DFI LANParty UT CFX3200-DR - bit-tech.net Forums

Tim S · 21st Apr 2006, 15:30

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/200...3200-dr/1.html

RotoSequence · 21st Apr 2006, 16:01

Woohoo, nice to see DFI has got it right again. Sweetness

teamtd11 · 21st Apr 2006, 16:10

wow

. got to start saving.

Buzzons · 21st Apr 2006, 16:58

question : why do all these boards now have like 8 SATA ports -- most cases can only hold 4 harddisks and most users only want 2 DVD drivers. Seein as these are aimed at gamers etc, its not like they will be havin huge RAID5 arrays etc or mamouth amounts of storage space.

Also, why 2 NICs, I have never worked that out either. Surly they could remove some of this stuff and make the board cheeper // more spaced out // more other features.

RotoSequence · 21st Apr 2006, 17:02

A lot of people around here have hard drives out the wazoo-and a fair number of them actually do use RAID because their data is valuable to them. Its fair to provide it. And honestly, a case that holds 4 hard disks is a cheap piece of junk or a small one IMHO.

teamtd11 · 21st Apr 2006, 17:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buzzons

question : why do all these boards now have like 8 SATA ports -- most cases can only hold 4 harddisks and most users only want 2 DVD drivers. Seein as these are aimed at gamers etc, its not like they will be havin huge RAID5 arrays etc or mamouth amounts of storage space.

Also, why 2 NICs, I have never worked that out either. Surly they could remove some of this stuff and make the board cheeper // more spaced out // more other features.

my case can hold 9hdd's. and i had 3 dvd rom drives (till 1 broke) the more the merryer!!! :P
and you want more features. but you want to remove some *confused*

1e8o · 21st Apr 2006, 20:27

Nice MB, I'll consider it when I buy a new pc (If I have the money :P).

DFI keep up the good work

specofdust · 22nd Apr 2006, 01:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buzzons

question : why do all these boards now have like 8 SATA ports -- most cases can only hold 4 harddisks and most users only want 2 DVD drivers. Seein as these are aimed at gamers etc, its not like they will be havin huge RAID5 arrays etc or mamouth amounts of storage space.

Also, why 2 NICs, I have never worked that out either. Surly they could remove some of this stuff and make the board cheeper // more spaced out // more other features.

Yup, they could remove some of the stuff, but they're trying to appeal to a wide market, and at the high end of the mobo market, the money saved on missing out an extra NIC or using one less SATA controller wouldn't swing many people towards the mobo, but might put quite a few off due a competitors high end mobo having more SATA ports of Ethernet ports. As for the idea that gamers don't have lots of data, I think thats very far off. PC gamers tend to be general techies, who have the internet, and many are going to have very large collections of media.

webchimp · 22nd Apr 2006, 01:33

With AMD Socket M2 just a few months away, is it wise to buy socket 939 motherboard or processor at the moment, especially top of the range stuff?

I'm still using a socket A Athlon XP and I've been putting off upgrading for quite a while, so I may as well hold on for a little longer, skip socket 939 altogether and go straight to M2.

specofdust · 22nd Apr 2006, 01:41

I think hanging around for M2 is still a bad idea. Being an early adopter sucks, it costs too much, the tech is generally buggy, and speed benefits are often questionable. The time to really think "should I hold on for M2" is once the first gen crap is released, thens the time to start evaluating whether M2 is going to be decent and cheap enough to warrent waiting a while, or whether 939 is still king.

webchimp · 22nd Apr 2006, 02:33

I agree, it's probably not best to get the first M2 processors and motherboards off the production lines, but hold on for a couple of months after that. However, socket 939 will be a dead end once socket M2 gets underway and as I've managed with Socket A up until now, holding on for another 3, 4 or even 5 months won't hurt.

If I'm honest my ageing XP 2600 does everything I "need" to just fine. It's only really some later games where it's showing it's age and that's partly down to my middling graphics card. I've held off upgrading the AGP graphics card as when I finally do get a newer motherboard it will be PCI Express and I will have to get a new graphics card anyway. Socket M2 will also need DDR2 memory, so this is going to be quite an expensive upgrade when I finally do it.

Tim S · 22nd Apr 2006, 13:39

AM2 also doesn't provide much of a benefit at the moment based on the benchmarks that are already out there... if you're looking to stick with DDR for the time being, this board is likely to be worth your pennies.

LoveJoy · 22nd Apr 2006, 15:44

eer why is DFI striping all the features from their packages like here http://us.dfi.com.tw/Product/xx_prod...YPE=LP&SITE=US
that enqludes everything you might possibly need and more, but now they only give you a few s-ata cabels, IDE-cabels and some more

Callum · 22nd Apr 2006, 15:49

Am I right in taking from this the impression that this Crossfire board is a better board than the SLI board?

Firehed · 22nd Apr 2006, 16:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by RotoSequence

A lot of people around here have hard drives out the wazoo-and a fair number of them actually do use RAID because their data is valuable to them. Its fair to provide it. And honestly, a case that holds 4 hard disks is a cheap piece of junk or a small one IMHO.

I've gotta agree - the stock version of my case holds a dozen, and the smaller version holds six. My cheap fileserver case holds five plus a couple more in floppy bays, and is a reasonably small case.

Starting the article with "for the win"? Oh the hypocicy...

Looks like a nice board though, however set I am with mine for now.

webchimp · 22nd Apr 2006, 17:23

Quote:

AM2 also doesn't provide much of a benefit at the moment based on the benchmarks that are already out there... if you're looking to stick with DDR for the time being, this board is likely to be worth your pennies.

It's not so much of a case of wanting extra performance from the AM2 socket as not wanting to buy a premium priced motherboard which in a few months will be obslolete. I believe that once socket AM2 hits the market no new socket 939 CPUs will be developed, which means that there will be limited potential for futute CPU upgrades.

In addition, even if you were considering socket 939, we may see some price reductions in a few months when socket AM2 is released. Either way, I think now is a bad time to buy a socket 939 motherboard or CPU, unless of course your current PC has failed and you absolutely need a replacement immediately.

Tim S · 22nd Apr 2006, 23:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by webchimp

It's not so much of a case of wanting extra performance from the AM2 socket as not wanting to buy a premium priced motherboard which in a few months will be obslolete. I believe that once socket AM2 hits the market no new socket 939 CPUs will be developed, which means that there will be limited potential for futute CPU upgrades.

In addition, even if you were considering socket 939, we may see some price reductions in a few months when socket AM2 is released. Either way, I think now is a bad time to buy a socket 939 motherboard or CPU, unless of course your current PC has failed and you absolutely need a replacement immediately.

It depends how often you're looking to upgrade - this board isn't for people who've not already got a socket 939 system. If you're using something other than a socket 939 Athlon 64, this board isn't for you and you may as well wait for AM2.

However, people don't want to upgrade from AGP because it means they've got to buy a new motherboard and a new graphics card. If you've got a socket 939 chip and want to upgrade to AM2, you're going to have to buy new memory, a new motherboard, a new CPU and if you're an AGP user, you're going to have to buy a new graphics card too.

The performance difference that is seen between AM2 and S939 isn't something that is worth shelling out all of your hard earned cash for if you've got a S939 system already... I'd say that it is those people that are likely to be in the hunt or a new motherboard like this.

Tim S · 22nd Apr 2006, 23:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoveJoy

eer why is DFI striping all the features from their packages like here http://us.dfi.com.tw/Product/xx_prod...YPE=LP&SITE=US
that enqludes everything you might possibly need and more, but now they only give you a few s-ata cabels, IDE-cabels and some more

Hi & welcome to the forums.

There are two different types of bundle under the LANParty series. LANParty is all bells, all whistles and LANParty UT comes with a cut down bundle... Hope that helps.

Tim S · 23rd Apr 2006, 00:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Callum

Am I right in taking from this the impression that this Crossfire board is a better board than the SLI board?

Depends what you're looking for. Choose your graphics platform first and then look at the mobo - I use an nF4 SLI-DR in my own system, but I'm running NVIDIA graphics at the moment. If I was using ATI graphics and wanted to run CrossFire, I'd choose this board above any other CrossFire-capable board out there.

chemo · 23rd Apr 2006, 00:27

im very glad to see that DFI has now changed the layout of the NB location and the pcie gfx slots. looks like you can use a pretty decent cooler on the chipset now

21st Apr 2006, 15:30	#1
Tim S Pewlius Caesar bit-tech Staff Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ascot, Berks Posts: 18,021	DFI LANParty UT CFX3200-DR http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/200...3200-dr/1.html __________________ Tim on Twitter \| Tim's Blog \| Tim's Flickr The bit-tech Blog \| bit-tech on Twitter \| Join the bit-tech & Custom PC folding team (#35947)

21st Apr 2006, 16:01	#2
RotoSequence Lazy Lurker Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: 'States Posts: 4,529	Woohoo, nice to see DFI has got it right again. Sweetness __________________ Technology Schmecnology

21st Apr 2006, 16:10	#3
teamtd11 I am a Dremel Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Saltburn-By-The-Sea Posts: 1,652	wow . got to start saving. __________________ Main: AMD X2 3ghz, x1900xt, DFI NF590SLI, 4gb pc2-8500 [Watercooled] Retro: AMD Barton 2ghz, 9600xt, 512mb pc-2700 Animal Crossing: LGTTC - 2492-7863-6464 Member of CK Appreciation Society Group

21st Apr 2006, 17:02	#5
RotoSequence Lazy Lurker Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: 'States Posts: 4,529	A lot of people around here have hard drives out the wazoo-and a fair number of them actually do use RAID because their data is valuable to them. Its fair to provide it. And honestly, a case that holds 4 hard disks is a cheap piece of junk or a small one IMHO. __________________ Technology Schmecnology

21st Apr 2006, 20:27	#7
1e8o Supermodder Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Netherlands Posts: 272	Nice MB, I'll consider it when I buy a new pc (If I have the money :P). DFI keep up the good work __________________ NEW!!! X2 4200+\| 2 x XFX Geforce 6600 gt in SLI \| Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe \| 4 x hitachi 250 gb sata hdd + Maxtor 160 usb 2.0 total of 1160 GB \| 2 x 1024 MB DDR-400 (2 GB ) \| Tagan U force 580 Watt \| Saving money for an macbook and an Iphone (2nd edition)

21st Apr 2006, 16:58	#4
Buzzons Mod Master Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 2,086	question : why do all these boards now have like 8 SATA ports -- most cases can only hold 4 harddisks and most users only want 2 DVD drivers. Seein as these are aimed at gamers etc, its not like they will be havin huge RAID5 arrays etc or mamouth amounts of storage space. Also, why 2 NICs, I have never worked that out either. Surly they could remove some of this stuff and make the board cheeper // more spaced out // more other features.

22nd Apr 2006, 01:33	#9
webchimp Supermodder Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: UK Posts: 497	With AMD Socket M2 just a few months away, is it wise to buy socket 939 motherboard or processor at the moment, especially top of the range stuff? I'm still using a socket A Athlon XP and I've been putting off upgrading for quite a while, so I may as well hold on for a little longer, skip socket 939 altogether and go straight to M2. __________________ web development services - DrDev :::: web site design - TDSF

22nd Apr 2006, 01:41	#10
specofdust Banned Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Aberdeen, UK, EU Posts: 7,611	I think hanging around for M2 is still a bad idea. Being an early adopter sucks, it costs too much, the tech is generally buggy, and speed benefits are often questionable. The time to really think "should I hold on for M2" is once the first gen crap is released, thens the time to start evaluating whether M2 is going to be decent and cheap enough to warrent waiting a while, or whether 939 is still king. __________________ Like marmite, only no-one hates it Mmm bop!

22nd Apr 2006, 02:33	#11
webchimp Supermodder Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: UK Posts: 497	I agree, it's probably not best to get the first M2 processors and motherboards off the production lines, but hold on for a couple of months after that. However, socket 939 will be a dead end once socket M2 gets underway and as I've managed with Socket A up until now, holding on for another 3, 4 or even 5 months won't hurt. If I'm honest my ageing XP 2600 does everything I "need" to just fine. It's only really some later games where it's showing it's age and that's partly down to my middling graphics card. I've held off upgrading the AGP graphics card as when I finally do get a newer motherboard it will be PCI Express and I will have to get a new graphics card anyway. Socket M2 will also need DDR2 memory, so this is going to be quite an expensive upgrade when I finally do it. __________________ web development services - DrDev :::: web site design - TDSF

22nd Apr 2006, 13:39	#12
Tim S Pewlius Caesar bit-tech Staff Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ascot, Berks Posts: 18,021	AM2 also doesn't provide much of a benefit at the moment based on the benchmarks that are already out there... if you're looking to stick with DDR for the time being, this board is likely to be worth your pennies. __________________ Tim on Twitter \| Tim's Blog \| Tim's Flickr The bit-tech Blog \| bit-tech on Twitter \| Join the bit-tech & Custom PC folding team (#35947)

22nd Apr 2006, 15:44	#13
LoveJoy Modder Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Finland Posts: 61	eer why is DFI striping all the features from their packages like here http://us.dfi.com.tw/Product/xx_prod...YPE=LP&SITE=US that enqludes everything you might possibly need and more, but now they only give you a few s-ata cabels, IDE-cabels and some more

22nd Apr 2006, 15:49	#14
Callum Supermodder Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: UBC, Vancouver, Canada Posts: 511	Am I right in taking from this the impression that this Crossfire board is a better board than the SLI board?

23rd Apr 2006, 00:27	#20
chemo True Jungle Brother Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 2,639	im very glad to see that DFI has now changed the layout of the NB location and the pcie gfx slots. looks like you can use a pretty decent cooler on the chipset now __________________ Don't hate the Geek, Hate the code!