Need a recommended Motherboard for X2 4600+

[stupid]

Well, I guess it's now my turn to ask for advice on a motherboard since I plan on build my new rig soon.

My requirements are:

- nForce 4 chipset
- Gigabit
- At least 4 USB ports
- Compatible with Seasonic S12 500
- Compatible with Scythe Ninja
- PCI-E of course
- Black is preferable (Yeah, yeah, I know. Kinda vain, but won't it make the MB look slimmer?)
- Under $150 US excluding shipping

I was considering the ASUS A8N-SLI (regular vanilla flavor) but I've been reading some problem with the A8N series.

ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe - Slightly over my budget for a MB, but worth considering.

MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum, but it has insanely loud chipset fan which a long video card can block. Some stability issues as well.

Abit A8N is discontinued.

Another MB that I was considering was the DFI LanParty UT, but DFI MBs have problems with Seasonic.

So I'm kinda stuck and I figured I might as well ask the community.

Overclocking is not that important; apparently I've outgrown my OC ambitions (at least for the moment). I'm looking for stability. This basically a workstation for home which will be used for video editing and lite gaming.

The following components will inserted into the MB:

A64 X2 4600+ (w/ Scythe Ninja)
nVidia 7800GT (w/ Zalman vf700)
Audigy 2
1 or 2 Gigs of CORSAIR XMS
Seasonic S12 500

[frugal_guy]

I have another thing you might want to consider: How many fans can be connected to the motherboard and can the fan speeds be controlled via software. The motherboard listing at: http://www.almico.com/forummotherboards.php might be useful.

Of course you may have other methods for controlling fan speeds, but having the capability to do it with SpeedFan or similar software can be nice.

I recently purchased an ASRock 939Dual-SATAII and have been a little disappointed that though it can read the fan speeds, it can't adjust them.

[nutball]

The board I've got my eye on for my next outfit is the Gigabyte K8NF9-Ultra. It's got a passively cooled NB and supports undervolting (according to the manual). It seems to live up to most of your requirements (though I dunno about the compatibility with the S12 of course, and it's not black!).

[~El~Jefe~]

I would look at EPOX. not for black but, eh its great and cheap and FAST.

DFI has some colours.

hm black pcb.... I remember one company has that... hm.... I will have to think.

What about PURE white? that is really hot looking. ATI chipset though.

[stupid]

I would look at EPOX. not for black but, eh its great and cheap and FAST.

DFI has some colours.

hm black pcb.... I remember one company has that... hm.... I will have to think.

What about PURE white? that is really hot looking. ATI chipset though.

I've been looking at the EPOX MBs for a few weeks, but nothing has convinced me yet to buy any of their boards.

I would like to get a DFI board, but as I mentioned in my original post, DFI does not get along with Seasonic S12 PSUs. Therefore, DFI is off my list.

As for ATI, I'm kinda partial to nVidia when it comes to MBs. When it comes to video cards though, I am partial to ATI. But this time around I'm gonna get an nVidia 7800GT.

.
.

Well, it looks like I may have to postpone my build. I just got my W-2 forms and other tax documents. Looks like I owe over $1,400 in federal and state taxes which is significantly more than I expected.

[Firetech]

Abit A8N is discontinued.

Ultra version? Yup, I only discovered what a good board it is/was/may be after it was discontinued!
Though I'm looking at little places that might have it hidden away or maybe second- hand

Maybe have to wait for some new boards to launch at CeBit 2006....

[stupid]

Abit A8N is discontinued.

Ultra version? Yup, I only discovered what a good board it is/was/may be after it was discontinued!

Yeah, got discontinued due to overclocking and stability issues IIRC.

[Firetech]

Yeah, got discontinued due to overclocking and stability issues IIRC.

Cheers stupid, I dont really care about OC'ing and from my limited research, thought that recent BIOS updates had sorted most issues?

What appealed to me was the neat passive chipset cooling set-up AND great BIOS/temp control for multiple fans. No other board I've seen so far, offers those things together. Only prob I saw is that the memory slots are a little close to the CPU (making fan position on a Ninja less than ideal, IMHO, for also cooling the mosfets/pwm)

[stupid]

What appealed to me was the neat passive chipset cooling set-up AND great BIOS/temp control for multiple fans. No other board I've seen so far, offers those things together. Only prob I saw is that the memory slots are a little close to the CPU (making fan position on a Ninja less than ideal, IMHO, for also cooling the mosfets/pwm)

I think the closest MB to come close to what you are looking for is the Asus A8N Premium. The MB is passivley cooled, and the is the included utility called Asus Q-Fan that controls the fans, but I've read that using Q-Fan could cause stability issues.

[Firetech]

I think the closest MB to come close to what you are looking for is the Asus A8N Premium. The MB is passivley cooled, and the is the included utility called Asus Q-Fan that controls the fans, but I've read that using Q-Fan could cause stability issues.

Looks nice stupid but unfortunately it hasn't got the same level of control the Ultra has, plus the Ultra does it from BIOS not Windows.
I think I'll see if I can still get one. I just missed out on getting one second-hand yesterday

[hvengel]

I like to have fan speed controls in the BIOS. Since I am a Linux user this means that I don't need to be concerned about the motherboard vendor giving me a Windows only solution. Of course there is a fan speed control utility in lm-sensors and it should work with any motherboard that allows software control of fan speeds. But it is just simpler if this is built into the BIOS. Unfortunately very few motherboard manufaturers will list this as a feature even if it is available so it can be difficult to find motherboards with this feature.

[Firetech]

Unfortunately very few motherboard manufaturers will list this as a feature even if it is available so it can be difficult to find motherboards with this feature.

That's why I've spent a lot of time downloading MB manuals...

[stupid]

I like to have fan speed controls in the BIOS. Since I am a Linux user this means that I don't need to be concerned about the motherboard vendor giving me a Windows only solution.

I got one, but you'll have to revert back to the Athlon XP.

The Aopen board I'm currently using allows me to control the fans from within the BIOS. But I agree with you, searching for a S939 motherboard with this feature is not very easy.

[stupid]

Unfortunately very few motherboard manufaturers will list this as a feature even if it is available so it can be difficult to find motherboards with this feature.

That's why I've spent a lot of time downloading MB manuals...

Speaking about AOpen, they do have a S939 board that just might fit your needs:

nCK804Ua-LFS

This board has SilentBIOS Noise Reduction Technologywhere you can control the fan speed from the BIOS. Of course they state that you also need to install their SilentTek software as well (just in case...)

The major problem with this board from what I've read is that it doesn't include all the cables you need, specifically for the onboard Firewire. While it supports 10 UBS ports there are only enough cables for 6 of them. Having six is more than enough for me, it's just the Firewire that irritates me.

The other problem with this and most other AOpen motherboards is the lack of any official reviews. I guess that is understandable though, AOpen's motherboards are typically known for stability and averge to good performance. Not much to brag about if you're trying to post the highest benchmark to prove every little ounce (or gram) of geekiness in you.

I've owned two AOpen boards, one in my old (and mothballed), but still alive Pentium 3 450 (fixing it up to be given away), and my current nForce 2 Ultra board for my Athlon XP. I never had an issue with either one of the boards.

[Firetech]

Yup, I've got an Aopen AX6BC in my back-up machine
Unfortunately the Aopen you proposed has an NB fan and I'm seeking the Holy Grail:-
1.Passive heatpipe NB cooling
2.BIOS control of all required fans (CPU, front, rear, possibly aux heatpipe fan and a spare maybe)
3.Progressive temp/speed related PWM control
4.Temp monitoring of all major MB areas including PWM

My foxconn has #3 now for the CPU only
The ABIT AN8 Ultra has the first two.

An MB with all four = heaven

[hravn]

I think the closest MB to come close to what you are looking for is the Asus A8N Premium. The MB is passivley cooled, and the is the included utility called Asus Q-Fan that controls the fans, but I've read that using Q-Fan could cause stability issues.

Looks nice stupid but unfortunately it hasn't got the same level of control the Ultra has, plus the Ultra does it from BIOS not Windows.
I think I'll see if I can still get one. I just missed out on getting one second-hand yesterday

Q-Fan is also BIOS based. But it may not be working like it should on all headers, check this thread.

[Firetech]

Q-Fan is also BIOS based. But it may not be working like it should on all headers, check this thread.

Thanks, I checked the manuals for AN8 & AN32 but it didn't give much info on Qfan2, only that it can be enabled/disabled in BIOS, not what controls are in place.

I'll follow that thread and see your results there.