Please choose a 939 MoBo for me out of these 14 choices!

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pipedreams

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Feb 27, 2005
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Hi guys, I am new to hardware and what I've decided is to go to one location to hand-select components and have them put it together for me.

Here is what I have decided:
120-160 gig 8 mb cache western S-ata hard drive
256MB PC-3200 DDR400 RAM (two of 'em)
Athlon 64 3000+ Socket 939 cpu

Here are the motherboards compatible with 939 I can choose from:

1. ASUS A8V Deluxe VIA K8T800Pro w/ GB LAN, IEEE 1394
2. ASUS A8V-E Deluxe VIA K8T890 w/ PCI-E, Audio, Gb LAN, RAID
3. DFI Lanparty UT nF4 Ultra-D w/ Dual Ch DDR, Audio, Gb LAN
4. Epox EP-9NDA3+ nF3 Ultra socket 939 8-ch audio, GB Lan, SATA, 1394
5. Gigabyte GA-K8NF-9 nF4 4X MCPs PCI-E, Audio, GB LAN, SATA, IEEE 1394
6. Gigabyte GA-K8NS 939 nF3 w/ Audio, GB LAN, SATA
7. Gigabyte GA-K8NS Ultra939 nF3 w/ Audio, LAN, IEEE 1394
8. Gigabyte GA-K8NXP-SLI s939 nF4 w/ 2 PCI-E, Audio, SATA, IEEE 1394
9. MSI K8N Neo 2 Platinum
10. MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum nForce4 Ultra w/ PCI-E, Audio, GbLAN
11. MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum/SLI nForce4 Ultra SLI w/ Audio, GbLAN
12. MSI K8T Neo2-F VIA K8T800Pro w/ GB LAN, Audio
13. MSI K8T Neo2-FIR VIA K8T800Pro w/ GB LAN, IEEE 1394, SATA RAID
14. MSI RS480M2-IL ATI Xpress 200 w/ Dual Ch DDR, Audio, IEEE

Here are the questions I have to consider:

- Is it Sata HD compatible?
- Does my firewire card work with it?
- I don't need DDR2 capability!
- Is it Dual Channel for my two sticks of RAM?
- I don't think I care if it comes with built in video/sound or not.
- I do not need a network card in there (but don't mind if it is in there) and won't be using a LAN

Please tell me, which one(s) of the above MoBos meets my needs? and which one would you choose?

Also if anyone could throw in simple answers to what "bus size",
"hyperthreading" and "parrallel" have to do with anything, please let me know!
 
Either of the ASUS boards. Depends if you want PCI-E or not. And I believe "Hyperthreading" is Intel's version of AMD's HyperTransport (or the other way around). All of the boards are probably SATA and dual channel DDR/DDR2 compadable. Most of them will probably fit your needs. Next you need to compair prices. But my personal prefrence would be first ASUS than Gigabyte.
 
Considering your new to hardware i doubt the features of the DFI board will be of much use to now and troubleshooting could be more of a concern with it.

I would go with the MSI or Gigabyte nForce 4 board myself for staple stock performance.
 
What is your plans on a video card as that also plays a big factor in what board you would choose.
 
pipedreams said:
1. ASUS A8V Deluxe VIA K8T800Pro w/ GB LAN, IEEE 1394
2. ASUS A8V-E Deluxe VIA K8T890 w/ PCI-E, Audio, Gb LAN, RAID
3. DFI Lanparty UT nF4 Ultra-D w/ Dual Ch DDR, Audio, Gb LAN
4. Epox EP-9NDA3+ nF3 Ultra socket 939 8-ch audio, GB Lan, SATA, 1394
5. Gigabyte GA-K8NF-9 nF4 4X MCPs PCI-E, Audio, GB LAN, SATA, IEEE 1394
6. Gigabyte GA-K8NS 939 nF3 w/ Audio, GB LAN, SATA
7. Gigabyte GA-K8NS Ultra939 nF3 w/ Audio, LAN, IEEE 1394
8. Gigabyte GA-K8NXP-SLI s939 nF4 w/ 2 PCI-E, Audio, SATA, IEEE 1394
9. MSI K8N Neo 2 Platinum
10. MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum nForce4 Ultra w/ PCI-E, Audio, GbLAN
11. MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum/SLI nForce4 Ultra SLI w/ Audio, GbLAN
12. MSI K8T Neo2-F VIA K8T800Pro w/ GB LAN, Audio
13. MSI K8T Neo2-FIR VIA K8T800Pro w/ GB LAN, IEEE 1394, SATA RAID
14. MSI RS480M2-IL ATI Xpress 200 w/ Dual Ch DDR, Audio, IEEE
Click to expand...


Here's my top 4 picks. The DFI probably has the best overclocking options. I personally have MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum nForce4 Ultra w/ PCI-E, Audio, GbLAN and my last board was the MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum.

1. MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum/SLI nForce4 Ultra SLI w/ Audio, GbLAN
2. DFI Lanparty UT nF4 Ultra-D w/ Dual Ch DDR, Audio, Gb LAN
3. MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum nForce4 Ultra w/ PCI-E, Audio, GbLAN
4. Gigabyte GA-K8NXP-SLI s939 nF4 w/ 2 PCI-E, Audio, SATA, IEEE 1394
 
SureFire said:
Here's my top 4 picks. The DFI probably has the best overclocking options. I personally have MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum nForce4 Ultra w/ PCI-E, Audio, GbLAN and my last board was the MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum.

1. MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum/SLI nForce4 Ultra SLI w/ Audio, GbLAN
2. DFI Lanparty UT nF4 Ultra-D w/ Dual Ch DDR, Audio, Gb LAN
3. MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum nForce4 Ultra w/ PCI-E, Audio, GbLAN
4. Gigabyte GA-K8NXP-SLI s939 nF4 w/ 2 PCI-E, Audio, SATA, IEEE 1394
Click to expand...

QFT. I agree with this selection as well.
 
Thansk guys I appreciate it.

I don't know what video card I'm going to get, cause I don't game, all I need it for is miniDV capture/editing.

And, I'm not planning on overclocking my machine.

Seems like the top choices are, (I'll include the prices in $CAN after each,)

A. ASUS A8V Deluxe VIA K8T800Pro w/ GB LAN, IEEE 1394 ($160)
B. ASUS A8V-E Deluxe VIA K8T890 w/ PCI-E, Audio, Gb LAN, RAID ($185)
C. DFI Lanparty UT nF4 Ultra-D w/ Dual Ch DDR, Audio, Gb LAN ($182)
D. MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum nForce4 Ultra w/ PCI-E, Audio, GbLAN ($236)
E. Gigabyte GA-K8NXP-SLI s939 nF4 w/ 2 PCI-E, Audio, SATA, IEEE 1394 ($220)

Ok....not surprisingly I guess, you guys chose among the most costly boards.... they probably cost more for a reason.... (of course I have no idea what that reason is.)

Do you guys mind letting me know why you made those choices over the cheaper boards, for example,

F. Gigabyte GA-K8NS 939 nF3 w/ Audio, GB LAN, SATA ($111)
G. MSI RS480M2-IL ATI Xpress 200 w/ Dual Ch DDR, Audio, IEEE ($113)
H. MSI K8T Neo2-F VIA K8T800Pro w/ GB LAN, Audio ($116)

Is it just because of the video card? Because I assume my video card needs are pretty minimal...
 
pipedreams said:
Do you guys mind letting me know why you made those choices over the cheaper boards, for example,

F. Gigabyte GA-K8NS 939 nF3 w/ Audio, GB LAN, SATA ($111)
G. MSI RS480M2-IL ATI Xpress 200 w/ Dual Ch DDR, Audio, IEEE ($113)
H. MSI K8T Neo2-F VIA K8T800Pro w/ GB LAN, Audio ($116)
Click to expand...

Because except for the ATI Xpress 200 board those are AGP boards and if your building a new system you should go with PCI-Express so you have better upgradeability.

You will need to buy a PCI-E video card with a PCI-E motherboard.
 
Okay that makes sense, so working my way from the cheapest one up....

is this a PCI-E board? Why wouldn't I want this board?
MSI RS480M2-IL ATI Xpress 200 w/ Dual Ch DDR, Audio, IEEE ($113)

Or how about
Gigabyte GA-K8NF-9 nF4 4X MCPs PCI-E, Audio, GB LAN, SATA, IEEE 1394($137)

Or these two (I don't know if they're PCI-E or not)

Gigabyte GA-K8NS Ultra939 nF3 w/ Audio, LAN, IEEE 1394 more info ($144)
Epox EP-9NDA3+ nF3 Ultra socket 939 8-ch audio, GB Lan, SATA, 1394 ($149)

Or is it just way better to go with the:

ASUS A8V Deluxe VIA K8T800Pro w/ GB LAN, IEEE 1394 ($160)
ASUS A8V-E Deluxe VIA K8T890 w/ PCI-E, Audio, Gb LAN, RAID ($185)
 
Uhhh. . . you really need to catch up and take a look at this list. . .


Socket 939 K8T890 , nForce4, SiS 756, Radeon Xpress 200 Next Gen Motherboard Pricing and Availability List

Sounds to me like you're not even listening to our suggestions. BTW - the Neo4 you list above (non-sli) has been down to $145 and the DFI Ultra-D. Why we're suggesting them is that they are the newest nForce4 chipset . . . and how did the Asus get into your shortlist. Its a great board, but if you overclock or ever plan to do so, you'll want to make sure you get the right revision of that board with the working PCI/AGP locks.

If you don't care about getting the best motherboard or are on a budget, just say so.
 
Hi Surefire,

I think I might have miscommunicated. I am looking for the BEST VALUE, not the best board. I am looking for the "board I need" for the lowest price I can get it. And please note that the prices are in Canadian currency.

My budget is my whole machine (case/psu/mobo/cpu/ram/hd/dvd-rw/vidcard/soundcard/monitor) for under 1 K canadian (15% taxes included).

blackcode suggested the ASUS boards, that's why they were on the shortlist. They are also cheaper than most of the other suggested boards.

Sorry if it appears that I am not paying attention to what people are saying. I am paying attention to all of it but I don't always understand it. I don't understand many of the acronyms. For example, I am not familiar with what PCI-E is and whether this is something really "top of the line" (like DDR2 which I dont' need) or just what's normal now (like socket 939 which I might as well invest in)

Doesn't nf4 just refer to the type of video card in there? I don't know whether nf4 is "top of the line" or just "mediocre". I only need a normal video card and I don't need to pay extra for a really nice one since I don't game. At all.

I don't plan on overclocking the machine. Ever.

So please advise,

What's the Cheapest mobo that meets my needs: Average quality with dual DDR (not DDR2) capability and upgrade potential for the future?
 
PCI-E is what the new video cards are all using now. Currently most of the new video cards are available in AGP or PCI-E. If you want a board that will be useful for a longer time you'll want to get PCI-E board/video card.
 
I've been told elsewhere since my post above, that PCI-E is top of the line, the video cards are very expensive and and that I really do not need it at all for my purposes.

I am hoping someone will suggest an appropriate board for my needs? Anyone?
 
You could always check the reviews at respected sites like this one, Anandtech, Tom's Hardware Guide, and a couple others.
 
I would go with 8, 3, ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe, 11

If you don't game but do video editing maybe get an ATI AIW X600. You will get quite the value in software with that card plus have plenty of Video editing and TV options.
If you don't need such options then I guess pair that SLI board with at least one 6600GT.
I have the A8N-SLI and so far I like it, well loaded and has the most PCI slots of all the other SLI boards on the market. If it wasn't for that though I usually like Gigabyte as they are stable and the Dual-Bios can save your ass, unlike on most other boards were the BIOS gets damaged and the board is toasted.

Since you want to stay cheap but it still might be a good idea to go with a PCI-E video card the GigaByte GA-K8NF-9 can be had for 115 US dollars while the DFI LanParty UT NF4 Ultra D can be had for 140 along with the MSI Neo4 Platinum.
As for PCI-E video cards the X600 AIW is about 205 dollars and 6600GT are around 180, but if you really want to be cheap you can get a PCI-E X300 for 60 and Nvidia 6200 for 80.

Other than those options all AMD boards are DDR1. So really the only consideration is whether to go PCI-E or AGP and what board and Video card to use. Good Luck
 
I wouldn't mess with one of the PCI-E boards just yet. They are new, expensive, and haven't had time to get the bugs worked out yet. If your not planning on gaming, overclocking, or using Raid, etc... in the foreseeable future then why pay the premium for it? Build a cheap socket 754 system or maybe a low end 939 system and enjoy it. I'm not aware of any Athlon 64 boards that have onboard video but there could be one. Just about any of the lower priced boards should easily do what you have in mind. You also have to remember that most of us here are serious gamers so a system that would be ideal for us might not be a good bet for you and vice-versa. Your old two sticks of memory would work fine in any of those boards as long as (hopefully) it will run PC3200 (400) speeds.
 
Thanks for all your advice guys. This has been very helpful :)

Roberty, you are saying just what I am thinking. The RAM is indeed PC3200 (400). Is there a 939 board listed here that jumps out at you as a particularly good choice?
 
EPoX. Hands down.

If you do not pick the EPoX, please, do not choose a Gigabyte. They use the cheapest stuff out there to market their boards fast.

Many people are choosing DFI. I ask why? If you've been following the company for the past several years you'd know that their boards are extremely flakey and are often Dead On Arrival. Not my own personal experience, but several friends of mine have told me that their DFI boards came dead.

I'd also recommend the Sempron 3100. It's a phenominal chip.
 
Normally I'd say to get the Gigabyte (GA-K8NS 939) because Gigabyte are known to be extremely stable boards but this particular board had some problems early on and I don't know if Gigabyte got it fixed with an updated Bios so I'd stay clear until I heard otherwise.

In the past I would not recommend a MSI product because of their past total lack of end user support if an RMA was needed. I had this happen with bad capasitors on a MSI board I used to have and I was basically out of luck getting MSI to do something about it. They have since gotten better about that I see so you might give them a try again on one of those MSI boards.
That MSI RS480M2-IL ATI Radeon XPRESS 200 board is something I didn't realise was even made. It has onboard video plus it has a PCI-E port for on down the road if you suddenly decided to become a gamer. That might be your best bet fot what it sounds like your looking for. The price is not bad either. I'm sure it won't be a barn burner in the benchmarks and overclocking but that doesn't sound to me to be what your looking for.

Robert
 
chile7236 said:
my personal choices: 1)DFI 2)MSI 3)Abit
Click to expand...

that is almost the exact order i would choose, except i would put abit before msi, but definetly dfi as my number one choice
 
I say get the DFI from experience, and even though you say you arn't going to OC', with all the nice features it has I'm sure you'll end up doing a bit of OC' with it. Why not? More speed for free.
 
abit av8 has been pretty good to me, not the fastest but it works. Other than that I would pick 3 9 10.
 
Hi. If your going for PCI-E get #10 on your list. Your choices are good, but I wouldn't pick any. If your flexable look at the Soltek K890Pro-939. A full featured board and probabley cheaper than the others. Here's some reviews;
http://www.cluboc.net/reviews/motherboards/soltek/k890pro/index.htm

http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Hardware/Reviews/slk890pro939/index.html

I own the AGP version K8TPro-939. Theese boards rock and won't break your pocketbook. I would have gone PCI-E had I not bought my video card so early.
 
For your needs Id acctually sip on the s939 thing and go s754

Advantages: Cheaper and AGP

Now AGP and PCI-e are the busses that the graphic cards are connected to U don't need PCI-e so I go AGP and a Reardon All-In-Wonder (probably a 9600 Pro or XT) with 128 MB ram.

Disadvantages: U dont get dualchannel, on the other hand for your purposes u don't need DC...

So My list would be:
DFI nF3 Lanparty 250 Gb
A Reardon 9600XT AIW (AGP :))
A socket 754 3200+ or a Semprom 3100+
and 2*512 Mb RAM (PC 3200 / DDR400)

Now the thing is that to a limit more RAM is going to increase your spped more then a faster CPU. this Limit today (IMHO) is 512 and since youre going to keep this amchine over at least another Software Upgrade id get the 1Gb now so the RAM slots wont be filled.

If The DFI is to expensive (and it might be, its a OC board but also uses Good components that won't quit on U) Id go with the Chaintech 250 (something). Now b4 U run off and get the Chaintech and a Sempron check if they are compatible!!!

GL
 
God, did you retards even read what he said? Fuck.

I don't know what video card I'm going to get, cause I don't game, all I need it for is miniDV capture/editing.

And, I'm not planning on overclocking my machine.
Click to expand...

No gaming and no overclocking. And you morons suggest SLI boards and shit? Christ. :rolleyes:

To answer your question, none of them, because you shouldn't be going with AMD for audio/video work. Get a Pentium 4 for doing that. I'm an Athlon 64 lovin' mofo, but Athlon 64's aren't the best performance value for most multimedia type work.
 
Exactly what I was thinking, castle.


Go with 1gb of ram (when doing A/V work you willl want the extra RAM)
The best Intel Processor you can afford
cheap videocard. (depends if you want DVI for a lcd)
Good intel motherboard. (intel chipsets are generaly the most reliable)
As much harddrive space as you can afford.
Decent video capture card.
I'll throw something together for you.

Some questions:
Does your camcorder have a firewire/usb 2.0 port to transfer video?
How important is your data? (Raid)
Do you plan on using a higher end LCD (with DVI) with this computer either now or in the future?
 
Some more thoughts:

Ditto on Intel mobos if you don't care about overclocking and just want stability.

The 600 series Prescotts should give you less heat trouble than the older 500 series ones. They also support 64 bit processing.

You probably want a video card with HDTV-out instead of just TV-out, these are pretty widely available now.

PCI-Express cards cost about the same as AGP cards, except the high-end gaming cards, which you won't be using. So there is no reason not to go with one of those. DDR2 right now is no faster than DDR, just more expensive. So just get an Intel LGA775 mobo that supports DDR and PCI-Express, they are pretty affordable. You really won't save any money to speak of compared to an old Socket 478 mobo with DDR and AGP-8x.
 
Acctually the Intel Option is also a good option. Id say Intel or s754 a decent Intel setup is probably gonne cost U a little bit more but U get the HT thrown in on top.

Plus AMD: Price

Plus Intel: HT and more of the programs in your area of intrest has Intel optimised code then AMD optimised code.
 
DFI Lanparty UT nF4 Ultra-D w/ Dual Ch DDR, Audio, Gb LAN

also have then 4V VDimm, or not?
with BH5-back again, this is my first option
 
yodster said:
Hi. If your going for PCI-E get #10 on your list. Your choices are good, but I wouldn't pick any. If your flexable look at the Soltek K890Pro-939. A full featured board and probabley cheaper than the others. Here's some reviews;
http://www.cluboc.net/reviews/motherboards/soltek/k890pro/index.htm

http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Hardware/Reviews/slk890pro939/index.html

I own the AGP version K8TPro-939. Theese boards rock and won't break your pocketbook. I would have gone PCI-E had I not bought my video card so early.
Click to expand...

Yeah I like the Soltek too, Two more reviews of the Soltek SL-K890Pro-939 can be found at:

http://www.ninjalane.com/display.aspx?docname=sl-k890pro-939
http://www.tbreak.com/reviews/article.php?cat=mobos&id=359

As I believe this one should be #15 on Your list, If not #1 that is. I'm going to buy this when the FX-57 comes out after I get some extra cash around here. :D Then get a new psu, video card and tccd ram too, Just as an upgrade.
 
blackcode said:
Either of the ASUS boards. Depends if you want PCI-E or not. And I believe "Hyperthreading" is Intel's version of AMD's HyperTransport (or the other way around). All of the boards are probably SATA and dual channel DDR/DDR2 compadable. Most of them will probably fit your needs. Next you need to compair prices. But my personal prefrence would be first ASUS than Gigabyte.
Click to expand...
silly newb
 
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