Maximum PC

is the Neo4 Platinum worth the extra $55..?

I'm planning to combine it with a an AMD 3200+ s939 but might up gettin the 3000+ ...some corsair xms ram... a gig's worth.. and a leadtek 6600gt.

so as you guys can see Imma on super budget, but I wanna get my moneyz worth and enjoy games such as far cry, d3, hl2.. etc... but at times I find it hard to justify spending over a $1200 for a $20 - $50. Since I've been playing games since 2nd grade starting with asteroids.. I gotta play the new stuff.

thanx for the advice everyone..paul

ONLY if you need the added features which, as I posted in another of your threads, amounts to:

Neo4-F
No Firewire
Single Gb LAN
Up to four SATA devices (150MB/s)

Neo4 Platinum
Firewire
Dual Gb LAN
Up to eight SATA devices (4 @ 300MB/s, 4@150MB/s)

And I think the -F doesn't have the nForce 4 Ultra, but the Platinum does.

Which simply means it supports SATA II and ActiveArmor (which I forgot to include in that list). Here's a handy chart - LINK

Why doesn't it just come with 8 SATA devices @ 300MB/s?

I actually just orderd and recieved the Neo 4 F version of the board your talking about. I think it will work just fine for gameing. Actually, you and I are in the same situation. I went with the "F" version because i have a sound card with a firewire port already on it and SATA II is not necessary now. Also as far as network connections go, I will be just fine with one. I don't plan on useing this rig for a router/server.

Another thing to keep in mind, is , is that you can add fire wire later and another nic card. So, since you are on a budget you can just spend the money later for the features you don't get now.

I'm with AcidBurn. I just ordered the F version as well and doing so, I started hanging out over at the MSI forums to get a headstart on any glitches/bugs I may come across (You can tell I've had a great history with motherboards ). Most of the people on those forums recommend the F if you aren't interested in SLI.

4 channels come from the nForce4 chipset (300MB/s) while the other 4 comes from a different chip like one from Promise or Silicon Image (150MB/s).

also people want to be able to use SATA1 HDDs which is what the 150MB/s's are for.

forgot to put this in my last post but the XMS is overkill you should save the money by buying some Corsiar value select DDR400 and get a X800XL or a 6800gt instead

SATA II Hard drives work in regular SATA ports, IIRC.

ok..thanx for the help in my decision making.
I purchased the Neo4-F last night offa chiefvalue.com for $88 w/free shipping! along with other parts as well as the Corsair XMS ram = ). it was only $129. couldn't resist that price for a gig's worth, ya know.

anywayz.... thanx again..Paul..!