Motherboard and Soundcard

[Gamerguy X]

While painfuly trying to figure out my computer before I order it, I've run into a little issue.

Ive chosen this motherboard:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813136151

now, motherboards have sound cards built in, but I have heard bad things about this boards sound card.

Does anyone have experience with this board, or this line of boards? And couold you recomend the card with the best value (the only sound I want is from itunes and games like BF2).

Thanks.

[<}US{>BlackHawkPilot73]

Re: Motherboard and Soundcard

look at the customors reviews and test your self..you can always return it.

[Gamerguy X]

Re: Motherboard and Soundcard

the point of asking if anyone has experience w/this is to avoid having to replace parts continuousely in my computer. this can help insure i dont break anything with my limited experties.

[sackynut]

Re: Motherboard and Soundcard

lan party mobo's are great motherboards all around and if you know what you are doing they are awesome for overclocking. the onboard sound for that mobo is the same I believe as any other nforce 4 motherboard. the only difference is for some reason you have to stick this one in. those sound cards (the nf4 ones) are great. they can run bf2 on high sound settings and sound great.
that should be a good mobo and good sound from it. if you feel the need to get x-fi in the future that would be cool, but dont get it because you think there is a problem with the onboard sound.

[imported_Wreck]

Re: Motherboard and Soundcard

If you are getting an SLI board then does that mean you are using or plan on using the SLI feature? If not then get the Ultra-D: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813136152

As far as sound I'd go with a Sound Blaster X-Fi extreme music. I've always had issues with onboard sound and the DFI onboard sound isn't any different. I'd say the Xfi is one of the best most emersive purchases I've made concerning gaming with my PC.

[Gamerguy X]

Re: Motherboard and Soundcard

no plans for SLI, so I will get the SLI-less version.

Thanks, that saves a bit of money! (didnt know about that)

[imported_Wreck]

Re: Motherboard and Soundcard

no plans for SLI, so I will get the SLI-less version.

Thanks, that saves a bit of money! (didnt know about that)

The best thing is that the board can be modded into an SLI version fairly easily. The new revisions also use better caps than the original revision, which I have. If I had any issues with this board I'd trade up for a newer one, but it's been nothing but a great board with no problems. It can't be beat for overclocking features.

I grabbed this VGA cooler listed below and relplaced the stock chipset cooler on the DFI with it. It's made of all copper and is slightly quieter than the stock heatsink/fan.

http://www.jab-tech.com/Evercool-VC-RE-Twinkling-VGA-Cooler-pr-2291.html

[Gamerguy X]

Re: Motherboard and Soundcard

Only thing I want to overclock is my CPU, and just by .4 GHz

Everything else will run fine w/out being overclocked.

[knghtwhosaysni]

Re: Motherboard and Soundcard

Only thing I want to overclock is my CPU, and just by .4 GHz

Everything else will run fine w/out being overclocked.

Eventually you'll want to overclock your vid card :) Most can get 5 or 10 more fps in some games with stock cooling.

And I'd also suggest the XtremeMusic :) Very cool with a 5.1 setup, but tons of people really like the positional audio with headphones. Personally, I have to have my room rumbling to have a good time, so I never use headphones.

[imported_Wreck]

Re: Motherboard and Soundcard

Only thing I want to overclock is my CPU, and just by .4 GHz

Everything else will run fine w/out being overclocked.

That chipset fan goes on your motherboard northbridge and will help it stay cooler and more stable while overclocking your CPU.

[Gamerguy X]

Re: Motherboard and Soundcard

That chipset fan goes on your motherboard northbridge and will help it stay cooler and more stable while overclocking your CPU.

im not sure im quite understanding? im getting this case witht all 5 fans (including the two optional)

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811129154

It should be cool enough, right? and the CPU naturaly has a heatsink (its an AMD)

[imported_Wreck]

Re: Motherboard and Soundcard

Maybe this will help. I replaced the heatsink/fan on the motherboard, (circled in blue below), with the aftermarket cooler I posted earlier. It cools your northbridge which directly affects your CPU overclock. Keeping your northbridge cool and stable will keep your CPU overclock more stable. On top of this it's quieter than the original NB cooler from DFI.

You will also want something to keep your PWMIC heatsinks cool, (circled in red below). You can either get CPU heatsink and fan that will actively cool them by blowing air onto the motherboard, or just strap some kind of fan in that area to blow down on the motherboard.

Sorry if all this is getting confusing, I'm just giving suggestions to maximize your overclock and stability while overclocking. You don't have to take my advice, but if you want to get a little more involved these are just some suggestions.

[LoD]

Re: Motherboard and Soundcard

I'm not so sure the southbridge really affects the over clock anymore with the A64. Its more of a hub for peripherals than anything else and connects to the CPU through hypertransport.

As longas your HT is ~1ghz your fine, and any more or less doesnt really affect benchmarks.

In my experience throwing some AS5 on the chipset fan wil drop temps ~10
*C, and as an almost free upgrade its better and easier than getting a whole new chipset heatsink/fan.

Also i can vouch for the SLI mod, it works great (I just did it for kicks ) I will probably never go SLI but it was a fun challange and a great use of a #2 pencil.

If the OP is looking for only a modest OC he might even be able to get away with the stock AMD cooler, 400mhz isnt much for a A64 and i think all stock settings, drop the HTT to 4x and possibly put the ram on a divider is all he needs to do. Exotic cooling and extra fans are only really needed if your going for 2.9-3ghz+.

[imported_Wreck]

Re: Motherboard and Soundcard

^^^Your northbridge does affect the stability and HTT speeds you are able to achieve. It's always better to try and lower whatever temperatures you can.

Maybe this is the reason I'm able to achieve such high overclocks on my dual core while others are barely in the 2.4-2.6Ghz zone with single core CPU's. Most people don't think about these kinds of details and I was just giving a cheap suggestion. It's under $10.

[sackynut]

Re: Motherboard and Soundcard

my HT is 960 (240 x 4x multiplyer).

does that make much a difference compared to 1000?