ASUS A7N8X vs Deluxe


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For the ASUS A7N8X vs its bigger brother the A7N8X Deluxe, which performs faster? I know the Deluxe has all the bells and whistles (too bad I don't need them), but usually when it comes to ASUS their Deluxe versions also have higher performance even with the extra features (baseing this fact on their graphic cards).

Are they both the same performance wise? I won't be using SATA or any of the onboard features for both mobos.

Also, the Dual Channel RAM question:

Does Dual Channel RAM only work with PC3200 (400mhz) RAM?

I planned to plug a 333fsb barton into the A7N8X plain along with some Crucial PC2700 (333mhz) sticks and run those in dual mode - basically making the RAM:CPU a 1:1 ratio (which I heard is better)... but then the official description of the dual-channel support says:

DualDDR combines the power of DDR400 with two independent memory controllers, which yields a staggering 6.4GB per second of memory bandwidth?twice the memory bandwidth of other DDR400 chipsets. Increased memory bandwidth delivers better system and graphics performance, resulting in more overall productivity.

Soooo, do they mean just the DDR400 chipset in general or that the ram actually has to be DDR400 (PC3200)?

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I believe both of them support dual channel, unless their website is wrong?

I know the A7N8X-X (budget version) doesn't

For the A7N8X plain

http://usa.asus.com/prog/spec.asp?m=A7N8X&langs=09

Dual-Channel DDR 400

3 x 184-pin DIMM Sockets

Max. 3 GB unbuffered PC3200/PC2700/PC2100/PC1600 non-ECC DDR RAM Memory (Twinbank)

dual-channel works with all speeds of ddr

If I were you, i'd just go for the a7n8x-x like i am in a month. dual-channel is pretty useless right now for amd systems, giving only a 3-4% boost to overall performance.

Quoted from Tom's Hardware - "Buyers enticed by dual channel DRAM should note one crucial thing: in theory, a dual-channel memory link does not bring any benefits since the data rate is limited by the FSB bus's bandwidth. It's fixed at a maximum 200 MHz (Athlon XP 3200+) to give a bandwidth of 3.2 GB/s. Even using fast dual DDR400 memory with an access time of 6.4 GB/s has no effect on the Front Side Bus bottleneck of 3.2 GB/s. With that in mind, it's really not so inappropriate to question dual-channel memory technology on the Socket A platform.

A single memory channel combined with DDR400 - and cleverly connected at the Northbridge - has a bandwidth of 3.2 GB/s. What's more, this solution saves money."

Well, that's my opinion on that.

Go with the ASUS A7N8X Deluxe. You may not need the special features like serial ata now but you might want them in the future. Also i recommend PC3200 ram which can run at sync at 333 mhz when needed but can also run at 400 mhz for when you upgrade later

I believe both of them support dual channel, unless their website is wrong?

I know the A7N8X-X (budget version) doesn't

For the A7N8X plain

http://usa.asus.com/prog/spec.asp?m=A7N8X&langs=09

Dual-Channel DDR 400

3 x 184-pin DIMM Sockets

Max. 3 GB unbuffered PC3200/PC2700/PC2100/PC1600 non-ECC DDR RAM Memory (Twinbank)

yeah sorry bout that, its the -x version that dont support dual channel

You might try looking around over at NforcersHQ. Check out the FAQ's and see if you missed anything during set up. Kinda unusual for them to arrive DOA. If the board isn't dead, my best guess would be that the processor isn't seated properly if the memory is ok but it could be a lot of things. Good luck.

YOu betcha it is DUAL capable.But there is a few things you so called experts forgot to mention in giving this person some advice.For one....the Deluxe is of course a very good board but the non-deluxe is the same exact board with just not so many extras on it.Sata being one of them...also Firewire.The main feature that is the one that matters most is whether it is a rev 2.0 board now.These newer version boards come with improved placings of certain parts on the board and also have the ULtra 400 chipset on them now.I suspect in your purchase of the Deluxe you didnt bother to find out what version of board you got.The version is in between the 2nd and 3rd PCI slots and is printed on the board itself.Also if your current Ram doesnt post maybe it just might with a BIOS upgrade.The newest version currently out is 1006 but be careful when and if you look for it on the Asus site because they have 2 different Bios....the one's made for pre-version 2.0 boards and the newer version 2.0 boards.

Also to activate it into DUAL you have to have the sticks in the proper RAM banks,which you probably know already.

Good luck....let us know what's up ok?

YOu betcha it is DUAL capable.But there is a few things you so called experts forgot to mention in giving this person some advice.For one....the Deluxe is of course a very good board but the non-deluxe is the same exact board with just not so many extras on it.Sata being one of them...also Firewire.The main feature that is the one that matters most is whether it is a rev 2.0 board now.These newer version boards come with improved placings of certain parts on the board and also have the ULtra 400 chipset on them now.I suspect in your purchase of the Deluxe you didnt bother to find out what version of board you got.The version is in between the 2nd and 3rd PCI slots and is printed on the board itself.Also if your current Ram doesnt post maybe it just might with a BIOS upgrade.The newest version currently out is 1006 but be careful when and if you look for it on the Asus site because they have 2 different Bios....the one's made for pre-version 2.0 boards and the newer version 2.0 boards.

Also to activate it into DUAL you have to have the sticks in the proper RAM banks,which you probably know already.

Good luck....let us know what's up ok?

Newegg hasn't sold a revision 1.x board in months.

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