Maximum PC

Wait, WHY did you buy that motherboard?

For the software, I don't know of any.





Ted

Because they might still be rocking 939! I just hope too much was not paid

I can't imagine there would be very many of those old boards sitting around still in the box. How dirty does it look? My bet is that it has been around the block a few times. I think they came out in '05? If it was advertised as "new-in-box" and you discovered it is definitely used, you should contact the seller. Then if that gets you no where, lodge a complaint with ebay.

exactly... doing all that. The seller/dealer is a hoge-poge seller and is fully working with me willing to do a total refund or better yet reduced price. eBay is great but you really got to watch it like a hawk.

This motherboard the A8N SLI Premium is a reall winner 939. Runs the Opteron superbly; best server situations ever. Got this board for $87 and will probably ask for $20 to $40 back.

I just want to know how much time is on this board and I believe the software is out there that can time in something on the board. I do this all the time with HD's when you query the controller for usage.

The board was very clean but not that shiny new look so I took a real good look and saw that black fluffy soot jammed into the bottom of the heat spreader behind the processor socket. Oh yeah I thought we're used. Wasn't and marks on the screwdowns, no discoloration. Doesn't appear to be used much but I know it's used.

Agreed. My wife's comp was running that board and an Opty 170 until just recently. One of the top 939 boards and it still can hold it's own with the right chip/card/settings.

Glad the seller is working with you on it

Yes, that board came out in 2005, I remember wanting one so badly I actually begged my ole lady to let me get it, and of course she still said no, lol. Still, even new, 5 years after it was released to market, I wouldn't have considered even close to $87 for it, no freakin' way, I don't care how epic the board is. I know it was hella-pricey 5 years ago, but that was also 5 years ago. Motherboards usually don't hold value that tightly. Here's to you getting a good chunk of money back!

Okay, so now it's all over and done with. Here's the finale tally. I got back $26 on the original price of $87. that makes my cost $61 plus the inflated $15.95 shipping. I dinged the dealer for the inflated shipping. Normal UPS cost for a board would have been around $7.

All in all I feel I got me a new server board for my Multimedia Server. Got the HAF 932 to hold the 10 2tb hd's (this has taken me three years to get these many 2tb HD's, Seagate and Samsung), 4g pc3200 RAM, 185 Opteron with Cooler Masters Hyper 212 + cooler and I'm thinking about dropping a 7900 256mb GT for video ( because I have it laying there forever not being used ); I wonder about this because I don't need the extra heat from the video card. This server is just what it is, a server dishing it out to DVico's TViX and an HD Homerun unit. Connects every TV in the house to whatever I have multimedia on the server.

I am actually pulling out a Core 2 DUO E6550 2.34ghz on a FoxConn MB for the Opteron 185 2.6ghz on this ASUS A8N. I think it's a sweet deal personally. Drop one PCI-Ex 4 port SATA card and I'll have 12 (twelve) SATA ports to play with.... I like that.

The video board bothers me a little because I don't really need the power or the heat but why spend more money on a board if I got it laying around? ANy thoughts?

After this, I need to concentrate on a backup server for when these HD's start crapping out. Don't want to lose all the dang movies I've worked so hard for.

The ONLY reason I'd find to use the 7900GT is that there's no on-board video with that motherboard, so regardless, you'll need to have a video card in there, and if you already have one that's still working, there's no reason to go get another one.

I only get concerned about the heat that puppy puts out. That model was one of the hotest gpu's nvidia made and I mean as in heat. Not withstanding the extra wattage vs cost of electricity. I should try to figure how much it will cost to run that card vs using a cheapy thing just to get video. A $35 Pci-Ex video board could save a bunch of money running this new machine 24/7

What you think now?

Where's Gordon when I need him? This is right up his alley!

maybe pick up a cheap PCI (not PCIe) card?

for instance, I have a PCI nvidia 8400GS that, right now, I use mainly as a backup card for troubleshooting rigs. but grab one (if its cheap enough), park it in the server and its there if you need it for other rigs when a video card goes belly up. it will go into most any rig.. old AGP rigs, ones with no PCIe 16x slots, no PCIe 6/8 pin power connectors, stuff with craptastic 250 watt PSUs, pretty much anything. nice card to have banging around. also a 8400 will net folding points while it sits there doing nothing video wise.

otherwise I say use the 7900 for now while the heat is no problem and grab the cheapest PCIe card you can at some point, as I dont imagine the heat from that 7900 will be welcome come summer. with winter on it way and heat no problem at this point in time (assumption on my part.. I use my rigs as auxiliary heat in the colder weather months) that would give you a pile of months to hunt down a cheap (or free) PCI/PCIe card before the warm weather get here again.

Good point. All my stuff is downstairs and I uaually freeze my butt off; have to use those ceramic stand alone heaters. The 7900 would make that HAF 932 become an excelent radiator.

How hot does a 7900 GT get? it only has a small, single slot cooler, so there can't be THAT much heat to dissipate, but then, I'm used to the heat output of 3 GTX 280 type cards running folding@home.





Ted

As far as the temps go, you can help that along fairly well by maxing the fan out. It helps a ton, believe you me. There's the chance that it'll be a lil noisier than you'd want, but hey, it's a server, and for what you're MacGyvering with, you can't really complain much.

At my work, we have an Asus AM2 board WITH an Athlon 64 X2 5200 for that price. A bit high? maybe, but still better.

what happened to the picture I attached for you all to see.

ahh.. this site acts wacky sometimes and I don't have the patience to fight with it. Or maybe I'm just too stupid to upload a picture... Too bad you would have all liked that picture.

what kind of heat does the 7900 generate a idle? it wont ever be at load or in 3D mode after all. maybe down clock it with rivatuner or something. *might* be possible to get it down to a reasonable level but it will never hit the 5-10 watts at idle a new card can hit.

Those are AVERAGE temps for a GPU. Highest is around 77 C.

The artifacting, though is another problem.





Ted