new motherboard?

drummingpariah · 11-18-2003, 09:27 AM

i just bought my asus a7v8x-x board about a month ago, and i got a sweet deal on a trade-up for an a7n8x-x board. should i really take this up? is the nforce2 that much better than the via chipset? and does the a7n8x-x have a pci lock? hell, does my a7v8x-x have a pci lock? i dont think it does, but if someone knows a good place to check, let me know. i'm hitting 200 fsb, but it's getting kind of unstable. all input is appreciated, and thanks in advance.

jaydee · 11-18-2003, 10:24 AM

Yes. The A7V8X-X is a POS. One of the worst ASUS board I ever bought and have ever seen.

pHaestus · 11-18-2003, 10:32 AM

I have the A7N8X-X and have been REALLY happy with it so far.

TerraMex · 11-18-2003, 12:32 PM

Can't say the same. I also have an a7n8x-x and i'm not very impressed. But i'd choose it over a VIA chipset mobo anytime.

pHaestus · 11-18-2003, 12:55 PM

What issues have you had? I think I've rebooted my computer 3-4 times since I've built it and don't recall a crash. I have to concede that I replaced a Via motherboard with the Asus though so perhaps my expectations have been lowered.

airspirit · 11-18-2003, 01:05 PM

NF7-S r2, man ... NF7-S r2 ....

If you can trade, though, go for it. Anything to get away from a Via board.

TerraMex · 11-18-2003, 02:07 PM

Dont get me wrong, it's a good motherboard, it's worth the money (which is cheap for what you get). But :

The sound has issues, interference , occasional cracks , they arent serious , and don't show while playing something. Still, they are annoying. I can let that slide.

The motherboard is excepcionally picky with memory modules. It wont take certain OCZ modules, or certain Samsung ones. I tested my 2x256 kingston on other computers (A Epox 8rda+ and a a7n8x deluxe) and it passed with flying colours 200fsb at 2-2-2-5 with a similar processor (2500+ barton at 3200+ , like mine) , not too shabby for value ram. However, on my a7n8x-x , it wont go near those values. This i cant.

I also noticed that if you change a card , or for some reason , windows changes de IRQ list , all hell breaks loose. It stopped aquiring my Live!Platinum for no good reason. Sure, i can blame Creative, but i havent had this problem before. It can be fixed, with some work, but still , that didnt happen with my SiS k7s5a (rock solid board, btw). It's rare, but it happened once, and once too often .

Nevertheless , i do get a good OC from it. If put new memory modules (i tested with 2x256 hyperx from a friend) , and i'll get some soon hopefuly, I can stretch the barton to 2,4 ... 2,5Ghz. It's now at 2.3Ghz. Very respectable .

Oh, and do try to get that crap pink thermal paste from the north bridge, it's awful. I'm willing to bet that's made by a chewing gum company.

pHaestus · 11-18-2003, 02:18 PM

ah

Never used anything other than Kingston HyperX ram in it (2x256mb sticks) and since I moved my good speakers to the HTPC upstairs I just listen to headphones while gaming and otherwise listen to all music on HTPC upstairs (running an MSI NF1 motherboard)

drummingpariah · 11-18-2003, 03:28 PM

well after posting this, and checking the rest of the threads, i'm taking out my mobo, and going to trade it. it's definitely a good deal, though? i'd rather have an N in the name than a V? and are there any other noticable differences? i have a creative sound card, so it doesnt matter what i get for onboard audio. big question: does it OC better?

right now i have my 1.733 up to 2.200 with air-cooling. will the a7n8x-x be better? worse? equal?

pHaestus · 11-18-2003, 03:32 PM

nforce2 is hands down much better motherboard solution than anything from Via. And the A7V8X is known to have some issues anyway.

airspirit · 11-18-2003, 06:26 PM

It will always overclock better due to the locked PCI bus.

drummingpariah · 11-19-2003, 02:09 PM

oh it does have a locked pci bus? SWEET. i didn't end up getting it yesterday, or today for that matter. my hopes are high for tomorrow though. i'll keep you posted, though.

11-18-2003, 09:27 AM	#1
drummingpariah Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Oakland, CA Posts: 45	new motherboard? i just bought my asus a7v8x-x board about a month ago, and i got a sweet deal on a trade-up for an a7n8x-x board. should i really take this up? is the nforce2 that much better than the via chipset? and does the a7n8x-x have a pci lock? hell, does my a7v8x-x have a pci lock? i dont think it does, but if someone knows a good place to check, let me know. i'm hitting 200 fsb, but it's getting kind of unstable. all input is appreciated, and thanks in advance.

11-18-2003, 12:32 PM	#4
TerraMex Cooling Savant Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Portugal, Europe Posts: 870	Can't say the same. I also have an a7n8x-x and i'm not very impressed. But i'd choose it over a VIA chipset mobo anytime. __________________ "we need more cowbell."

11-18-2003, 01:05 PM	#6
airspirit Been /.'d... have you? Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Moscow, ID Posts: 1,986	NF7-S r2, man ... NF7-S r2 .... If you can trade, though, go for it. Anything to get away from a Via board. __________________ #!/bin/sh {who;} {last;} {pause;} {grep;} {touch;} {unzip;} mount /dev/girl -t {wet;} {fsck;} {fsck;} {fsck;} {fsck;} echo yes yes yes {yes;} umount {/dev/girl;zip;} rm -rf {wet.spot;} {sleep;} finger: permission denied

11-18-2003, 02:07 PM	#7
TerraMex Cooling Savant Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Portugal, Europe Posts: 870	Dont get me wrong, it's a good motherboard, it's worth the money (which is cheap for what you get). But : The sound has issues, interference , occasional cracks , they arent serious , and don't show while playing something. Still, they are annoying. I can let that slide. The motherboard is excepcionally picky with memory modules. It wont take certain OCZ modules, or certain Samsung ones. I tested my 2x256 kingston on other computers (A Epox 8rda+ and a a7n8x deluxe) and it passed with flying colours 200fsb at 2-2-2-5 with a similar processor (2500+ barton at 3200+ , like mine) , not too shabby for value ram. However, on my a7n8x-x , it wont go near those values. This i cant. I also noticed that if you change a card , or for some reason , windows changes de IRQ list , all hell breaks loose. It stopped aquiring my Live!Platinum for no good reason. Sure, i can blame Creative, but i havent had this problem before. It can be fixed, with some work, but still , that didnt happen with my SiS k7s5a (rock solid board, btw). It's rare, but it happened once, and once too often . Nevertheless , i do get a good OC from it. If put new memory modules (i tested with 2x256 hyperx from a friend) , and i'll get some soon hopefuly, I can stretch the barton to 2,4 ... 2,5Ghz. It's now at 2.3Ghz. Very respectable . Oh, and do try to get that crap pink thermal paste from the north bridge, it's awful. I'm willing to bet that's made by a chewing gum company. __________________ "we need more cowbell."

11-18-2003, 06:26 PM	#11
airspirit Been /.'d... have you? Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Moscow, ID Posts: 1,986	It will always overclock better due to the locked PCI bus. __________________ #!/bin/sh {who;} {last;} {pause;} {grep;} {touch;} {unzip;} mount /dev/girl -t {wet;} {fsck;} {fsck;} {fsck;} {fsck;} echo yes yes yes {yes;} umount {/dev/girl;zip;} rm -rf {wet.spot;} {sleep;} finger: permission denied

11-18-2003, 10:24 AM	#2
jaydee Put up or Shut Up Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 6,506	Yes. The A7V8X-X is a POS. One of the worst ASUS board I ever bought and have ever seen.

11-18-2003, 10:32 AM	#3
pHaestus Big Player Making Big Money Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: irc.lostgeek.com #procooling.com Posts: 4,782	I have the A7N8X-X and have been REALLY happy with it so far.

11-18-2003, 12:55 PM	#5
pHaestus Big Player Making Big Money Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: irc.lostgeek.com #procooling.com Posts: 4,782	What issues have you had? I think I've rebooted my computer 3-4 times since I've built it and don't recall a crash. I have to concede that I replaced a Via motherboard with the Asus though so perhaps my expectations have been lowered.

11-18-2003, 02:18 PM	#8
pHaestus Big Player Making Big Money Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: irc.lostgeek.com #procooling.com Posts: 4,782	ah Never used anything other than Kingston HyperX ram in it (2x256mb sticks) and since I moved my good speakers to the HTPC upstairs I just listen to headphones while gaming and otherwise listen to all music on HTPC upstairs (running an MSI NF1 motherboard)

11-18-2003, 03:28 PM	#9
drummingpariah Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Oakland, CA Posts: 45	well after posting this, and checking the rest of the threads, i'm taking out my mobo, and going to trade it. it's definitely a good deal, though? i'd rather have an N in the name than a V? and are there any other noticable differences? i have a creative sound card, so it doesnt matter what i get for onboard audio. big question: does it OC better? right now i have my 1.733 up to 2.200 with air-cooling. will the a7n8x-x be better? worse? equal?

11-18-2003, 03:32 PM	#10
pHaestus Big Player Making Big Money Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: irc.lostgeek.com #procooling.com Posts: 4,782	nforce2 is hands down much better motherboard solution than anything from Via. And the A7V8X is known to have some issues anyway.

11-19-2003, 02:09 PM	#12
drummingpariah Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Oakland, CA Posts: 45	oh it does have a locked pci bus? SWEET. i didn't end up getting it yesterday, or today for that matter. my hopes are high for tomorrow though. i'll keep you posted, though.

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