Asus A7N8X Deluxe -vs- Epox 8RDA3+

[teknomedic]

This was
Asus A7N8X Deluxe -vs- Epox 8RDA3+
now it's
Asus A7N8X Deluxe v2.0 -vs- Gigabyte GA-7NNXP

Due to what I found in the course of this post... I've had to make an update. I'm now firmly between these 2 boards:
Asus A7N8X Deluxe v2.0 -vs- Gigabyte GA-7NNXP

I still need your help though..... read below....


Hello again...

Every so often I get a life and lose track of the motherboard stuff going on... then I come here to ask my usual question.... this vs that. :D



Anyway...

as the subject sugests...

Asus A7N8X Deluxe -vs- Epox 8RDA3+


I've read what I've found about each one but need that extra bit of user info and hidden web shortcuts to the low-down reviews.



My main question is... does Asus have a "newer" update planed for the A7N8X Deluxe?

After that.... (price doesn't matter) which is best?... features vs features vs OC vs OC.

... I'd really like an extremely detail comparison of each.

Thanks for any help.

[gkline]

teknomedic: I used your Epox mb to build my sister a system last year. She used an AMD 2000. Well as you can see from my sig, I got the "itch" and built a new one for myself using the Asus A7N8X deluxe ver2 with the Ultra 400 chipset. My impressions. The Epox is a solid mb but the Asus is a Cadillac. Now I know the Abit and Epox may overclock a wee bit better but my Asus is rock solid. For that matter so is my sister's Epox. So .... either is fine. I chose the Asus cause of all the built in extras including SoundStorm, SATA, Firewire.

[teknomedic]

Thanks for the reply...

I'm leaning towards the Asus (have been for months) but after reading some reviews of the Epox I wasn't sure anymore.

I probably won't OC that much... I never have... and I do like the long list of Asus features... I built a system using the basic model and loved the setup and results.


I'd like to buy one... but I'd hate to do so and then have them release a v3 or worse yet, a totaly new board based on the Deluxe that added some features or extras.

To make my choice I need to know 2 things then,

Can anyone give me a link that would give me EVERY feature of both the Asus and Epox boards. I want to do a side by side comparison of each to see what has what.

Also, anyone think Asus has a newer board planed that would up the Deluxe in the next 3-6 months??

Thanks!

[minus200]

go ahead and get a good board --- Abit NF7-S

just kidding but this MB belongs in your list if you want the extra features.

[teknomedic]

Thanks for the reply...


I hope this doesn't sound rude.... don't take it the wrong way...


What does the Abit NF7-S have the the Asus Deluxe or the Epox doesn't?? I haven't looked into that board at all so I have no idea. :D


TK.

[gkline]

From what I read Minus200 is correct Both the Asus and the Abit now officially support 200fsb. For all intense and purposes the Epox does also. I don't think you will make a "mistake" by choosing any of the three. I have the Asus and love it. Minus200, I assume has the Abit and loves it All excellent boards. Pick one and go with it! (psssst pick the Asus;)

[teknomedic]

That's my main problem.... they're all good... :(


When I finally do pick one, price isn't an issue so I can't use that... so it comes down to features. I know what the Asus has... and I kinda know what the Epox has... and I have no idea what the Abit has... so...

I really need a side by side by side comparison.

Don't get me wrong though.. I don't need these on the same page... or site... a link to 3 seperate sites that have a very detailed review of each board with a break down of the all the boards features would be great. :) ....if a just a little bit hopeful. :D

[l_bastard]

I have the A7N8X Deluxe....I love it for the features and everything, but I'm currently selling it because it can't satisfy my taste for overclocking. The a7n8x caps the vcore at 1.85v and the vdimm at 2.8v and doesn't offer adjustment of the nb voltage....In my opinion if I was going AMD again (switching to intel :D ), I would go with the NF7-S because it offers a wide range of o'cing features and is feature packed as far as the i/o panel goes and other stuff....that IMHO.

[teknomedic]

That's almost another problem... since I'm not going to be OCing (maybe a little) I can't really use the OC-ability to pick a board either.

I don't plan on "editing" my current system for at least a month... or more, which is also why I need to find out what Asus has planned. I don't want to get the Deluxe version only to find they ship an "ultra" version 3 weeks later. Epox really isn't problem since they pretty much just released the 3+... as for Abit, I've never looked at there boards before and really have no idea about the quality of them. (duck and covers for flaming) ;)

[l_bastard]

Out of the 3 you can't really go wrong.....

Epox- really good for o'cing, a little lacking on the features
Abit-really good for o'cing, has tons of features such as coaxial output and SATA
Asus-still a good o'clocker but castrated a bit, has load of features such as dual lan, coaxial out

[mikeysg]

Originally posted by l_bastard
Out of the 3 you can't really go wrong.....

Epox- really good for o'cing, a little lacking on the features
Abit-really good for o'cing, has tons of features such as coaxial output and SATA
Asus-still a good o'clocker but castrated a bit, has load of features such as dual lan, coaxial out Listen to the man!;) You really can't go wrong with any of these.:D PCstats did an nForce2 mobos roundup a while back (may not include latest revisions - sadly, does not include my most excellent NF7-S rev2.0:( ). Here are some reviews from pcstats (don't know if they're trustworthy or not though, some reviewers give skewed reviews) : http://www.pcstats.com/articlesearch.cfm?SearchValue=&Search=Search&Category=175&CategorySearch=Get+Listing
Hope this helps you out.;) :)

[teknomedic]

I finally found a place that reviewed all 3 boards... here are the links for anyone who wants them:

Asus: http://www.digital-daily.com/motherboard/asus-a7n8x/

Epox: http://www.digital-daily.com/motherboard/epox-8rda3+/

Abit: http://www.digital-daily.com/motherboard/abit-nf7s/

Thanks to this site I was able to do a pretty good comparison... the problem... they're each so good I can't make up my mind. :(

One will have something another doesn't but then that changes with the next feature... back and forth... I think my head is going to explode.

The main problem with these reviews is that they don't have the latest revisions.... so based on these reviews I have some questions...


1) What is the current (highest) revision of each mobo?

2) What has changed and what has been added to each board (in the newest revision) that's a change from the reviews I found?

3) Do any of these boards have a planned update in sometime in the next 4 months?


So far that's all I need anwsered.... I hope it stays that way. :D

[l_bastard]

1. The Current revisions are as follows:
Epox: Epox 8RDA3+
Asus: Asus A7N8X/A7N8X Deluxe Rev2.0
Abit: Abit NF7/-S Rev2.0

2. The only major difference between the new revisions and their predecessors is 400fsb support.

3. I doubt that any one of them will.....due to the fact that the Athlon64 is being release and the AthlonXP is at the end of its life with the release of the 3200+

[teknomedic]

OK... here's a question...

Does the new Asus v2.0 have the "MyLogo" option???

It's an option to allow you to change the boot-up screen image of the POST display.

I think pre 2.0 versions listed this in the manual but the function wasn't in the BIOS or included in the software CD.

If 2.0 has this... My choice is made.

[teknomedic]

Great... just great.... thanks to this link (I found it in another post asking almost the same thing)...

http://www6.tomshardware.com/motherboard/20030721/index.html

(that's very much what I was looking for BTW)


....I'm now between these 2 boards:

Asus A7N8X Deluxe v2.0

and

Gigabyte GA-7NNXP

The Gigabyte is the first board to really sway me away from the Asus... just a ton of features... and fans up the butt (I like fans).

I've never really considered Gigabyte before so I don't know much about them... so... I'm now looking for opinions... If I go just on features the Gigabyte wins... but if I go just on what I know about each company's quality (I know about Asus, but nothing about Gigabyte) then Asus wins.

I need to know:..

Asus Quality vs Gigabyte Quality

and

Asus OC-ability vs Gigabyte OC-ability


Thanks again guys..... big help so far,
TK.

[serotone9]

just get the Abit, or second choice Epox. you won't regret either one, while you might regret spending more on the Asus and not getting that much more in terms of performance or features. excaliberpc might still have the Abit rev 2.0 for $109 + $5 s/h, or just go to newegg for it (or for the Epox).

> p.s. don't base buying a board on whether it has the BIOS startup logo! :p

[teknomedic]

I need to end this topic... please follow me here to continue this "problem" of mine....


http://www.sharkyforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=200780

NOTE: I'm between an Asus board and a Gigabyte board now.

Follow link!!

[serotone9]

Originally posted by teknomedic
I need to end this topic... please follow me here to continue this "problem" of mine....

http://www.sharkyforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=200780

NOTE: I'm between an Asus board and a Gigabyte board now.

Follow link!!

i did follow. it's basically the same as your edited first post in this thread. i just don't think you should get either of those boards, but should get the NF7-S. :)