ATI Card with NVidia Chipset?

japaniman · Dec 16, 2003, 10:05 PM

I am planning on getting a new motherboard very soon. The good ones use NVidia NForce2 chipsets.
I would really like to use an ATI Radeon 9600 rather than an NVidia GeForce FX 5700, but I am not sure if I can use it because the motherboard is made by NVidia.

Does anyone know if using an ATI card with an NVidia chipset can create problems?

OR...

Can I use them together without any worries?

Any comments are appreciated!

tek · Dec 16, 2003, 10:23 PM

japaniman · Dec 16, 2003, 10:28 PM

Uhhhhhhh...

How about a multi-word answer. For example, a complete sentence would be nice.

mkk · Dec 16, 2003, 10:33 PM

Running ATI graphics cards on nForce2 based motherboards is typically not a problem. On the other hand if you would like to save a buck you could get a board like ABIT KV7 wich is VIA based, very inexpensive for a brand new design and still very well made. Just a tip in case you want more options.

mainman · Dec 16, 2003, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by japaniman
Uhhhhhhh...

How about a multi-word answer. For example, a complete sentence would be nice.

No, its not a problem.

japaniman · Dec 16, 2003, 11:01 PM

Okay, thanks guys.

BTW, mkk, I will check my local Fry's for the ABIT KV7(KT600), as it is though, the board I'm looking at is a Shuttle AN35N which is $70 as I recall.

You also said the terrible phrase, "Typically not a problem." What exactly do the atypical situations entail?

To further help, here is what my prospective system will look like:

Shuttle AN35N motherboard
ATI Radeon 9600 XT video card
AMD Athlon 1700+ processor
256 MB DDR Cool Core RAM
Western Digital 80GB HDD
Windows XP Professional Sp1
plus a couple of optical drives, etc.

Thanks again.

mkk · Dec 16, 2003, 11:47 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by japaniman
You also said the terrible phrase, "Typically not a problem." What exactly do the atypical situations entail?

A very good question.

Badly designed early boards from a manufacturer that has bad support for updates. Hopefully not many exist, but there's always a risk with the huge amount of boards using the chipset. I'm sure that any of the fairly recently released boards from all the major manufacturers are fine, at least in this perticular aspect.

That Shuttle motherboard looks okay to me at a glance(specs, layout, company profile), though I have no personal experience with it. I see you will use an AthlonXP 1700+. If it's of the Thoroughbred-B core then it could potentially be a real dream to overclock. I overclock mine no less than 50% using a KV7. I don't know how good that Shuttle board could be for overclocking though.

japaniman · Dec 17, 2003, 12:09 AM

Wow!

Thanks for the great answers mkk!

I don't know about overclocking the Athlon that much on the Shuttle either, but it should do fine for smaller amounts. It was recommended for the price range I had.

Now I have some more peace of mind in getting my system set up.

mkk · Dec 17, 2003, 12:14 AM

Yeah, good luck there!