Nforce2 Mboard advice requested

[waferdog]

I am looking to upgrade my motherboard that I currently have, which is a bit out of date. All other components will stay the same for now.

I would like to buy one of the NForce 2 400 (Ultra or not) boards, but have been out of the mboard game for quite some time, so I am unsure of what would be best for me.

Price is a consideration for me, so anything over $100 (on Newegg) is out of the running. My other consideration is whether to go Ultra or not. From what I see, Ultra gives me SATA and Firewire. Firewire is not needed at all, and SATA is not something that I think I would use for some time. Still, it may be smart for me to get it now so as to 'future-proof' myself in that regard.

I would appreciate your recommendations for both Ultra and non-Ultra boards, keeping the cost consideration in mind.

At both levels, I have been leaning toward the Albatron boards. They are a newer name, but seem to be getting good reviews. The other board I was looking at closely was the DFI board.

List of available NForce2 400 boards on Newegg

Thanks.

[John Prophet]

If you are not going to overclock..this one could be cool http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...138-236&depa=0

or if you want to save a few$$ and cut out the sata raid then maybe http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...138-227&depa=0

[Omardeth]

my opinion is it doesn't really matter weither you get a nforce2 / 400 / 400 ultra board . the cpu's that are used in them are about at the end of there line now and all those chipsets will do them all . but if you want the 400 chipset i would say the ultra because it is the latest . alot of people like the Shuttle nForce2 Ultra 400 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU, Model "AN35N-Ultra" -RETAIL alot . HERE it is alittle cheaper than newegg. i really like the abit line . the AN7 and NF7-S 99$ NF7-S newegg 105$ are really nice .also there is the NF7 for 80$ newegg. it doesn't have sata , you say you don't need it . so thats an option also . if you want it later you can always get a sata card later they are about 20$

me myself i don't like dfi boards , but thats a personal thing from problems in the past . but to be honost i think you will be fine with any of the boards you get today .

[waferdog]

Thanks for the replies.

This kind of highlights my decision making problems. The problem is that most of the boards tend to be quite similar, so then issues of quality come into play. Abit is a good name so I am kind of leaning that way. The Biostar one had a nice looking rebate attached, but that turned out to be no good anymore.

Any other opinions out there?

[sweeper2]

I personally like MSI from past experience. Here is one I used to run before downgrading at a good price. MSI is a well known name and always has run well for me and others I know who have them (pentium processors also).

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...130-419&depa=1


are you using AMD or Intel? seems were all posting AMD boards here...

[waferdog]

Sweeper2,

Yes, this is definitely for AMD. I currently have a 1700+ that I will be putting in there, but as part of my slow upgrade process, that will get upgraded as well down the line.

[Vyx]

I would reccomend a Asus A7n8x-Delux or A7n8x-E, this is a really good socket A motherboard in my opinion and i have never had any problems with it it comes with all the extras like raid, firewire, extra usb, as most do these days but its just good quality and for around 100 buck you cant really go wrong

[Omardeth]

like i said before you will pertty much be ok no matter what brand you get .

[waferdog]

Well, after looking at everything, I have decided to go with the Abit. To be quite honest, I really wanted to get the Albatron board, but the Abit had a few extra features and a great reputation for stability for a few dollars more.

Thanks for the advice.

(Override, I used to use Asus exclusively. Had this been a few years ago, I would not have even thought about this. But I had a few Asus boards with reliability problems in the last couple of years that have made me move away from Asus exclusively)

[lukewarmdog]

Seems like you made your decision.
I just bought an ASUS nForce board, the A7N8X-VM/400 and found out the hard way that it appears to be "picky" about RAM. Nothing but complaints about this board whereas the other models seem to be OK.

My ABIT nForce board, the NF7, worked perfectly as soon as I narrowed all the problems I had with it down to manufacturer supplied Detonators. Using nVidia Dets has given me now about a years worth of completely hassle free computing.

Not sure tho that I would go for another nForce mobo without reading a LOT of good reviews about the board itself first, the chipset itself doesn't appear to be totally stable or manufacturers are messing with it and destabilising it.

Don't base your purchase on price alone, get user reviews and then buy it.