Which MB to Upgrade to? (now 5 boards)

wingman411

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I am looking at these 5 MBs which one would be better?

Asus A7N8X Deluxe nforce2 Athlon(XP)/Duron SktA DDR ATX Motherboard w/Audio, LAN, RAID/Serial ATA Retail ***(Free 2nd Day)***
400FSB, ATA/133, AGP 8X, 3DDR DIMM, 5PCI, USB 2.0, IEEE 1394, Audio, LAN, RAID/SATA $128.99

Gigabyte GA-7N400 Pro nForce2 Ultra 400 Athlon(XP)/Duron SktA DDR ATX Motherboard w/Audio, LAN, RAID/Serial ATA Retail ***(Free 2nd Day)***
266/333/400FSB, ATA/133, AGP 8X (1.5V), 4DDR DIMM, 5PCI, USB 2.0/1.1, IEEE 1394, Audio, LAN, RAID/SATA $123.95

MSI K7N2 Delta-ILSR nForce2 Athlon(XP)/Duron SktA DDR ATX Motherboard w/Audio, LAN, RAID/Serial ATA Retail ***(Free 2nd Day)***
200/266/333/400FSB, ATA/133, AGP 8X, 3DDR DIMM, 5PCI, ACR, USB 2.0, IEEE 1394, Audio, LAN, RAID/SATA $129.99

Abit NF7-M nForce2 Athlon(XP)/Duron SktA DDR ATX Motherboard w/Audio, Video (GeForce4 MX), LAN, Retail ***(Free 2nd Day)***
333FSB, ATA/133, AGP 8X, 3DDR DIMM, 5PCI, Audio, Video, LAN, $119.95

DFI LANPARTY KT400A Athlon (XP) SktA DDR ATX Motherboard w/Audio, Dual LAN, RAID/Serial ATA Retail ***(Free 2nd Day)***
266/333/400FSB, ATA/133, AGP 8X, 3DDR DIMM, 5PCI, USB 2.0/1.1, Audio, Dual LAN, RAID/SATA $149.99

Opinions welcome :D
 
is the MSI one USB2.0 as well??

Also check the specs of each for the Audio Component, Realtek or CMedia are often used on nForce2 motherboards and those arent nearly as good as the proper nVidia SoundForce Audio component
 
i would recommend the gigabyte over msi ;)
how bout abit nf7s v2.0? +++++ for performance!
u shoiuld consider it also
 
I would go for the Abit too. Cant beat them for performance.
 
Abit NF7-S 2.0 or Asus A7N8X Deluxe 2.0... both are awesome boards and, as far as i know, are the only nforce2 boards that come with the genuine (and sweet-ass) SoundStorm audio.
 
yeah the Asus A7N8X Deluxe (I have the 1.0) 2.0 and the Abits have the proper sound stuff
 
After reading the review at anandtech of the Gigabyte 7VNNXP, I would say go with that, unless you don't care to lose the dual power thing and the 1000Mbit LAN, then do with the 7N400Pro (alot cheaper tho).

Although I am a little biased towards Gigabyte: I've had three boards with no issues.
 
yes it does...
btw scriptasylum, r u saying 7nnxpv?
rite now, i'm using 7nnxp and i have problem with this board... so rite now i would not recommend the dual thingy as it have some compatibility problem (many ppl said remove the dual power thing improve stability and o/c)!

so far i'm more impress with the abit nf7s and next few days i will buy few pc with this board for my cybercafe ;)
 
The MSI board above has the true soundstorm also I just got the one listed in my sig two weeks ago and love it :)
 
kermit, even MSI's site says Realtek ALC650 6-channel audio. :eek:

here's a screenshot of device manager on an A7N8X Deluxe..

soundstorm.txt


that "MCP Audio Processing Unit" is the SoundStorm. the "Audio Codec Interface" is present on all nforce2 boards, even with 3rd-party sound chips slapped on. just fyi. :)
 
sorry taurus but there are 2 different offers with the MSI boards MCP1 is realtek and the other is MCP2-T which is the sound storm one board uses MCP1 and the other uses MCP2-T

MCP = master control panel


I have the MSI booklet in hand and the cd-driver disk that ships with it and the board that uses MCP2 also comes with a real nice s-bracket to hook up spdif ( sony&philips digital interface) and analong line out giving the user the choice to use either digital or analog out to speakers

And the board he is talking about is the one with the MCP2-T and bracket :)
 
MCP = Media & Communications Processor ;)

and the only boards MSI lists that include the MCP-T are the K7N2G-ILSR and the K7N2 Delta-ILSR. and even though they do have digitial outputs, they still use the Realtek ALC650 audio codec. my low-end Abit NF7 1.0 (with MCP) even has optical digital output with it's codec (but i use my audigy).

kermit, i'm just trying to find out with 100% sureness if your board indeed has the SoundStorm audio. this is something i'd like to know. but i can't find any reveiws of any MSI nforce2 boards that mention them having the Soundstorm audio...? :(
 
Hey the s- bracket in question also has the optical output jack and a coaxial output jack and I think I know a place where there is more info I am gonna go lok and post it back here :)

I am also just trying to help not being contridictive or nothing :)
 
There are only 2 nforce 2 boards by MSI that have Soundstorm. They are the K7N2G-ILSR and the K7N2 Delta-ILSR. These are the only MSI boards that come with the MCP2-T. Go to the links below and on both pages under PRO. MODEL OPTIONS only the ILSR models come with the MCP2-T which is required for Soundstorm. It is very easy to look at these web sites and assume all boards have Soundstorm but they don't. You have to read the fine print. I know the ASUS A7N8X Deluxe has Soundstorm but I'm not sure what other nforce 2 boards have it.

http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/m...6&MODEL=MS-6570

http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/m...8&MODEL=MS-6570

Hope this helps!!



and here is a link to the MSI nvidia boards forums all questions can be answered here about MSI boards

http://www.msi.com.tw/program/e_ser...tyleid=1&sid=eebcd5385ff28357a466b1b25789422d


and here is a little more info


http://www.rojakpot.com/default.aspx?location=3&var1=20&var2=0

hope that clears the air
;)
 
PS ... When I posted about my board I was just stateing I was very happy with the board I know my board does not have the soundstorm, but just that I am very happy with the MSI board and the nforce2 chipset and all the rest :)

I was in a hurry and they did not have the other board in stock so I grabbed this one :cool:
 
I know it's not on your list but i would go for the Asus A7n8x Dlx. great mobo, and good for overclockin. It has all the features as the other mobos and alittle more
 

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