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+--Forum: Users' Gaming Chat
+---Topic: MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum SLI (SBLive 5.1 built-in) started by wilder
Posted by: wilder on Feb. 14 2006,16:55
| Quote (slatts @ Feb. 07 2006,20:23) |
| i broke down today... i just bought two XFX Geforce 6600GT SLI 128 Meg DDR3 Dual DVI TV PCI-E i was after the 256 meg 6800GS... but they didn't have two of them. and i sure can't afford two of the 7800GT cards... well i could but that would mean a cheaper X2 64 chip later.. i am still sitting on a fence for the mobo... why did you choose the NEO 4 plat? |
Respond to slatts comment from another post.
Reason why I pick this mobo at the time.
Best bang for the buck plus it included SoundBlaster Live chip onboard! So it doesnt use CPU for sound either.
If you have a preference to use a better soundcard, then you can do with others that doesnt really come a sound card, so you can save $$$ so you can buy another add-on board.
I personally didnt really care, and I want something builtin for simplicity.
I'm tempted at that DFI board for my next one.
Posted by: slatts on Feb. 15 2006,02:09
like i said...sitting on a fence.
my 3 favs... < 1 >
< 2 >
and..MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum SLI (SBLive 5.1 built-in)
price is close..
Posted by: wilder on Feb. 16 2006,14:52
i havent own an DFI yet... but i heard and read many good things about it... especially being a overclocker's dream mobo as it gives the most control over tweaks then the others... the others usually give "canned" overclocking option for newbs.
If they are still this good when for my next pc upgrade, I will definitely look into getting one of them.
The problem is their built in sound isnt really all that great. Unless it has a SPU (sound process unit) build it, like the MSI with the SBlive 5.1 build in... the rest just have the bare minimum hardware to interface with audio iputs, and basic processiong while using your cpu to process audio functions. This actually make your system slower, cus now your cpu also has to do sound. Same with most cheap boards with built-in video.
Then you rather get a dedicated SB PCI card so it unloads the audio processing from the cpu, and use the board's sound processer. Frees up your cpu to do other things.
DFI would be nice for overclockers, (it's also a great solid, high quality board too!
and for those who wants to use a even better sound card than the soundblaster live, like sb audigy, or the newer one.
Posted by: slatts on Feb. 20 2006,19:27
interesting read... < Here >
good package..< Package.. >
Posted by: slatts on April 25 2006,01:59
Wilder i am going on your opinon on this one.
and the price i just happened to walk into today.
and the last guys feed back from the ratings.
i walked into Tiger direct today... and picked up the NEO 4 Platinum with the SB live... but this one says 7.1 channels.
i had one of these in my hands about two months ago... when i looked it up on thier sight.. it was $160. or something.. when i got to the cash.. and the lady said $285.. i went WTF.. don't think so.. told her the price listed on the web.. she looked.. she was right. i had looked up the NEO 4 regular... no SLI .. nothing. so i put it back.i go into the store once a week to see if i can catch the DFI board that keeps given me the woody...
but i can't seem to score it from the store..
so today i walked into the store.. over to the clearence section....DING,DING.
here staring me right in the face was a K8N NEO4 PLATINUM SLI... 939 brand new never opened.
i looked at it and looked at it.. this can't be right.
regular $228.99 marked down to $119.97.. ok WTF?
i checked the shelves.. nothing in the main board isle??
i took it over to buddy and asked him to cut the straps off and make sure everything was there... he asured me it was brand new.. but i figured it was a return.. nope nothing was opened inside the box.. factory sealed everywere...
he told me it was the last one they had and couldn't keep a spot in the mainboard isle for one flippen board.
i took it to the cash.. they couldn't even scan it.. not in the system anymore..
Now here is the kick in the stones.. i got another piece of the machine.. and my 19" monitor blew out.
i am looking at an hour glass image... it's about 6 inches in the middle...barely read what i am typing..
so i guess i need a monitor now.. will have to hook up my 15" bench model later on...
i really like what the first review guy has to say....
Summary:
I'm running my mobo on a athlon 64 3800 X2 Dual Core, and jesus christ this thing can pump out some serious power. For one of the best motherboards on the market, the price is fantastic. This is a must for gamers.
Rating:
Reviewed by: RichieRich32 on Jan 19, 2006
Summary:
This is overall a great motherboard. Unfortunately after 11 months, one of the memory channels went bad, as well as an audio channel. Newegg's hassle free year warantee should take care of the problem. Used Athlon 64 3200+, 1GB Kingston HyperX PC3200 RAM, multiple HD's including a 36 GB 15k HD (that has gone bad twice), and a 6600GT Graphics Card. None had any compatability issues whatsoever. Dont like it as much as my old DFI LanParty. Great overall motherboard tho. The onboard audio is phenomenal, the features endless, and the value undisputable.
Rating:
Reviewed by: mcwrench2 on Jan 16, 2006
Summary:
Mobo has great features, but went thru 2 MSI SLI boards with issues before switching to an ASUS board. The boot process would stall at the CPU id line every time....until I booted with no mouse. Tried every other combo of parts, but would only boot with no mouse, usb or pc2. The second MSI board had no cpu fan power. Too many problems for a high end board.
Rating:
Reviewed by: sk8teboi on Dec 21, 2005
Summary:
AWsome motherBoard... great for overclocking! VERy good looking also loads of features! even tho i didnt need all of them who knows when they could come in handy! A++++ product Running this with 3500+, 2 gig of Pc 3700 ,320 gig, 6800 ultra extreme, ultra 500W.
Rating:
Reviewed by: Pasquali on Oct 31, 2005
Summary:
This is an AWESOME motherboard for the non SLI in you. Loaded with features and also offers outstanding performance when paired with the AMD Athlon 64 3500+ and OCZ Platinum rev2, lightning fast and very stable.
Rating:
Reviewed by: hergadawn on Aug 11, 2005
Summary:
This is a NICE board. The nForce chipset is the best. Don't get a board with a VIA chipset, they're horrible and have compatibility issues with almost everything. We tried 4 different SATA RAID controllers and got horrible reults with all of them. The NVIDIA RAID controller on this is awesome. We benchmarked 325MB/s with 4 WD Raptors in RAID 0. In general, a great motherboard, loads of features. What more could you want on this board? It's a steal at $180. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Reviewed by: Tristan Vash on Jun 02, 2005
Summary:
This thing kicks butt!! I've kept this thing on ever since I finshed building my computer a week ago. The overclocking is excellent and made easy for noobies. The AMD64 3800+ Venice core has been kept at 104° degrees F max at full load because of the temperature targeting system option in BIOS, along with the Cool N' Quiet ® Tech. At Idle or low processing I'm looking at 89 degrees for a normal CPU temp. I have 7 total fans in my computer,( 1 PSU, 3 80MM, 1 120MM, CPU fan, and Northbridge fan) and the noise level is very low considering the above facts. I'm very impressed with the stability it holds...Great Job! (The Cool and Quiet ® only applies to the fans that are connected to the mobo for power, not the PSU connectors.)
Rating:
Reviewed by: Tazman on Apr 19, 2005
Summary:
Just built a new machine with this motherboard at its core. Amd 64 3200 +, 1 gb dual channel ram, Diamond 16x Pcie graphics, 200 gb sata and 60 bg. ide hard drives, dvd burner, 3.5. Very impressed with this board, easy install, tooled precisely. Included cables are shrink wrapped, excellent for cooling and incl. 4 sata cables. Board drivers installed without a hitch. The usb cable with the diagnostic lights is helpful for troubleshooting. Cpu bundled with a maxcool fan .. running very cool and quiet at 29 deg. celcius under load. Had one problem on install, usb mouse would cause splash screen to freeze, could not get to Post or Bios. VERY impressed with documentation and live update is an excellent app. Recommend to anyone, excellent bang for the buck.
Rating:
Reviewed by: jdw on Apr 02, 2005
Summary:
Wow, all I can say is this mobo rocks! Great quality and loaded with accessories. I couldn't find a better board for the money.
Rating:
Posted by: wilder on April 25 2006,22:05
I can typically find MSI boards for a few clams less than DFI or other brands. I think for the price MSI gives tremendous value.
I like DFI, but to tell you the truth, I've never owned one. I owned Asus, Abit, ASRock, biostar, and MSI. (i gave the biostar away, dont know it's status now).
They;ve all pretty much worked without a problem. I had some abit, and asus bad hardware before. The biostar was just cheap stuff... it runs, but was very lacking in features.
Other than those brands i have not used any others. When I shop for mobos, i would choose one of those brands, and really i cant really go wrong there. At the end it will be the best deal i can get. MSI happened to be the last 2 mobo deals i got.
I owned 3 asus brands, 2 abits, 1 biostar, and 3 msi. I belive msi quality is up there with asus, and abit. I think it would be a matter time before users get behind them cus they are more affordable for the same bang, and not before long they will be just as expensive.
BTW, The oldest working PC i built is 7 years old, using a MSI + Athlon (1st generation brick CPU). My buddy still has it and he says is working great still!
I still like to someday try gigabyte, and dfi. I've been reading a lot of good overclocking stuff concerning dfi. It may lilkely be my next mobo just for that.
Posted by: slatts on April 26 2006,02:29
yep i have had my share to.
PCChips, Aopen, Soyo, Asus and MSI.
curently running MSI KT4V with XP 2600
i still buy PCChips boards.. i use to build low budget machines for people. they work great, are dependable and will last along time. Aopen and Soyo you can't give them to me.
i just bought a PCchips K7 with a 1.8 gig Duron for my mom about 2 months ago.. beats the sh!t out of that 233mhz celery my sister gave her.. and a Asus A7v600-X for a buddy to replace that Aopen crap he had, that fried.
the MSI i have.. i had a problem when i first got it. it just didn't like the flavor of ram i had put into it. gen 333mhz
i put 2 sticks of kingston 400mhz into it and has been running smooth for about 3 years now.. (touch wood)
but with all the DFI research i have done this is the board that i like...it's middle price than some other DFI's but from what i gatherd you can't kill it... < HERE... >
i will still get one some time this year... i just want a new system built...mostly so i kick that piece of SH!T Soyo my wife is still useing out to the curb.. i won't even give it away..
Posted by: slatts on April 26 2006,02:35
also check this out. i am going with this for the CAS Latency.
< HERE... >
Posted by: slatts on May 15 2006,19:27
| Quote (slatts @ April 26 2006,02:35) |
| also check this out. i am going with this for the CAS Latency. < HERE... > |
decided on this instead, (cheaper and faster low latency)
< here.. >
Picked up a 64 X2 4200 today.. wasn't lucky enough to get the Venice core... i purchased a Manchester in stead.
i am not complaining...lol
considering how i was going to buy a 3800 X2.
try this baby if you want to stay cool.. i just picked one up.
haven't put my system together yet.. just picked up the last of the parts today.
WOO HOO..
Posted by: slatts on May 24 2006,02:34
Wilder... how did you get past the 28 pin ATX power hurdle?
did you buy a new PSU?
never seen this before.. while i was explaining this to the guy .. to try to return PSU he thought i full of it.
Posted by: wilder on May 24 2006,18:35
the PSU i got supported it.
I built my SLi from scratch last Dec. so my PSU already supported that with an adapter. I picked up the Ultra X-finity 600Watter from tigerdirect.com was cheapest I could find with rebate too!All the newer PSU should.
I've never used Ultra before, but after trying the PSU, it made me an instant fan, and reading some pretty good reviews on it on reliability per performance, it's one of the best valued bang for quality you can find.
Mind you, I've since stopped buying off-brand, cheap no-name PSUs for under $40. All the cheap PSU I got in the past ended up dying after 1-2 years. All of the brand names (antec, for example) are the ones that lasted 5+ years.
If you imagine a bad PSU can potentially fry your PC investment, you would probably appreciate spending a little more for a brand-name PSU with good warranty (atleast 3 years to lifetime).
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