Issues with ASUS A7N8X?

[drdan]

I was strongly thinking of this system (maybe with a different video card. I have recently seen several issues with this board and I'm so impressed with my friends 2.53 P4 Dell that I'm thinking maybe P4 instead. The issues I saw with the A7N8X are problems with the onboard nforce 2 sound and XP Pro, several people said it did not work properly. Incompatibility with the Antec true 430 PS (which I already have) and inabilty to get 8X AGP video cards to work properly. Apparently some of the features have to be disabled to get 8X cards to work. Someone apparently tried two different True 430's and the board wouldn't power up so he went to an Enermax. Are these common problems and are there good solutions?

If I go with a similar system and a P4 in the 2.5-2.6 range what are some suggestions for the exact board and processor to get stability, reliabilty and speed at a moderate price point with ability to upgrade memory, video and processor later as prices drop some. Will still be running XP Pro.

Here is the original system I was thinking of as I posted in a thread below. Someone below suggested an MSI board with the i865PE chipset. I couldn't find it at Newegg and I saw some negative reviews of it as well. I realize a neophyte like me tends to take negative reviews too seriously (sometimes it's only one person posting on several boards) so I'm looking for some experienced opinions on the options.

http://secure.newegg.com/app/WishHi...=VIEW&ID=284266

[drdan]

Oops, link was not copied properly, I didn't notice it had been shortened in the middle. Here is is. I also saw an issue that the "dual channel" DDR only worked in relation to the video board or something (obviously I didn't quite understand it).

http://secure.newegg.com/app/WishHistoryReview.asp?position=HISTORY&submit=VIEW&ID=284266

[saphalline]

I have heard of the incompatibility with the Antec power supply, but I can't comment on that (my friend's Thermaltake ps is supposed to come today). My friend has the A7N8X Deluxe and the onboard sound works fine in WinXP Pro. I also can't yet comment on the AGP 8X working or not (my friend's Radeon 9700 is in the same shipment :rolleyes: ). So far, we haven't had any problems with that board and I'm actually surprised so many others have had problems.

There are a couple things I would like to stress with that mobo, however. Get the latest PCB revision 2.0 (places like Newegg will tell you this), and flash the latest BIOS version as soon as possible (which is true for most mobo's based on the latest chipset).

As for the P4 set-up recommendations, I agree on the i865PE chipset. Currently, MSI is the only mobo manufacturer to have it, and a review on Newegg said that's because MSI was naughty and released it's 865PE-based board before it was supposed to. :eek: Rumor has it a lawsuit has been issued by Intel. Barring that, the i865PE chipset is probably the best one for the P4 because of its dual-channel DDR. The i875P "Canterwood" chipset is similar, but is geared towards workstation systems (and thus is more expensive and has less 'enthusiast' options). If you're going the P4 route, wait for the other mobo manufacturers to release their 865PE-based boards.

Dual-channel DDR is a great technology for the P4 because it really needs the extra bandwidth. Unlike the AthlonXP paired with dual-channel DDR, the P4 will get a giant boost in system performance (something like 50% instead of 8% like the AthlonXP). The info you have on dual-channel DDR only benefiting in relation to the video was probably for the AthlonXP.

Where's that Fed-Ex guy? He's supposed to be here by now...

EDIT - Fed-Ex guy came! :D 45 minutes later than he usually comes, tho, so I was getting worried. We shall see about that AGP 8x tonight...