Update: Good news

[Invader_sk00dge]

Well I finally broke. I went home yesterday to my Gigabyte motherboard having yet another BSOD "Machine Check Exception". I wasn't going to put up with this crap anymore. So I got up and got in the LANmobile, (my 87 Nova) and headed to a retail store. I took a look at two ASUS mobo's, the A8N-SLI and the deluxe model. Only reason I didn't get the deluxe because the only difference was that it had an extra RJ-45 port and 4 more SATA ports that I didn't need. I purchased the A8N-SLI and I couldn't be happier. The mobo installation was the most hassle free non-problematic that I have EVER had in all my experience with computers. And I should have known. When I went S939 I decided I would try a brand other then ASUS. I should have tried DFI or just stuck with ASUS. Regardless, I have it now and couldn't be happier. This board rocks, I have yet to test the overclocking capabilities of this mobo. Anyone have any experience with this board or boards like it as far as performance?

 

[skindogg]

About the only thing you gotta watch is the NB heatsink/fan. It might start making high pitched noises as it starts to die, in which case you can either call Asus and get a replacement or get a 3rd party chipset cooler.

As far as OC'ing, there's a voltage cap of like 1.5 or 1.6 (can't remember offhand) on the cpu, but it's less headache OC'ing than a DFI. Good for easy moderate OC'ing.

 

[oceancyc]

I went with a fanless zalman hsf for the northbridge. Be careful because the heat will skyrocket. And you my hava a problem getting a large video card into it. I have a XFX 7800gt that just barely fits in my board.