do get the NF7-S, make sure you flash to this modded BIOS...that is if you ever plan to use your 10 & 10.5 multipliers while running over 220 or so FSB:
http://forum.abit-usa.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=277628#post277628
 
Personally, I bought the DFI board over the Abit. They seem to be basically the same, feature-wise, but for the Ultra Infinity's 4xSATA raid over the NF7's 2x. Plus the Infinity's southbridge is passively cooled...

I've had no issues and the board has done everything asked of it without so much as a whimper. :)
 
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