Shuttle Motherboard Model AN35N-Ultra Retail

[Malone]

They got this at newegg for $69. Seems to be pretty similar to all the nForce2 Ultra 400 boards out there. Why is it so much less? Does Shuttle tend to cut corners on stuff? I plan on getting a 2500+ Barton and setting the FSB to 400, but that will be the extent of my overclocking.

Also, in general, is SATA worth it? This Shuttle board only has ATA 133, but I'd prefer to use my existing harddrive anyway to save money on this upgrade.

[drs1771]

I have been a Shuttle retailer for two years. I've found them to be very sound and stable boards, but not high performers. They are what I call the Vulcan live long and prosper boards. The reason (IMO) the board is less than say an NF7 or an A7N8X is because it lacks Soundstorm audio, a few less pci slots (it's a micro-atx board), and it doesn't have as many options in the bios. It's a great value board, and nothing more.

[scott2]

Originally posted by drs1771
I have been a Shuttle retailer for two years. I've found them to be very sound and stable boards, but not high performers. They are what I call the Vulcan live long and prosper boards. The reason (IMO) the board is less than say an NF7 or an A7N8X is because it lacks Soundstorm audio, a few less pci slots (it's a micro-atx board), and it doesn't have as many options in the bios. It's a great value board, and nothing more.

Hmmm, not micro ATX.

[Malone]

Yeah it's a full ATX board. Tom's says it has the MCP southbridge rather than the MCP-T, which accounts for the lower price. Honestly, the only thing the southbridge really brings to the table is sound and NIC, right? I've already got a nice 3COM NIC and a decent Phillips sound card.

I don't have any Firewire devices, nor do I plan on buying any, so I think I'm going with this Shuttle. (and a Barton 2500+ with 512MB Buffa****** PC3200 to boot!) Anyway, thanks for your reply. I'm glad to see that Shuttle is a reliable brand.

[kpxgq]

Originally posted by Malone
Yeah it's a full ATX board. Tom's says it has the MCP southbridge rather than the MCP-T, which accounts for the lower price. Honestly, the only thing the southbridge really brings to the table is sound and NIC, right? I've already got a nice 3COM NIC and a decent Phillips sound card.

I don't have any Firewire devices, nor do I plan on buying any, so I think I'm going with this Shuttle. (and a Barton 2500+ with 512MB Buffa****** PC3200 to boot!) Anyway, thanks for your reply. I'm glad to see that Shuttle is a reliable brand.

no MCP still has sound and lan.. the only thing missing that the MCPT has is the SoundStorm/Dolby audio

[JWolf]

Originally posted by Malone
They got this at newegg for $69. Seems to be pretty similar to all the nForce2 Ultra 400 boards out there. Why is it so much less? Does Shuttle tend to cut corners on stuff? I plan on getting a 2500+ Barton and setting the FSB to 400, but that will be the extent of my overclocking.

Also, in general, is SATA worth it? This Shuttle board only has ATA 133, but I'd prefer to use my existing harddrive anyway to save money on this upgrade.

I have built 4 Comps with this Board. This is the NF-2 Board I chose for my son. I have never had ANY trouble with them and as far as price/performance ratio goes...I think it is a great board. Like anything else...it's all about your own personal experience with something. Look on New Egg.....just about 5 stars from everyone. Now..... Abit Makes a nice board too(cough) Seriously..AN35NUltra_400..Stable board....good price

[Vengance_01]

Its a great board as it uses Ultra 400 chipset, and is very stable. But make sure to flash to lastest bios to get acesses to 11-12 multies.

[drs1771]

Originally posted by scott2
Hmmm, not micro ATX.

OOPS, My bad. I was thinking of the MN31 when I posted. Anyhow, no, it doesn't have Soundstorm, but it DOES have Realtek's AL650 which isn't shabby. Like I said earlier, you won't have control over your agp, chipset, or vdimm voltage so it will be a poor overclocker, but a great economy board none the less.

[JWolf]

Originally posted by drs1771
OOPS, My bad. I was thinking of the MN31 when I posted. Anyhow, no, it doesn't have Soundstorm, but it DOES have Realtek's AL650 which isn't shabby. Like I said earlier, you won't have control over your agp, chipset, or vdimm voltage so it will be a poor overclocker, but a great economy board none the less.

On the AN35N ultra-400 you have control over voltages.except the chipset..albeit,limited on the vdimm,...AGP...Vcore are there. I just booted my son's machine to make sure....not a monster ocing MB, but it does give you Multiplier choices....1.85 max Vcore... 2.7Vdimm...and a Voltage increase for AGP...Still....as you said...great economy board..maybe even a little bit more than that