nforce2 or nforce2 ultra 400?

[nurdonsite2]

ok.......i am thinking about upgrading my curretn rig in the near future so i need some info. ive seen on many websites that there are 2 types of nforce2 mobo. the nforce2 and nforce2 ultra 400. and ive also seen that the nforce2 ultra are cheaper. why is the nforce 2 ultra cheaper? if u had to choose between one of them, which one whould u go with? and why?

thanx for taking the time to read my post.

[XxCowOfChaosxX]

i think the ultra 400 "officially" supports ddr400 ram, but im not sure

[Darthgary]

Ultra 400.

[Starfury_2260]

the nforce2 ultra 400 supports pc3200 ddr ram but the other type "does not"

[Omardeth]

Originally posted by Starfury_2260
the nforce2 ultra 400 supports pc3200 ddr ram but the other type "does not"

not true . both can support pc3200 ram . the difference is the ultra and ultra400 support 400fsb officaly .

[Eladijaz]

Greetings,
First of all - there is a little confusion above (not with everyone!) - All nforce 2 boards support PC3200 (400mhz) RAM. However, only those referred as '400s' support 400mhz FSB (really 200mhz ...).

Referring to the 'non 400' boards - In terms of best performance, you should run the RAM and FSB synchronously ... so I would suggest only running RAM at 333mhz (with a 333mhz FSB) even tho' you can run the 400mhz RAM. As I said, the '400' boards do not have this restriction.

There are more than two types of nforce 2 boards. Some may have integrated graphics, integrated sound, dual lan and/or firewire (and possibly Serial ATA) - and thus are pricier.
For a start, it depends on the cpu you wish to install (disregarding oc'ing). If it only needs a 166mhz FSB (333) then you only need the nforce2 (not sure what the 'ultra' refers to in the non 400 types ... not anything that I am aware of in terms of chipset functionality). If it needs a 200mhz FSB (400) then you will need to get a '400' version.

There are 3 main types to look at (they all support DDR RAM at 200mhz (400)):

Nforce2 - supports 166mhz FSB and dual channel memory;

Nforce2 400 - supports 200mhz FSB and only single channel memory;

Nforce2 ultra 400- supports 200mhz FSB and dual channel memory.

Then check out the other features of the board and see if you need/want them. I doubt that you would want the onboard graphics - which are the gf4 mx440 (or very similar).

FYI when searching -
IGP refers to integrated graphics - the opposing option being SPP which does not have the aforementioned.
Also, MCP-T (as opposed to 'MCP') is the more extensive south bridge which includes firewire, onboard sound and dual LAN ports.

Hope I didn't confuse you with too much info!

Regards,
Elad.

[ale_x13]

ya eladijaz and omardeth are right, the ultra 400 has nothing to do with RAM support (except that it supports dual channel)

well actually, im not sure about the dual channel thing but i will take their word for it, all i know is i have an ultra400 board that does support dual channel so at least part of the story is right

go with an ultra400, its worth it for the extra support you get. plus, if you dont have a decent sound card its worth getting a board with an mcp-t southbridge, as (unless i am mistaken) this refers to nVidias much renowned SOUNDSTORM chipset, which provides both 5.1 surround and sometimes digital out as well

look for boards that have things like "pro" or "deluxe" on the end

boards such as: gigabyte ga-7nnxpv (or the ga-7n400 pro 2, my board!) , asus a7n8x deluxe or the abit nf7-s are good, and alot of ppl on this forum have good things to say about the DFI LAN party NFII Ultra.

remember, your mobo is the basis of your system. its better 2 spend more on a feature-packed mobo and less on a cpu, than compromise with a mobo so u can get a faster cpu.

note:- all of the abovementioned boards have the mcp-t southbridge chipset. im pretty sure they all support RAID, Firewire, SATA, dual channel ddr etc

[nurdonsite2]

ok im a bit confused now. the board i was looking to get was this one
http://www.msicomputer.com/product/d...l=K7N2_Delta-L

but i see that it is way less ex*****ve then the abit nf7-s or the asus a7n8x. anyone know y? also in the link i provided above, it says that this board has an nforce2 ultra 400 chipset. so shouldn't it be much more expensive? or am i missing something hear?

[Eladijaz]

Originally posted by nurdonsite2
ok im a bit confused now. the board i was looking to get was this one
http://www.msicomputer.com/product/d...l=K7N2_Delta-L

but i see that it is way less ex*****ve then the abit nf7-s or the asus a7n8x. anyone know y? also in the link i provided above, it says that this board has an nforce2 ultra 400 chipset. so shouldn't it be much more expensive? or am i missing something hear?

Hi again,
This is quite a good board for the price (in Aus anyway). It is cheaper because it does not have the IGP (integrated graphics) northbridge, nor does it have the more extensive southbridge (MCP-T) (also because MSI tend to be a bit cheaper). The southbridge on this one is referred to as MCP - It has a single onboard NIC and standard ATA interfaces as well as USB 2.0. All the basics that you need.
Regards,
Elad.

[Eladijaz]

Being of the 'ultra 400' variety it also sports dual memory architecture and a FSB speed of upto 400 (200mhz).