What is the best Nforce 754-pin Mobo?

[bit_flores]

Hi All,

I have been doing some homework on Socket 754 MOBO's lately and have a few questions: I would like a good MOBO with a Nforce3 chipset. (I believe the Nforce3 is one of the better chipsets, tell me if I am wrong!.)

I have already have a new AMD Athlon64 3400 CPU (with 1MB L2 cache). I was planning to buy an ASUS K8N and a matched pair of Corsair memory modules. But have read in this forum about various memory issues with ASUS mobo's and more than one memory module involved. There are other problems as well.

What is the overall best brand of Socket 754 (AMD64) MOBO's that has the least chipset problems? (ie. RAM, firmware updates, compatibility issues.) I would like to stay in the same price range as the Asus K8N.

This computer would be for my daughter for college type work.

Thanks!

[powerarmour]

The Asus K8N4-E Deluxe that I'm using at the moment is very good, will work with any S754 CPU (even the Turions/Mobiles), supports PCI-E (Nforce 4x chipset) and works fine with 2xDIMM's @ 400Mhz (1T) or 3xDIMM's @ 333Mhz (1/2T).

So if your going to get a S754 board, go for an NF4 chipset, not NF3 IMO. Though you'd obviously be better off going with a decent S939 NF4 CPU/Motherboard in the long run, if only for the Dual/X2 support.

[bit_flores]

Hi,
Thanks for responding.

I am locked on the MOBO that I can use. I already have the AMD Athlon64 3400 (socket 754). I would just like to build something with the processor since I had it on my shelf for a while. (I waste too much money sometimes!)

I believe the K8N is one of my few ASUS options. I don't want to try a MOBO with a PCIe slot on it because I have been reading about flaky BIOS with those boards. Since this is a "homework & surfing" PC, I believe an AGP slot is just fine. I just want super memory since the computer will be running a ton of large spreadsheets (10-15MB per spreadsheet) and statistical programs!


My big concerns with ASUS (in general) are:

1) Customer support has seemed to gone downhill.

2) 400mhz dual-channel memory modules seem to clock down to 333mhz. From what I am reading this seems to be a problem. I want to use matched Cosair 1GB modules like: TWINX2048-3200 or TWINX2048-3200C2.

3) I have read that some forum users have not been able to use both 1GB modules and have been forced to use only one.

4) I have read that if I go with a super low latency like the Corsair TWINX1024-3200XL, it may not work at all.

I am open to other brands of MOBO's that have a solid BIOS and are not too flaky with memory modules. If this ASUS K8N is my best bet, then great! If there is a better product that I can use with my AMD Athlon64 3400 socket 754 CPU, please let me know! I believe thet the NVIDIA nForce3 250 is a good and solid chipset. I just want to make sure that I find the best board (BIOS) for my money. I don't mind spending some extra money to get there.


Oh yeah powerarmour: My next PC will be a S939 NF4 setup!

You help is greatly appreciated,
bit_flores

PS: Apologies to the moderator. I cross-posted because I wanted to get an opinion from other MOBO users. The red "slap" mark is just starting to fade from hand.

[powerarmour]

[powerarmour]

If still in doubt about the Asus K8N4-E, then read this recent review:-

http://consumer.hardocp.com/article.html?art=ODk0LDEsLGhjb25zdW1lcg==

You'll see that they use 2x 1GB Corsair sticks, and also a Turion mobile CPU...

[bit_flores]

Thanks for the reply,

Interestingly enough, here is all the 754 MOBO's that ASUS has on their website:

AMD Socket 754:
NVIDIA nForce3: K8N
NVIDIA nForce3: K8N-E


They have no 754 MOBO listings for the N4 chipset. Why do they still sell the N3 but not the N4 ?

[powerarmour]

[satanhead]

NF8-V2 here for AGP. Doin' 310HTT on s64. Prime stable 8 hours...

[ViperBoy]

ASUS K8N-E Deluxe is an awesome board for the price when bought as a newegg/chiefvalue refurb ($55). It doesn't need risers if you have front panel 1394 + USB connectors and so you don't need a retail board.

There is a known problem with this board not always being being able to run at 400Mhz memory with any BIOS rev greater than 1009. ASUS will not admit the problem and their on-line tech support is literally a black hole though telephone support has been great. 1009 works great so downrev if you see the problem

I'm running a Sempron 64 3000 at 276 1:1 mem and a sempron 2600 at 285 4:3 rock solid with cool'n'quiet and q'fan for a very quiet, very fast system

[Gamer]

I have an Abit NV8 here with a PCI-E slot and it's rock stable with a 7800GT and a 3700+. Best board for your money when it comes to a socket 754 board with a PCI-E slot.