Best NF4 Motherboard for x2 4800+ build?

[1hawaii50]

I am currently running an AMD 64 3800+ S754 and want to upgrade to a S939 x2 4800+. I am also currently using a DFI Lanparty UT NF3 250GB board, and want to stay with DFI. So this brings me to my question. Which DFI board would be the best for a S939 AMD 64 x2 4800+, 2gb (2 x 1gb) Mushkin enhanced, and an ATI X1800XT? If I buy an SLI board, will I have to run an NVidia card? Also, I'll be getting rid of my Thermaltake 480W power supply and getting an OCZ 700W gameXtreme supply to power the board. I do plan on overclocking on air, but don't plan on running 2 video cards.

 

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks,

Don.

[Guest caffeinejunkie]

1hawaii50 you've made an excellent choice sticking with DFI so heres my two cents

 

 

1. You state that you do not plan to run dual cards (no xfire/sli) so I would recommend the Ultra-D which is a solid board that has served me well with over 5 different cpus all reaching very nice clocks with low voltage.

 

2.No an sli board does not have to run Nvidia cards it can run ATI or any pci-e card the same as any other board would. If there is a difference between chipsets with their corresponding card manufacturers then it is minimal at best or there would be alot more ati chipsets (there will be soon I imagine with the whole merger thing).

 

Wonderful choice for the psu. The 600w is the best bang for the buck out right now and the 700w is even better and should future proof your rig for sometime. As for aircooling the Ultra-D is a wonderful board because it's a perfect fit for all of the si/xp coolers from Thermalright such as the xp90 that I have or the si-128 (that I will soon have). You'll probably want to go for some kind of 120mm fan HSF because you'll learn to love high cfm w/ low decibels.

 

Speaking of decibels you might want to look into the VC-RE as a chipset replacement

[1hawaii50]

caffeinejunkie, thanks for the response.

The one other thing I forgot to mention is I will need 3 PCI slots as I've got a Video capture card, sound card, and wireless card.

Any other suggestions?

I could always leave the video capture card out when not in use, but I'd prefer 3 pci slots if possible.

Thanks again!

[Guest caffeinejunkie]

Ah I see. Unfortunently requiring 3 pci slots really limits your choices atleast with the lanparty series. if you need three your left with:

 

 

DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 SLI-DR Expert $149.99

DFI Lanparty UT CFX3200-DR $178.99

DFI LanParty UT RDX200 CF-DR $146.99

 

If there wasnt such a big price difference id go cfx3200 just because it's a rock solid board so if you dont mind the extra 20 then go for it because you wont be let down. Next up would be the Expert just because the rdx200 had alot of issues w/ the south bridge. So your best bet is the Expert. Luckily you've already picked a great psu and you've got some solid ram so the expert should be no issue for you.

[SeanDude05]

The SLI-DR Expert has 3 PCI slots. Also, the CFX3200-DR has 3 PCI slots, as well as the DFI nF4 Infinity boards.

 

EDIT: Bah, its early and Im slowww.

[magpie1966]

The Expert has serious SLI problems , use one at your Peril...check post on Expert and SLI

been going on for months ....enough said

[1hawaii50]

Well, I pulled the trigger on the OCZ 700W GameXstream power supply, and I had to order a Seagate 250GB Perpendicular recording Sata drive while I was at it. All I have left is the video card, mobo, and processor.