Linda :-Þ said:
Hi there,
My partner is a gamer and we're thinking of updating his motherboard. He
likes to stick with Asus so would anyone have a suggestion as to what model
Asus MB he should go for?
Thanks
Linda
There are at least 50 motherboards on the Asus web page, and some
of them are limited to expensive processors. We would need to know
whether the budget is "unlimited" or is more tightly constrained.
For example, AMD boards are regarded as good for gaming, presumably
due to the floating point units of the processor. There is a
brand new board (just appeared on the Asus site within the last
couple of weeks), the A8V, which is like a K8V, but with Socket939
on it. The processors with 939 pins listed on Newegg, start at
$485 and go up. The board will undoubted perform well. Newegg shows
they aren't in stock yet, but the price is $171. I don't know if
this has a working AGP/PCI lock, but somehow I doubt it, as VIA
doesn't do "locks" well. (This limits extreme overclocking.)
As far as I can tell, both processor types use unbuffered memory,
the most common type.
Athlon64 Socket939 3500+ 2.2Ghz 512KB $485
Athlon64 Socket939 3800+ 2.4Ghz 512KB $698
AthlonFX Socket939 FX-53 2.4GHz 1MB $799
The Via K8T800 Pro chipset is mentioned here, as having a working
AGP/PCI lock, but I would want proof it is working on the Asus
board before buying and spending the big bucks on a 939 processor.
While this review is for Socket754, the same K8T800 Pro is used
in both cases.
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.html?i=2063&p=2
A K8V SE Deluxe uses a Socket754 processor. The Via chipset doesn't
have a working AGP/PCI lock, so this limits overclocking the FSB from
about 200 to 228MHz. Newegg lists this for $121. This has a single
memory channel, and with Clawhammer, has some speed versus number of
DIMMs limits (see the K8V SE manual). The Newcastle processor is
supposed to change these limits, but I haven't read anything on it
yet. The Newcastle presents a slight dilemma - it has 512KB cache,
and a higher core speed, compared to Clawhammer with its 1MB cache, but
I've read one comment that Newcastle also improves the driving of
the DIMMs. To figure out what it can do, may require downloading the
datasheet from the AMD website. (The clever bastards at AMD have
changed the way they do datasheets, and I cannot find info on the
driving limits of Clawhammer any more. Similarly, I cannot get info
on how well Newcastle fixes it.)
Athlon64 Socket754 3200+ 2.0GHz 1MB $282
(There are two models, Clawhammer version with 1MB cache recommended
while they last. May give 5% more performance. If you expect to need
to use all DIMM slots, then buy Newcastle 512KB cache chip.)
There is a new, and as yet unseen, K8N-E Deluxe listed on the Asus
site. It uses the Nvidia "250GB" chipset, which has a working AGP/PCI
lock and is socket 754. That will also be a candidate to replace the
K8V SE Deluxe. That board is not even listed on Newegg.
The difference between Socket754 and Socket939/940, is the extra
pins are used for dual channel memory.
The SK8V is Socket940. It uses AthlonFX or Opteron processors and
registered memory only. Dual channel, with four DIMM slots. $182
Note that the following processor is different than the one listed
above, by one pin. This one uses registered memory, but I think the
Socket939 one above uses unbuffered memory. As always, check the
manual for the board, and check the cpusupport web page for processor
version and speed. (Note: Unknown what happens if you plug a 939
processor into a 940 socket. The socket will probably work just fine,
but if the DIMM sockets are only keyed for registered memory, it
will be impossible to fit the needed unbuffered memory.)
AthlonFX Socket940 FX-53 2.4GHz 1MB $799
Socket 939 is the wave of the future, while Socket 754 and Socket
940 are the current versions. Socket 754 could become the "value"
segment socket of choice, replacing the AthlonXP stuff.
So, in summary:
Socket754 (unbuffered memory, single channel, Athlon64)
No AGP/PCI lock (K8V SE Deluxe)
AGP/PCI lock (K8N-E Deluxe - not shipping)
Processors - Clawhammer 1MB cache, Newcastle 512KB cache and
possibly the ability to drive more modules at DDR400.
Socket940 (registered memory, dual channel, FX or Opteron processors)
Don't know (SK8V)
Socket939 (unbuffered memory, dual channel, Athlon64 or FX 939)
AGP/PCI lock ??? (A8V Deluxe - not shipping)
What the summary is saying, is if your partner is not an overclocker,
buy what is on the shelf now. If your partner wishes to experiment,
then the boards that aren't shipping yet are the ones to get.
Socket 939 looks to be the "wave of the future" on the performance
end.
At the other extreme, an A7N8X family board and a Mobile Athlon XP-M
can also be used, and depending on how high it overclocks, also give you
a good gaming experience. Be careful when buying the processor, as
there are AthlonXP (the ordinary ones, also an option) and Athlon XP-M
is the mobile one. You have to select the right type of mobile processor
to get a high overclock. Use the search engine on nforcershq.com for
more info on overclocking the XP-M.
http://www.nforcershq.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=42432&highlight=xpm+2500+newegg
Have fun,
Paul
