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View Full Version : all older nf2 boards have graphics onboard!


saaya
07-12-2003, 11:29 PM
http://www.hardtecs4u.com/reviews/2003/asus_a7n8x_deluxe_rev.2.0_gold/

its in german. they say they found out that all older nf2nbs are actually crush17 not crush18! thats why the newest boards come with a black nb without ihs and start with the a1 rev again!

those older nbs with ihs, the a1 a2 and a3 DO have graphics on board! the graphics are just "disabled" ...

i really would like to find out how they disabled the graphics and if you can enable them again. ill check some 8rga pics and see if there are any diferences to my 8rda+ board. since its expensive to change the pcb design it could be posible that the on board graphics could be enabled with some simple soldering and bios flashing like the 9500 to 9700 trick. i dont think nvidia actually manipulated the nb hardware since they could damage it easily and it would be a lot of work to do so. keep in mind that they are selling nbs for 10$ a piece! lasercutting some traces would make them cost at least 1$ more a piece... extra work on the chips would be too expensive from their point of view.

in case it doesnt work, where would i get a new bios chip for my board? :D
celemine1Gig
07-13-2003, 01:46 PM
Very interesting indeed!:eek:

What size is your 8rda+ bios chip? 2Mbit or 4Mbit? I've 2x 2Mbit bios chips and 15x 4Mbit bios chips lying around. Perhaps one could be your rescue!:D :toast:
saaya
07-13-2003, 03:05 PM
hmm... no idear it just says AA5 on the bios chip... phoenix technology about 1.5cmx1.5cm

EDIT: i removed the sticker, it says

SST
49lf020
334cnh
0247036-A

where do i get a new bios chip that already has the 8rda or 8rga bios on it?
Holst
07-13-2003, 03:25 PM
If you can retrace the board and wire it all up right (impossible IMHO) then ill send you a bios chip of the right size. You will need a 4mb chip as opposed to your current 2mb one to fit in the extra VGA bios.
saaya
07-13-2003, 04:16 PM
The board layout is exact the same as the 8RDA+ and the CPU socket is located at the edge of the board and there are 4 mounting holes available for large heatsink like SwiftTech MCX462 or water cooling blocks.

http://www.vr-zone.com/reviews/EPoX/8RGA+/page2.htm

ive checked a lot of pics already and i couldnt find a single diference between the pcbs!

all i would need was to solder an agp connector to the board...

maybe i can even turn the serial ports into agp ports with some soldering :D the i onl y need a serial female to male adapter ...
saaya
07-13-2003, 05:41 PM
hmmm on this pic the board has a diferent pcb layout, but i know that there are diferent 8rga+ pcb layouts and that there is at least one reision that looks exactly like the 8rda+...

on this 8rga+ one of the capacitors is moved to the side of the board and several small transistors show up that are hidden under the seriell ports on my 8rda+.

maybe the 8rda+ ver1.0 are the same pcb layout as the 8rga+ boards? hmmm