Narrowed to 3. What now?

S

scwam

Gawd
Joined
Jul 26, 2005
Messages
829
I've got 3 Mb's narrowed down in order of priority.

DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 SLI-DR Expert
EPoX EP-9NPA+ SLi
ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe (or Premium, don't know the difference quite yet)

My needs.
O/C fsb at minimum 280 since I'm using Opteron 170 (10x multiplier)
Raid 0 without spending a life sentence searching for "decorated" Raid drivers as I had to do with Xp-64 on my dual-boot Av8 rig (3 weeks of living hell).

Hopes:
The motherboard will run 1T timings when ram is overclocked.
Will not be too picky with type of Ram, will be using Corsair ValueRam until
I upgrade to G.skill HX series.

I see advantages and disadvantages of all 3 boards:

The DFI should w/o a doubt hit way post 300 fsb. But I'm finding some people on this sight having issues with the Expert model and Opteron 170.

The Epox May not pass 280 FSB per reviews I've read. This would be a big waste of my CPU's potential as it can hit 2800mhz. I'd be sick if I got this MB and it maxed out at like 2400. However, this MB I believe is just as stable as the DFI and much easier to handle/user friendly.

The Asus may have the same problem again with the FSB not going past 280, per reviews I've read. Another gamble. If that sucker hit 300+ I'm set. Given it has 8 phase voltage regulation, it would be a spectacular overclocking board for the 170....If it reaches 280. The reviews I've read also requires the CPU multipler to be lowerd for it to reach these speeds. I can't afford to lower it. ( I never guessed lowering cpu mult provides a more stable fsb??)

I'm hoping I get 3x htt multipler on all these boards when using at 280, as I know some boards, you've got to lower the HTT Mult all the way down to 1x to get it stable. That would be a waste.

I've never had any of these brands of boards. Abit and Soyo were the only types I've had, all VIA chipsets. My Bios knowledge is average to above average. My oc skills are average+.

I'll be using this system for gaming once I decide on an Evga or other 7800GT brand.

Please any advise would be appreciated. I really want to see my Opty 170 ccbwe0530 scream.
 
as a current owner of the a8n32 board i highly recommend it... you shouldnt have too much troubly getting your 280 on it...im currently @ 275 without any fuss.

i previously had a dfi nf4-sli dr and it was a great clocker but the gremlins with that board drove me crazy most of the time. at some point you just want things to work and with that board i was constantly tweaking / tinkering etc..

ive had the asus board for about 2 weeks now - i am still getting used to it but so far so good - i would say its every bit as capable as the dfi (my old one - cant comment on the expert) and has far less "issues" with it.
 
If I can recomend a mobo...ABIT AN8 SLI. Thing is beautiful and works like a dream

It's in spanish but u can click the pics

I did not do a clean install of the heatsink so that why it ran warmer but it runs much cooler. The Opty also works as well and I didn't really push it much. Very stable and would mos def reco it.
 
I'd vote for the DFI since I have had no problems running an Opty 165 on mine. Also, I heard of another guy who was having problems with the Abit and the Opterons. He was told by Abit tech support that they wouldn't work (now whether it's true or not...).
 
What's your overclock on the fsb with htt multipler on the abits?
 
On a reg AN8 took a 1.8 to 2.46. On a AN8 SLI it flew past that. (HTT280's) All on stock. I don't know the top because I didn't really try much more than that. Did it on Ballistix 3 3 3 no dividers.
 
I liked the Abit AN8-SLI board. If it works with Opty's, I have no reason to vote against it as long as you flash to the newest bios (or anything over 17 I believe).
 
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