The DFI LANParty NF4 SLI-DR

[Apoptosis]

Rich takes a look at the DFI LANParty NF4 SLI-DR in both single and dual card (SLI) configurations. The board looks pretty solid all around once he got the right video card drivers on it!

Quote From the article:

...this board has probably the nicest and cleanest layout I’ve seen yet. Everything is grouped together well with cooling and ease of installation in mind. Our results found this board to be extremely stable at both stock speeds and when overclocking to the highest FSB we could.

Read the full review here

What do you guys think of the aritcle and the baord?? If we missed something let us know!

[infinitevalence]

I love thoes macro shots, the one of the mosfetts looks really good. Have to say i love my Ultra-D, its by far the best overclocking motherboard i have ever used. I like Rich had a hard time with video card mounting, i foudn that if you remove the pad and thermal interface material from the heatsink and then use thermal paste, in my case AS5, then clearence is not an issue. Also i noticed that the audio modual is about as good as you can get without buying a card based solution, i think it easily rivles the MSI/Creative deal.

[SlipSand]

Its so beautiful...What I'd do for that mobo!

[LVCapo]

I'm still working on the SATA solutions.....will add an editors note tomorrow or sunday as it has been a time consuming effort.....great board though
(I'm keeping this one for myself)

[SlipSand]

HOW DARE YOU! I WANTED TO TRY AND WIN THAT AND OC THE HELL OUT OF IT!

Grrr...you get to keep good mobo's and give away decent mobo's to people who dont follow rules...

[infinitevalence]

that is dangerous gournd there. Most of us dont get paid for this work, and we even invest our own hard earned cash to bring you reviews. Capper works very very hard to turn out these reviews and he also needs a mobo to use as a baseline. By keeping the DFI he can benchmark it against other motherboards and then give those away. We do this for you not for the stuff and not because we get paid. I found that it was hard to find good honest reviews on the web a few years ago and i also noticed that i was giving out a large amout of advice and in a sense reviewing products for my circle of friends. When the opprotunity to help out LR came up i jumped on it. Same thing happend with Capper, when he got to the forums he was a total n00b and has since worked his ass off to the point where he is now very knolageable and producing quality reviews. Just think what would it be like with out people like Nate, Rich, Justin, Keith, Steve, and my self. You would have no where to get unbiased information from wich you can make buying decisions.

[FZ1]

Good post. One of the reasons I chose to "frequent" this site rather than the umpteen other PC type sites is for the very reasons you mentioned. Straight out, honest review by regular Joe's (no pun intended) like me. Not some lobbied shmuck who's pushing the latest gear 'cos he's paid to. Keep it up guys.

[SlipSand]

Sry for lunging. But I realize u need the goodies. I strive for performance too...

[CTSxViper]

I want to say that this is one of the best reviews I have read. Capper really pointed out some things we need to know about this DFI Board, but all in all, it is a great board, and I think I like it over the Asus reviews I have read. This site is excellent, and I really hope it continues to grow. You guys do a fantastic job, everyone.. And Capper, keep up the great unbiased reviews.. And to everyone else, support this site. Tell friends about this site and let's help it grow.
CTSxViper

[infinitevalence]

Sry for lunging. But I realize u need the goodies. I strive for performance too...

So do i thats why i spent over 1k on a DFI Ultra-D based system, and now i have to eat nothing but penuts and carrots since i cant afford real food. You want the best you work for it, thats how i get it, thats how capper gets it. By the time you work out the number of hours we spend on a single review often time we get "paid" far less than minimum wage. I spent about 25hrs working on the sky hawk review for a power supply that costs ~$80 thats just over $3 an hr, and a hell of a lot more work than just buying it.

I dont want to leave just because we seem like bastards i just want you to know that your the reason we spend our time doing this. I work full time and go to school full time and whats left often goes to the site. I want to work my ass off so that when you go to spend your money on that performance system you dont buy a Dell XPS.

[CTSxViper]

hehe, I do have a Dell XPS..(Laptop that is)
And I love it.. But a system, nahh, I'll build mine.. Unless I got a good deal for one in a trade or something..

[gvblake22]

I have also never seen a nicer board than that one right there!
I was also very intrequed when I read that the fan "floats" on a magnetic field!! It is great to see a motherboard maker so concious about even the littlest things and to strive to do do everything the right way and make the best possible product for the consumer.

Good post. One of the reasons I chose to "frequent" this site rather than the umpteen other PC type sites is for the very reasons you mentioned. Straight out, honest review by regular Joe's (no pun intended) like me. Not some lobbied shmuck who's pushing the latest gear 'cos he's paid to. Keep it up guys.

I definately have to agree as well. I'm still somewhat of a newb here, but this whole site is definately one of the best that I have found on the entire net in all the years I have been into computers and hardware; keep up the good work!!!

[infinitevalence]

Thanks guys it means alot to us, well at least me and i think i can vouch for capper as well. Nate is just a stuck up bastard so who cares about him

[SlipSand]

Yeah u guys do good reviews.

[Angry_Games]

I have taken a real liking to the guys here at Legit, especially Rich. I read all kinds of tech sites on the net, and out of the blue Legit caught my eye one day on a DFI motherboard review (heh).

I'm beginning to trust the guys here more than any other review site just because of the lengths they go through to make sure they put out correct and honest information (even if it hurts the likes of me, a DFI employee haha).

I guess my post is mainly to let you know that as a guy working for a hardware mfg, who reads plenty of reviews about their own products, I find Legit to be one of the better places on the net (and i like the look/layout of the main site!).

We have worked with some of the Legit guys on a story that has you all in suspense...and it is good to know that Legit will not release info until they have the whole story (no 'sky is falling' crap eh!) and have thoroughly checked out all the facts. This alone shows me that this group is worthy of my reading time ;)

good job all you Legit guys.

[infinitevalence]

Sup AG glad to see you stoping by, thanks for the kind words. We like your products and so far the company, well at least i do (/me hugs his DFI).

[SecondToughest]

I would just make a couple of points regarding the cooling issue for the NF4 chipset that was mentioned in this review (Video card blocks NF4 chip and prevents using 3rd party cooling unit):

1) The first time I saw this board that was one of the first things I noticed, and I was very disappointed. I've read probably a dozen reviews of this board and LegitReviews was one of only two sites to even mention this as a potential problem. Props to LR for being on the ball and really putting together a thorough review. The other was in THIS REVIEW of the AquaBox watercooling system (very cool BTW). They were able to get a block on the chipset but only by switching to a smaller video card - and it was still a tight fit (check out the pics on PAGE 8).

2) The statement made that this is a generic problem with all NF4 boards is not entirely accurate. Take for instance the BIOSTAR N4SLI-A9. This NF4 SLI board seats the chipset squarely between the two PCIe16 slots. There are others that put the chipset clear of the video cards as well.

Has anyone found a cooling solution that works well on the NF4 chip on this board (besides the factory fan)?

ST

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[LVCapo]

when this review was written, there were only 2-3 NF4 boards on the market, and they all sufferend from this. The comment about this problem being had by all NF4 boards actually came from the manufacturer. I'm glad that you pointed out that this is no longer true, and gave us an example. I know the problem can be quite frustrating to many of us who push components to the max.
I found that the stock cooler does in fact work great, but you need to make sure it is getting cool air. With an Antec case that includes the video card cooling fan mount, the fan blows directly on the NB and drops the temps by up to 10C.
2. Both Yves and myself removed the stock cooler and replaced the thermal pad with AS5, by doing that, it dropped the fan housing enough that the stock cooler had no problems at all. I have also used a low profile Kooolance NB chipset block that fit perfectly. Let me get back to you with some alternatives. I actually talk to the gang at DFI fairly regularly..

[SecondToughest]

Thanks for the reply capper. You know I didn't even notice the date of the review - makes much more sense now. Thanks for the info on the stock cooling - I was pretty much going to pick up this board anyway but now I feel a little better about it. Checked out the Koolance low profile chipset blocks over at Atacom.com and that may just be the ticket.

Thanks again and keep up the good work,
ST