Icee's NF7-S R+D Testing

[MrIcee]

Hiya guys:)

As some of you know, I've been woodshedding with an NF7-S for a little over a week now. I've got the puppy on a test bench on my new workstation area that my wife bought me for Christmas:)

So far I've been testing the board with my 2700+ on air without the Vcore mod. Although limited to 2v even with that mod done, for the cpu, the more important mod to be accomplished is the Vmem mod. I have been in consultation with DDTUNG and OPP trying to come up with a mod. As most of you know the voltage regulator is the Winbond W3330, the same as the Intel based BD7 mod. But to be honest, that mod is not for the faint of heart.
The position of the Winbond regulator on this board makes it even more difficult for the average modder.I'm not bad at this stuff but I'm not superman either:) Killing the 8RDA+ was enough for me..lol

This board I have has been a good runner so far, without the reset or bootup problems experienced by other members. I installed the 12 bios first thing. Clean installed Win2000, SP3, NVidia 2.0 motherboard drivers, and the Nvidia 40.72 Detonators. I'm currently running my test bench with an ABIT Siluro Ti4200OTES, in which I adapted the volt mod in Sys's thread to it. This OTES card has a physically different layout than the standard Ti4200's...tho the regulators are the same...measuring points are completely different, as were the initial settings for the VR's.

Anyways, benching has been slow and steady. I don't have matched sticks of ram yet, running mismatched Twinmos PC3200 CL2.5 and Corsair XMS3200C2. This board is finicky with ram for sure. Neither my OCZ PC3200 rev2 nor my old standby Samsung CTL CB3 original PC2700 will get past the post screen without freezing. With the mismatched sticks aboard..the best I can bench 3DMark so far is 212 max timings at 2.7v. Not too bad considering. The Corsair is used to running in my KX7 at 3.39v:D

The best news for NF7-S owners is a Vmem mod will be on the way in the coming days. After spending countless hours mulling over the situation....I finally struck gold earlier tonight. I'll forewarn you that I need to purchase additional hardware and test for several days to be sure this Vmem mod will be effective and safe before I have everyone and their brother modding boards. BUT, IT WORKS !! :banana: :thumbsup:

Randi:D

Check it out

[OPPAINTER]

Looks like some mega volts:)

I have my NF7 at Xtreme Tek Werkz, Monday Pops will do the solder job for me, I only hope it is the same mod as the BD7:D

So what did you do Randi??

OPP

[MrIcee]

Heres a little NF7-S benching goodness for ya's. I slapped on the MCW50-T after doing the volt mods to the Siluro OTES, and decided to see what I could do in the 2500Mhz and under class running a Ti4200 card. My 2700+ is on air running 11x212Mhz w/max timings, mem at 2.7v. Not too shabby for an afternoons work:D

[MrIcee]

OPP:)

I'll give you details later tomorrow after I finish the mod. I set the voltage for that screenshot and am running it at the moment, but it's too much for the TwinMos. I can tell you it involves nothing difficult to do..it's fairly easy...but I need some additional hardware to finish it and put the stamp of approval on it once I'm satisfied it's foolproof and safe. I'll pm the details to you before it hits the board.:)

Randi:D

[AKRedneck]

Randi, I get excited when you talk about relatively easy mem mods these days.. :)

Given that the epox mem mod is also difficult in nature, very comparable to the abit, do you think this new way that you have found may possibly be adaptable to the 8RDA series? Just lookin for a heads up at this point.. Thanks.. :D

[MrIcee]

To be honest I'm not sure until I get my 8RDA+ back from RMA and put the multimeter to it. But I will be sure to evaluate it on that platform also.

Randi:D

[AKRedneck]

Originally posted by MrIcee
To be honest I'm not sure until I get my 8RDA+ back from RMA and put the multimeter to it. But I will be sure to evaluate it on that platform also.

Randi:D

Sounds good! :D We appreciate your hard work! :)
Thanks.

EDIT: I'd be glad to take any necessary measurements with the multimeter if you'd like... essentially be the guinnea pig.. :p

[WinXP]

MrIcee

I am using OCZ PC3200 cas2 rev2 an Corsair PC3200 cas2 together in my 8RDA+ fine, will run 227fsb after the vdd mod. Before the vdd mod they would do mem benches at 215fsb but the board was unstable till the vdd mod which really helps it out. The Abit must really be touchy on the ram it uses.

[baller02]

@mricee

maybe it is not the twinmos, try to mod the vdd.
on my epox my two twinmos pc3200 reached 213mhz sync in dual channel mod, after the mod they reach 225mhz and this is not the end!!!


my twinmos are those with twinmos chips not winbond!!

[MrIcee]

baller02:)

I am working on the vdd mod right now. When I have both vmem and vdd finished I will submit them to DDTUNG to make sure what I've achieved is a safe solution. I will then take pics and present the info here at Xtreme:)

As you know, the NF7-S has adjustable vdd already in the bios...up to 1.7v...but I too believe it needs more..as I'm experiencing flashing or "tearing" benching 3Dmark at 217Mhz and above...212Mhz and under is fine...and the flashing occurs with no videocard overclocking.as a matter of fact...I get "freeze and release" from the flashing even with no vid card overclocks at 217Mhz and above.

Randi:D

[DR. YT]

how come you are using a 4200 insted of the 9700?

[MrIcee]

The 4200 is my backup card..and with alot of the guys here at Xtreme running with this card..I thought it would be a nice change to do the mods and see what I could get out of it, taking a break from the 9700 Pro. My current score places me in the middle of the first page of ALL Ti4200 scores..with macci at the top. My goal is to try to reach macci once I get these mods done...installing the board in my Prometeia and top clocking my CPU with the Ti4200.

Once I've gotten all I can from that combo...I'll switch back to the 9700 Pro. Right now I'm running mismatched sticks, I'm expecting matched pairs to arrive this week so I can run at the boards full potential.

Randi:D

[DR. YT]

well that awful conciderate of you and as a 4200 owner i thank you

[br@insc@n]

MrIcee

Really nice score! I'm amazed that you get 212 stable with this mismatched ram config :slobber:

[MrIcee]

Thanks my friend:)

This is with maxed timings at 212 with these 2 sticks...its 4-2-2-2 @ 2.7v.
If I was at 4-2-2-2 and 217Mhz or 220Mhz with a bit more voltage my car and lobby scores would be even better, but even reduced to 4-3-2-2 I am having flashing problems at 217 and up:)

Randi:D

[Jen]

I look forward to reading more about the adventures of the NF7. As i am wanting a NF2 board so that i can run some high fsb





Jen

[MrIcee]

I'll be sure to keep everyone posted:)

Just want everyone to know I just returned home after a 2 hour excursion to gather the components to finish my mod and evaluate it. I'll post back after getting it installed and sorted:)

Randi:D

[Nico]

NF7-s - 8RDA+ - NF7-S - 8RDA+ - NF7-S, I keep going back and forward on these two. If you can figure out a way to get more than 2.0vcore, I think I'd be back on the NF7-S again. :D

Will be interesting to see how they actually match up in the end?

[QuadDamage]

dang, why did my mobo die in bios.... it took all v-mods and prometeia pretty well and then died due to "save and exit" deadly lock-up. i can't stand the pain seeing you guys playing around with your mobo's/cpu's. :(

[Nohto]

I personally think the NF7-S is probably the worst board that I have ever used. I am going to send it back even if I have to take the restocking hit and try the Epox. If that one is a piece than I don't know what to get next.

[QuadDamage]

Asus would be your next choice, but then 211fsb at its best doesn't cut it as i hit 211fsb easily on air even at 2-2-2-2 @ 2.8v with mismatched sticks XMS3000 / XMS3500. hell, if they could only "fix" 211fsb issue with newer bios, Asus would be really good performer. it gave me 250fps in Car lo with ti4600 at only 204fsb.

[Nohto]

I want a board like the KX7. Hell, why can't they come out with something in the newer chipsets that is as stable/overclockable/dependable (kinda) as the KX7. All the new boards seem to be pieces of sh..!

[Nohto]

What is up with this board? I did the cut on the 2700+ and the vcore mod. Loaded optimum settings and checked to make sure mod worked ok. Go into the bios and leave the optimum setings except I raise the mult to a 19 and up the voltage to 2.0. I know this chip will run at 2527 MHZ because I ran 3DMark at 2860 with the KD7-E. Board wont post and I have to clear the Cmos to get it to post. Am I doing something wrong?

[Emericana]

why would you ever want to use that high a mult? what type of ram do you have? PC2100? PC1600? that is probably whats wrong... use a mult around 13 or 14 so you can get a high bus speed

[Nohto]

What's wrong with using a high multiplier? The reason is I want to find out if this board will even run a decent MHZ. I already tried the 180 fsb with a 14 multiplier. I should be able to just up the V-core and leave all the settings the same, but it won't post.

[Nohto]

2 matching sticks of Corsair 3200 platinum 256MEG

[MrIcee]

Welp....I finished my external Vmem regulation circuit and decided to fire up the board before installing it and testing, pulled out my keyboard and mouse to find the 3 lights blinking on the keyboard and my optical mouse blinking with it. WTF??

Hit the power and nothing...no fans no nothing. No mods done either..still stock board. The board worked flawless until I shut it off early Sunday morning before turning into bed. Hadn't run all day yesterday until I tried starting it. Confirmed PSU is fine....NF7-S is on my test bench outside the case lying on its bubble wrap sleeve. No physical evidence of problems. Maybe an internal short of some type?? No clue here...In my years of doing this stuff I've never seen the blinking keyboard light syndrome and a board that will not power on. Strange indeed.

So project Vmem is on the back burner until I aquire another board..my apologies to all once again...seems my luck is going the other way one more time.

Randi:D

[twiggy]

Sorry to hear that MrIcee :(.

I have a NF7 just laying around and I think I might give this mod a try. My soldering skillz are not that great tho. Im gonna look this thing over a few more times before I even attempt it. :)

[QuadDamage]

Randi,

sorry to hear that, my friend. That's what always happens to me when i'm gettin closer to something. try discharging it completely, battery removal etc. well, but you've done it already i guess.

[sysfailur]

Randi,

What did you get your abit 4200 up to? And what kinda cooling? My experience w/ my Abit 4200 has been very pleasing. Actually to be quite honest it's the only Abit product I've liked! Got mine up to 333/740 aircooled after mods and some heatsinks.

Thx!

-sys

[MrIcee]

sys:)

Using 1.9v GPU, cooling it with -20c coolant feeding the MCW50-T waterblock, and feeding the ram 4v...I was attaining 365/670 without use of ram sinks. I'm not sure how that compares to others experiences....but withthe stock OTES cooling I could only get to 315Mhz with stock volts and 600Mhz on the ram. I've heard some of the non-OTES cards clocked better than this. Yours is obviously much better than this one. The Hynix 3.6ns ram on this board is not very good at all for clocking as proven by my results.

Twiggy.....be very cautious trying the Winbond regulator mod...its nasty. Thats why I didn't do it..and developed something new to try. I had my components built but the board failed before I could try this "new" method. I'll keep everyone posted when I recieve another NF7-S.

Randi:D

[N8]

That's a shame, Randi...seemed like you were starting to make some gr8 progress. The vibe I get from this NF7 is that its a very fast board, but has some major stability(QC?) issues. I hope these things get worked out w/ the newer revision of this board w/ the holes. Good luck man.

[MrIcee]

N8:)

These boards were not designed with us in mind as enthusiasts...these were for the SI(system Integrators) and OEMS. In those cases...these boards would be just fine because they wouldn't need the high voltages and other amenities we look for in a board. It was the demand for the board that helped it into the retail channels...and it should not have been allowed. ABITS MO has always been to be late to the party with a new board..but it was always the best version of a particular chipset board.

I believe the Rev 2 is the board we have been looking for, as alot of our concerns have been addressed and are contained in the new revision.

I'd rather see ABIT late out the gate than releasing a premature product into retail for sure. It was a big mistake. I think these boards are fine at stock or a little over stock in OEM situations, but in their current form do not hold up to the benching beatings we put them thru running right at the edge. IMHO this iteration was NOT designed for that purpose...but to be integrated into pre-built systems for the average user.

Anyways...my volt mod is all built and awaiting my next board for evaluation:)

Randi:D

[sysfailur]

Randi,

Dunno if it will help, but when I put ramsinks on mine, before my voltage mod on it, I went from 615mhz to 641mhz! Then I put an 80mm fan over the ranksinks and had an ambient temp of -5C or so, and the volt mods, and well, that's how I got it to 740!

For the cpu core I used just a Cooljag 1U copper heatsink. For the core I used 1.95v and for the mem I think I was cranking it up to hmm... I _think_ 4.15v.

Macci has the best Abit 4200 overclock though @ 371/742! Suprise suprise!

EDIT: I just checked, you had said that your card has 3.6ns mem, where-as mine has Hynix 4ns. That would probably be the determining factor.

[Marci]

Still waiting here... Abit have said they are sending me a sample board with all mounting holes... next rev up from what most ppl have... will let ya know what I find out as soon as it arrives... whip over any notes on the vmods Icee and I'll try em out as soon as it arrives...

[gokickrocks]

i was set to go on doing the vmods today, till i looked at the voltage regulator for the vmem mod...and well, its right next to the dimm slot and close to 2 caps

will this new vmem mod you are trying out require cutting leg 19 of the winbond chip like the previous vmod?

[MrIcee]

Nope;)

That Winbond chip is a biatch, isn't it??

I just need to test it before I pass judgment on it's effectiveness and worthiness. I'll have another Nf7-S in a day or 2 so I'll keep you posted:)

Randi:D

[Jeff]

It'd be nice to not have to cut the trace or unsolder the leg. And hey, maybe MBM and USDM will work too. :D

[gokickrocks]

the vmem mod is intimidating is what it is :mad: ...

conspiracy theory of the day...
i think abit surrounded the winbond chip with the dimm slot and caps on purpose to stop some of us vmodders :eek:

[MrIcee]

The Vmem mod is almost impossible except for a highly experienced and skilled technician, such as one of the gentleman at XTW, XtremeTekWerks. If my project doesn't work the only other alternative is to inquire about XTW doing this mod:)

Randi:D

[gokickrocks]

will XTW do vmods for a price for the average joe?

if so, do you know how much?

[OPPAINTER]

Welp I had XtremeTek Werkz (http://www.xtwerkz.com/) losen up pin 19 and hook up a 10ohm resister for me today. I got home and added on the 100 ohm VR set at 100 and The mem mod works sweet:D At 100ohms 2.7 will get you 3.12V, at 2.4 you get 2.78 ohms :D

I think for the NF7 we should start with a 200 Ohm VR if any one plans on doing it.

Any word on a chipset mod ?? :)

OPP

[MrIcee]

Excellent Eric:)

Keep us posted on your future results. I wish I had XTW closeby so I could get this stuff done quickly. As soon as I get another NF7-S I'll be able to post the vdd mod. I built my own circuits to implement the mod but the board has gone south before I had a chance to try it out. Heres a pic of my custom circuit providing external voltage regulation capability...the next thing is how well it works and if it is a reliable solution.

Randi:D

[]JR[]

This vdimm mod wouldnt involve wiring all the vdd's to a vreg'd 5v line from the psu. Thats what I did to increase the vmem on my bd7-ii a while back, although i just wired them into the 3.3v line :p

]JR[

[gokickrocks]

XTW is within driving distance for me, i think i will stop by there some time this week to drop off the board to get it vmodded...

[MrIcee]

Yes...thats what I'm attempting, bypassing the internal voltage regulation circuitry, and taking a 3.3v line, regulating it to the desired voltage, and feeding it to the board regulated output side of the Mosfet. I reduced my 3.3v line and fed it directly to the Mosfet with great success. The circuit I built yesterday will regulate down to 1.2v which is ideal for both Vmem and Vdd.

Randi:D

[twiggy]

OPP- Will XTW do v-mods for anyone? ;)


MrIcee- One of my friends NF7 just did the same thing yours did. Cold boot and the keyboard lights flash.:(


Also any word on the OVP mod??

[gokickrocks]

i got in contact with XTW, and they will do vmods for anyone at a price range of $25-55

[MrIcee]

twiggy:)

Yep..when I went to my system late Sunday afternoon..the 3 keyboard lights and optical mouse were flashing in unison. The board WOULD NOT power up...nor has anything I've tried, all standard troubleshooting procedures, worked to alleviate the problem. I believe it's a problem in the boards circuits somewhere...I even went as far as to pull the bios chip out and they still flash.

I'll have another board here today..then we'll start progressing foward again:)

Randi:D

[OPPAINTER]

Need a chip set mod:D

I'll be hooking up the NF7 today and try some 3D at 220x13, should do well with some very agressive timings:)

OPP

[MrIcee]

I'll give you details later today OPP when I determine whether it can be onboard modded via an IC and VR or if you'll need to do an external regulation mod.

Randi:D

[OPPAINTER]

MrIcee,

Does that mean a Chipset mod??

OPP

[MrIcee]

Yes...I'm not sure yet. It might be able to be modded like the EPoX. I need to determine which Mosfet has the Vdd output voltage, then find the IC Voltage regulator that controls it. Next up is finding out what IC brand and model #, and what pins thru datasheet research.

There is a Mosfet and Voltage regulator between the AGP slot and first PCI slot...I believe thats for the AGP voltage.

Theres another Mosfet under the CPU socket toward the back of the board. I'm not sure if thats Vcore or Vdd output.

I'll keep you updated, still awaiting my board:)

Randi:D

[OPPAINTER]

I'm at school right now, maybe by the time I get home you'll have it figuerd out before I install the mobo in the Prometeia :)

OPP

[MrIcee]

NF7-S owners !

I need a favor please. I just recieved my board and verified my voltage circuits work . I have the bare board in front of me without anything installed as I'm measuring voltages. What I need to know is what your AGP and Vdd(chipset) are set at at default....and what the other choices are. So I need default bios AGP voltage reading in the bios, plus all bios voltage choices. I also need Vdd default setting plus the other choices. Thanks in advance !!

Randi:D

[MrIcee]

Nevermind y'all:)

The AGP mosfet is under the power connector....just confirmed it. I'm turning to the Mosfet and IC between the AGP and 1st PCI slot. Looks like this might be like the 8RDA+. I'll check back in soon.:)

Randi:D

[Turbo]

Originally posted by OPPAINTER
Welp I had XtremeTek Werkz (http://www.xtwerkz.com/) losen up pin 19 and hook up a 10ohm resister for me today. I got home and added on the 100 ohm VR set at 100 and The mem mod works sweet:D At 100ohms 2.7 will get you 3.12V, at 2.4 you get 2.78 ohms :D

I think for the NF7 we should start with a 200 Ohm VR if any one plans on doing it.

Any word on a chipset mod ?? :)

OPP

Glad it worked my man. Rip'em

[OPPAINTER]

Originally posted by MrIcee
Nevermind y'all:)

The AGP mosfet is under the power connector....just confirmed it. I'm turning to the Mosfet and IC between the AGP and 1st PCI slot. Looks like this might be like the 8RDA+. I'll check back in soon.:)

Randi:D

AGP doesnt need more Voltage, it has up to 1.8 which is fine. The VDD (chipset) needs voltage though, I forgot the default but it goes to 1.7 in bios. You can't read it from the bios either.

OPP

[OPPAINTER]

Originally posted by Turbo
Glad it worked my man. Rip'em

Hay yea Turbo, I'll be bring by the Epox next. Pretty much the same mod for the mem voltage. ;)

Thanks again,

OPP

[MrIcee]

OPP, you got a pm:)

Randi:D

[Turbo]

Originally posted by OPPAINTER
Hay yea Turbo, I'll be bring by the Epox next. Pretty much the same mod for the mem voltage. ;)

Thanks again,

OPP

Whenever your ready

[OPPAINTER]

Thanks to MrIcee I'm now sporting all the chipset voltage I want on the NF7 :) Between this and my mem voltage we should see some killer FSB out of this mobo.

OPP

[bigdawginva]

OMG...if I hear a sonic boom all the way here on the east coast, I'll know where it came from.

[MrIcee]

Hi guys:)

We have a Vdd mod folks:) OPP just mailed me and confirmed that it worked perfectly on his NF7-S. In the next day or so I'll have a guide for everyone to go by in these endeavors. All we need to do now is overcome the OVP on the Vcore regulator so we can achieve higher than 2v.

Thanks OPP for taking the chance on doing the mod, it's greatly appreciated. I was unfortunate and smoked my board as happened to a few EPoX guys after running too high a voltage. Funny thing is...OPP is using less resistance than I did....I thought I was too low to start and hence too much voltage. Who the he*ll knows...LOL I'm just glad it works:) I guess when I send this back where I bought it..I'll have to tell em it was DOA;)

Randi:D

EDIT: Guess I was better late than never:)

[gokickrocks]

keep up the good work

[Nico]

Originally posted by MrIcee
Hi guys:)

We have a Vdd mod folks:) OPP just mailed me and confirmed that it worked perfectly on his NF7-S. In the next day or so I'll have a guide for everyone to go by in these endeavors. All we need to do now is overcome the OVP on the Vcore regulator so we can achieve higher than 2v.

Thanks OPP for taking the chance on doing the mod, it's greatly appreciated. I was unfortunate and smoked my board as happened to a few EPoX guys after running too high a voltage. Funny thing is...OPP is using less resistance than I did....I thought I was too low to start and hence too much voltage. Who the he*ll knows...LOL I'm just glad it works:) I guess when I send this back where I bought it..I'll have to tell em it was DOA;)

Randi:D

EDIT: Guess I was better late than never:)

McIcee,

In relation to to Vcore mod, with pin 7 and pin 10 mod's in place and the system running at 2.0vcore, what is the voltage on pin 10?. Looks like you need to maintain less than the bios vcore setting + 15%, and you should be able to check that on pin 10 and adjust the VR as required.

Originally posted by sharpbw
The NF7 has a different controller than most Abit's, least it looks that way to me. My v1.0 board has a HIP6301VCB on it (not a HIP6301CB) , pin 7 looks "normal" at 2.484K Ohms. Pin 10 is very low, with only 25.2 Ohms of resistance.

You might try doing just the pin 7 mod to begin with, and see if you get any voltage changes.

Also if this is correct, you'd want to be using a 500ohm VR?


If that is in spec, then it could be suffering from Over current protection which probably just involves another three resistors on the ISEN legs (3 phase power) :(

[Goldlocke]

Great work again, MrIcee! :toast:

and what about your external Vmem circuit? already installed it?

[Hognert]

:banana:
Great work MrIcee! :). Now as you said all we need is some 2V+ Vcore.

[MrIcee]

Originally posted by Goldlocke
Great work again, MrIcee! :toast:

and what about your external Vmem circuit? already installed it?

I tested my external Vmem mod first and it was working...I had dialed approximately 2.95v initially. I then turned to the Vdd mod, figured it out, executed the modification but toasted my board in the process. I have another arriving today so I will give everyone the definitive thumbsup after I run for awhile with it hooked up. The Vdd mod is safe and sound, my external voltage regulation for the Vmem needs a few hours testing before the final stamp of approval. As you know, OPP did get the mod done for Vmem by having the Pin 19 mod done on the Winbond 3330 which for the average guy is a nasty, cramped position modification. The External voltage regulator circuit I came up with is easily built with parts from Radio Shack by almost anyone...and only involves soldering 1 wire to the motherboard in a very easy place.

Randi:D

[]JR[]

Nice will appreciate the positioning of the mods, the circuits are simple :) Hopefully the holy abit will be avail on my return...

Hoping to get some benching in after vacation, im off snowboarding :)

]JR[

[Nohto]

Randy your burning the candles a little later than usual this evening/morning. Glad to hear about the success on the mods. Are you still going to run some marks on the 8RDA+? I would like to see what kind of results you get out of it before I make my final decicion on what to do with this NF7-S that I have.
On another note I still haven't heard anything from Chip-Con yet. I thought they were suppose to be "Great" in the customer service department. Well maybe tomorrow. But you would think that they could of at least acknowledged the fact that I sent them 3 E-mails and said that they would look into the problem. I am not impressed. I do appreciate the help that you have given me and in no way do any of the above statements reflect on you! You definately went out of your way to give me a hand and I just wanted to say THANKS again.
Nate

[MrIcee]

Nate:)

I had the day off today...but got up early due to a bit of snow to call my boss and see if I was needed for a couple hours...but I wasn't so I jumped on here for a bit.

Unfortunately Nate....You are not the only one with NF7-S/8RDA+ problems with the Prometeia. Not everyone has a problem with those boards in the Prom. I have had the 8RDA+ and OPP has had both the 8RDA+ and NF7-S in his no problem.....but others like yourself have not been so lucky. The delayed response is more than likely because they need to recreate your problem(and others) themselves to find out whats happening. I agree they could and should acknowledge your emails. I wrote them directly myself and have got no reply yet either.

I can assure you tho after seeing others with the same problem, that they are working on a solution for everyone. My hunch that it has to do with the circuits on the nForce2 boards in some way may not be far off. I will drop another line to them on your behalf later today and try to get an answer for you.:)

Randi:D

[Nohto]

I thank you friend, but don't put yourself out. I am going to try the method of starting the board with a normal heatsink and fan let it post shut down and then instal the Prom and see if it works. Remember, I also experienced the problem on my KD7-E which ran just fine for almost a month prior to this happening. I have to go on one more service call and I'll give it a shot when I get back. I was just inquiring on the 2 boards, because OPP never did say what he thought of the 8RDA after his attempts to publish his scores or if he was continuing to push it. I can understand though, what good is a score if you can't publish it. Have a good one.

Nate:D

[QuadDamage]

well, i wanted to order NF7-S yesterday, but decided to give Asus one more chance after hearing news about new 250fsb bios. I just want to run few Sandra mem benches and compare them to Abit/Epox just for future reference. If this one dies, NF7-S will be my next choice:) I should be able to finally run Prometeia powered benches again in max. 10 days, i hope.

[OPPAINTER]

Did this at 220x13 on the NF7.
And no, it can't be published, I tell you, AMD just cant get a break, the Damn ORB must be sponcerd by Intel.

OPP

[spaceboy]

:toast: :toast:

orb is :smileysex AMD ;)


these mod seems quite a pain in the ass to me :( , i hope with rev 2 will be easier like kx7 or even not necessary :p

[MrIcee]

Wait for rev2 ;)

OPP...blistering kick ass my man ::thumbsup:

Randi:D

[spaceboy]

Originally posted by MrIcee
Wait for rev2 ;)

OPP...blistering kick ass my man ::thumbsup:

Randi:D


Randi i hope i understand correct ;) :)

it's 2 months that i'm waiting .. i hope the third will be worth the wait :toast:


10 guys

[Nico]

Originally posted by OPPAINTER
Did this at 220x13 on the NF7.
And no, it can't be published, I tell you, AMD just cant get a break, the Damn ORB must be sponcerd by Intel.

OPP

So comparitively speaking, Epox is actually ahead at this stage?

Epox - 21388
Abit - 21302

Both at 220 x 13 effectively.

[gokickrocks]

scores will vary every run...so the 86 point difference is moot, meaning they are pretty much both on par

[Jeff]

Wasn't that Epox run at 219?

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?postid=84376#post84376

[Nico]

Jeff,

219 @ 2860 close enough to 220.

gokickrocks,

I must say I have never seen an 86 point variation in 3Dmark runs

[OPPAINTER]

Well it only gets better :D

I figuerd out the publish problem, it's the memory timings, I was useing 4-2-2-2 and I found buy useing 5-2-2-2 it works with the Orb.

One point away from my friend DJ :)

And this is published :)

[twiggy]

:slobber: :slobber:

[OPPAINTER]

I can't believe this Shirt!!

I guess I was wrong about the publishing thing.
This one wouldn't publish, erhh:mad:

OPP

[K_2]

Same happened to me with my 8RDA+.. COuldnt Publish my 3d marks either dood..

[linx]

way to go OPP u rock dude i wanna grow up to b like u lol nice score bro

[MrIcee]

Looks like our Overclocking guru figured it out....he's got one published up at the top:)

Randi:D

[OPPAINTER]

Done deal, XP2700 and Abit NF7 at 220x13.

# 3 on the top of the Orb,,,, Published:banana:

OPP

[STEvil]

#2 now.. JC's score is gone.. ???

[twiggy]

OMG!! Dont stop yet.

JC is still up there.

[Hallowed]

Congrats OPP on the 2nd highest score! :toast:

Is it just completely random which score gets accepted? 3dMark is a part of BAPCo, so they just might be Intel biased... :rolleyes:

[sysfailur]

Very nice, AMD hath cometh backeth!

[mbrock]

Originally posted by OPPAINTER
I can't believe this Shirt!!

I guess I was wrong about the publishing thing.
This one wouldn't publish, erhh:mad:

OPP

Publish problem has to do with CPU Thermal Throttling. Mine publish fine at 422 with Throttling set at 12.5%

[DoGMaN]

Wow thats an amazing score. I'm stupified ;)

[muzz]

WTG OPP!!!!:toast:

Well Done :banana:

[MrLavender]

Originally posted by OPPAINTER
Done deal, XP2700 and Abit NF7 at 220x13.

# 3 on the top of the Orb,,,, Published:banana:

OPP Heh, got there in the end! Congrats. :toast: :toast: :toast:

Originally posted by spaceboy
Randi i hope i understand correct

it's 2 months that i'm waiting .. i hope the third will be worth the wait
Any idea when the rev 2 is expected MrIcee, or are you not allowed to say?

[mbrock]

I am not Mricee but I read somewhere that the rev2's would be released around the End of Jan first of Feb.

[MrLavender]

Probably means at least the middle of Feb for Europe then. :( Thanks.

[WxChaser]

My congrats OPP, great work (as usual). Thanks for passing on all the great tips too.

[FUGGER]

Grats Opp, nice Fkin dragon low sir.

[Yitch]

Outstanding work OPP! :toast:
It's great to see a 2.9 GHz AMD competing with 4 GHz Intels. :)
It's a shame you've had so many problems publishing to the ORB.

Yitch

[OPPAINTER]

Originally posted by FUGGER
Grats Opp, nice Fkin dragon low sir.

Yep, and this will be even better, to bad the CPU Mhz is so low 11x237. We need 250 FSB in this mobo, we could could do 1 stick and blow doors.

Here's some NF7 and Dual Kingston Lovin :D

[Hallowed]

Whoa.

Even with the lower clockspeed wouldnt that FSB make up the difference?

[gokickrocks]

hows the vmod writeup for the nf7 coming along?

just wanted to check on the progress, no need to rush

[MrIcee]

The Vdd mod is 100% successful as demonstrated by OPP..and my testing is conclusive also.

The Vmem mod as I initially concieved it with the voltage regulator circuit DID NOT work as I anticipated, but I have a mod that DOES work and I'm involved in a trial period test before I make it public. There are some "possible" long term risks, this is not written in stone but as with anything it exists. The upside is it's the easist volt mod I have ever done and this method could be a Universal volt mod in cases where a pin mod on a voltage regulator is far too difficult, or in a case such as the ABIT IT7 Max2 ver.2.0...where the board is different from previous iterations and the mod from older versions doesn't work.

I don't like keeping you guys waiting, but I don't want everyone killing their boards:) When I'm satisfied with it on my own board you will have full disclosure

Randi:D

[N8]

So this "simple" mod could perhaps work on the 8RDA+ rather than having to cut a trace on the board? :)

For more VDIMM that is. ;)

Great work Randi, you & OPP both have that board flyin :D

[MrIcee]

Yep...it's possible;)

Thank you for the kudo's...not sure if you've been watching my Ti4200 work...but I'm aiming for the top of that class before I go back to the Radeon. 16,6xx isn't too shabby for a Ti4200 with a 2450Mhz T-bred B on air:D Wait until my mod work is fully evaluated and I take a stab at the top, with my system back in the Prometeia:thumbsup:

Randi:D

[N8]

Now you don't think I've been watching ya? ;)

I'd love to see ya @ the top of that class...I don't think I can get close with this CPU as it max's @ about 2420MHz on air, I'm guessin 2450 on my water...and of course I don't have a NF2...still runnin a simple ole 8K3A :D

Go get macci :)

[MrIcee]

Dang...I'm doing 2450 at 1.8v with the SLK800/Vantec Tornado combo:)

PS. Just did the VCore mod tonight to see how high I can go on air...then it's on to the Prommy for some serious chit:eek:

Randi:D

PS. It really is time for you to get an nForce 2 board Nate..LOL:banana:

[N8]

I'll tell you what. If you do in fact figure out an easy vmem mod for the 8RDA, I'll buy one :)

I can't buy the NF7, I need the 4 holes for my waterblock...and this KD7 I bought really is a POS ;)

My next fear is owning a 8RDA & getting nice scores, then not being able to publish them, lol :D

I will give this 8K3A all I've got tho, its good for 3D up to 212FSB so far...

[RoydRage]

Originally posted by N8
I'll tell you what. If you do in fact figure out an easy vmem mod for the 8RDA, I'll buy one :)

Iand this KD7 I bought really is a POS ;)



You know...... I thought the same thing.... Bought a second one cause I could believe the first could be that bad....

I now have 2 of them sitting on the floor in my closet..

RoydRage

[Firelord-OCHW]

Well wow is all I can say :D

Great work both Randi and Opp great to see AMD finally regaining its speed crown and on its way to ruling the roost :D

Tis a shame that the ORB is extremely Intel biast, it kinda smells of something.....

Once again great work and confirmed my choice for my nForce2 board ;)

[QuadDamage]

Mr.Icee:),

how far will your ti4200 go? is it air-cooled too? 16.6k isn't that bad really. i almost hit 17k, but with ti4600 and 2400+ @12x204 all air cooled, lol

[MrIcee]

Quad:)

I have the ABIT Siluro Ti4200 OTES 64 MB(The mem is not very good BTW for clocking, 3.6ns Hynix) clocking at 370Mhz on the core..and 670Mhz on the memory.

I am having an issue tho..and not sure if it's Ti4200 or not until I swap in the Radeon 9700 Pro:

At any FSB starting at 217Mhz and up....even with the chipset mod at 1.9v and mem at 3.1v...I get all kinds of screen flashing..or artifacts kinda like pushing your vid card memory too high. I spent all night last night trying to overcome this. I want to bench at 217-220 Mhz and I have the memory and bus speeds to do it..but something is throwing a roadblock at me.

The worst case scenario I've experienced at 217Mhz+ is the flashing culminates in a screen freeze which turns to a black screen...then after 30secs desktop items starting popping back onto the black screen...but I have no control and must reboot.

Any idea's Oh membership of wisdom???

Randi:D

PS. The Ti4200 is cooled with a Swiftech MCW50-T and -25c chilled coolant.

[MrIcee]

I will look into this. Are you using the Nvidia 2.0 driver set or the ones that came with your motherboard:)

Randi:D

[QuadDamage]

Mr.Icee:)

well, first of all your core o/c almost matches my ti4600, but mine is still air-cooled by Alpha HSF + 2T Wall A/C Unit blowing right at the whole thing. Impressive o/c:)

Back to the topic. I had the same issue at 207fsb / 211fsb on Asus, so as you can see i had no choice, but to bench at not too shabby 204fsb:( Playing around with diffrent timings combos did not help at all. I could run Sandra benches at 211fsb for hours, bit no-go for 3d fun. I thought it's prolly NB cooling unable to cope with heat, so i re-applied ASIII and made sure hsf does its job, but still same story, it was like first few seconds into Car Lo at piss poor framerate, then screen froze, back into test, artifacts, blank screen, end of the bench... i was using 2.0 nvidia drivers too. keep in mind that even video underclocking didn't fix this issue. Then i thought it's agp not getting enough of juice therefore forcing video to crap out, but crankin it up to 1.8V didn't help.

[MrIcee]

I'm on the same track as you in mentioning the 2.0 Nvidia drivers. I have never used the ones ABIT supplied..and I need to ask OPP what he is running.

I tried 1 stick of ram and the problem is FAR worse than 2.(in each Dimm slot I should add)

My avenue of exploration has been to remove the video drivers and remove the nVidia 2.0 drivers and install the ones ABIT supplies. Guess what?? They will not install off the cd...LOL Nor will they install if I browse the folder and manually run the setup.exe. I'm off to download them off Abit's site and see if I have any better luck. For everyones info...I have a Socket7 HSF on the Northbridge...and a Vantec Heatsink with an old ABIT northbridge fan attached, on the southbridge. Heat should not be an issue here...nor are available voltages. I'm hoping it's just a driver issue...but we'll see:)

Randi:D

[AKRedneck]

Originally posted by MrIcee
Quad:)
...At any FSB starting at 217Mhz and up....even with the chipset mod at 1.9v and mem at 3.1v...I get all kinds of screen flashing..or artifacts kinda like pushing your vid card memory too high. I spent all night last night trying to overcome this. I want to bench at 217-220 Mhz and I have the memory and bus speeds to do it..but something is throwing a roadblock at me.
Randi:D


Randi,
I've had this same issue with the fsb at around 218-220. I had to go up to 2.0Vdd to alleviate the situation.. It's a lot of voltage but it did the trick.. I'm guessing you may have already done this..if not it's worth a try. :D

[muzz]

Randi I know this may sound stupid, but are you running those fans off the mobo headers?

[MrIcee]

Running 1.9v on the chipset at the moment....was a tad afraid of going much higher as I toasted my last"bought" NF7-S when I first did the Vdd mod.

Muzz:)

The only fan running off a motherboard header is the northbridge "socket 7" fan which shouldn't be a problem. The Vantec Tornado and small ABIT fan on the southbridge run off the PSU directly.:)

Randi:D

[muzz]

Looked that way( what you said).. just checkin' mang.

[twiggy]

Something is weird. On my NF7 I was able to bench at 217 fsb and never had any tears or corruption. Then I let my bro take the mobo to try out on his 2700+(modded) and he gets hard drive corruption at 205 fsb. wtf?!?! Same RAM, same video card.

[beatnic]

Originally posted by twiggy
Something is weird. On my NF7 I was able to bench at 217 fsb and never had any tears or corruption. Then I let my bro take the mobo to try out on his 2700+(modded) and he gets hard drive corruption at 205 fsb. wtf?!?! Same RAM, same video card.
different cpu. :cool:

btw MrIcee niiiiiiccee board cooling you got there :slobber:

[QuadDamage]

Mr.Icee:)

Hmm, i've had Asus 1.16 drivers installed before i tried 2.00 from nVidia. Same thing. well, i need new board to contunue searching for possible sulution, i'll be getting new one within few days, until then good-luck.

[Firelord-OCHW]

How'd you get on Randi??

[schrickvr6]

Hi everbody,i'm pretty new to this,i've just got an nf7-s and two 256mb ocz el's which i will use in dual mode,with my 1800xp what sort of fsb speeds should i be able to reach with out any volt mods?

[IamAnoobieCheez]

Originally posted by beatnic
different cpu. :cool:

btw MrIcee niiiiiiccee board cooling you got there :slobber:
be more specific..

Twiggy's bro probably didnt' have sufficient amount of Vcore for the CPU, or his memory voltage, or his HDD is not being able to handle the PCI bus speed depending on how he setup his AGP/PCI speed in the BIOS. Maybe he set it too high? i.e. 49~ 49.5mhz PCI? Any one of these, or combination of all this "can" cause file corrupt also.

[MrIcee]

Just an update:

I uninstalled all drivers and installed the ones of the ABIT CD..what a pain in the arse. I also upped my Vdd to 2v and applied 3.2v to the memory..and walla !!

Benching 3DMark stably at 217Mhz no problem....added about 250 points to my Ti4200 score in the process, heres a little 2600Mhz and under action...onwards and upwards !!!

Randi:D

[MrIcee]

Heres how my testing and mods have left me so far in the complete Ti4200 class, with CPU still on air. Once I move it all back into the Prometeia I should be able to get close to macci. I'm a bit handicapped with the ABIT Siluro OTES Ti4200 as the Hynix memory is not very good, topping out at 670Mhz @ 4v. A card with better memory up in the 740Mhz range would level the playing field as far as the card is concerned:)

Randi:D

[RoydRage]

Originally posted by MrIcee
Heres how my testing and mods have left me so far in the complete Ti4200 class, with CPU still on air. Once I move it all back into the Prometeia I should be able to get close to macci. I'm a bit handicapped with the ABIT Siluro OTES Ti4200 as the Hynix memory is not very good, topping out at 670Mhz @ 4v. A card with better memory up in the 740Mhz range would level the playing field as far as the card is concerned:)

Randi:D

But Randi,

Once you go to the Prome... Will you be limited by the Vcore as I am with the 8RDA+ ? If you can't raise the Vcore to above 2.0v Then it Negates the advantage of the Prome, I might as well stay on air.

And I have Heatsinks and a fan on all the Mosfets..

RoydRage

[twiggy]

Originally posted by IamAnoobieCheez
be more specific..

Twiggy's bro probably didnt' have sufficient amount of Vcore for the CPU, or his memory voltage, or his HDD is not being able to handle the PCI bus speed depending on how he setup his AGP/PCI speed in the BIOS. Maybe he set it too high? i.e. 49~ 49.5mhz PCI? Any one of these, or combination of all this "can" cause file corrupt also.

No diff setting. All the setting were the same. Tried it with the AGP locked and still no dice. I know its not voltage cause I ran it at 217(217x11 and my bro tried the same too) all the time and never really had any probs. The only mod done on the board is the vcore mod. No matter what he cant get past 205 and I know for a fact his parts are good for it, but anyway the board is comin back to me so I can test it out more. I wish I had a 2700+ so I could fiddle with it but o well.

[Hallowed]

:toast:

Bludgeon the Intels!

[MrIcee]

With the chip I have now..I can run 2700Mhz+ at 2v in the Prom. I have already with this chip. But in the meantime..I am trying to overcome the OVP problem on the Vcore. I'll keep you posted:)

Randi:D

[N8]

MrIcee,

Is another G4 an option? I have my Abit Siluro(4ns Hynix) @ 357/695 on AIR w/ vmod...no ramsinks. That card is def. holding you back in the Ti4200 class...no idea why the OTES doesn't clock as well as the original. :)

P.S. I know ur busy, but I'm just remindin ya about the PM I sent ya again :p

[MrIcee]

N8:)

Yep..I got the screenshots for ya..I'll get em off to you this evening...got the family thing going at the moment:)

I PROMISE:D

Randi:D

PS. How much voltage you pumping through your memory...I'm using 4v and am not sure whatthe safe limit is.

BBL y'all...............................

[N8]

After 4v, my 3DMark score goes down. I've tried up to 4.1v & after something like 4.02v I saw a sizable decrease in my 3DMark score. This was some months ago so I'm doing my best to remember. But I know I had it @ 4v to run the score in my sig back then @ 695MHz. This was with no ramsinks. I've since bought some tweakmonster ones but I haven't had time to put them on...I'm hoping they give me another 15MHz w/ the vmod applied. I've run some benches in the past week but all have been w/o the vmod attached ;)

The 1 weird thing I remembered about the vmod was that I couldn't have artifacting w/ it attached. If I saw any artifacting I couldn't finish the tests...I believe it hard-locked...not positive. :)

[OPPAINTER]

Almost forgot about this bench :D Check it out 233x11.5 Dual Kingston, well over 21000 at less then 2700Mhz:D Not bad!!

OPP

[MrIcee]

Way to go my man:toast:

Damn impressive:thumbsup:

What kind of chipset and memory voltage are you running to get that puppy to do 3D at that FSB?? I'm at 2v Vdd and 3.2Vmem to bench at 217-220 max timings.

Randi:D

[OPPAINTER]

Originally posted by MrIcee
Way to go my man:toast:

Damn impressive:thumbsup:

What kind of chipset and memory voltage are you running to get that puppy to do 3D at that FSB?? I'm at 2v Vdd and 3.2Vmem to bench at 217-220 max timings.

Randi:D

I ran this at 1.87V Vdd and 3.11V on the mem :)

OPP

[WxChaser]

Got to agree with Randi there that that is a damn impressive mem bench, no doubt. Keep the dream alive (almost that time again).

[mbrock]

How is the mod comming?

[Emericana]

icee and opp or anyone else who is using this board. can you use the 8.0-10.5mults with a high fsb?

i am experiencing a big problem with the nf7 i just purchased. i have a 1700+ tbred.

i can run 7.5x211. however i can not boot into windows (it will post) at any mult 8.0-10.5 with a fsb a SINGLE MHZ HIGHER than 166.

with 11.0 and 11.5 it works fine as right now i am runnin 11.0x175 (the highest i can get stable, but i can boot into windows at up to 11.0x183)

WTF Is wrong w/ my board??? here is a thread i started at abit:
http://forum.abit-usa.com/showthread.php?threadid=2222&goto=newpost

[OPPAINTER]

I have the same problem, by 2 best multipliers are 11 and 13. When I unhook my v-core mod I can boot with all multipliers but can't go very high with the fsb, some more then others. With it hooked up I can't even get into windows with most multipliers. The only 2 that work flawless are 11 and 13, not sure why.

OPP

[MrIcee]

I overcame the problem with the multi's when I updated to the beta 13 bios. Not sure why but the only multi's I had after cutting the L12 bridge on my 2700+ running the 12 bios were 5x, 11x and 13x, from 13x and below. After updating to the beta 13 bios all multi's under 13x worked and at any FSB speed...this is with the Vcore mod hooked up also.:)

Marty:)

I'll get the Vdd mod published soon...have been way busy this last week involved with stuff for Xtreme and in my personal life/job. Sorry for the delay:)

Randi:D

[OPPAINTER]

I could have sworn I flashed to that bios :confused:

Any word on a OVP mod?? V-core is the only thing holding me back on the NF7 to do some bigger 3D scores.

OPP

[mbrock]

I did flash to beta 13 and noticed some improvement on multipliers but 12.5 and 13.5 both suck. With vcore mod in place it is even worse when I turn the voltage up past 1.90 volts.

[gryfinndor]

OPP, congrats ;)

MrIcee, do you have idea when the NF7 rev2 will be available ?

I'm awaiting for it at about 2.5 months :| It seems that they want to get rid of the stock of the rev1 :(

btw, can you tell me some more about that SILURO OTES mod ? I would apreciate it :)

[mbrock]

Just curious if anyone knew what the VDD was on the KD7. I am beginning to think that my §§§§ty OC mhz wise is do to the 1.7 VDD. As a matter of fact since Vcore is lower than what you set it in the bios maybe VDD is also lower. Maybe the VDD goes even lower as you turn up the Vcore with the pin 7 mod. Any ideas? Or could someone who knows where to measure the VDD please check this out.

[SAE]

Got me a 1700+ AIUGA Wk47, and have same problem on my kx7!
Do not know what to do. Booting fine with 133FSB and all multis up to 12,5 working. But if switching to any thing above 166/200FSB is definitely not stable and often not even getting into windows (reboots) :mad:

What to do here?? Thought of buying a NF7 and HPT-Raid controller... But if this issue is not solved...

BTW MrIcee,

had same prob with locking screen, flashing and no reaction forcing to reboot with my ti4600 and kx7-r@220FSB+

I am glad not to be the only one ... ;)

Stefan

[MrIcee]

Originally posted by gryfinndor
MrIcee, do you have idea when the NF7 rev2 will be available ?

I'm awaiting for it at about 2.5 months :| It seems that they want to get rid of the stock of the rev1 :(

btw, can you tell me some more about that SILURO OTES mod ? I would apreciate it :)

Hi my friend:)

The word has been the end of this month on the Rev 2 NF7-S. Only time will tell:)

As far as the Siluro Ti4200 OTES mod...I will try to get that published and posted for everyone this weekend:)

Randi:D

[gryfinndor]

Tkx a lot MrIcee :)

Seems I'll have to wait a few more time for ABIT Nf2 :)

[mbrock]

Originally posted by mbrock
Just curious if anyone knew what the VDD was on the KD7. I am beginning to think that my §§§§ty OC mhz wise is do to the 1.7 VDD. As a matter of fact since Vcore is lower than what you set it in the bios maybe VDD is also lower. Maybe the VDD goes even lower as you turn up the Vcore with the pin 7 mod. Any ideas? Or could someone who knows where to measure the VDD please check this out.

PS I hate double posting but this thing is driving me nuts

[MrIcee]

Marty:)

I measured 1.74v when the Vdd was set to 1.7v in the bios. Measurement is taken from the Mosfet between the AGP and first PCI slots. It's the one closest to the AGP slot...as is it's leg you must take the measurement from. You can do it without the vid card installed....just fire up the board and grab the reading:)

Randi:D

[Firelord-OCHW]

I'd like a straight answer and a simple one as well :toast:

Is this board a good buy for someone that wants to overclock to good but not extreme levels. I currently have a KG7RAID and have it 168FSB (can do 170FSB as well but chip unstable 1600+@1763) and looking to upgrade.

I was looking at this board as I love my KG7 RAID and would like a replacement thats gonna match. It's gotta be pretty much bullet proof while being able to maintain an OC of similar or better proportions. Be paired with 2 x 256 XMS 3200 Corsair DDR RAM, Hiper (TTGI UK) 420w PSU and XP2200/2400+ depending on which I chose. I'm not up for VMods and just want a out of the box good performer :)

So from what I have seen i'm extremely please with :D :banana:

Well done Randi :toast: top banana :banana: :banana:

[sharpbw]

The 1.0 board is probably good to 188, with any chip (if the chip can do it). There are no holes on the board, so you mount using the clip only. Otherwise, it's a great board. The 1.1 board will have the mounting holes in the board, and it's due out pretty soon.

[Firelord-OCHW]

Originally posted by sharpbw
The 1.0 board is probably good to 188, with any chip (if the chip can do it). There are no holes on the board, so you mount using the clip only. Otherwise, it's a great board. The 1.1 board will have the mounting holes in the board, and it's due out pretty soon.

I'm using an AX7 with YS Tech fan (not that the fan has any relevance to hs mounting!!) so th holes don't really concern me :) I shan't be be going WC or such so I have no needs for the holes :)

[MrIcee]

Firelord-OCHW:)

I believe this board would be a good match to your needs. If you are wanting more flexibility in voltage options and 4 holes around the socket...its best to wait until Rev 2 is released however...and ETAwas said to be the end of this month. With onboard Lan and Soundstorm audio...serial ATA.... I think you'd be pleased as an upgrade to the venerable KG7:)

Randi:D

[Firelord-OCHW]

Originally posted by MrIcee
Firelord-OCHW:)

I believe this board would be a good match to your needs. If you are wanting more flexibility in voltage options and 4 holes around the socket...its best to wait until Rev 2 is released however...and ETAwas said to be the end of this month. With onboard Lan and Soundstorm audio...serial ATA.... I think you'd be pleased as an upgrade to the venerable KG7:)

Randi:D


I didn't think they were increasing the voltage options on the rev2 board??

It may be a venerable board but it still rocks with the best of them :)

You did really well with one of these boards didn't you??

[MrIcee]

Yes..I did very well as did OPP and DDTUNG with the KG7:)

I am only speculating on the voltages my friend, but knowing the Rev 1 boards were designed for the SI/OEM market explains why the voltages are not up to ABIT's normal(at least their LATEST) levels. But with inclusion of the 4 holes for aftermarket HSF's and waterblocks, I would certainly think/hope that this version of the board will be everything and MORE that we wanted in the first NF7-S.

Randi:D

[muzz]

Getting more and more difficult to answer these questions the longer it takes for them to release this board huh Randi....;) ( bet your saying to yourself " cmon guys release it.. I'm getting hammered here!!") heheh
I would think they would have more options.......

[Firelord-OCHW]

Originally posted by MrIcee
Yes..I did very well as did OPP and DDTUNG with the KG7:)

I am only speculating on the voltages my friend, but knowing the Rev 1 boards were designed for the SI/OEM market explains why the voltages are not up to ABIT's normal(at least their LATEST) levels. But with inclusion of the 4 holes for aftermarket HSF's and waterblocks, I would certainly think/hope that this version of the board will be everything and MORE that we wanted in the first NF7-S.

Randi:D

Thanks matey much appreciated :)

[MrIcee]

muzz:)

It's not getting more difficult my friend. I have stated many times here for many people that the board is expected at the end of this month:) As far as what the board will include for improvements, I DO know;) but am under NDA until it's release.
You must remember that to include the 4 holes took a re-design of the PCB to accomodate them, along with gearing up for the manfacturing change, it all takes time.

Randi:D

[muzz]

Originally posted by MrIcee
muzz:)

I DO know;) but am under NDA until it's release:)

Randi:D

Those are the lines I was talking about right there bro....:D

[muzz]

I wasn't being a smartas*. I was referring to the WANT to be able to say what you DO know.

:D

[MrIcee]

I know you weren't my friend:)

AND you are absolutey correct !! LOL

Randi:D

[OPPAINTER]

MrIcee,

You should rig up a 80w pelt on the NorthBridge, it does wonders. I rigged one up yesterday on the EPOS and it went from 218 dual max to 230 dual in 3D:D

Cooling, you got to love it :D

OPP

[beatnic]

243 FSB :slobber: :eek:

[muzz]

heheheh wtg OPP.......:thumbsup:

[MrIcee]

OPP:)

You sick bastard you:D

You just want me to buy more stuff don't you?? LOL

Another pump...block...tubing....pelt...hehehe....give me some time my man(smiling) You really are a sick overclocking bastage !!
:toast:

Randi:D

[IamAnoobieCheez]

Originally posted by OPPAINTER
...yesterday on the EPOS and it ...
OPP
lol.....

[IamAnoobieCheez]

That is sick overclocking indeed. Absolutely fanTAStic art work you have there.

[OPPAINTER]

I'll be putting the pelt on the NF7 soon as I get the mobo back from XTW. I came up with the wild theory that if I change the hip6301 with a older 6301 version that I may be able to get higher v-core:D DDTUNG tell's me it won't, O'well :D

With the pelt I would be hopeing for 237 Dual Chanell, that should put out a pretty good 3D score :D

OPP

[N8]

Why not 230FSB on the EPOS? :)

[MrIcee]

OPP:)

Good luck on the Hip swap. I have studied these 2 regulators the last 2 days myself trying to determine what is different...and there is very little if at all. The Pin-out and their functions are identical.

I'm believing it is an Over-current problem preventing us from going over 2v and not Over-voltage problems. BUT....overcoming the Over-current is much more difficult as unlike the EPoX voltage regulator where you can alter things via a pin.....there is no accompanying pin on the HIP6301 or 6301VC.

I sincerely hope the regulator swap works, but I too think there is more to this built into the power regulation circuitry.:)

Randi:D

[twiggy]

Hey guys me and my bro switched out our NF7's and with his Im able to do 2.04 vcore before I start havin any probs, my OVP kicked in ~1.98v but his is holding pretty tought with 2.04v.

This OVP is killing me.:( but atleast I have 2v now :)

[OPPAINTER]

Well XTW isn't going to swap the chip, I told them forget about it. I am going to pick up the mobo and slap a pelt on the NB and play with it as is :D

OPP

[OPPAINTER]

By the way, the EPOS took a dump yesterday, I think the bios chip went bad or the mobo got some condensation from the NB pelt. Not sure, but I'm going to the NF7 for a while :D

OPP

[Firelord-OCHW]

Just a quick question. If they do ddecide to increase Vcore etc on rev2 would that mean new hardware or is it simply a case of a bios flash to simply enable the higher volts??

The reason I ask is becuase otherwise their gonna millions of BIOSs about the place (one for NF7-S, NF7, NF7-S V2 and NF7 V2!!!) So what do you think??

Great job guys :)

[Marci]

Hmmm... just got my sample NF7-S off Abit today... hooked it up and havin a bit of a downer with it...

12v rail is under... all others spot on... FSB won't go higher than 170 full stop at any multiplier. Not done any mods to the board yet as need to review it in an "out of the box" state.

Temps are a lot higher than any other board, but everything is mounted perfectly etc... triple checked everything...

Using 2x 256Mb stick XMS3200c2 platinum (matched pair).

Given up for tonight and thrown it back in the box for another day when I'm feeling more tolerant...

[Emericana]

marci. i have the SAME EXACT prob w/ mine i have a 1700+ and it wont go higher than 166mhz on any mult 8.0-10.5 however, ican get higher on 11.0x and up... however, that wont make adifference cause i cant get high fsbs w/ 11.0 cause the cpu cant do more than 1900mhz!

[OPPAINTER]

Originally posted by Firelord-OCHW
Just a quick question. If they do ddecide to increase Vcore etc on rev2 would that mean new hardware or is it simply a case of a bios flash to simply enable the higher volts??

The reason I ask is becuase otherwise their gonna millions of BIOSs about the place (one for NF7-S, NF7, NF7-S V2 and NF7 V2!!!) So what do you think??

Great job guys :)

I would think if the next revision has more voltage then it was a hardware mod to get the voltage. They probably would have made up a bios with more voltage by now if it was a simple bios update.

OPP

[Firelord-OCHW]

Originally posted by OPPAINTER
I would think if the next revision has more voltage then it was a hardware mod to get the voltage. They probably would have made up a bios with more voltage by now if it was a simple bios update.

OPP

Thats very true I suppose :toast:

Well the orders in; 1 ABit NF7-S, 2 x 256MB Corsair XMS3200 and XP2400+ :)

Can't wait to get it up and running :)

Not before I see what KG7 can do with the corsair as I have okish PC2100 at the moment @ 168FSB CAS2 but the most relaxed ram timings you have ever seen!!!! I shall be following MrIccee uide I think :)

Also what would be the best drivers for benching and every day use?? Cheers guys have a :toast: on me :banana: :thumbsup:

[bunnyfubbles]

Any news on the availability of the NF7-S rev2?

This is torturing me, I know I want an nForce2 motherboard, but I want to wait to see what the rev2 can do, otherwise I may have to go for the 8RDA+ or the A7N8X DLX.

I hate waiting :rolleyes:

[Dissolved]

Originally posted by bunnyfubbles
Any news on the availability of the NF7-S rev2?

This is torturing me, I know I want an nForce2 motherboard, but I want to wait to see what the rev2 can do, otherwise I may have to go for the 8RDA+ or the A7N8X DLX.

I hate waiting :rolleyes:

im waiting too man. probly end of the month. ill be getting the ABIT NF7-S rev2.0 and a 2100+tb-B when they get to newegg :)

[Marci]

I'm hopin when the next rev is released Abit'll send me one to compare against the current rev... one thing we don't see a lot of is reviews of the same product but comparing the various revisions, as we all know the revision makes a BIG difference... so that's my NEXT plan...!

[snowsl]

I am really enjoying this thread even though I don't even own a soldering iron. I hope you all get the voltages you want with as little pain as possible.

I have a question? I have a 2400 and I can't get past 11X210 FSB. Is this because of my ram or is the nb getting too hot or not enough voltage for the ram or .............................................. What do yall think?

I like the board in its current form given I use an slk800 and a tornado. I'm not sure how much more voltage would help me on the cpu.

Look forward to that revision review also. I may have to sell the Asus and get another NF7-S2.

[bunnyfubbles]

Originally posted by Dissolved
im waiting too man. probly end of the month. ill be getting the ABIT NF7-S rev2.0 and a 2100+tb-B when they get to newegg :)

They say great minds think alike ;) I too am planning on getting just that from newegg... $98 now for the Tbred B 2100+, man I'm going to explode before I get an nForce2 mobo along with the cpu!

[snowsl]

http://www.excaliberpc.com/product_info.php?cPath=178_186&products_id=955

That just came in my email. I got my abit serillel from them. They are linked to abits site or should I say abits reseller. Package came on time and was in good condition and price was reasonable.

[Nohto]

I'm always looking for another decent reseller. How has your experience been purchasing from them?

[snowsl]

Went to abits site for the serillel and when I hit the purchase button or whatever, I was redirected to this site. They appear to be abits reseller but IDK.

Like I said, the package came in a reasonable amount of time and was in good condition. I was a little put off by the shipping of $6 for such a small package but I've been charged similar amounts from other vendors. I couldn't find the serillel adapter anywhere else and wanted it to match the other. Probably doesn't matter all that much but mine does work and I have both my hdd's on the sata channel.

The only complaint I have about the adapter is that it doesn't hold on very well. You know how a cable fits on really tight, this thing is unbelievably lose. If you move your case around a lot you'll have to check them or maybe do some re-engineering (ie electrical tape).

On that processor, it's $92 and $7 for shipping. A look at newegg has 2100's for $98 and free shipping but I can't tell if its a tbred B or not. Anybody know if it is or not?

[bunnyfubbles]

The $98 newegg 2100+ is a Tbred B

[Firelord-OCHW]

Anyone know where I can get another Seriell adapter in the uK??

[OPPAINTER]

Iv'e got the Nf7 doing 3D at 237 FSB with dual mem, the only down fall is that the mem timings are at Cas 2.5.

OPP

http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=5724768

[beatnic]

Originally posted by Firelord-OCHW
Anyone know where I can get another Seriell adapter in the uK??

Komplett (http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.asp?action=info&p=28036&t=&l=&AvdID=1&CatID=&GrpID=&s=sr) have 'em :)

[WxChaser]

A guy from Portugal posted over on amdmb forums what Abit told him the new voltages on the next revision board would be:

Originally posted by Helder Alves - It will be released a Rev. 1.2 with Vcore 2.2v and Vmem 3.2v

Realize I have no way of verifying this to be true at this time, but it would be nice!

[snowsl]

Hey have you guys given up on the abit or what? What, do you have a life other then overclocking?

I'm dyin here!

[twiggy]

Originally posted by snowsl
Hey have you guys given up on the abit or what? What, do you have a life other then overclocking?

I'm dyin here!

I hear ya dude. Im dieing here, in need of the VDD mod. :(

[Dissolved]

well i just ordered the nf7-s. so i hope i dont hit a brick like all of you. if i can do 185mhz id be happy. but with my kx7-333 i can go to 195 be4 my scsi card and others trying giving me problems..

[snowsl]

It will do 185 easy even with the stock voltages. I haven't modded mine and run 196 usually, 5-2-2-2.

Hey Mr. Icee? Whats going on. Went to abits site and got the impression they wouldn't be around until the 9th. Heard anything on the rev 2's lately? Just given this a bump!

[thesaucier]

Thank you all for a very good place to go for the NF7. I have been waiting to put this board to gether with Raedon 9700 Pro with extra cooling for the card, and 2X Corsair xm3200 memory but Im wating for my water cooling to do so. I have been reading alot at the Abit forun on this board and allmost desided to scrap the board its been so negative. You here have given me new hope and joy that I got this board!! Thank you for sharing your information. Have you or will you give us an almost step by step on the voltage modifactions ?
Great forum!!:banana:

[snowsl]

Welcome to extreme! It's a good board and can be great. Can't wait for the rev 2 abit to hit the streets. With collaboration from these fellows, it should be awesome.

[thesaucier]

Originally posted by MrIcee
I'm on the same track as you in mentioning the 2.0 Nvidia drivers. I have never used the ones ABIT supplied..and I need to ask OPP what he is running.

I tried 1 stick of ram and the problem is FAR worse than 2.(in each Dimm slot I should add)

My avenue of exploration has been to remove the video drivers and remove the nVidia 2.0 drivers and install the ones ABIT supplies. Guess what?? They will not install off the cd...LOL Nor will they install if I browse the folder and manually run the setup.exe. I'm off to download them off Abit's site and see if I have any better luck. For everyones info...I have a Socket7 HSF on the Northbridge...and a Vantec Heatsink with an old ABIT northbridge fan attached, on the southbridge. Heat should not be an issue here...nor are available voltages. I'm hoping it's just a driver issue...but we'll see:)

Wher did you get the chipset cooler or did you rig it up?

Randi:D

[Netto]

Help Plz, I Live in Brazil and it very hard to find different varietys of memorys here, the ones I Can get is
Geil PC3500 - Doesn´t work Above 166 FSB
Crucial PC2100 - Doesn´t Work Either
Kingston PC3200 I can Get
Corsair I Need to order and Wait 20 days,

Kingston will work fine?: Thats my Question
Tks

[thesaucier]

That gel should work. Why do you say its not?

[eclypse]

Whats the status on that vcore/vdimm mod?

I just installed the board last night and i thought that this thing would have all the voltage options but i guess i got it all mixed up with the Epox and the KT400 boards.. Sucks.

My 2100+ Tbred b 2/48 wants,NEEDS 2.05vcore to run stable at 2500Mhz air cooled with TR SLK800/w68CFM fan.

I can select 1.85 vcore but it will only run at 1.8v and the vdimm at 1.7(<--- Cant believe that one!) but my corsair 3200 512 x2 needs 2.9v to run at max timings at over 200+ FSB..

i was shocked when i started playing around in the bios and lowered the mem timings and got the system to boot up into winXP pro at 225FSB.. thought it was stable but then it just went black after about 30 secs of 3dmark.. turned her down at 220 and she made it threw! i was astatic cause before on the KX7333 Raid i could only do 205FSB with one stick.. but always thought that the chipset was holdin me down..

nice board! Its just so quick at everything it does..

Oh i hope the vdimm mod aint too bad and safe cause the one and only time i tried a vdimm mod on the KX7333 i fried a new stick of ram right away! Its sucked though.. just a stick of 256MB 3200 kingmax.. Didnt wana do over 170 max timings.. heh so i put it outa its missery you could say.. use a pot and really rushed it.. my fault.

[DuraN]

That 1.7v reading has to be the VDD, not the vmem. I ordered my NF7-S today, and i think i will do the mods when people start to figure them out.

[eclypse]

Originally posted by DuraN
That 1.7v reading has to be the VDD, not the vmem. I ordered my NF7-S today, and i think i will do the mods when people start to figure them out.

Opps... ment to say 2.7v. I do that alot hehe.. too many numbers.

[eclypse]

Anyone know where i can find info to do the vcore mod to this board? I'm having trouble finding it! Searched many forums and coming up dry.

I read somewhere that Mr.Ice said that its the same as the Abit KX7333 board but i've done the same thing as i've done to teh KX7333 and its not workin right at all.. If i put the vcore at 1.7v or higher the system will not post.. Then when it does post it will only post once then i have to discarge the system just to post again.

i'm using a 22k-Ohm resistor soldered between the 7th and 9th pins and redone it twice cause i thought the 7th pin wasnt on good enough and still the same.

[thesaucier]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by eclypse
[B]Anyone know where i can find info to do the vcore mod to this board? I'm having trouble finding it! Searched many forums and coming up dry.



I thought you would be comming off the 7th pin to a vr and then to ground. then adjust the vcore with the vr slow and easy while in the bios looking at pc health and adjusting to the high point with vcore. Then go back into soft menue and pick the vcore,

[thesaucier]

check this out:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1432

[SKYNET]

pics from VDD mod plz ! :slobber:

[Major]

can someone tell me please, On the NF7-S v1.2 is the processor vcc taken from the 5v or the 12v rail ?

I have been posting everywhere trying to get an answere:confused: