Several pre-purchase A7N8X-Deluxe questions (to make sure I don't waste money)

My old PC is dying, and I'm trying to get caught up with what is available,
anything is better than my half-dead system.

My proposed configuration is below, but I have a few questions...

Will this MB support multiple monitors? I'd like one main monitor (for
gaming and stuff) but I'd like to use my second monitor, is this pretty eady
to set up on this MB? I assume one fast AGP card, then a garbage PCI card
for the second monitor?

I want to get 1 Gig Ram, should I get the Corsair twin pack (2x512) of
PC-3200? or with PC-3200 am I forced to only get the one chip, or can I get
true dual channel with DDR400? I'm not totally sure I understand this, so
any info is appreciated. Also, how much real-life performance difference is
there between ultra-low CAS ("2-3-2-6 T1") vs regular ("2.5"), as it is an
extra $100 for the ultra-low CAS.

I'm not planning on doing RAID, but I figured if I get SATA that would free
up an IDE channel- and I'm maxed now, that would give me the 4 IDE channels
for: DVD, ZIP, CD-RW (secondary, for CD-to-CD copies), and old HD (for
backup storage). Any issues with this kind of setup? any potential problems
burning DVDs with images bounced off the SATA (buffer,speed,etc)? Am I
wasting money on SATA (should I just go IDE and ditch the backup drive?).

2800 seems to be the current sweet spot (price vs performance) for AMD CPUs-
is that correct?

Proposed config:
-------------------
Existing tower case
Existing (350W?) PSU
ASUS A7N8X-E Deluxe
AMD 2800+ Barton
1 Gig DDR Ram
160 Gig Samsung SATA HD
Plextor IDE DVD/CD RW drive (drool)
Existing HP CDRW (as backup)
Existing IDE HD (as backup)
Existing ZIP drive
10/100 ethernet card for now, maybe upgrade when ASUS comes out with a
802.11g 3-way wireless card

Also, what is a good, quiet fan for this CPU? Will the Coolermaster Aero7
allow the ASUS MB to do it's variable speed CPU fan thing? Anyone have
something else that they like even better?

TIA,
Keith

In article , "K Ruck"
wrote:

My old PC is dying, and I'm trying to get caught up with what is available,
anything is better than my half-dead system.

My proposed configuration is below, but I have a few questions...

Will this MB support multiple monitors? I'd like one main monitor (for
gaming and stuff) but I'd like to use my second monitor, is this pretty eady
to set up on this MB? I assume one fast AGP card, then a garbage PCI card
for the second monitor?

Could you get a video card with dual head capability ? Maybe that would
only take one slot and do what you want.


I want to get 1 Gig Ram, should I get the Corsair twin pack (2x512) of
PC-3200? or with PC-3200 am I forced to only get the one chip, or can I get
true dual channel with DDR400? I'm not totally sure I understand this, so
any info is appreciated. Also, how much real-life performance difference is
there between ultra-low CAS ("2-3-2-6 T1") vs regular ("2.5"), as it is an
extra $100 for the ultra-low CAS.

According to the review article on Anandtech, you can even run three
sticks of ram at DDR400 rates on Nforce2 boards. Dual channel operation
only provides a small difference in performance - dual channel helps when
the Northbridge has integrated graphics but otherwise is mostly a waste.
The A7N8X Deluxe does not have graphics built into the Northbridge.

This site had a very nice table of empirical results for the Nforce2,
but seems to be gone now.

http://www.systemcooling.com/images/...ide/matrix.jpg

I have a copy of the chart stored locally, so I can give you a few lines
from the chart. I picked these lines to demonstrate that
"clock rate is king" - a higher clock (FSB:MEM in sync for best results)
does more good than buying for better CAS.

CAS-TRAS-TRCD-TRP

205MHz x 11mult Opt 2.5-5-2-2 Sandra Integer 3184 Float 2989 3DMark 12237
205MHz x 11mult Opt 2.0-5-2-2 Sandra Integer 3194 Float 3016 3DMark 12236
205MHz x 11mult Aggr 2.0-5-2-2 Sandra Integer 3193 Float 3028 3DMark 12450
220MHz x 11mult Aggr 2.0-5-2-2 Sandra Integer 3438 Float 3258 3DMark (DNC)

There are also a few articles on Anandtech about Nforce2 based boards.
Search for "nforce2" on the web site. Here is one article:

http://www.anandtech.com/chipsets/sh...tml?i=1719&p=4


I'm not planning on doing RAID, but I figured if I get SATA that would free
up an IDE channel- and I'm maxed now, that would give me the 4 IDE channels
for: DVD, ZIP, CD-RW (secondary, for CD-to-CD copies), and old HD (for
backup storage). Any issues with this kind of setup? any potential problems
burning DVDs with images bounced off the SATA (buffer,speed,etc)? Am I
wasting money on SATA (should I just go IDE and ditch the backup drive?).

For other info on Nforce2 boards, you should also check out nforcershq.com
There are forums there specializing in these boards.


2800 seems to be the current sweet spot (price vs performance) for AMD CPUs-
is that correct?

Buying a 2500+ and overclocking it used to be the sweet spot. Be aware
that there are rumors circulating about the latest batches of AMD processors
changing the locking method, so the "free lunch" may have stopped. I don't
know the best way to verify about the changes in locking method.


Proposed config:
-------------------
Existing tower case
Existing (350W?) PSU
ASUS A7N8X-E Deluxe
AMD 2800+ Barton
1 Gig DDR Ram
160 Gig Samsung SATA HD
Plextor IDE DVD/CD RW drive (drool)
Existing HP CDRW (as backup)
Existing IDE HD (as backup)
Existing ZIP drive
10/100 ethernet card for now, maybe upgrade when ASUS comes out with a
802.11g 3-way wireless card

Also, what is a good, quiet fan for this CPU? Will the Coolermaster Aero7
allow the ASUS MB to do it's variable speed CPU fan thing? Anyone have
something else that they like even better?

TIA,
Keith

For a HSF, check out the Zalman 7000 series.

http://www.zalman.co.kr/english/prod...7000a-alcu.htm

The aluminum/copper combo is lighter than the all copper design. But note
that in terms of heat spreading, having all copper plates in the die area
of the CPU helps spread the heat better. I wish the mounting method for
this thing bolted to the board, because it is so heavy that a sudden shock
to the computer case could cause it to fall off. Also, take careful note
of the dimensions of this thing - it is huge. If the processor socket is
too close to the top of the motherboard, the fins can bump into the power
supply. You also have to check for interference with any tall capacitors
in a fairly large radius around the processor. I wanted to buy one
of these for a project I was working on, but it just wouldn't fit.
In terms of design concept, it is a work of art. Even with the fan at
full speed, it is quiet. (Some people make it fit by bending a few fins,
but that would be a crime against art :-)

HTH,
Paul