Dfi Nf4

[c42]

Ok, so prior to release of the DFI NF4 series, we all saw great reviews and all thought it would be the best of the NF4 series for o/cing. Everyone gave great reviews, only reporting minor issues that would be assumed to have been worked out by release. The 4v option and total control in the bios over every option you could want is sweet!


Now we are getting the boards in our hands, and you see nothing but posts about how the boards are buggy, DOA, damaging other hardware etc.

So we all know that everyone with a problem will post, but not everyone who has success will post.

So lets take a poll and perhaps see if we can see just how many people are having problems.

Please post a summary of the problem(s) you are having if any also.

[justwOo]

That is simply pathetic that the vote is this close :(

[taco_fox]

I haven't had any problems so far

[MrQ3W]

DFI nF4 is FUBAR, DFI should feel ashamed for releasing such a POS.

[koei]

The range of control given by this board is enormous, and I think that is why so many people are having trouble with it. Minus the cases of DOA, many tend to jump to a conclusion that the board is broken somehow when they didn't configure it correctly to perform the way they wanted it to. If you are going to get a DFI, have a little patience with tweaking it and it will take you to farther places than any other board out there can offer you.

[eclypse]

What do you call it overclocked great and then all of the sudden wont overclock at all.. not even stable at default clocks? I tired 3 different sets of ram and cant get over 200FSB stable.. Before i got 270x10 1/1..

Somthing is up with these boards and i'm not the first with such a prob.

[justwOo]

Yeah same happened to me and alot of others eclypse

[Mastakilla]

dunno if its the board or my sucky winchester

didnt have enough time yet for serious testing

but at stock settings my system isnt stable

i succesfully installed winxp, didnt have any problems getting it up and running,
but prime fails quite fast, and i had a bluescreen+reboot during 3dmark05 allready

after upping voltage of the cpu a lil it seemed a lil more stable,

dunno if i still need to change some bios settings to get it better..?

so i voted: minor problems

[alchohol]

So we all know that everyone with a problem will post, but not everyone who has success will post.



So as a poll perhaps this is pointless. Thousands of happy customers won't even come to this site, only those looking for answers.

On the other hand this may just go to show that genuine board failures aren't as common as some would like us to believe. :bsod:

I voted no problems btw. I'm only here because i'm following a very interesting thread atm. :D

[snowice]

The range of control given by this board is enormous, and I think that is why so many people are having trouble with it. Minus the cases of DOA, many tend to jump to a conclusion that the board is broken somehow when they didn't configure it correctly to perform the way they wanted it to. If you are going to get a DFI, have a little patience with tweaking it and it will take you to farther places than any other board out there can offer you.

agree...

[cupra]

i jest love it :comp10:

[mdzcpa]

Can I vote 5 times for the 5 perfect trouble free installations I have done:D

LOL...most of the troubles can associated with users that just insist on pulling up short in the hardware department or borking the BIOS settings. In fact I'm tired of reading trouble threads where users are not connecting ALL the mobo power connections, using 20 pin PSUs or adapters, using questionable quality PSU and RAM, constantly playing with all the BIOS settings (like they know what they're trying to do), putting 3v to the ram without cooling, etc etc.

Then they argue with you when you point out the issue :rolleyes: They always say "well I saw so-and-so over on blah-blah forum running the same hardware as I am and he was at 450000HTT". :rolleyes:

Also, a lot of noobs really jumped on this mobo due to all the hype. And many that didn't have funds to buy the best supporting hardware as well.

LOL...I don't even try to help anymore.

I gave the benefit of the doubt for a few weeks that maybe I got a "lucky" board. Not any more. This weekend I completed my 5th trouble free installation. Now I am convinced its mostly user error that includes pulling up short in configuration and supporting hardware. Once you back out user error (bad BIOS settings and poor supporting hardware), your left with a handful of typical hardware troubles.

[gundamit]

I've had to read through the forums to find out what kinds of issues were showing up for this board, since for me this motherboard has been nothing but sunshine and lollipops. :D Some of that may have been luck but I also went into the experience with some things in my favor:

1. A good power supply. Although I read a least two posts with tales of lightning inside their Powerstreams. :eek:

2. I'm currently using TCCD memory. Its really flexible. I have some BH-5 I want to try and even though Ive rigged the board with a lot of fans I'm still having to build some nerve to try it. After people started saying that the board got really hot, I thought I would have an option to go with the booster or bump the rail and the bios. Thats doesn't appear to be the case. That is pretty irritating and since there is nothing they can do about the physical placement of the dimms that don't allow for the booster, I'm hoping a bios revision will give us the pot/bios adjustment that I first enjoyed with the DFI LPUT.

3. I'm using a IDE hard drive so I don't have to remember which SATA connections are locked. :p:

4. I owned the LPUT so there was some experience with a similar board. If you are a person who finally decided to make the jump from lets say a NF-7, the learning curve is a lot steeper so the odds that you might run into a problem were a lot higher.

5. I read and re-read all the threads started by guys like OnePageBook and mdzcpa. I actually had those page up on my Intel "go get the groceries" rig so I had a good starting point for the bios settings.

The installation/build was so free of drama that I can give the board credit for letting me focus on the part of the system that was holding up the party, my mediorce 3500+ CPU. Now that I have a killer 3000+ the only problem I have left is trying to decide on what to do to about the BH-5/volt jumper/heat issue. It may be a moot issue since it would be hard to believe that the BH-5 could beat my TCCD at 3v which gives me 334x9 (9:10 ratio for 300 async) 2.5-4-3-8.

Sorry if you were one of the unlucky ones that had a board go belly up or one that left you screaming curses at the overclocking gods in frustration. Hopefully I don't join you anytime soon. For now I'm going to give this board a 9 out of 10 rating based on the fact that it allowed an average overclocker like myself to cross the 3ghz line (AMD) for the first time. :toast:

[c42]

Good good, this is all looking great. I have not yet ordered my DFI NF4, and was set on this board, but then got worried with all of these posts as of late.

This will be my first build in a few years, so I will take my time with the bios settings and use other's successful stable settings as a starting point. Although my last board was a DFI, before anyone knew about them ;).

As to this poll being pointless, I don't think it will be. You see what I meant by the line quoted, was that people won't start a new post praising the board, besides when it was first released. Though, any problems people have they will post about, so that will make things look worse than they really might be. If people have a chance to vote on it though, they more than likely will, perhaps giving us a more realistic view on how the board is performing.

Sure not every person that buys this board will be a user here. I'd like to think though, that most of the guys building new rigs/upgrading in the AMD camp are going nf4, and for the o/c'ers most are going DFI, with some hitting the MSI camp(Damn good board, just lacks some options).

[Zebbo]

Haven't got a single problem with my nF4 SLI-DR yet and I hope it will keep it that way.

[Cranox]

I got big ocproblems :(
11 x 220 is max i get , at my Epox it did 11 x 255 ( ocz 600w, bh-5,gf6800gt )

[Charloz24]

That board is awesome!!! This is the overclocker's best friend!

[Ein0]

With the right settings the board runs perfect :D

[Concorde Rules]

Few minor problems, IRQ reboots, stuck settings, 267 is the most FSB ive done so far but a Week 48 SPAW is coming that does 301 so ill see how it performs then :D

Concorde

[TimoneX]

Closest I've had to a serious problem is after I got it all setup and was writing up a review I plugged my camera into the first available USB port(under the 1394) and BLAMO BSOD. All the other USB ports internal and external seem fine.


3. I'm using a IDE hard drive so I don't have to remember which SATA connections are locked. :p:

That's an easy one...they're all locked. :)

I think you nailed it mdzcpa. Alot of people are using crumby PSUs, 20pin PSUs, not connecting all the power connections, fiddling with bios settings they know little or nothing about...etc, then blaming the board when it doesn't work str8 away.

[flexy]

DFI nF4 is FUBAR, DFI should feel ashamed for releasing such a POS.

care to elaborate ?

mine runs fine....i guess you have some s***y components (PSU ? mem ?) maybe board IS defective, etc...

[flexy]

So as a poll perhaps this is pointless. Thousands of happy customers won't even come to this site, only those looking for answers.


yes...and 10000 of people who do not even KNOW what a bios is or "CAS latency" or HTT get this board and TRY to freaking tweak without ANY CLUE what they're doing...and then wondering why their systems are not working allright.

Not to sound like a jacka$$, but i think i have SOME exp when it comes to tweaking/overclocking/setting up a PC....and this already starts at the choice what components i got.

STILL - to sum this board up: You can spend A WEEK tweaking this board.....and then you think everything is tweaked to the max and great. Then you read something or gain some knowledge and then you can sit ANOTHER weak tweaking and burnining it in, testing stability etc.....

This is not for the AVERAGE user.

There is a rule: 99,5% of ALL PC related errors are caused by the human behind it. (eg. by tweaking and/or lacking a certain knowledge eg. how to set it up right. Remember the 2dimm TCCD issue ?).

Etc..etc....there MIGHT be some people who really got defective boards...but as said above..i HIGHLY doubt it since the chance its some setting problem or some other peripheral is MUCH HIGHER

[flexy]

Iaverage overclocker like myself to cross the 3ghz line (AMD) for the first time. :toast:

LOL :) Dont be too humble...i am VERY glad i finally got my crappy winchester to 2600 on air..i can only dream of 3000 :)

[jinu117]

Even few percent of failure rate is high. You quote 10k people buying this. I bet only tops 50-100 XS people ever got this board. We do have failure (DOA, wierd symptons) etc from experienced people (counting myself) which seems to be well above 5%. That doesn't sound too good to me for being honest. I will see what I get back when it comes from RMA.

[Cranox]

I got big ocproblems :(
11 x 220 is max i get , at my Epox it did 11 x 255 ( ocz 600w, bh-5,gf6800gt )

Owkee just to inform u guys that it was my ramtimings ( bh-5 ) what i did was set 2-2-2-5 and the rest @ auto , no good idea ...
I have set things up like on http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5844
Then i finetuned with a64 tweaker ( en put it then in bios )
Ow i still use the 25/1 bios is there a benifit to use te 17/2 or 18/2 bios ?

[mdzcpa]

Even few percent of failure rate is high. We do have failure (DOA, wierd symptons) etc from experienced people (counting myself) which seems to be well above 5%.

Would you care to elaborate on your statistically accurate calculation of 5%?

Hint: A sample from XS alone would not even be close to statistically accurate.

In addition, you can't know for sure whether "wierd symptoms" or even DOA boards are user error or not. People love to blame the hardware when they cannot get things to work. Its the easy answer:)

But, I am curious as to how you did the math anyway:)

[Xerxes]

i've had a couple of minor problems, with the only one i cant figure out (or that i can confirm being my fault :)) being multis 8 and 10 i need 2.8-2.9v for my mem and on 6,7,9 2.6v with all else being the same. the other is occasionally just before the dmi pool it occasionally will hang and then the next time be fine. though that is usually a voltage issue (hopefully i will be able to try a better power supply next week)

[ccokeman]

No problems. Booted up first try with TCCD memory. The key is to read read read and adjust where necessary to reach your goals.

[Wolf]

This is the best board I've had the pleasure of overclocking. The bios is awesome. The setup was flawless. The design and lay out perfect. This board has yet to fail a post or need a cmos clear and I've been pushing this cpu and ram pretty hard. I haven't even had a single blue screen yet and this is with all 4 slots full 4x512MB and running all kinds of stress test. And................................ I still haven't got my 24pin PSU yet. I'm afraid to think how good it will be when I get the proper power supply.


Over the years, I'm always :banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:ng about how bad the power regulation and voltages are on Epox (blown 5v rails anyone), Abit (crappy voltage options) and other boards. For the first time ever, these voltages make me feel like a grandma overclocker and the power regulation is right on. I can't even come close to using the voltage settings this board offers. A job very well done by DFI.

:toast:

[jinu117]

Would you care to elaborate on your statistically accurate calculation of 5%?

Hint: A sample from XS alone would not even be close to statistically accurate.

In addition, you can't know for sure whether "wierd symptoms" or even DOA boards are user error or not. People love to blame the hardware when they cannot get things to work. Its the easy answer:)

But, I am curious as to how you did the math anyway:)

It was quite simple. Do you think we have more than 100 DFI board getting used (NF4) in XS right now? Think not.
How many problems that are DOA board in one way or slowly losing overclock etc that are reported by individual users? More than 5 for sure. Not much of science. I am not talking statistics here really as chance of error is high but you also gotta look at it from perspective of why so many issues? (with quite a few just flat out DoA). Many of us have multiple PSUs, memory sticks, etc to double check compatibility issues but it is rather clear it is the board in issue.
Just because you can get your system up and running wonderfully doesn't mean it is good quality product Mike. There are some unlucky one's who had to spend hours just to find out it was DoA board. (3 PSUs, 4 different memory sticks, double checking jumpers, etc)
I am glad yours are working fine but getting on defense of company just because one's works well when there seems to be some teething issues, isn't the greatest way to resolve problem that exist.
Besides, it is always nice to see fellow XS'er assuming everyone who can't get the board working is noob or user error. Even DFI rep I talked on phone didn't get that far.
There are a lot of influx of new people in XS but most of people who post about DFI issues are actually members whose been in this game for a while in case you haven't noticed.
Besides, you seem to substantiating your claim based on your 5 installs. Does that mean MSI K8N NEo2 is total failure as I've had 8 boards and 3 had some strange sympton to DOA? Try to look at broader picture where we do have idea.
I just talked to Frank at DFI San Jose today and he still haven't gotten to look at my board as there were too MANY he had to go through. That doesn't sound too warm and fuzzy to me.

[conrad.maranan]

For those that have seen my threads, my experiences were disappointing. I've done everything I could possibly do to eliminate myself as the cause of my boards' demise. Now, I'm not negating the fact that these boards are excellent boards. I LOVE DFI. It just so happens that the two boards I received both died for no apparent reason. I had one board that was used for around 36 hours and another that was used for around 2 hours. If the board works, it works - and it should continue to work flawlessly until you're ready for another upgrade or you accidentally/intentionally destroy it.

I ran my second board at stock/default/auto configurations with known good hardware. Sure it's possible to receive two boards in a row that will fail consecutively, but the chances of this happening are very slim. I'm just unlucky like that.

In closing, I'm expecting my third board to come in this week. Am I going to give it another go? Yes. Will I be using the same hardware that I used the last two times? No. I'll fire it up when I have all new components in place. I don't have the patience to repeat history for the third time, so I might as well eliminate my current good hardware as the cause of my problems.

Should you buy a DFI nF4 board? By all means, yes. But only if you know that your hardware is capable of meeting the board's requirements. And just to set the record straight, I'm not hating on the DFI nF4 and I'm not a novice when it comes to this stuff.

Now go place your order and stop worrying about the luck of other folks. :D

Cheers!
:toast:

[The Mofo]

Seems like the Ultra-D is the one having all the issues opposed to the SLI-DR

[c42]

Hmm I'll be pulling the trigger on the DFI NF4 soon then ;)

[chuckd]

This is my first A64 overclock and it went great. No trouble at all with this board. I don't understand how all these people are having problems getting the board to even boot with 2 sticks of TCCD. Mine had no trouble ever. :confused: Great board.

[conrad.maranan]

Not everyone has the same luck.

[mdzcpa]

Just because you can get your system up and running wonderfully doesn't mean it is good quality product Mike.


Actually its 5 installations through last weekend, and 6 now on the one booted up and running on the bench. If there were chronic issues, you would think I might have stumbled onto something even close to poor performing by now.


I am glad yours are working fine but getting on defense of company just because one's works well when there seems to be some teething issues, isn't the greatest way to resolve problem that exist

I'm not defending DFI at all. What I've made quite clear, and what others who have had success with the DFI NF4 have made clear, is that the board is NOT an "easy" board to master. Its finicky, picky, and needs a lot of TLC. IMO the board REQUIRES custom BIOS settings...particularly in the DRAM section. Optimised Defaults are asking for trouble, and Safe Default is hardly any better.

The board is difficult because it is so flexible and overclockable. I can't tell you how many threads I've read where someone is complaining of problems only to find that they are:

using a 20 pin PSU
using a substandard PSU
not using supplemental mobo power connectors
not actively cooling the ram with Vdimm over 2.9v
not using customized BIOS settings
have outrageous expectations
didn't bother to check what RAM is listed by DFI as compatible
and the list goes on

You may, or may not be in this group. But, there is a LARGE group of folks that thought all they needed to do was slap the parts together and ride off into overclocking glory without having to work at it. My own prototype gaming rig was NOT plug and play. It took many days to get things to work seemlessly. And I am still tweaking now alomost 4 weeks later.



Does that mean MSI K8N NEo2 is total failure as I've had 8 boards and 3 had some strange sympton to DOA?

To be honest, if your having problems with the DFI, and you also had 3 bad NEO2 boards....ummmm....I really don't wanna say what looks to be the issue in your case. But the common denominator might be sitting in your chair. I mean no offense, but having such a string of "bad luck" or "bad product" seems a bit unfeasable. But hey, whatever.




I just talked to Frank at DFI San Jose today and he still haven't gotten to look at my board as there were too MANY he had to go through. That doesn't sound too warm and fuzzy to me.

Actually it just sounds like a mobo has been created that is over the heads of many users. That's not an insult to anyone, just the truth. And that doesn't mean that some folks aren't "smart enough"...I think most folks around here have plenty of smarts. However, for those who do not have the patience, experience, and budget for supporting hardware, the board is just more than a handful.

All that said, I am certain that there are real hardware issues here. Its just that a large percentage of troubles reported are due to the board being being tough to tame vs just a bad peice of hardware.


And I am not the first to say it. Not every enthusiast board is meant for everyone.

[Der_KHAN]

but u have to admit that a board that wont boot at "safe settings" is a little strange, no?

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?p=728669

[mdzcpa]

Actually I already gave my advice on that thread. And actually, the board booted. It just didn't make it into windows. A simple voltage bump and some custom timings was all he needed. And it worked.

As I already said above "Optimised Defaults are asking for trouble, and Safe Default is hardly any better."

Do I think that is a problem for the novice....yep. Do I think its a problem for a top of line, hairy edge, monster voltage, complicated BIOS, built in volt modded motherboard....no.

And I certainly would not want the DFI board to be nuetered so that it "worked better" in generic configurations.

[bachus_anonym]

This is really awesome piece of engineering!
I set it up within minutes. It booted up just fine and started with two sticks of 2x512MB TCCD. I haven't changed BIOS yet, still on official release 1/25. I'm using PC P&C 510 ATX with 20pin with no issues, although I'm currently on just R7000 PCI pos card :(
What on Neo2 was impossible with TCCD (got it to DDR606 7-3-4-2.5-1T SPi32M stable with 2x256MB / DDR530 7-3-4-2.5-1T SPi32M stable with 2x512MB) was just a dream come true on DFI NF4.
My TCCD flies on this mobo!!! 2x256MB is doing DDR656 7-3-4-2.5-1T Spi32M stable and 2x512MB is at DDR630 7-3-4-2.5-1T SPi32M stable !!!

Hopefully, it will not get a hiccups when I switch to some real video card :D

Bottom line.... No probs here so far ;)

[jinu117]

Well, when the board doesn't boot with 4 pairs of memory (all diff type), 3 different 24pin PSU, and 2 diff gpu (X850XT PE and Stealth 3d PCI) with nothing else attached other than keyboard on it, at ALL, what do you suggest mdzcpa? And I am not the only person to experience this obviously. Let's see what would be sub par components.
Zippy 700W PSU, Enermax Noisetaker 475W PSU, OCZ Powerstream 600W
OCZ PC3200 EL Plat Rev2, Twinmos supposedly new "bh-5" type which it isn't, Pair of Samsung Ch-5, 2x256mb BH-5.
Get my jist? As for dead boards, yes I am really unlucky on that account which usually comes with going on bleeding edge. (I was the first one in XS to have SLI rig up and running other than few hand picked reviewer's, etc... probably first one in block to play with winchester - and to find out it doesn't take sub zero cooling well), etc, etc.
For once, I stepped back and waiting till the glowing reviews, praises came in for this board and lo and behold, this is what I ended up getting. No post, no nothing on components that works perfectly well on my other system. I am just disappointed.
And it doesn't help my feeling much or few others who might be feeling similar pain with this board who definitely are not noob. As for blatantly blaming noobiness on people due to some strange product loyalty, (that is what I am seeing forming here honestly), I still remember the burnt smell of OCZ 520W PSU on MSI K8N Neo2 and numerous RMA with OCZs over time. First response of most people here I remember were noobiness until we categorized the problem to be platform PSU specific to bios mobo incompatibility or just QA process. It sometimes just amazes me how condescending people can get on these issues instead of listening with open mind.

On totally off topic and getting defensive on that comment,
FYI, most of you guys in XS didn't even know about IRQ, DMA diagnostic card I put on forum which was quite useful up to 386 time frame. If there was anything I've learned from building systems eversince 8086 (apple II is not building system unfortunately :P), is that you exhaust all your options till you find out what is at fault. In this case, it was the mobo. Guess that wasn't clear enough.

heading to more useful thread with frustration.

[mdzcpa]

Well, when the board doesn't boot with 4 pairs of memory (all diff type), 3 different 24pin PSU, and 2 diff gpu (X850XT PE and Stealth 3d PCI) with nothing else attached other than keyboard on it, at ALL, what do you suggest mdzcpa?

RMA the board and move on. Its that simple.

Your completely missing the point of my posts and taking everything far too personally. Maybe you are unlucky and did just receive a bad board. But, for everyone out there like you that has worked through all the variables, there are three people having trouble that haven't even tried flashing the BIOS yet. And once you filter out all that stuff, you are left with a handful of real issues...like your situation.

If you are as experienced as you say, then you know the #1 excuse for user error is to blame it on the hardware. So why does it frustrate and surprise you that someone (like me) might question this? Especially on a board that is cutting edge like the DFI NF4?

I live on the bleeding edge as well and experience the same hiccups and incompatabilities as you. You may have been first with SLI, but I've been on the top of the ORB for 4 weeks now as well....on a modded Ultra to boot. In order to get there, I went through 5 motherboards (2 Asus SLI, MSI SLI, Giga SLI, DFI NF4). That's just part of the deal. And when the mobos didn't work outl, I just RMA'd them if I thought they were bad (1 Asus), or sold them if they were just not the performers I thought they should be.

If you have tried everything you said you have, its RMA time my friend. Aside from trying some good TCCD memory which is a key to the DFI, you've covered your other bases.

BTW, this thread is not a help thread, but a thread on whether the DFI has "issues" or not. Therefore my posts fit the topic right on. I post my advice for fixes on the Bugs and Fixes thread.

[Der_KHAN]

As I already said above "Optimised Defaults are asking for trouble, and Safe Default is hardly any better."i know, i read that.
and i dont wanna judge the board, i didnt have the opportunity to test it myself yet.
but from what ive learned in the mentioned thread the problem could have easily been avoided if the "safe settings" had been programmed to be sth like 3-4-4-11-2T... (and not "by spd")

a sign of incompetence if u ask me.
i mean ive never known a board that wouldnt boot at "safe settings", not even that msi crap...

[mdzcpa]

i know, i read that.
and i dont wanna judge the board, i didnt have the opportunity to test it myself yet.
but from what ive learned in the mentioned thread the problem could have easily been avoided if the "safe settings" had been programmed to be sth like 3-4-4-11-2T... (and not "by spd")

a sign of incompetence if u ask me.


No, its simply a sign of a motherboard that has been designed to be on the bleeding edge for those enthusiasts who crave that. Engineering wise its a trade off. Performance vs compatability. The more compatible the board is, the more vanilla the performance is.

Those settings you listed may not work on every RAM module...the board is very finicky. There is some BH5 that won't boot at CAS 3 on this board.
SPD is safest although not much better. The board can boot at SPD and then custom timings can be entered.

Again, if folks want a a simple plug n play motherboard they should best look elsewhere. For me, I'll take the inconvenience as a trade off for better performance. The DFI in full swing is the best OCer out there. If users don't want the hassle then they can get another board that is a bit more tame (and comes with less performance potential).


EDIT- lol...this is getting almost comical :D If I could go back in time and capture some of the threads about Abit mobos a few years ago, we'd hear the same things. Performance and tweakability vs ease of use arguments. lol, some things never change.

[gundamit]

if folks want a a simple plug n play motherboard they should best look elsewhere. I'll take the performance in in lieu of plug and play everyday. All the bios options just add more entertainment value and bios tweaking is part of the "play" time "plugging" away at getting a better overclock. :p:

Every new chipset has some problems out of the gate. NF4-SLI is no exception. Maybe a little more than usual if you have a XS members like Charlie (Yoda hairy ears avatar guy) wrestling around with this board. If you read the Anandtech SLI Roundup article you know they were talking about fighting the urge to fling the mobos out the windows. Probably nothing new in that article for you since you've had first hand experience with all the first tier vendors versions of NF4-SLI and have annointed DFI's as the best OC'er. Pretty impressive that DFI could do that despite not having the same Nvidia resources their competition had.

[240z]

Not a single problem with it .Sweet board :toast: to DFI . :D has my 3000 at 2835 .

[jinu117]

Well got my RMA'd board back and now it boots up with exact same set of equipment. Guess what was not working before? (not too hard to guess right?)
The bios options sure are nice and I wish they actually would have used less geekish labeling on some bios options but that is just fine :P
As for moving from NF3->NF4, just like my last experience with Asus A8N SLI, it was few driver reinstallation and done. (I have swappable HDD bay with ghosted images to test before I put my current hdd in for these ventures)
So far so good. As I said, it seems like QA process is not the best it could have been yet when it clearly was board having problem of refusing to even post.

[conrad.maranan]

I'm glad it worked out for you this time around, jinu117. I'm tempted to plug in my 3rd board using the same hardware as well. But I'll just let it sit in the corner until I'm ready.

[Tripp17]

I feel bad for the people having problems. I am gonna have to say that i had no problems at all, and i have a healthy overclock. Look at sig for details. My OCZ Platinum Rev.2 TCCD memory works great at ddr 550 1T and i couldnt be happier with the performance im getting. Period.

[jinu117]

Something definitely must be different on this NF4 chipset. For longest time, I thought it was my CPU that is preventing me from seeing past 280 stable on windows other than one FX-53 I passed through. Now, I can test well into 305mhz 2.5-3-3-7 1T with this board on CPU that used to refuse even 280mhz sometimes. Guess there are more than just memory controller on CPU that plays with this things. (BTW, it's good old OCZ 3200 EL Plat Rev2 I had it pretty much since it came out... always thought top of memory was 292mhz on these with above mentioned timing). One thing that throws me off is CPU temperature reading on bios, etc. It frankely is not possible to get the temp I am getting with options I set in bios (I am assuming close to about 5-10c higher than what it should be)... maybe they calculate inside die temp on this one instead of surface of die?

[mdzcpa]

Glad to hear things are working out better the second time around!

And, yes, the NF4 chipsets allow for better overclocks with the same hardware that may have been used for NF3 set ups. I've broken through similar barriers as well myself.

But, I will say this, after trying all the SLI NF4 mobos made, the DFI pushes me the furthest consistently. This is why it is impossible for me NOT to recommend the DFI:D

And yes, temps are off. Too low by about 10c IMO.

[eclypse]

Glad to hear things are working out better the second time around!

And, yes, the NF4 chipsets allow for better overclocks with the same hardware that may have been used for NF3 set ups. I've broken through similar barriers as well myself.

But, I will say this, after trying all the SLI NF4 mobos made, the DFI pushes me the furthest consistently. This is why it is impossible for me NOT to recommend the DFI:D

And yes, temps are off. Too low by about 10c IMO.

Your saying there reporting by 10C too low? My FX-55 is cooking at 50-53C according to the temp reader.. So your saying its really 60-63C?