MSI K8NGM2-FID or what?

kentc · Post by **kentc** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 12:47 pm

hello,
so we're looking to buy a new system to replace our two p3/450's. yeah, it's a big step for us :) haven't spent a krona on computers for many years! (except disks, gotta have space...)

anyhow i'm going to make my own case from very thick gauge steel or alu and ofcourse i'll try to make it quiet or hopefully completely silent.
decided to go with the athlon 64 becuase it's cooler running and i hope to c'n'q will make it even more so; but what about the mb?
been looking at:
asus a8n-vm csm - a hear a lot of trouble with these?
msi k8ngm2-fdi - seems a-ok but i can't find info on undervolting?
gigabyte ga-k8nk51pvmt-9 (phew...) - lacks the dvi
dfi rs482 infinity - new and untested, a bit pricier then the others

so you see what i'm going for here: matx, 939, gblan, decent onboard graphics, dvi, passive, undervoltable.
also i would really like the xp-120 to fit because i'm looking to make the case very thin, using the cpu-fan as a system intake fan (possibly only fan). the xp-120 is 12mm lower then the 92c and even more then the si-'s.

thankful for any advice? kent.

notareal · Post by **notareal** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 2:04 pm

I am quite happy with the MSI K8NGM2-FID, but not sure how it undervolts as my HeoHE is driving me nuts with this board. Take a look at the *Official* MSI K8NGM2-FID GeForce 6150 Motherboard Thread.

kentc · Post by **kentc** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 4:28 pm

thanks, that was an interesting thread. seems more of an oc'ers crowd though - they don't ever care about undervolting :)

kent.

marcmercer · Post by **marcmercer** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 7:06 am

What are the issues you have with the Neo HE and the MSI mobo? I was just about to buy the MSI with the intention of putting it in an antec fusion case when they are released. The fusion of course includes the Neo HE PSU.

Do you know if the asus also has trouble with the Neo HE??

Marc

buzzlightyear · Post by **buzzlightyear** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 12:12 pm

I've just played with the DFI RS482 for 2 days. It has CPU voltage adjustment from 0.8 to 1.8v (got toast?). The chipsets are cool to touch even when running at 300fsb/1.52v. The Smart Fan is aggressive set to run the fan @ 1,400rpm at idle. Great potential as a quiet HPTC.

Yes, the price is about $100 USD, $25 more than others.

kentc · Post by **kentc** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 1:25 pm

buzzlightyear wrote:I've just played with the DFI RS482 for 2 days. It has CPU voltage adjustment from 0.8 to 1.8v (got toast?). The chipsets are cool to touch even when running at 300fsb/1.52v. The Smart Fan is aggressive set to run the fan @ 1,400rpm at idle. Great potential as a quiet HPTC.
Yes, the price is about $100 USD, $25 more than others.

is that the "infinity" or the older 482-model? the infinity sure do seems like a great piece of engineering! i'm on a really tight budget though, so tight that i even consider the asus-board becuase it's some $10-20 cheaper then the msi.

is there room for the xp-120 on the infinity-board?

kent.

buzzlightyear · Post by **buzzlightyear** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 12:15 pm

It is the brand new DFI RS482 Infinity, just available in the US last week. You are not going get a deal on this mobo anytime soon. It is a very nice board, although I still having a hard time connecting HDTV via DVI port. I just like to have to option to undervolt and overclock with this board.

- There seems to be room enough for a xp-120. I don't have one to test it.

kentc · Post by **kentc** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 2:28 pm

see i didn't even know you hooked up hdtv via the dvi, i have no clue about htpc-stuff - not even having a tv in the house actually:) i thought you hooked up hdtv via s-video or rgb?

Erssa · Post by **Erssa** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 3:09 pm

marcmercer wrote:What are the issues you have with the Neo HE and the MSI mobo? I was just about to buy the MSI with the intention of putting it in an antec fusion case when they are released. The fusion of course includes the Neo HE PSU.

Do you know if the asus also has trouble with the Neo HE??

Marc

Asus is more likely to have problems with NEO HE then MSI, and from what I have read from the asus forums, it has even had issues with other psus.

kentc wrote: i'm on a really tight budget though, so tight that i even consider the asus-board becuase it's some $10-20 cheaper then the msi.

The price differences comes partly from the fact that MSI has better bundle then Asus. For example MSI should come (cannot say for certain, because it might vary between countries) with S/PDIF and TV-out brackets, with Asus you have to buy them separately. Do you want/need them? I would choose MSI just because it has more channels on audio and it actually has memory voltage options, which Asus totally lacks. Asus also has broken ACPI in bios, meaning that Linux users are going to run into trouble.
As for undervolting: You can do it with both MSI and Asus by CrystalCPUID or a similar program. Bios voltage controls aren't necessity for it. It can even result in better undervolting since, your computer might be stable on a voltage, that it would not power up.

I also have to say, that I love everything about the DFI (on paper), it looks like the motherboard I was waiting for before my upgrade. I bought the first one that met my requirements (on paper) and came to market (Asus A8N-VM CSM) in November. My Asus is currently working ok. It is rock stable, but I have to say that getting everything work properly was a pain. Many people in Asus forums will share my opinions. My biggest grief is my 4 rear USB ports, which fail to work properly. They have numerous problems, like ghosting, lagging for mouse or a bug that forces me sometimes to replug my usb-hub after reboot. I have worked around this by using port 5 (front port of my case). Many people in Asus forums complain problems with audio, DVI, overheating (automatic vcore overvolting, shutdowns, instability)... YMMW, but to me Asus feels like a gamble, it might work with your components, or be prepared to struggle.

DFI has one deal breaker "feature" and that is the poor USB2 speed of Ati SB450 southbridge. If you use an external hard, that doesn't have firewire option, but only USB2, then it is better to pick a motherboard like MSI K8NGM2-FID.