IUMaestro Posted October 23, 2003 Posted October 23, 2003 So I finished building my system about a month ago, and have posted a few times here before with questions, but this one is the most important I think. I am definately planning on sending back my Chaintech 7NJL3 ( Product Link - Click here to look at it. ) I don't know if it's the nForce2, or the cheapness of the mainboard itself but I am having LOTS of problems that everybody seems to diagnose as being attributed with the board/chipset. These include lock-ups during boot, total lack of Internet or sound sporatically... gone then back on, then gone again in a matter of minutes. A post-formatting and freshly installed XP Pro fully boots about 1/3 of the time, and when it does nothing is right. So that brings me to question. I'm looking at Asus, Abit, AOpen, Gigabyte, MSI, and Biostar boards mostly but I'm open to your suggestions. I am very much oppossed to the nForce2 now, it seems to really mess crap up bad. Definately liking the VIA KT400 or KT600, but what do you think? Ok I'm ready to count the shoutings of your favorite mobo's, but please provide reason for your preferences, I will take your suggestions seriously. Thanks guys. - Matt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
FanATIc205 Posted October 23, 2003 Posted October 23, 2003 you dont want a via chipset if your into overclocking i think you got a bum mobo. you thoguht about rmaing it maybe its just bad . abit nf 7-s its the best imho nf2 board out there. im running a asus a7n8x dlx and the abit puts it to shame with all the voltage options in bios. there great for overclocking and the board layout is really good . not to mention that all amd h/s fit this mobo and its one of the few that has active cooling . ive built a few comps with this mobo and havent had one problem . the abit also has a better chance of running ultra high fsb since it has active cooling and n/b voltage options . you cant go wrong with this mobo . if your running a amd chip nf2 is a ton better than the via offerings give the nf2 one more try i gurannte youll love it . also the via doesnt have locking agp/pci busses if you got it from newegg rma it and give it another try also have you updated your bios ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GmAz Posted October 23, 2003 Posted October 23, 2003 Go with a nice A7N8X Deluxe with the NForce 2 chipset. It has all the features built in from SATA to Firewire. Get the rev. 2.0 model though, it has the 400 FSB your chip needs. I got my 2500 barton from 1.8Ghz stock to 2.416 Ghz. Its nice. Very reliable and very rugged for when you OC too high. Just reset yoru mobo twice and it will return yoru bios to a safe level. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IUMaestro Posted October 23, 2003 Posted October 23, 2003 So basically you guys have complete confidence in the nForce2? I have a few friends that work in technical support and they both tell me that nForce's are pure crap. Should i try for the Ultra400 since it's newer? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GmAz Posted October 23, 2003 Posted October 23, 2003 (edited) I dont knwo who your friends are, but the nforce 2 is a sweet board. Ya, I back it completely, but you also hav eto look at the company behind the board. Asus is a good company. To me, chaintek is not that good of a mobo compnay. Just kinda one fo the cheapies out there. Check out the baord: http://usa.asus.com/prog/spec.asp?m=A7N8X%20Deluxe&langs=09 I have it, swear by it It has connectors for almost all ports and is a great overclocker. Buy it if you have some xtra money or can get your money back from that chaintech Edited October 23, 2003 by GmAz Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigred Posted October 23, 2003 Posted October 23, 2003 nforce2 is fine just stay away from biostar, aopen, and try to avoid abit. the other 3 are good boards. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
young-joseph Posted October 23, 2003 Posted October 23, 2003 nfroce chipset is crap, the nforce2 on the other hand is not. Go abit or Asus. Not sure why people say not to go with Abit, Im sure they have reasons. I have it and like it. But asus 7nx8 is a sure road to go. If you look at any benchmark or test setup with an Athlon system they are using the asus board. I kinda wanna build another computer witht he asus board just so i can say I have both. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hades25 Posted October 23, 2003 Posted October 23, 2003 yeah the asus boards are nice .. i know ppl wont back me on this but my FIC board rocks....stable as a rock....never any problems..... check it out AU13 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigred Posted October 23, 2003 Posted October 23, 2003 fic = compaq fic stands for F'n Idtiot Computes everyone I've ever had is resting in a landfill for the same treat quality features you can only get from using a slice fo cheese in place of your motherboard. sorry hades, I wish you luck with that baord... i really hope it never goes crazy on you. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
FanATIc205 Posted October 23, 2003 Posted October 23, 2003 well ive had 2 asus a7n8x dlx boards get the bios couruption problem and the asus bios settings are weak compared to what abit has to offer . not to mention asus is still using a 2 phase power setup on the mobo compared to abits 3 phase.the asus doesnt have the 12volt power connector the abit does . bottom line is if your going to oc and want all the tools to do it to the max get the abit. i think you got a bad board i get a few here and there 1 in 20 mobos ive found have some problems and needs to be rma'd . rma that board of yours and see if that fixes any problems Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigred Posted October 23, 2003 Posted October 23, 2003 good point. chaintech is usually a decent low priced board. but I'm kinda suprised that they're offering an nforce mobo ulike ECS who does all via / sis chipsets for a similar amount of $$$. but if you want a 6 phase power setup, extra 12v plug, and some very good bios features including a backup bios (just in case) I'd check out gigabyte. they're prices are usually a little less than asus or abit. never had to actually rma anything to them, since I've never had one go bad under warranty (only one that has on me was a GA-7IX which was the second slot A athlon board out, and that was a few months ago... and not the board's fault either) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IUMaestro Posted October 23, 2003 Posted October 23, 2003 ok fine. i'll go with an nForce2 board then : ) not a single one of you agreed with me that it's a bad chipset so I will have to trust you guys bigred I was most definately checking out Gigabytes.. especially the GA-7NNXP it's hot. Do you know much about the overclocking capabilities via Bios or Software? How does Gigabyte compare to Abit (my 2 top choices so far) as far as the ease, effectivness, and stability of overclocking? Thanks to those who posted thus far. You have convinced me to go Nforce2-based. Bastards. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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