Gigabyte k8NSNXP-939/K8NS Ultra-939 tips, tricks and guide thread

[trans am]

Gigabyte K8NSNXP-939 and K8NS Ultra-939 nforce3
the only difference between the K8NSNXP-939 and K8NS Ultra-939 is the missing dps heatsink on the latter.
both boards are identical and bios compatible and will thus be treated as the same board in this guide


http://xtremesystems.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=20036

overclocking options
http://xtremesystems.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=20351&stc=1Bus Speed: 200-455mhz in 1mhz steps
Bus Multiplier: 1x-5x
CPU Multiplier: 5x-25x
AGP speed: 66-100 in 1mhz steps

overvolting options
Vcore: 0.8-1.70 in 0.025v steps
Vdimm: +0.1v +0.2v* *max vdimm is 2.85v with the latest bios
Vagp: 1.50 to 1.80 in 0.10v steps
http://xtremesystems.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=20351&stc=1Vht: 1.20 to 1.50 in 0.10v steps

periphals and features
IDE: 2 ATA 133 slots
IDE raid: 0,1,0+1,JBOD
SATA: 4 SATA 150 slots (2 SiI3512 and 2 nforce3)
SATA raid: 0,1,0+1,JBOD
sata+ide drives in raid: yes
Firewire: 2 IEEE 1394b ports
LAN: Marvell 8001 gigabit ethernet + ICS 1883 10/100 ethernet
Sound: realtec ALC850 8 channel

links
mainboard homepage: GA-K8NSNXP-939 (http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Motherboard/Products/Products_GA-K8NSNXP-939.htm) and GA-K8NS Ultra-939 (http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Motherboard/Products/Products_GA-K8NS%20Ultra-939.htm)
forum discussion: Gigabyte k8NSNXP-939/K8NS Ultra-939 tips, tricks and guide thread (http://xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=47401)
review #1: Anandtech (http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2128&p=1)
review #2: Hothardware (http://www.hothardware.com/viewarticle.cfm?articleid=574)
review #3: Hardwareluxx (http://www.hardwareluxx.de/cms/artikel.php?action=show&id=6) (german)
vmod #1: vcore (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20190)
vmod #2: vdimm (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20190)
vmod #3: vht (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20190)
vmod #4: vdd (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20190)

pros
tracks vtt
runs great with bh5
runs great with ch5
http://xtremesystems.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=20351&stc=1runs great with mdt pc3200 (micron chips?)
runs great with samsung tccc

cons
http://xtremesystems.org/forums/images/icons/icon4.gif bad vcore, unstable and fluctuates between 1.70v and 1.95v under load
coldboot problems with high HTT speed
crashes when upping the HTT speed too much at a time
always detects ide drives at bootup, cant disable this setting latest bios fixes this problem
9x multi sligthly unstable seems to work fine for some people
8x multi very unstable seems to work fine for some people
NO Memory Interleaving?

TIPS
TIP: you have to disable cool n quiet when ocing
TIP: easy vdimm mod with 3.3v rail = Vdimm Via single wire, VTT tracks automatically
TIP: easy vcore mod with pin10 to ground via 50K VR
BUT the max vcore after a mod is 1.95v and coldboot with 1.85v+ vcore might kill the board!
TIP: If having problems with BH5 ram, try the following:
1) Do 3.3v = Vdimm mod
2) Set HTT multiplier to 4x and HTT to 230Mhz - Lower HTT does not boot for some users.
3) Boot and overclock via clockgen, and tweak via A64tweaker.
TIP: for best performance the giga board needs Vcore and Vdimm/3.3V bypass mod (or the OCZ booster)
TIP: disable fast writes
TIP: use HTT multiplier 4x up to ~260 and 3x up to ~290
http://xtremesystems.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=20351&stc=1TIP: disable the bios option called "top performence" , it will limit your ocs and will cause instability with tccd at ddr400 2.0-2-2
http://xtremesystems.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=20351&stc=1TIP: if you have problems with some multipliers try the F5 bios (http://www.geocities.com/benny_nejkt/BIOS_F5.zip)



check out the ultimate 939 mobo guide here (http://xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=46730) for informations, bugfixes and tips for all 939 mainboards







there are many different versions of gigabytes nf3 boards and the naming and feature set description are extremely confusing.
here is a list i made to give you a better overview over those confusing product names:



754 k8ns 2SATA+r 2PATA lan 1x2mb bios firewall 2fan headers aux audio game/midi
754 k8ns pro 4SATA+r 4PATA+r Gblan 2IEEE 2x4mb bios 3fan headers aux audio game/midi
754 k8nsnxp 4SATA+r 4PATA+r Gblan+lan 2IEEE 2x4mb bios firewall 3fan headers multis in bios aux audio game/midi dps

939 K8NS-939 2SATA+r 2PATA Gblan 1x2mb bios 3fan headers multis in bios
939 K8NSNXP-939 4SATA+r 2PATA Gblan+lan 2IEEE 2x4mb bios firewall 3fan headers multis in bios aux audio game/midi (gigabyte specs dont mention dps?)
939 K8NS u-939 4SATA+r 2PATA Gblan+lan 2IEEE 2x4mb bios firewall 3fan headers multis in bios aux audio game/midi


EDIT:
-saaya

[HKPolice]

looks promising.... if gigabyte is smart they would of fixed the issues with the K8NSXP-939.....

[trans am]

looks promising.... if gigabyte is smart they would of fixed the issues with the K8NSXP-939.....


http://www.giga-byte.com/Motherboard/Support/BIOS/BIOS_GA-K8NS%20Ultra-939.htm

bios dates look fairly new. I wonder if I should give it a shot. the cpu and mobo come out to under $300

[HKPolice]

Ya sounds good :)

[s e t h]

test it please :D
someone has to be first.

[charlie]

this COULD be a great board :D

[misteroadster]

this board is the same than K8NSNXP-939 without the mosfets HSF.

[trans am]

this board is the same than K8NSNXP-939 without the mosfets HSF.

You are absolutely right.

Ok, I called Gigabyte US, and talked to a rep. They couldn't tell me if 90nm will work out of the box. (this was annoying) But considering that the bios for the XP that includes the D stepping(90nm) update is from September and the shipping bios on this new board is from October, I'm going to assume it will support 90nm out of the box. :)

Also they said the main difference is the lack of the mosfet fan. and it lacks dual power system "DPS" technology. The bios allows only 1.7vcore max, and .1 or .2v over the stock vdimm. WTF? HTT goes from 200-300mhz. I guess I am so used to the DFI UT LP, that anything less seems lackluster. Not impressed iMO, but at only $116 at newegg, It doesn't seem like a bad deal. comes with 1394b and 4 sata/raid. 2 from the nf3-250, and 2 from the silicon image controller. 3 fan headers and active cooler on the chipset.

This looks like a great board for 939ers on a budget.:)

btw, what are the negative issues on the XP version?

[Perc]

hmmmmm? yeah no shizit i think i may go first!! only thing though? whats the voltage options on this mb? i have a FX-53 comming this week and im in need of a mb for it. i wanted to wait on the DFI but only god knows when that will get released? I was going to buy the MSI K8N Neo2 but no one has it in stock and for 140 bucks plus shipping im not even going to bother... i think i may order this mb this week ill let you guys know how it runs...

this mb is the same as its bigger brother then what were the problems that needed to be fixed? any reviews on the other mb that would give me a basic idea of what this thing has to offer...

peace perc,

[mad mikee]

NEO2 @ gameve,140$ and free ship (call & make sure) (http://www.gameve.com/gve/Store/ProductDetails.aspx?sku=MB-MSI-068)

[Perc]

NEO2 @ gameve,140$ and free ship (call & make sure) (http://www.gameve.com/gve/Store/ProductDetails.aspx?sku=MB-MSI-068)

yeah i seen that. what you dont think this gigabyte would be a good mb? im not realy a big fan of MSI and what ever mb i do get for this FX-53 is just a temp solution til the DFI board comes out anyways... i mean for 116 bucks this gigabyte cant be that bad can it? i wish i knew more about 939 mbs and all. i think i need to go read a few reviews and trudge thru some threads and see what i can learn about the 939 platform cause i need a mb now! i cant wait too much longer and i do plan on ocing with this system so i need something with all the voltage options one would need... anyways i still got the MSI on my list but this gigabyte is looking pretty damm good right now :)

peace perc,

[trans am]

hmmmmm? yeah no shizit i think i may go first!! only thing though? whats the voltage options on this mb? i have a FX-53 comming this week and im in need of a mb for it. i wanted to wait on the DFI but only god knows when that will get released? I was going to buy the MSI K8N Neo2 but no one has it in stock and for 140 bucks plus shipping im not even going to bother... i think i may order this mb this week ill let you guys know how it runs...

this mb is the same as its bigger brother then what were the problems that needed to be fixed? any reviews on the other mb that would give me a basic idea of what this thing has to offer...

peace perc,

I would just use google and look for reviews on the xp version for now. Also read the 939 shootout at anandtech. I think the XP is in that review. Go to the Gigabyte site and download the manual. It shows voltage options in there. there is chipset voltage options. vcore goes to 1.7v fsb goes form 200-300. since the ocz ddr booster worked with XP, I'm guessing it will work fine oon this board so you can increase your vdmm higher than the stock values.

Here are the oc options according to the manual: (I can't find the ram options on this thing! WTF? is it in a hidden menu somewhere?

MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
CPU OverClock in MHz
200MHz ~ 300MHz Increase CPU frequency as user selected.
AGP OverClock in MHz
66MHz ~ 100MHz Increase AGP frequency as user selected.
CPU Voltage Control
Supports adjustable CPU Vcore from 0.800V to 1.700V by 0.025V step.
(Default value: Normal)
Normal CPU Vcore
Display your CPU Vcore voltage.
AGP Voltage Control
Normal Set AGP voltage as AGP required. (Default value)
+0.1v Increase AGP voltage +0.1V.
+0.2v Increase AGP voltage +0.2V.
+0.3v Increase AGP voltage +0.3V.
HT-Link Voltage Control
Normal Supply HT-Link voltage as HT-Link required. (Default value)
+0.1v Increase HT-Link voltage +0.1V.
+0.2v Increase HT-Link voltage +0.2V.
+0.3v Increase HT-Link voltage +0.3V.
DDR voltage control
Normal Supply DDR voltage as DDR required. (Default value)
+0.1v Increase DDR voltage +0.1V.
+0.2v Increase DDR voltage +0.2V.

[HKPolice]

VCore is easy to mod, just like any other A64 board, pin10 to ground with 50K VR.
Ram is easy to mod too with 3.3v = vdimm, 1 wire mod.

[trans am]

VCore is easy to mod, just like any other A64 board, pin10 to ground with 50K VR.
Ram is easy to mod too with 3.3v = vdimm, 1 wire mod.

But where are the ram timings on this board?

[s e t h]

ctrl&F1 in the main bios screen should bring mem timings up probably

[Kunaak]

I opend up the F2 bios, and tried to see if there was anything to unlock or mod for the 939 K8NS Pro bios.
theres nothing to unlock, but the HT Speed should be available all the way to 455, not 300. the Bios shows it's there available to use.

[Perc]

so is this a good choice for a mb or not? im seriously considering this mb. i realy dont want to buy a MSI i always have :banana::banana::banana::banana: luck with them and i dont expect my luck to change this time around... these one wire mods you speak of is there any pictures i can look at? im not great at sodering but i am sure i can pull off simple mods...

thx perc,

[s e t h]

akiba-pc > forums > modding >k8n thread
it's a brilliant mod especially if your psu has an adjustable 3.3v rail
i did it with a crockodile clip and a wire straight to the unused 3.3v rail on my forton psu - for a non permanent solution

[Nitrox]

I'd still get the MSI, this one actually seems to be good somehow :p:

[Lithan]

I bought this board about an hour ago. Should be here by the weekend, monday at the latest. I'll be using it with a 3000+. I'll let you know how it does. (Bought it because newegg just moved k8n neo2 stock back almost two weeks, this board's cheaper and fits xp-120 without any bending.)

[trans am]

I bought this board about an hour ago. Should be here by the weekend, monday at the latest. I'll be using it with a 3000+. I'll let you know how it does. (Bought it because newegg just moved k8n neo2 stock back almost two weeks, this board's cheaper and fits xp-120 without any bending.)

Sold to the Cheapest man on Xtremeforums lol. Let us know how it goes Lithan. Thanks for being the official tester on this one. :)

[Lithan]

Cheapest? Hey. I'm not bragging about my ti4200's 3dmarks at least. ;)

[Perc]

LOL im buying one too... i dont care for MSI and this mb only has to last me long ehough til DFI figures out when they are going to release thier 939 counter part. now this mb shouldnt have any issues with the OCZ booster seings how it works well with its older brother right? Lithan keep me posted on how yours does im ordering this friday-sat for my FX-53 chip....

peace perc,

[snowwie]

You are absolutely right.

Ok, I called Gigabyte US, and talked to a rep. They couldn't tell me if 90nm will work out of the box. (this was annoying) But considering that the bios for the XP that includes the D stepping(90nm) update is from September and the shipping bios on this new board is from October, I'm going to assume it will support 90nm out of the box. :)

Also they said the main difference is the lack of the mosfet fan. and it lacks dual power system "DPS" technology. The bios allows only 1.7vcore max, and .1 or .2v over the stock vdimm. WTF? HTT goes from 200-300mhz. I guess I am so used to the DFI UT LP, that anything less seems lackluster. Not impressed iMO, but at only $116 at newegg, It doesn't seem like a bad deal. comes with 1394b and 4 sata/raid. 2 from the nf3-250, and 2 from the silicon image controller. 3 fan headers and active cooler on the chipset.

This looks like a great board for 939ers on a budget.:)

btw, what are the negative issues on the XP version?

well, looking at pictures, it seems the same board, just that it has no hsf for the cpu power supply, and it also seems as though some of the capacitors and components are different makes, maybe cheaper. still has the friggin outrageous 6 phase power though....

...makes you wonder....which makes a better cpu power supply?....6 cheap phases, or 3 very high quality ones....?

[Barr3l Rid3r]

well, looking at pictures, it seems the same board, just that it has no hsf for the cpu power supply, and it also seems as though some of the capacitors and components are different makes, maybe cheaper. still has the friggin outrageous 6 phase power though....

...makes you wonder....which makes a better cpu power supply?....6 cheap phases, or 3 very high quality ones....?


Gigabyte usually has better quality components then MSI boards...

[jinu117]

Interesting, got the mobo today. With MSI K8N Neo2 as well. Will get CPU (90nm winchester) in mail tomorrow and I can start finding out what interesting things it might hold. It does sound like v-mod is relatively simple though. (Same as bigger gigabyte?) Also have DDR booster handy and few other spare PSU ATM to find out what is really going on with cold booting with phase cooling unit issue too. Will start with stock air cooling first :)

[Lithan]

Mine arrives the 5th, same day as my 3000+ winchester. Hopefully results on the 6th.

[trans am]

OK, just ordered mine from mwave. I got the 3200+ retail box and the kingston TCCD ultral low latency rebate deal. everything was $600 shipped, I got 2nd day air so it will be here this weekend

BA20672 1 ($45.00 Mail-In Manufacturer Rebate Available from 10/11/04 to 11/8/04) (*Limit 2pcs/customer)
KINGSTON KHX3200ULK2/1G ULTRA LOW LATENCY 2X512MB (MATCH PAIR) PC3200 400MHZ CL2 DDR DIMM W/HEAT SPREADER $267.00



BA20769 -BA20678 - - 1 (*Free T-shirt w/Purchase While Supplies Last!)
AMD ATHLON 64 3200+ RETAIL BOXED 64-BIT SOCKET 939 W/COOLING FAN (3 YEARS WARRANTY) (**FREE AMD T-SHIRT**; NO EXTRA COOLING FAN; NO THERMAL COMPOUND) $209.00



BA20728 - - 1 GIGABYTE GA-K8NS ULTRA939 nVIDIA nFORCE3 250 CHIPSET SERIAL ATA150 ATX FORM FACTOR 1xAGP(8X)/5xPCI/4xDDR W/SATA RAID,DUAL LAN(Gb),1394B,USB 2.0 & AUDIO (CPU TYPE:AMD ATHLON 64 - SOCKET 939) (NO CPU; NO MEMORY) $114.50



Sub-Total $590.50
Shipping & Handling or Will Call Fee $20.37
Order Total $610.87

[Perc]

Interesting, got the mobo today. With MSI K8N Neo2 as well. Will get CPU (90nm winchester) in mail tomorrow and I can start finding out what interesting things it might hold. It does sound like v-mod is relatively simple though. (Same as bigger gigabyte?) Also have DDR booster handy and few other spare PSU ATM to find out what is really going on with cold booting with phase cooling unit issue too. Will start with stock air cooling first :)


where di you mange to buy a msi board at? was it the 939 one ive been looking and everyone is out of stock?? also let me know how that gigabyte runs the jurys still out on what i will choose for this FX chip...

thx perc,

[jinu117]

Seems nice enough. Did quick run with 3700EB and got up to 260FSB no problemo (So did MSI K8N Neo2). However, thing won't run in phasechange just like MSI K8N neo2. I just didn't have time to test everything I could (more like got fed up with winchester + phasecooling combo). Backing down to 754 till I decide to jump for the big gun (FX). Time to browse FS section more throughly.
For time being, it seems to me certain winchesters will work fine in phase cooling while some just won't. Makes me wonder if AMD decided to kill phasecooler off or just some unseen bug between bios and CPU. (CMOS reset will get you up but unless you do CMOS reset, you just can't boot... which makes any oc'ing impossible).

[trans am]

Seems nice enough. Did quick run with 3700EB and got up to 260FSB no problemo (So did MSI K8N Neo2). However, thing won't run in phasechange just like MSI K8N neo2. I just didn't have time to test everything I could (more like got fed up with winchester + phasecooling combo). Backing down to 754 till I decide to jump for the big gun (FX). Time to browse FS section more throughly.
For time being, it seems to me certain winchesters will work fine in phase cooling while some just won't. Makes me wonder if AMD decided to kill phasecooler off or just some unseen bug between bios and CPU. (CMOS reset will get you up but unless you do CMOS reset, you just can't boot... which makes any oc'ing impossible).

I heard OPP and others get past issues with the chill control not working with the neo2. Look around here for the thread, I'll post a link if I can still find it.
here it is:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=44836

(Edit) nevermind, I see you already saw it and the problem still persists. That sucks!

[jinu117]

I heard OPP and others get past issues with the chill control not working with the neo2. Look around here for the thread, I'll post a link if I can still find it.
here it is:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=44836


Chill control... nah... prommy works fine. I had it on separate PSU for test purposes as well.

[trans am]

Chill control... nah... prommy works fine. I had it on separate PSU for test purposes as well.

Well, what about the Gigabyte board? How were the settings in the bios? ram settings are there right? Mine will be here Friday, so Lithan and me will be busy this weekend. Any pointers to start things off? or is it pretty basic functions?
and let us know how that new cpu does.

[jinu117]

I just didn't bother on air... :P
Maybe I should while writing some stuff off. Air testing was priliminary to just confirm my 3700EB works fine which it did. Actual usuage might vary but it seems to be as good as MSI is (short of voltage options). Oh... almost forgot, won't boot with 2x512 of 3700EB for some reason. Which MSI handled fine... For someone with TCCD it might be different story as it took 2 TCCC fine.

[trans am]

I just didn't bother on air... :P
Maybe I should while writing some stuff off. Air testing was priliminary to just confirm my 3700EB works fine which it did. Actual usuage might vary but it seems to be as good as MSI is (short of voltage options). Oh... almost forgot, won't boot with 2x512 of 3700EB for some reason. Which MSI handled fine... For someone with TCCD it might be different story as it took 2 TCCC fine.

only 1 eb would work? that's odd. is the fsb only up to 300? or is it higher? I am running raid 0 in my DFI currently. Do you think I would be able to transfer my stripe directly from a nf3-250gb to a nf3-250 ultra? They both have the same integrated nvidia raid controller. Gigabyte was smart and decided to disable sata ports 1 and 2 which are known problems on the nf3250 chipset. They added a SIL3512 controller for the disabled ones so it compensates for the nonworking 1 and2 ports. Very smart!

[Lithan]

Board and cpu arrived a day early. Just messed with it for about an hour so far.
Works out of box with shipping bios just fine.
CPU is a 0436.
Cpu is not anywhere near as good as others seem to be getting. Doesn't even do 2300mhz @ 1.4v. Won't even do 2550 @ 1.7v. I primed @ 2500 for about two minutes @ 1.7v. Probably stable 2400-2475 @ 1.7v. In other words it would take subambient temps to even have a hope of getting 2800mhz out of this thing. My old 3200+ newcastle clocked a solid 150mhz better than this thing at the same volts.

[trans am]

Board and cpu arrived a day early. Just messed with it for about an hour so far.
Works out of box with shipping bios just fine.
CPU is a 0436.
Cpu is not anywhere near as good as others seem to be getting. Doesn't even do 2300mhz @ 1.4v. Won't even do 2550 @ 1.7v. I primed @ 2500 for about two minutes @ 1.7v. Probably stable 2400-2475 @ 1.7v. In other words it would take subambient temps to even have a hope of getting 2800mhz out of this thing. My old 3200+ newcastle clocked a solid 150mhz better than this thing at the same volts.

Lithan where did you get that chip? it's a 3000+? retail or oem? did you set the htt link to 3x?

[Lithan]

Mwave, yes, retail, yes.

[|-jokker-|]

Does anyone has this board and incompatibility problems with bh5 memorys ?
I´m having a lot of problems , even with the vio mod , i cant get over 210 over dual channel , single i can reach over 260 :S
Does anyone have this problem or is just my nut board :S

cumps

[misteroadster]

jokker , set your timings to 2225222, set your FSB to 230 in bios and boot xp.

[|-jokker-|]

Thanks i´m going to doo that , but now i dont have the vio mod :S i took it off because i thougt it was the mod that was causing the instability :S

[trans am]

Mwave, yes, retail, yes.

Ok, did you flash to the latest bios?
Seperate Memory clock from DRAM timing setup group http://www.giga-byte.com/Motherboard/Support/BIOS/BIOS_GA-K8NS%20Ultra-939.htm


has anyone tried modding a gigabyte bios to increase the vdimm? is I've only done this on video cards. The vdimm looks a little weak. Is there a way to do this without soldering? Will an ocz ddr booster work? or does the bios have to allow up to 3xVdimm for it to work. I never tried this ddr booster. Just modded dfi bios and increasing 3.3v rail on ocz psu.

[Perc]

guys when you get this mb please post your results im torn between this mb and the MSI for a couple bucks more... since i plan on buying the DFI when it is released i would realy like to pay the least amount possible for what ever i decide to get and buying the msi for 140 plus shipping seems like alot of cash for a temp mb. know what im saying? anyways i await the results. good luck guys :toast:

peace perc.,

[Lithan]

Been priming at 2450 for a few hours now.

I didn't flash the bios. I've never noticed bios revisions having enough impact on overclock that a flash would make me happy with this chip. I'll update bios sometime this weekend and update if there is any change however.

The gigabyte 754 boards had really easy vdimm mods, but I haven't bothered vmodding this one yet.

[misteroadster]

wich type of ram sticks do you use ?

[Lithan]

2x512 bh5 at the moment. I've been keeping the at 210 or less because like I said, no vdimm mod.

[misteroadster]

2x512 bh5 at the moment. I've been keeping the at 210 or less because like I said, no vdimm mod.
how do you test the stability ? 1:1 or 5:4, 5:3 ?

[trans am]

Been priming at 2450 for a few hours now.

I didn't flash the bios. I've never noticed bios revisions having enough impact on overclock that a flash would make me happy with this chip. I'll update bios sometime this weekend and update if there is any change however.

The gigabyte 754 boards had really easy vdimm mods, but I haven't bothered vmodding this one yet.
vmodding as in soldering? or as in bios modding? could you just get an 0cz ddr booster?

[misteroadster]

Here is a compare K8NS Ultra/K8NSNXP 939
http://pageperso.aol.fr/misteroadster/K8NSCompare.JPG
Eeproms missed on K8NS :D

[Lithan]

I dont know if booster works in this board. And VMods as in soldering.

[trans am]

Eeproms missed on K8NS :D[/QUOTE]

This can't be. Something ,must be wrong in that photo. how can the board be missing the eeproms? Lithan, what does your board look like?

[misteroadster]

yes , they are pictures from gigabyte.com.tw , it's not a final board but i think it's the same with Eeprom :)

[Lithan]

Yes. My board has dual eeproms. Identical (in appearance) to the $200 version minus the cooling setup as far as I can tell.

[trans am]

so, any ideas how to vmod this thing? i'm guessing its the same as the xp version

[jinu117]

Here is the pics for you guy's comparison... Going back to RMA for board used whole 20 mins...

[trans am]

Any luck with the Mach 2 and the msi?

[jinu117]

Any luck with the Mach 2 and the msi?

Nope sir... not at all. I doubt I will have problem with something like Newcastle though. Might give that one a swing on the way to RMA if they won't take restocking fee on one of the RMA board. (Am pretty sure newcastle won't have any issue)

[trans am]

I just installed this board. Does anyone know how to change the memory timings on it? Is it in a hidden menu?

[`schr0et]

Ctrl F1

[Zebo]

Sold to the Cheapest man on Xtremeforums lol. Let us know how it goes Lithan. Thanks for being the official tester on this one. :)
You hav'nt meet me yet huh lithan.:P

So whats the max FSB/HTT you guys get with this board.... Set CPU multi to around 6 and mem to 100 and slam the bus.. TIA :)

Lithan, I see everwhere the $200 version has serious issues reaching high FSB which is why I ask. Maybe this one does to and it's not your chip crapping out but the chipset or board/???!@ what you think? Either way try maxing bus independant of CPU and mem.

Edit I want a 939 board so bad but MSI is not my thing (way too many MSI bad exp) and Via, well performance is'nt there and 4in1's is so 90's.:P he This is my next board if someone can confirm ~285+ FSB/HTT...Thanks again.

Edit 2: meh I just ordered it and a retail 3000 for $259 total from mwave.com with freefarcry and a free bunch of other stuff will find out meself..:D

My thread is here at AT
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=40&threadid=1435325&highlight_key=y

[trans am]

The nvidia sata ports are so close to the agp card, the bolts on my gpu block obstruct them. I had to use the sil raid. ended up having to reinstall windows. I had the stripe transfered 2 the nvidia dfi to this board and it worked for a little bit, then I got a corrupt array. I think because the sata cable was angled pushing against the bolts. That wasn't a good idea. sil raid seems just as fast. I'm happy. I was pressing ctrl f1 in the bios, but no secret mem screen. I have the latest bios on dual bios. this cpu wants to fly but I need a divider. and my timings suck atm.

[Squid_Spit]

press ctrl f1 and it should be in advanced chipset settings or whatever it is.

[trans am]

press ctrl f1 and it should be in advanced chipset settings or whatever it is.

Thanks, I got it finally, but this setup is a downgrade from my dfi/mobile rig. I can't do anything past 245 no matter what divider I'm using.
htt link is 3x
vcore 2.65-1.7.
I probably should've sprung for the 3500+ but I was dreaming.
i was basing this purchase on the guys that were doing 2.8+ on air with this cpu. but it happens.
and this ram has gotta go back. 1 stick does fine and the other one is holding it back to almost nothing. some great ram matching Kingston.(rolleyes)

bios option for vdimm is +.2? +.2 of what? does anyone know what the default ram votage is for this board? 2.6v?
Well my quest for good alternatives to BH5 continues. mushkin lev2 ver 2=crap
kingston TCCD ultra low latency=crap
what now?

I think I jumped on the 90nm wagon too fast. :(

[Zebo]

whoz doing 2.8 with this CPU? and it's not your chip if you can't get past 245 FSB "no matter which multi used" ...........it's POS giga which can't do high FSB. I read this same crap over and over on the k8nsxp in lots of forums. I might cancel my order and get MSI (:::shutter:::) because 245 x 9 is only 2250 mhz:( is this single channel or dual where it fails?


Edit
Lithan sup with yours bro?

[trans am]

whoz doing 2.8 with this CPU? and it's not your chip if you can't get past 245 FSB "no matter which multi used" ...........it's POS giga which can't do high FSB. I read this same crap over and over on the k8nsxp in lots of forums. I might cancel my order and get MSI (:::shutter:::) because 245 x 9 is only 2250 mhz:( is this single channel or dual where it fails?


Edit
Lithan sup with yours bro?

I tested the ram as soon as I got it in the dfi board(single channel) it was working pretty nicely. 270 2.5-3-3-6 1t. but the dual channel board doesn't like a thing past 245?

[Perc]

i just couldnt take the chance on this gigabyte mb so i went ahead and spent the extra 20 somthing odd dollars and got the MSI instead. from what ive been reading the MSI boards are decent mb's once you get them set up with the right bios and all that fun stuff :) . i hope im not wrong on this one but only time will tell. anyways good luck guys hope all works out well for yous :toast: ....

peace perc,

[Lithan]

I dropped my multi and went past 245HTT without any problems. I'm 99% sure 2450 is my chip limit without a vcore mod.

[maneshu]

so you're saying that the board doesn't pass the 245htt??

[Lithan]

No.

[maneshu]

ok it will pass, but is it stable?

[trans am]

ok it will pass, but is it stable?

guys i tried this. ran multi at x8
htt at 285
htt link 3x
133 divider
2.5-3-3-6 1t

with this configuration i would be running ram at 190mhz and cpu at 2280. However, even at these safe speeds, the system didn't even post! this is way below stable speeds, so why wouldn't it post? I have to say this board sucks!
Lithan try the same as I did and I bet you get similar results.

I'm putting the dfi back on tonight, fvck this!

[maneshu]

i can't believe it i just bought one of these boards, and i'm waiting for a 3500 winchester, it gotta pass 245 stable...

[Lithan]

I've ran over 290 cpu5x Ht3x 6-2-2-2 Memory 133 just fine Prime stable. I didn't post there though I used clockgen.

[maneshu]

so whats the problem in trans am system? is it the board?
i know some people who has som problems with this board also, one can't pass 250htt stable with a 3000...

[Lithan]

Trans, I wasn't sure that pci was locking with agp set to 66. So I set mine to 67. You might try that.

HTT 290
2.5-3-3-7 DCDDR Memory @133
CPU@x8
HT@x3
AGP@67



Memtesting now. Posted up at these settings just fine.

[Zebo]

Trans, I wasn't sure that pci was locking with agp set to 66. So I set mine to 67. You might try that.

HTT 290
2.5-3-3-7 DCDDR Memory @133
CPU@x8
HT@x3
AGP@67



Memtesting now. Posted up at these settings just fine.

clock gen is undisirable anyway. How bout straigt up max boot in DC? Maybe only TA's board hosed.

[trans am]

Trans, I wasn't sure that pci was locking with agp set to 66. So I set mine to 67. You might try that.

HTT 290
2.5-3-3-7 DCDDR Memory @133
CPU@x8
HT@x3
AGP@67



Memtesting now. Posted up at these settings just fine.

I noticed in clockgen yesterday that it wasnt locking at 66 so like you I set to 67 and that locked it. But these results were after the fact. I hear on the xp version of this board that if you raise htt in high increments like 200-260 it will cold boot. I am back on the dfi board now. I will just wait for the nf4 boards I guess. This was such a impulse buy. I usuall never buy a board unless I read I review, but this came out after the xp so I figured the problems would be worked out, but I guess that isn't the case. I have the latest bios installed. note if you go to the gbyte site, you will see 3 bios revisions. make sure you flash both(dual bios) to ensure final changes. I hope for the sake of those with this board and those that have them on the wa that Gbyte will fix these issues soon with a bios rev. soon. good luck :)

[Lithan]

Memtested for 6.5 hrs just fine. Bumped it up to 310 now. I'll try 325 before bed.

[trans am]

Memtested for 6.5 hrs just fine. Bumped it up to 310 now. I'll try 325 before bed.

WOW! Nice going lithan! somethings wrong with my board or maybe I was setting htt at too much of a gap? set your htt at 200 and hit F10. go back into bios and raise to 300htt or whatever and see if it will post without being forced back to the stock settings.

[maneshu]

lithan and with the multi at 9x and the mems at 200 how much htt can you get?

[Lithan]

Maneshu Cpu and memory will limit me there so it won't show anything whatsoever about the motherboard.


At mem 100, I cap at 300HTT. I was doing 310HTT @ mem 133 but I didn't try any higher (this board loses all bios settings everytime it can't post and with all the damn raid ports I must turn off it takes five minutes just to get back to my operational settings).


I made a jump from 200-280, didn't try 300 ever.

[misteroadster]

http://pageperso.aol.fr/misteroadster/28s2841.JPG
I ve tested any K8NS-Ultra it's 100% the same than my K8NSNXP-939.
Works perfectly well with my BH5 with mini 230Mhz and +3,3v in.

[trans am]

http://pageperso.aol.fr/misteroadster/28s2841.JPG
I ve tested any K8NS-Ultra it's 100% the same than my K8NSNXP-939.
Works perfectly well with my BH5 with mini 230Mhz and +3,3v in.

Wow! this looks much better!

[maneshu]

hey trans am you need to test your board again...

[trans am]

hey trans am you need to test your board again...

I tested it all weekend and I already disasembled it. Everything is going back. I think that board mustve been bad or cpu? My results were nothing like lithans or misteroadster's. Good too see that this board has potential. I take back all the bad things I said about it.

[charlie]

....another REALLY nice 939 mobo.....

[|-jokker-|]

Hello guys i have a problem with mine , if i put my bh5 in the 3 4 slot i´t won´t boot in windows .
Anyone has the same problem ?

Thkx guys

[misteroadster]

do the vio=vddr mod , set HTT to 4X, FSB 230 in bios and you'll roxx.

[trans am]

....another REALLY nice 939 mobo.....

I can't tell if you're being serious or sarcastic.

[|-jokker-|]

do the vio=vddr mod , set HTT to 4X, FSB 230 in bios and you'll roxx.

Thkx for the answer but that don´t work , i alredy tried that , with the vio , and my bh5 i can´t pass 210 dual channel configuration.
In single channel i can bench at 261 2.2.2.5 .
I don´t why this happens strange things , my board is possesed :D

[Lithan]

I just wanted to mention that this board is a Perfect match with the xp-120. The heatsink hangs over the dimm slots, but just high enough that you can get ram in and out if you are careful, and this means that a 120mm fan is blowing over your first two dimms (which make Dual channel in this board). Real nice.

[misteroadster]

Thkx for the answer but that don´t work , i alredy tried that , with the vio , and my bh5 i can´t pass 210 dual channel configuration.
In single channel i can bench at 261 2.2.2.5 .
I don´t why this happens strange things , my board is possesed :D
Effectively the range 205/227Mhz is absolutely unstable with BH5, you ve to jump it !!.
I think you've got to retry , hear this :

First solution if you can boot xp@200 :
-use purple dimms
-Vio=vddr
-201FSB in bios.
-Set multi required
-HTT4X
-timings :cas 2/7/12/2/2/5/2/2/2/1X1552
-Set the vcore you want.

under XP Set FSB to 230 with clockgen

Second solution if you can't boot xp@200

-Put your sticks in purple dimms
-do the vio=vddr mod
-set HTT to 4X
-set your timings : cas 2/7/12/2/2/5/2/2/2/1X1552
-set your FSB to 201

F10
-set FSB to 230
Boot windows and use Clockgen to hit the hell :) .

[Lithan]

Memtesting 9X245HTT ddr@200% 2x512 bh5 HT@3X VIO=VDDR
2.0-11-13-2-2-9-2-2-2-2x2596 2t enabled

[trans am]

Memtesting 9X245HTT ddr@200% 2x512 bh5 HT@3X VIO=VDDR
2.0-11-13-2-2-9-2-2-2-2x2596 2t enabled

what is vio=vddr?

[Lithan]

mod to run 3.3v line into vdimm.

[trans am]

mod to run 3.3v line into vdimm.

do you need to do the mod before using a ocz ddr booster? or can you just use the ddr booster and turn it up? I was looking into getting one if I end up going with the ocz el 4200 platinum.

[misteroadster]

http://112233445566.free.fr/DCC/wb%20mosfet1.jpg
http://112233445566.free.fr/DCC/wb%20mosfet2.jpg

for those who wants to give more volts to cpu.

[trans am]

http://112233445566.free.fr/DCC/wb%20mosfet1.jpg
http://112233445566.free.fr/DCC/wb%20mosfet2.jpg

for those who wants to give more volts to cpu.

WTF is that thing?
cmon, how does it work?

[Lithan]

No you dont need the mod. I did the mod because Im not using a ddr booster.

[misteroadster]

WTF is that thing?
cmon, how does it work?
Mosfets waterblocks for K8NS...939 by a french guy :D

[misteroadster]

I'm doing some tests on my K8NSNXP 939.
I can boot with 280 2/2/2/2 1:1 in bios.

[maneshu]

misteroadster do you have some tccd mems to test?

[charlie]

so what's the bottom line? Is this better than Neo2??????????

C

[trans am]

I'm doing some tests on my K8NSNXP 939.
I can boot with 280 2/2/2/2 1:1 in bios.


Man that's sick! Watercooling mosfets! Wow I had some issues with french people but this deff makes up for it. Have you made any custom watercooling solutions for memory?

[misteroadster]

http://pageperso.aol.fr/misteroadster/30K2240.JPG
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=8235360

[trans am]

Ruling!

[misteroadster]

Man that's sick! Watercooling mosfets! Wow I had some issues with french people but this deff makes up for it. Have you made any custom watercooling solutions for memory?
I can't cold boot at 280 , but reboot is not a problem.
To boot with high FSB, set it to 201 reboot, and set the FSB required after in bios and reboot.
i've done 201---->280 like a charm. :rolleyes:

[trans am]

I can't cold boot at 280 , but reboot is not a problem.
To boot with high FSB set it to 201 and the FSB required after.
i've done 201---->280 like a charm. :rolleyes:

I see so set at 201 in bios and then use clockgen or something to do it in windows. So you were never able to boot with high htt from bios?

[misteroadster]

I've edited ;)
apparently it's the same thing , when the mobo is at 200 AGP/PCI is locked , but when you set it to 201 before , it works good.

[misteroadster]

misteroadster do you have some tccd mems to test?
no, i don't, sorry.

[MUCHO]

I just wanted to mention that this board is a Perfect match with the xp-120. The heatsink hangs over the dimm slots, but just high enough that you can get ram in and out if you are careful, and this means that a 120mm fan is blowing over your first two dimms (which make Dual channel in this board). Real nice.

Does the XP120 also cool the mofsets?

[Geforce4ti4200]

I read it all and I am getting the XP verson(worth almost $200) for $110 used. I will let you guys know how it goes. so if you shut the computer down, it wont boot again at high fsb, youd need to clear cmos and start at low fsb then reboot and then boot at high fsb? what if my comp crashes when its 280fsb? is there a way to make it default back to 200fsb, maybe hold Del or Insert while posting? Is the max htt300 or is there a way to get higher? I need 333ht to hit 3GHz on my newcastle on air since it hates low temps, wont post below 0c :( Charlie did 3GHz, I may or may not do it but ill never know if I cant get over 300ht

[misteroadster]

Geforce4 :
I think the best is :
Boot at 201 Desynch 166 LDT 3X , and push to 300 and more with clockgen.
Personally i never used clearcmos , when i m at 280 in bios , and shutdown , after power on , the pc clear the FSB after some seconds and reboot with 200 FSB.

[trans am]

I read it all and I am getting the XP verson(worth almost $200) for $110 used. I will let you guys know how it goes. so if you shut the computer down, it wont boot again at high fsb, youd need to clear cmos and start at low fsb then reboot and then boot at high fsb? what if my comp crashes when its 280fsb? is there a way to make it default back to 200fsb, maybe hold Del or Insert while posting? Is the max htt300 or is there a way to get higher? I need 333ht to hit 3GHz on my newcastle on air since it hates low temps, wont post below 0c :( Charlie did 3GHz, I may or may not do it but ill never know if I cant get over 300ht

I would just buy the ultra version for $115 new.

[Lithan]

There might be a little indirect airflow over the mosfets, but no I wouldn't say it cools them. If you want active cooling on them you will have to plan to add some just for them.

[Geforce4ti4200]

I would just buy the ultra version for $115 new.


mine is the $195 verson with the dual bios, better audio, extra cooling and all for $110 :D so if you set the fsb too high and cold boot, itll just default back to 200fsb?

[misteroadster]

yes , the other settings are recorded most of time.

[misteroadster]

Some K8NSNXP-939 (same than yours) results :
http://pageperso.aol.fr/misteroadster/31s2450.JPG

30K with X800XT PE Stock and 2335Mhz :)
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=8237254

[Lithan]

Umm... My board doesn't have dual bios? Then this second bios chip is just there to look pretty?

[trans am]

Better audio? looks like the same audio to me. Maybe it just sounds better on your speakers?
http://www.giga-byte.com/Motherboard/Products/Products_GA-K8NS%20Ultra-939.htm

http://www.giga-byte.com/Motherboard/Products/Products_GA-K8NSNXP-939.htm

[Sephir0th]

so given that (at least here in oz) the price of this k8ns ultra 939 + the price of a ddr booster are about equal to the price of a neo2, which would be the better option? i have 2x512mb doublesided bh-5

[misteroadster]

better solution for you is K8NS Ultra with Vio=vddr modded ;)

[mad mikee]

1. I'm fed up w/ the lack of control on the MSI neo2 :brick:
2. Old Chipset (0409) and no vdd control :brick:
3. Like the UT/tweaker-level of mem controls :D
4. I got a working and correctly oriented OCZ BOOSTER :banana:

5. Ordered board from newegg this morning :hehe:
Maybe can zap the msi outof my sig....

939 Ultra BIOS F4 (http://tw.giga-byte.com/Download/Download.asp?DownloadPath=/MotherBoard/FileList/BIOS/bios_k8nsu939_
f4.exe)

[TalonGSX]

What are you guys using to monitor CPU temp. The stock programs that come with this board are nothing to rave about. Also how high do you guys think I can push the K8NS Ultra w/ 3200+ winnie to, with crap Infineon PC3200 mem, and stock cooling. Not sure when I will have the cash to get better ram as new box, Motherboard, Vid Card and CPU are about as much as I can get away with before the wife kills me.


MGE XG Viper w/500w PS
GA-K8NS Ultra 939
Athlon64 3200+ Winchester
Infineon 512mb PC3200
Gainward 5700U (Leadtek 6800 backordered)

[mad mikee]

Got board 1 hr ago.
Have tried both winnies (32/3500), bh5, tccd mem (1 stick) in different slots
2 PSUs, 2 dif vga (radeon 8500/9800pro). Have it sitting on box to avoid grounding $hit.

Cleared cmos and check POS battery, replaced w/ good one.

When PSU turned on, fans spin up for a sec. When attempting to power on the motherboard w/ power switch DEAD DEAD DEAD :mad: :mad: :mad:
Suggestions or is this a POS board and RMA immediately?

[mad mikee]

What experiences have you all had w/ this board since the beginning of the week (Max FSB, tweaks, etc) Please? :confused: :D :brick: :shrug:
Thanks MikeE

Hmm I wonder how this (http://www.silenx.com/productcart/pc/configurePrdz.asp?idcategory=5&idproduct=108) might work on this board! Oh well that's for next week :hehe:

[trans am]

I just ordered another one, 2 3200+OEM's and a ddr booster. I hope I get some Leprechauns!!!
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=46087

[TalonGSX]

Glad to hear your coming back to the fold Trans Am... Was starting to think that interest in this board died out when you sent yours back.

[trans am]

Glad to hear your coming back to the fold Trans Am... Was starting to think that interest in this board died out when you sent yours back.

After seeing Misteroadster's success with the board, how could anyone not want one? I still refuse to buy MSI, so this is the only viable option atm.

MSI=questionable integrity, bad track record
EPOX=low voltage options, nothing new
Gigabyte K8NS Ultra=a little quirky, but for less than $115, who can complain?

[MUCHO]

I'm going to get one more than likely... :confused:

[existz]

so do u all recommend this board over anyother board in its price range compared to getting a dfi ut 250gb and 3000+ 754?? ill be using 256x2 pdp xbl tccd and water

[trans am]

Here's a recent reply from gigabyte rep. regarding issues on K8ns ultra nf3:


(original message)

Question - 135992

From : alvin hayek [ alvinhayek@yahoo.com ]
Sent : 2004/11/21 09:20
Question : Need new bios to fix fsb issue. when raising high fsb (htt) you need to set htt at 201 then reboot, then you can raise to high htt. Also higher vdimm and vcore is also a must. Thanks.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Model Name : GA-K8NS Ultra-939
--------------------------
M/B Rev : 3232132123
BIOS Ver : 4
Serial No. : 1231215464
Purchase Dealer :
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VGA Brand : Nvidia Model : 6800gt
CPU Brand : AMD Model : Speed :
Operation System : Win XP SP : 2
Memory Brand : Samsung Type :
Memory Size : Speed :
Power Supply : W

(response) Hi,

There are no option available for higher dimm voltage since it can damage the memory. Are there are issue running the system at default specs?

(my response)
Cmon, dont give me that default specs crap! You can't damage memory with 2.85 vdimm. This is an enthusiast motherboard and should have enthusiast overclocking settings. If this is the way Gigabyte feels, then me and every other ENTHUSIAST is going to buy DFI or Abit or MSI etc.. If Gigabyte is going to market to the enthusiast overclocking comunity then you need to do something about these issues now!

KNOWN issues with K8NSXP version and Ultra-nf3

max vdimm is 2.85v
tracks vtt
max vcore is 1.7v
bad vcore, unstable and fluctuates up to 1.95v under load
coldboot problems with high HTT
crashes when upping the HTT speed too much at a time
always detects ide drives at bootup, cant disable this setting latest bios fixes this problem
9x multi slitghly unstable
8x multi very unstable

runs great with bh5
runs great with ch5
runs great with samsung tccc
NO Memory Interleaving?

TIP: easy vdimm mod with 3.3v rail = Vdimm Via single wire, VTT tracks automatically
TIP: easy vcore mod with pin10 to ground via 50K VR
BUT the max vcore after a mod is 1.95v and coldboot with 1.85v+ vcore might kill the board!
TIP: If having problems with BH5 ram, try the following:
1) Do 3.3v = Vdimm mod
2) Set HTT multiplier to 4x and HTT to 230Mhz - Lower HTT does not boot for some users.
3) Boot and overclock via clockgen, and tweak via A64tweaker.
TIP: for best performance the giga board needs Vcore and Vdimm/3.3V bypass mod (or the OCZ booster)
TIP: disable fast writes
TIP: use HTT multiplier 4x up to ~260 and 3x up to ~290

Please fix these issues!!!!!

[trans am]

Just got a reply from my last message.
Hi,

We have contacted our HQ and unfortunately they are unwilling to raise vdimm for this motherboard since it can damage the memory modules. We guaranatee to run stable at default specs. Are you experiencing any issue running the system at default speed?

my response:

OK, well, I guess I will be using an ocz ddr booster. aside from the vdimm, what about the htt issues? And the 9x multi issues? what if someone buys a 3000+ for this board that is a 9x multi Default. they are going to have problems because this board has issues with 9x multi. And to make it work out, one would need to drop multi and increase fsb, but since the board has issues at high fsb, then I guess they are out ot luck? we need a bios rev to fix this asap!!!

I wish misteroadster was here, he was able to do crazy htt with this thing.

http://pageperso.aol.fr/misteroadster/3GigWinnie2.JPG


OK, scratch the 9x multi issue. I read this whole thread again and Lithan was using the 9 multi just fine. Board should be here wednesday. As for my previous issues on this board, I've got my fingers crossed. I hope it works out.

[existz]

u tell em trans am :)

[MUCHO]

Board should be here wednesday. As for my previous issues on this board, I've got my fingers crossed. I hope it works out.

I'm hoping it works out because this MB is laid out perfect for my XP120 that is sitting here waiting to be put to use and I'm not too sure if I'll be using this Gigabyte or bending a capacitor...

:( :( :(

[trans am]

Here's the latest reply from gigabyte regarding the 3000+ 939. note that the stock multi on this chip is 9x.
(me)
OK, well, I guess I will be using an ocz ddr booster. aside from the vdimm, what about the htt issues? And the 9x multi issues? what if someone buys a 3000+ for this board that is a 9x multi Default. they are going to have problems because this board has issues with 9x multi. And to make it work out, one would need to drop multi and increase fsb, but since the board has issues at high fsb, then I guess they are out ot luck? we need a bios rev to fix this asap!!!

Hi,

The default should be 10x, are there any issue running it at default specs?
We do not guaranatee overclocking. If not stable still at the default specs please list exactly what kind of issue it causes, when it occurs and what the error message indicates.

Thank you

HMMM? default on 3000+ is 10x??? Gigabyte can gigaBITE ME!!

[trans am]

OK I have great news!! just got another gigabyte ultra from ZZF today. Set everything up. turned it on and leds and fans running but no beeps. no post screen nothing! HEHEHE! It figures! with my luck I am not surprised. tested 2 cpus, took ram out, etc and same crap. yes my 12v is connected. lol. Anyway, already got rma number from ZZF. I know I said I wouldn't ever buy msi product again, but cmon, it can't be any worse than this POS. CAll me a sell out, but I can't take anymore chances with this board, msi neo2 on the way. oh, btw, popped the chipset heasink off and it's nf3 is made in taiwan and 0411 date? Could this be why we were getting crap clocks? I thought taiwan was the better chipset. but why the old date? Anywy, gigaBITE me!

[gonx_me]

HMMM? default on 3000+ is 10x??? Gigabyte can gigaBITE ME!!

My 939 0.09 3000+ the multiplier is 9x. i'm able to oc 'till 9x253Mhz (more/less)

[Chouny]

i can't use multiplier 9 and 10 with my K8NSNXP-939

it puts multiplier 5 when i look with cpu-z

[TalonGSX]

My GA-K8NS Ultra board has gone to the dogs too... was having problems with the voltage readings. My Negative volatages were absolute crap (-12v= -4-6v, -5=-1-3v)and my 5v was bouncing between 2-4.6v. At first I figured it was the program I was using to monitor the voltages. Then I started getting lock ups. I ran out to get a new power supply. My new RAM(HyperX 3200) and Vid card (BFG 6800 OC) came in that day as well so I swapped them all in. No change with the new power supply. To add insult to injury, the lousy Gigabyte board took out my new 6800 card, and now I have to RMA both of them. The power supplies are both MGE, one is a 500w that came with the Viper Case, and the other is the Vigor 400w.

Just doing my bit to perpetuate the Hit or Miss nature of this board.

[Benny Lodewijk]

I just brought K8NS Ultra-939 and flashed it with F5 BIOS (i received it from Gigabyte Taiwan). With my Winchester 3200+ 0432 TPMW and default HSF.

http://www.geocities.com/benny_nejkt/spi_260x10_winch.txt

I need vmod for dimm to make my KHX 3200ULK2 runs 1:1. Any one can help me ?

[gonx_me]

Where can i get the F5 bios? All servers from Gigabyte only says F4. Noted any diference? I can't managed to get more than 242Mhz stable in my KN8S-ultra..

[Barr3l Rid3r]

I just brought K8NS Ultra-939 and flashed it with F5 BIOS (i received it from Gigabyte Taiwan). With my Winchester 3200+ 0432 TPMW and default HSF.

http://www.geocities.com/benny_nejkt/spi_260x10_winch.txt

I need vmod for dimm to make my KHX 3200ULK2 runs 1:1. Any one can help me ?


It seems that the layout of these boards looks exactly the same as K8NS Pro and K8N Pro so you probably can do the same vdimm mod as this one here:

http://219.113.251.125/c-board/c-board.cgi?cmd=ntr;tree=2245;id=

[misteroadster]

http://pageperso.aol.fr/misteroadster/caps+mod.JPG

[Barr3l Rid3r]

Direct mod sux for TCCD, adjustable one is better

[saaya]

Direct mod sux for TCCD, adjustable one is better

lol, ok, when will you post Barr3l Rid3r's adjustable vdimm mod then? :rolleyes:

stop complaining! with some resistors you can drop it as much as you want anyways :)

[saaya]

754 k8ns 2SATA+r 2PATA lan 1x2mb bios firewall 2fan headers aux audio game/midi
754 k8ns pro 4SATA+r 4PATA+r Gblan 2IEEE 2x4mb bios 3fan headers aux audio game/midi
754 k8nsnxp 4SATA+r 4PATA+r Gblan+lan 2IEEE 2x4mb bios firewall 3fan headers multis in bios aux audio game/midi dps

939 K8NS-939 2SATA+r 2PATA Gblan 1x2mb bios 3fan headers multis in bios
939 K8NSNXP-939 4SATA+r 2PATA Gblan+lan 2IEEE 2x4mb bios firewall 3fan headers multis in bios aux audio game/midi (gigabyte specs dont mention dps?)
939 K8NS u-939 4SATA+r 2PATA Gblan+lan 2IEEE 2x4mb bios firewall 3fan headers multis in bios aux audio game/midi

all the informations in this post are from the K8NSNXP-939, but there is absolutely no difference between the k8nsnxp-939 and the k8ns ultra-939 except for the missing dps heatsink!

Gigabyte K8NSNXP-939 nforce3

http://xtremesystems.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=20036
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=20500&stc=1



Gigabyte K8NSN Ultra-939 nforce3

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=20501&stc=1




as you can see the boards are 100% identical




Gigabyte K8NSNXP-939 nforce3

http://xtremesystems.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=20036


Gigabyte K8NSN Ultra-939 nforce3

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=20501&stc=1

[muzz]

I haven't seen it noted, but I have a strange temp/probe issue it seems......

Everest tells me that my CPU has a blah blah blah sensor, an option in MBM is that same sensor, I also tried the crappy mobo software they call EZ tune..... so I use them all......
My CPU is supposedly 70c running burn in wizard ( on both) low priority...(high 60's idle)

I am running the stock AMD HSF, I was using the tim that comes with it ( figured I'd rev up the prom soon enough), but after seeing the temps ( I haven't payed attention till now) I took off the crap and spread a thin layer of AS5 on there.... boot up, same dealio ( starts off at 25 or so in EZ tune :rolleyes: , and climbs FAST idling)..
I usually don't even pay attention to temps at all, I was just wondering if anyone with this board has noticed that the temps may be just a SMIDGE ;) off....
Friggin AS5, I pulled off the HSF when the temps didn't change at all ( to check imprint), and the chip came with it!! Zif was locked too.
Bent a couple of pins, I was lucky to be able to bend them back.

Update:
EZ crap is now saying 106c !! lmfao.... MBM and Everest are sitting at 69c ( idle), and 70c during burn in.... uhhhhhhh yuh...... ok...

[scifikg]

Does anyone know what temp sensor this board uses or how I can find out? I'm getting incorrect temps in MBM5 and CPUZ doesn't display sensor in mobo info.

EDIT:

I figured it out. I had to make MBM5 use ITE8712F-2 for the CPU and ITE8712F-1 for the CASE temperature.

[MUCHO]

To anyone reading this:

DO NOT BUY THIS BOARD

Thank you.

[muzz]

So far my K8NS ultra 939 is kicking the snot out of my Neo2 plat. with all of the same components.
Hopefully I find out whats wrong with the NEO2.

[muzz]

There is a new beta bios for the K8nsnxp 939 if anyone is interested.

http://ggts.gigabyte.com.tw/FileList/135963/k8nn939.zip

Edit: Fixed link according to Imperial Zeppelin

Edit#2- After some testing, folks at PC Perspective are not having luck with this bios. Performance seems to have gone down.

[muzz]

I was just told that the Link I used for the bios was wrong( I was given the wrong link), it had bios F7 there.
I have FIXED the link ( according to source) to CORRECT Bios- F8beta

m

[MUCHO]

Whats the reason Gigabyte doesn't have Bios 5 or 7 on their Web site?

I really hope the next one I get is a good one. The one I got is horrific.

[muzz]

Some folks run the NXP bios's without issues.
I don't bother yet, as right now I am trying out a NEO2.

BTW My Neo2 doesn't clock as well as my Ultra 939 yet.

[AlterBridge86]

ooo... F8 bios...maybe NOW i'll be able to even attempt overclocking the damn thing. i absolutely LOATHE this motherboard, its the K8NSNXP-939 - and i can't get over 205htt stable. My neo2 (R.I.P.) just decided not to turn on one day, but at least i could OC...this board, nothing...we'll have to see what happens with the new bios...thanks for posting it :)

[muzz]

Folks are saying that the F8 bios might hinder performance !!
I edited the above post earlier today.

Go HERE and read to the END:

http://forums.pcper.com/showthread.php?t=369407

[Rob94hawk]

To anyone reading this:

DO NOT BUY THIS BOARD

Thank you.

Um, thanx for the tip 5 months late! I may have to junk this board for an nforce4. Nothing but problems from day 1.

BTW, I'm still using the F4 BIOS. Gimme a reason to upgrade.

[MUCHO]

To anyone reading this:

DO NOT BUY THIS BOARD

Thank you.

Hmmm - well - I have to change my tune. :rolleyes:

The first board I had gave me problems - many problems. Could not boot at anything high htt - would freeze up at any memory speed over 200. I exchanged it for another board, and it is fantastic. Htt at higher speeds no problem. Memory as high as memory can go. In fact I am very happy at this time.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v346/MUCHO/Screenies/A64.jpg

:D:D:D

[gonx_me]

Still can't go higher that 240 Mhz HTT. I've changed everything except the board (new PSU, new mem's, new CPU, new HDD..) I've tried Bios F5 but much worse than F4, lot's of instabilities. Ate 245Mhz i've some radom locks. The HTT is 3x, i've tried all the voltages, all multipliers.

[snowice]

i also found f4 is much more stable than f5. i'm able to get the htt up to 270. anything higher i have to increase the ht voltage. i was able to get it up to 300, but i had to bump the htt up slowly (270->280->290->300). my 3000 winnie is prime stable @ 8 x 300, but it won't boot @ 300 htt :rolleyes:
my ram is a different story. i have 2x of kingston 3200a 512mb. they can do 205 at 2-3-2-6-1t, but not prime stable anything beyond that no matter how much i relax the timing and how high i increase the vdimm voltage. dont know if this is my ch-5 limit or motherboard issue. i have tried the ocz ddr booster and it doesnt work. also, i found the purple memory slots are a lot more stable than the orange ones. it would be perfect if i can do 8 x 300 w/ a 133 memory divider. i dont want to do 9 x 267 w/ 133 memeory divider cuz it is such perfromance hit for my ram to run @ 177. so rite now, i have it @ 9 x 250 w/ a 166 memory divider. wish i could push it a little more :(

[Rob94hawk]

I'm using the F6 BIOS and so far I can get to 245 fsb. Cant cold boot to that but at least I know I can get to it.

Haven't run benchmarks yet but I'll get to that soon. I crashed my system completely when I tried to overclock my X800XTPE and had to uninstall ATITool and reload the 4.12 drivers. The whole damn thing took me an hour!

So far the highest fsb I can cold boot to is 220. But I think I'm going to have to get some of that PC4400 to hang at over 245. I tried 250 and the memory doesn't like it.

[groovetek]

hey everyone this is my first post here...

i've got a k8ns-ultra 939, and i tried the K8NSNXP-939 f7 bios, and somehow i managed to flash both the main and backup BIOS to K8NSNXP bios's - lol - i know that sounds sooooooo stupid... anyway the BIOS does not let my system boot even after shorting cmos jumper and taking battery out... but i took out 1 stick of ram, and it booted. phew... so I quickly flashed back, and have both sticks of ram in again...

Anyway, that was off-topic. Now, I'm currrently using TWINX3200XL 1gb 2x512mb dc set, and for 250 1:1 i have to run at 4x HTT. that's not bad apparently but i have to drop timings to 3-4-4-10... which is crappy, especially since this set was the best one out of 4 sets I had, it pulled 218 2-2-2 @ 2.8v on an nforce 2 motherboard, while the others maxed out between 208-212. Any tips on the other memory timings so that I can get 2.5-3-3-10 stable @ 250? Windows loads, and most things run ok-ish, but not prime stable, and games will eventually lock up.

lastly - this guide says it runs great with samsung TCCC... who has evidence to prove this? I've tried search function and i can't find people with OC results! I know where I can buy this RAM for dirt cheap - and if it could clock better than my TCCD 3200XL's i'd be very happy as I could get getting extra $ too.

[Rob94hawk]

Any tips on the other memory timings so that I can get 2.5-3-3-10 stable @ 250? Windows loads, and most things run ok-ish, but not prime stable, and games will eventually lock up.


That's great that you got windows to load @ 250 with pc3200! I can't even get a post with 250!

[groovetek]

really? so i should keep this ram? and not give something else a shot?

3-4-4-10 is 100% stable @ 250... but yeah, 3-4-4-10 is damn relaxed - this memory is supposed to do 250 @ 2.5-3-3-x!!! argh... but it only does it half stable.

setting is 10 x 250, 1:1, 4xHTT, +0.2v ddr, +0.2v HTT, oh, and the RAM timing is 1T... Something tells me I should try 2T!

I get some impressive sandra numbers (like 6500mb/sec off the top of my head), but yeah, real life performance of 3-4-4-10 is pretty average. I might grab a DDR Booster if I find the $ to buy one...

using F5 BIOS... i've heard some comments about F4 being the best one for overclocking - is this true?

[sauria]

K8NS Ultra-939 nforce3


I'm considering getting this new board to use with these components:
Antec True Control 550,
Corsair PC3200LL TwinX v1.1 BH-5
Sapphire Radeon 9800 Pro,
Lian-Li PC-60USB Case

I know Asus A8V deluxe and MSI have some issues with these components and was concerned that Giga might also??
Wil they work together?
Feedback appreciated!

[goddh0r]

Yeah Guys! New biosses are out for both versions, NXP and ULTRA !! :banana:
And F7 for NXP finally kicks ass! Not cold boot issue when oc'ing anymore, i dont have to set the clock to 201 first, i just set 10x260 and it rocks! and in addition to that F7 is the first bios ever on the NXP to be displaying a CPU temperature with my winchester!! AWESOME !!!


K8NS Ultra-939: http://tw.giga-byte.com/Motherboard...20Ultra-939.htm

K8NSNXP-939: http://tw.giga-byte.com/Motherboard...K8NSNXP-939.htm

[sauria]

Hmmm - well - I have to change my tune. :rolleyes:

The first board I had gave me problems - many problems. Could not boot at anything high htt - would freeze up at any memory speed over 200. I exchanged it for another board, and it is fantastic. Htt at higher speeds no problem. Memory as high as memory can go. In fact I am very happy at this time.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v346/MUCHO/Screenies/A64.jpg

:D:D:D
Which board do you have & like MUCHO?

[muzz]

Yeah Guys! New biosses are out for both versions, NXP and ULTRA !! :banana:
And F7 for NXP finally kicks ass! Not cold boot issue when oc'ing anymore, i dont have to set the clock to 201 first, i just set 10x260 and it rocks! and in addition to that F7 is the first bios ever on the NXP to be displaying a CPU temperature with my winchester!! AWESOME !!!


K8NS Ultra-939: http://tw.giga-byte.com/Motherboard...20Ultra-939.htm

K8NSNXP-939: http://tw.giga-byte.com/Motherboard...K8NSNXP-939.htm

Yep, you and the guys at AMDMB ( PCPerspective now... lol) seem to love the newly released F7 bios for the Ultra 939/NXP.

[muzz]

Ummmmmmmmm I went to both links provided ( the one here and at AMDMB), and cannot find F7 for the ULTRA...
One guy said he had to dl/update via the Qflash Utility, and save it instead of flash.
They don't have F7 just plain and simple available for DL ( ULTRA)?

[Dissolved]

http://tw.giga-byte.com/Motherboard/Support/BIOS/BIOS_GA-K8NSNXP-939.htm

F7

[muzz]

Thx, but thats for the NXP.
Some folks have been able to flash the NXP bios (onto the Ultra), but I read another guy tried and couldn't boot, just recently.

[goddh0r]

why u wanna flash F7 on the ultra ?? F5 is the new bios for the ultra corresponding to the NXP's F7...

[muzz]

I believe I am already running F6beta on that board.

[Rob94hawk]

F7 BIOS already? I just flashed the F6. Ah, whatever helps.

[Rob94hawk]

The F7 BIOS is great. Finally I can cold boot all the way up to 260!

[groovetek]

hmm... every BIOS seems the same so far...

i've tried anything up to 300mhz HTT... seems all good to me...

i have to drop to 3x HTT though... and have to run a ratio cos my ram isn't so good...

that's why i've sold my xms3200XL ram which no way capable of 300... and gotten some adata pc4000 - but yeah... ideally i'd run 260 1:1 anyway, so yeah, meh... gettig myself a winny today - finally... a newcastle that tops out at 2550 was kinda annoying so i sold that.

[jinu117]

F5 bios on K8NS-939 Ultra seems to do the trick. I only got the board yesterday but so far liking it better over MSI. I can read my cpu temp (well, it says 193c-225c but I know what that means in negative :P) VX actually work well with divider on this one as well as TCCD behaving well, Played with FSB up to 320mhz which I will probably never actually use anyway. V-core mod was a cinch and using Booster atm. Layout is clean uncluttered and I actually like cmos jumper at reachable location :)
Waiting for my FX-55 to come back to me now :)

[groovetek]

sounds good...

wow i'm running this at 325mhz HTT... memory is running at 260... prime stable.

[groovetek]

i didn't know this board had it in him...

a k8ns-ultra 939 unmodded... 3200+ winny on air... the following setting is totally prime stable! the vcore shown there is actually wrong - it's because within the first few seconds of opening up CPU-Z it seems to show 1.400 instead of true vcore... true vcore is 1.52-1.56v. vHTT is at +0.2 (do i even need this?), and HTT is at 3x... ram is @ 260 @ 2.5-4-4-10 1T, but i've got an issue with the ram at the moment (2 x adata vitesta pc4000) its just not fully stable at 250 + , which is a bummer... i'm gonna try vio=vdimm mod today... I CAN'T EVEN FIND A LINK TO IT HERE - ANNOYING!

http://users.bigpond.net.au/groovetek/325HTT!.JPG

[fxr91]

I am having issues with Geil PC4000 and this board (NXP) in that I can't raise the FSB over 205 at all, even if done by small increments or with CG. On the Asus A8V, this ram would do rated speed 1:1, 1T. Even using the 166 divider, I can only get to 201 mem speed (250 HTT) anything more and it has stability issues...

Oh yeah, with the F7 BIOS, I can't even see the option of Cool n Quiet in the BIOS anywhere, which may well be causing my issue (if it is defaulted to on) :confused:

[stayfrosty]

How does the vanilla K8ns-939 stack up against the k8nsxp939 and the k8ns ultra-939, as far as overclocking is conserned.

[groovetek]

How does the vanilla K8ns-939 stack up against the k8nsxp939 and the k8ns ultra-939, as far as overclocking is conserned.

should be identical?

it looks exactly like the other 2, but without dual-bios, and doesn't come with as many accessories.

[Jupiler]

How does the vanilla K8ns-939 stack up against the k8nsxp939 and the k8ns ultra-939, as far as overclocking is conserned.

I picked up a vanilla k8ns-939 today. The k8nsxp939 is to expensive and the k8ns ultra-939 wasn't even on their list. :stick: I wanted that one.
Will be installing it tomorrow and see how it performs vs my Neo2.

[stayfrosty]

I ordered mine along with a 3200+ winnie as i found someone to sell my current stuff too so once I get it in ill post some screenies, same thing happened when i was looking to order the k8nsxp was like 180 and i didnt see the ultra so... i ordered teh vanilla

[Dead Dog]

is anyone using tccd with this mobo + getting good results.
i've patriot tccd and i'm soon to buy a mobo, but it needs to be good with tccd.

[Lith1um]

No luck Jupiler?

Thought we would hear back from you by now.

[Jupiler]

Well,
The board performs pretty well.
Had no problems running 2*512 GSkill PC4800 LA chips at 262*10, 2.5-3-3-7, 1T, just like on the Neo2.

My cpu is maxed out at 2.7Ghz, 1.56-1.57V.
Can't get it clock any higher, despites increasing voltage.
VCore is pretty stable. Setting 1.50 in bios reads 1.50-1.52V constantly. Much better than the Neo2.
The Neo2 gives me booting problems if my sys if shut down for more than 5 hours (approx). The 8KNS doesn't give me that problem.

On the other hand :
the cooler is pretty loud (loudest part in my sys) and there's no way I can decrease the fan speed with Speedfan or Gigabyte's software.
I have a Silencer NV5 on my 6800GT, which comes pretty close to the cooler. Don't know if I can replace with something from the same size.

[Lith1um]

Argh. I have a silencer 5 on my xtpe. The vid card wouldnt seat all the way with it in my neo2. Hope I have decent luck with the giga.

Stupid design on the silencer I think. They could have moved the fan just a bit outward.

I should have my U939 on wednesday.

Glad to hear the gskill works well, I have 2x5 4400 LE. (I also have 2x5 pc4k ballistix)

Thanks for the feedback, good luck.

[stayfrosty]

I just got my 3200+ winnie and k8ns-939 the winnie was week 47 and did 2.675 100% stable watercooled on stock voltage and 2.75 screenshot stable on stock voltage my ran sucks so I need to get some g.skill to keep up with the HTT.
Man, im so excited right now this board is great, forget the extra cost of the k8ns-ultra and the k8nsx, who needs those extra features this board owns!

[Jupiler]

Did you take off the noisy little cooler and check what week the chipset is?
I'd like to know what week yours is.

[stayfrosty]

chipset weeks? thats something new to me, give me an example of how to read it and ill do my best to let you know

[saaya]

post the full code stmaped on your nb and we will tell you what numbers are the week year dates :)

its usually yyxx
yy=year xx=week of the year

[choseone214]

JUP> I just got one a week 0451A2

My question Is. Are the sata ports locked and or connected to the agp bus so 67mhz agp will lock the sata ports??

there is only 2 ports on this plain jane version so I hope they lock :)

[MUCHO]

JUP> I just got one a week 0451A2

My question Is. Are the sata ports locked and or connected to the agp bus so 67mhz agp will lock the sata ports??

there is only 2 ports on this plain jane version so I hope they lock :)

If those two ports are above the AGP slot then those are the 2 that are locked on my board (The ultra 939) - also the chipset has native support for SATA so no need to hit F6 when loading windows :)

[MUCHO]

Anyone know where I can get a better and or modded bios for this board?

With F4 I can use a 183 divider and run my memory at 263 but it has warm and cold boot issues.

With F5 I have no cold/warm boot issues but I can't use the 183 divider so I have to use the 166 divider and memory is being under utilized.

:confused: :stick: :confused:

[Lith1um]

This 939ultra is working alot better than my neo2 ever did.

I have 2x512 gskill tccd LE. The neo2 couldnt run trp or trcd @ 2 and it didnt like tras below 7. On the gigabyte 2/2/2/5/7/10 works flawlessly @ 212x13=2755,

My Fx55 maxes out around 2755+- (cache errors), and the 939U is equalling my neo2 cpu mhz overclock with less voltage.

I havent had a chance to try higher mem frequencies, to be honest I prefer lower latency because dual channel cpu's already have ample bandwidth imo. I dont think I can run 230x12=2760 @ 2/2/2, but I will try it when I have a chance. (I think 2.5/2/2/6 would be do-able, I'll have to compare.)

Imo the lowest possible timings @ their highest stable htt is better for gaming systems. (obviously there are situations where people need a high htt, such cpu's with a low multi making loose timings a nescessity.)

Voltages: The giga's voltages are pretty much rock steady, something my neo2 never was. My neo2 provided higher voltages but they werent stable. The neo 2 only has vcpu/mem/agp. The giga has cpu/mem/agp/vht.

NB chipset: No clearance problems with an xtpe running an ATI Silencer 4. It didnt fit in the neo2.

Sata ports: No clearance problems with the vid card. I would have purchased the epox, but it has bonehead sata port placement.

Bios: Came flashed to F1. I tried F6 and it broke the ddr 400 setting, forcing a memory divider. (184 i think) Tried F5 and it seems to be good, settled in with f5 for a while.

Memory timings: this board has much better timing options than the neo2. The neo 2 has only cas/trp/trcd/tras. The giga has all of those and much more.

Imo the ultra 939 is a better board than my neo2. My neo2 did drop dead, so it prob wasnt a prime example.

Ill head back to DFI for my next board, I love my 250UT. I have an agp xtpe, I dont think I'll upgrade again till the next gen cards arrive and I'll go pci-e then.

I was looking to get the agp 939 dfi, but this board is good enough to hold me over for a while so I changed my plans.

I guess this giga will be my last agp board. If it had higher vcore and vdimm I think it could have stolen alot of the thunder which the neo2 enjoyed. Imo alot of people picked the neo2 as the 939 front runner because of its higher voltages.

[sauria]

Great, is this a new board? When and where did you buy it from?

Thanks


This 939ultra is working alot better than my neo2 ever did.

I have 2x512 gskill tccd LE. The neo2 couldnt run trp or trcd @ 2 and it didnt like tras below 7. On the gigabyte 2/2/2/5/7/10 works flawlessly @ 212x13=2755,

My Fx55 maxes out around 2755+- (cache errors), and the 939U is equalling my neo2 cpu mhz overclock with less voltage.

I havent had a chance to try higher mem frequencies, to be honest I prefer lower latency because dual channel cpu's already have ample bandwidth imo. I dont think I can run 230x12=2760 @ 2/2/2, but I will try it when I have a chance. (I think 2.5/2/2/6 would be do-able, I'll have to compare.)

Imo the lowest possible timings @ their highest stable htt is better for gaming systems. (obviously there are situations where people need a high htt, such cpu's with a low multi making loose timings a nescessity.)

Voltages: The giga's voltages are pretty much rock steady, something my neo2 never was. My neo2 provided higher voltages but they werent stable. The neo 2 only has vcpu/mem/agp. The giga has cpu/mem/agp/vht.

NB chipset: No clearance problems with an xtpe running an ATI Silencer 4. It didnt fit in the neo2.

Sata ports: No clearance problems with the vid card. I would have purch

ased the epox, but it has bonehead sata port placement.

Bios: Came flashed to F1. I tried F6 and it broke the ddr 400 setting, forcing a memory divider. (184 i think) Tried F5 and it seems to be good, settled in with f5 for a while.

Memory timings: this board has much better timing options than the neo2. The neo 2 has only cas/trp/trcd/tras. The giga has all of those and much more.

Imo the ultra 939 is a better board than my neo2. My neo2 did drop dead, so it prob wasnt a prime example.

Ill head back to DFI for my next board, I love my 250UT. I have an agp xtpe, I dont think I'll upgrade again till the next gen cards arrive and I'll go pci-e then.

I was looking to get the agp 939 dfi, but this board is good enough to hold me over for a while so I changed my plans.

I guess this giga will be my last agp board. If it had higher vcore and vdimm I think it could have stolen alot of the thunder which the neo2 enjoyed. Imo alot of people picked the neo2 as the 939 front runner because of its higher voltages.

[Lith1um]

I bought my K8NS Ultra-939 from Newegg, received it wednesday.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-128-263&depa=1

The kn8s ultra 939 has been out for a while now, its not a new release or anything.

[sauria]

Thanks, looks like a winner! Did you have a good bios setup guide?

[Lith1um]

No, I didnt have a setup guide. I've been overclocking for so long I pretty much know what everything does at this point.

This thread (http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=329627) has some good info about many of the timings.

More good info is in the A64Tweaker (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=37345) thread.

Some more observations,

HT: My neo2 didnt want anything to do with 5x HT above 200mhz. My giga ultra939 has no problem with 5x. (I always thought the neo2 needed a vht setting in its bios)

Prime95: My neo2 wasnt prime stable above default clocks, or with tight timings. (it wouldnt even boot @ 200mhz with trcd or trp @ 2)

This gigabyte is running my gskill le tccd @ 2/2/2/6/7/10/2/2/1/1 (212x13=2755). I just passed 12 hours of Large, in place FFT's with no errors.

Just tweaking around for a strong gaming system. Ill try to see what's left when I get a chance.

Some rave about the neo2. I guess I got a really bad one.

[sauria]

Thanks, I'm looking to get a stable fast, and affordable 939 system (I don't need PCI-E) to use with an Antec True Control 550W PSU in a Lian Li case. I guess this board has the 20 Pin ATX and 4 pin ATX connectors?

[Lith1um]

Roger that, the 20 pin atx and 4 pin 12v atx connectors are present. (pics on page 1 of this thread.)

The price of this board is great imo. It should fill your needs well.

Good luck.

[sauria]

Great! Thanks, is your vcore stable?

[Lith1um]

Vcore fluctuates slightly, but acceptably imo.

Im now priming large fft's at 2800mhz for the last hour. It would fail in under 8 minutes on my neo2. Ill see what happens, hope it passes 12 hrs.

This gigabyte appears to be stomping the crap outa' my neo2. You gotta love something that just works. lol.

edit: This gigabyte is running 2800 with 1.65v. My neo2 needed 1.75 to maintain 2.75ghz stable.

[sauria]

Vcore fluctuates slightly, but acceptably imo.

Im now priming large fft's at 2800mhz for the last hour. It would fail in under 8 minutes on my neo2. Ill see what happens, hope it passes 12 hrs.

This gigabyte appears to be stomping the crap outa' my neo2. You gotta love something that just works. lol.

edit: This gigabyte is running 2800 with 1.65v. My neo2 needed 1.75 to maintain 2.75ghz stable.


Excellent -- with your FX-55?

[Lith1um]

Yes, but it failed after 3 hours. Oh well.

still some tweaking to do.

[ArcTan]

I just bought a k8ns-939 with a 3000+
Is there anyway to force it to 1:1 ?
I set it to 200 as max but it still only does 166

[hitek420]

Here is the highest I've gone yet, I could get more but I'm going to wait until I can get some better cooling.
http://img68.exs.cx/img68/7629/overclocked6vc.jpg

I'm using the F5 bios,
ram is running at 166 = 256mhz
cpu at 200 = 290
ldt x 3

ran prime95 for 6 hours until I shut it down... it peaked at 62°C !!
I only bumped the voltage up a few notches, I can't wait until I get some better ram and a REAL cooler instead of this stock pos!

This winnie is looking like a great overclocker!
http://img128.exs.cx/img128/4999/cpustepping1pl.jpg

Oh and by the way, I run it at 3500+ speeds for everyday use... It's fast enough for all my games.

[ArcTan]

hitek420,
what does it do at default voltage?

[Lith1um]

I just bought a k8ns-939 with a 3000+
Is there anyway to force it to 1:1 ?
I set it to 200 as max but it still only does 166

What bios are you running? Im running F5.

F6 broke the 200mhz setting for me.

[Jupiler]

This winnie is looking like a great overclocker!
http://img128.exs.cx/img128/4999/cpustepping1pl.jpg



Mine is the same, except the last 3 digits.
Doesn't seem like a good oc'er though.
Can hardly pass 280, and need 1.525V, using WC.
Using F5 bios.
Something's holding me back, but haven't figured out what yet.

But hey, not every cpu clocks the same.
Nice oc, BTW.

[ArcTan]

What bios are you running? Im running F5.

F6 broke the 200mhz setting for me.
is there F5/F6 bios for the non ultra board?
I just checked the australia gigabyte site and only had F2 which is what I flashed it to

[Jupiler]

Nope,
The non-ultra board has only bios F2.

[ArcTan]

Nope,
The non-ultra board has only bios F2.
hmm that's what I though
oh well it isn't too much of a problem since I only have a 3000+
plus booster is working on this board so all's good so far

[vadergr]

http://www.giga-byte.com/Motherboard/Support/FAQ/FAQ_444.htm

Is it true that if i use 2x512 ddr400 double sided ram modules ,the board will recon it like ddr333?
I allready ordered 2 samsung modules so i hope i will not encounter such problem...

Anyone else with 2xdouble sided modules ???

[sauria]

I picked up a vanilla k8ns-939 today. The k8nsxp939 is to expensive and the k8ns ultra-939 wasn't even on their list. :stick: I wanted that one.
Will be installing it tomorrow and see how it performs vs my Neo2.

So there are 3 versions of this board?

[vadergr]

the simple one, the ultra one and the XP ...

[sauria]

the simple one, the ultra one and the XP ...
Thanks, any comparisons <links> between the three models -- test of all 3 together? From reading these forums for a month now I am leaning toward getting a 939 Ultra.

[hitek420]

Is anybody having problems with the temp sensors? If you are getting correct readings can you tell me what programs you are using!!

Thanks :)

[composer]

Can someone tell me how to post images? I too (recently) built a K8NS and it's doing very well so I thought I should share.

I thought the protocol was but that didn't seem to work...

thanks

[Jupiler]

Can someone tell me how to post images? I too (recently) built a K8NS and it's doing very well so I thought I should share.

I thought the protocol was but that didn't seem to work...

thanks

There's an option "Manage Attachments", located a little lower than the "Submit reply" button.
From there, you can upload pics from your HD (click "Browse">"Upload").

[Dman777]

I am really close to buying this board also(the GA-K8NS 939 Ultra). Can anyone tell me, does it suppport Cool and Quiet? It doesn't show that in the manufacters specs. Also, I read where one guy couldn't get his firewire port to work. Has anyone tried it?

Thanks,
-Dman

[Dissolved]

i dont think it supports C&Q, that will kill your overclock anyways.

i dont have anything f/w related so i cant help you there, altho ive heard f/w-B doesnt work.

[chew*]

OK im new to the forums.

Just picked up this k8ns ultra 939 and a a64 3000. Have been using for a week and made a small list of my own pros and cons.

pros
koolance cpu-200g fits(if you go to site they say that it doesnt fit most a64 boards)
6 phase power scheme
motherboard layout is preety decent
silicon images sata raid(best most stable raid controller ive ever used)

cons
lacks x.5 ht settings
lacks the following memory settings that it works at
150/183(if us use a64 tweaker u can use these settings fine)
nvidia sata is right next to agp slot very hard to get at.(however in my case i always use silicon image sata controllers)

OK my sytem specs are as follows
gigabyte k8ns ultra 939
a64 3000
koolance 600 series case with cpu-200g
2x256mb mushkin black level 2 pc 3200(not the rev 2 crap either)
radeon 9800 pro( crappy r350 core and E die samsung mem with artic cooling cooler)
2 x 36 gig western digital raptors( i run in raid 0 always off the SIl raid)
antec 430 watt true power PSU
misc stuff cdrw-dvdr-cdr/floppy/dvdrw-cdrw-cdr.
p.s. I run WIN2K pro(XP sux imho but thats for another post)
that about covers it now on to my findings.

stage 1 inspect mobo out of box.
remove northbridge fan after verifying all componts are in tact and not loose
removed the stupid thermal pad off heatsink applied AS5 and reinstalled.
removed bracket area around cpu. applied AS5 to cpu installed waterblock(note the cpu-200g literally rests against the cpu fan header thats how tight a fit it is)

stage 2 playing around with bios
ran at default installed windows 2k sp4 installed drivers blah blah blah.
on to overclocking.

stage 3 overclocking
OK did exactly what i was told not to do first
and used bios's top performance option. You may wonder why i did this.
I wanted to see where my components stood on this board so i primed it for 8 hours like that.
now this told me 3 things my memory was capable of running 208 fsb at 2.6v
the cpu was capable of 1890 at default. but more importantly gigabyte overclocked the ht bus to 258x5 which means that gigabyte seems to think that 1040 is a safe range with no extra voltage.

my findings with further overclocking

v core unstable so i set it at 1.45 that seems the most stable setting.
fsb and ht like to be adjusted together in 30mhz intervals or cold boot issues occur. this is the pattern i found
200-230 with x5 230-260 with x4 260-290 with x3 290-319 with x2 any attempt to boot at 320 fsb was met with failure.

so once i learned the boards quirks i set out to see how high i could go on fsb
dropped ht to 2 dropped mem to 100 and cranked fsb to 319 was the highest fsb attainable.

290fsb 9x mutli 3xht 133 memory was the highest clock speed i could run which game me roughly 2.618 however it was not prime stable

the highest stable setting ive run at was 267x9x3xht giving me an average of 2403 mhz with 1.45 vcore. i use lower memory settings in bios and use a64 tweaker to adjust memory speed and timings.

At the time of this post i am now running at 2496mhz 277fsbx 9x with 3x ht and 208 fsb memory. in order to run past 2.4 gig i had to raise vcore from 1.45 to 1.55 and was dissapointed when while i was making this post prime 95 running a blend torture test crashed after 9 hours.

[sauria]

Thanks for the update -- any pics?



OK im new to the forums.

Just picked up this k8ns ultra 939 and a a64 3000. Have been using for a week and made a small list of my own pros and cons.

pros
koolance cpu-200g fits(if you go to site they say that it doesnt fit most a64 boards)
6 phase power scheme
motherboard layout is preety decent
silicon images sata raid(best most stable raid controller ive ever used)

cons
lacks x.5 ht settings
lacks the following memory settings that it works at
150/183(if us use a64 tweaker u can use these settings fine)
nvidia sata is right next to agp slot very hard to get at.(however in my case i always use silicon image sata controllers)

OK my sytem specs are as follows
gigabyte k8ns ultra 939
a64 3000
koolance 600 series case with cpu-200g
2x256mb mushkin black level 2 pc 3200(not the rev 2 crap either)
radeon 9800 pro( crappy r350 core and E die samsung mem with artic cooling cooler)
2 x 36 gig western digital raptors( i run in raid 0 always off the SIl raid)
antec 430 watt true power PSU
misc stuff cdrw-dvdr-cdr/floppy/dvdrw-cdrw-cdr.
p.s. I run WIN2K pro(XP sux imho but thats for another post)
that about covers it now on to my findings.

stage 1 inspect mobo out of box.
remove northbridge fan after verifying all componts are in tact and not loose
removed the stupid thermal pad off heatsink applied AS5 and reinstalled.
removed bracket area around cpu. applied AS5 to cpu installed waterblock(note the cpu-200g literally rests against the cpu fan header thats how tight a fit it is)

stage 2 playing around with bios
ran at default installed windows 2k sp4 installed drivers blah blah blah.
on to overclocking.

stage 3 overclocking
OK did exactly what i was told not to do first
and used bios's top performance option. You may wonder why i did this.
I wanted to see where my components stood on this board so i primed it for 8 hours like that.
now this told me 3 things my memory was capable of running 208 fsb at 2.6v
the cpu was capable of 1890 at default. but more importantly gigabyte overclocked the ht bus to 258x5 which means that gigabyte seems to think that 1040 is a safe range with no extra voltage.

my findings with further overclocking

v core unstable so i set it at 1.45 that seems the most stable setting.
fsb and ht like to be adjusted together in 30mhz intervals or cold boot issues occur. this is the pattern i found
200-230 with x5 230-260 with x4 260-290 with x3 290-319 with x2 any attempt to boot at 320 fsb was met with failure.

so once i learned the boards quirks i set out to see how high i could go on fsb
dropped ht to 2 dropped mem to 100 and cranked fsb to 319 was the highest fsb attainable.

290fsb 9x mutli 3xht 133 memory was the highest clock speed i could run which game me roughly 2.618 however it was not prime stable

the highest stable setting ive run at was 267x9x3xht giving me an average of 2403 mhz with 1.45 vcore. i use lower memory settings in bios and use a64 tweaker to adjust memory speed and timings.

At the time of this post i am now running at 2496mhz 277fsbx 9x with 3x ht and 208 fsb memory. in order to run past 2.4 gig i had to raise vcore from 1.45 to 1.55 and was dissapointed when while i was making this post prime 95 running a blend torture test crashed after 9 hours.
:toast:

[Dman777]

OK im new to the forums.

Just picked up this k8ns ultra 939 and a a64 3000. Have been using for a week and made a small list of my own pros and cons.

pros
koolance cpu-200g fits(if you go to site they say that it doesnt fit most a64 boards)
6 phase power scheme.


Are you sure you have the right model? According to the Gigabyte web site only the GA-K8NSNXP-939 in the Nforce 3 line of motherboards have the 6 phase power scheme. It doesn't list it for GA-K8NS Ultra-939.

[composer]

Was reading this at another website....

He is running a AMD64 300 at 2800 stable with DDR at 254mhz at 2-2-2-5-1t with a full 1gig of OCZ VX at 3.43v

My Board: 939 K8NS Ultra, AMD64 3200 10x276,

My questions:
How do I tweak the DDR?
As in A64 Tweak?

Also wondering, what do the following Bios settings do?

DDR Voltage Control, mine is [Normal], settings available are +.01, or +.02 volts
and what is:
MAX Memory Clock? mine is [Auto=200], options 100, 133, 166, 200.

I ask as I am at 10x277 (2.753) on a AMD 6432 and only at 38C idle temp and know I can do much better.

DDR is OCZ Plat. rev 2. 2.5-4-4-9-1T

My vCore (cpu) is 1.425

I think I can reach higher with a push to the vCore (cpu) and some sort of bios or AMD64 tweak.

Thanks again for the tips...

composer

[chew*]

ok open up a64 tweaker on the lower right side it shows memory clock frequency. It lists a bunch of them more importantly it lists some that can not be found in the gigabyte bios such as 133** 150 and 183. ive tested with these an they all work. basically what i do is say im using a 133 memory setting and at 277 fsb and 133 setting it gives me somewhere around 185 mhz ddr i bump the a64 tweaker to 150 and now check cpu z and it says memclock is now 208 ddr. basically i use this so as not to take a hit on memory. I've also emailed gigabyte and asked if they can revise the f5 bios and release a unsupported beta bios with only this alteration to the bios etc 150/183 memory settings. I doubt they will however if they don't ill take theyre bios apart my self and add it. Once tested i will release it to the public.

In answer to the first reply on the 6 phase power sheme yes the k8ns ultra 939 uses a 6 phase the only diff between the 2 boards is A. a revised newer nf3 chip and B. the lack of active mosfet cooling.

[chew*]

no pics at the moment im not done testing yet sauria once i find the max of this chip /board i will post pics of highest fsb possible highest clock possible and then followed by the max speed of bus and chip combined. I also might add i have done no volt mods to the board but have ordered a ocz ddr booster. My buddy had good luck with it and got this mushkin all the way up to 270 fsb.

[composer]

ok open up a64 tweaker on the lower right side it shows memory clock frequency. It lists a bunch of them more importantly it lists some that can not be found in the gigabyte bios such as 133** 150 and 183. ive tested with these an they all work. basically what i do is say im using a 133 memory setting and at 277 fsb and 133 setting it gives me somewhere around 185 mhz ddr i bump the a64 tweaker to 150 and now check cpu z and it says memclock is now 208 ddr. basically i use this so as not to take a hit on memory. I've also emailed gigabyte and asked if they can revise the f5 bios and release a unsupported beta bios with only this alteration to the bios etc 150/183 memory settings. I doubt they will however if they don't ill take theyre bios apart my self and add it. Once tested i will release it to the public.



Thanks, will look into that...also, someone said I should install Multi hal instead of Uniprocessor. Any idea what that means? Benefits?

thanks

[sauria]

no pics at the moment im not done testing yet sauria once i find the max of this chip /board i will post pics of highest fsb possible highest clock possible and then followed by the max speed of bus and chip combined. I also might add i have done no volt mods to the board but have ordered a ocz ddr booster. My buddy had good luck with it and got this mushkin all the way up to 270 fsb.

Great, is that ram BH-5 single sided?

:banana:

[chew*]

Great, is that ram BH-5 single sided?

:banana:
yes

[chew*]

Thanks, will look into that...also, someone said I should install Multi hal instead of Uniprocessor. Any idea what that means? Benefits?

thanks
not sure ill look into it

[sauria]

http://www.giga-byte.com/Motherboard/Support/FAQ/FAQ_444.htm

Is it true that if i use 2x512 ddr400 double sided ram modules ,the board will recon it like ddr333?
I allready ordered 2 samsung modules so i hope i will not encounter such problem...

Anyone else with 2xdouble sided modules ???

Ever get an answer to this? :confused:

[chew*]

Im not sure i dont have double sided memory but i wonder how he determined that the board does not post what speed ur ddr runs at yet he says his board told him he was at ddr 333. If i had to guess he used either the eztune or nvidia utility which i found reported mem speed wrong. What i really find funny is the gigabyte reps response to the question and the link he provided.
http://www.giga-byte.com/MotherBoard/FileList/FAQ/faq_amdguide.jpg

note that that is a socket 754 cpu not a 939.

[sauria]

Yes chew, i found that odd too -- have you run it with 4 DS DIMMS?

[chew*]

Nope. I think a friend of mine has some memory i can stick in though, maybe i'll get it this weekend and see.

If hes running dualsided that means hes using 1 gig. Thats bleh IMHO a true overclocker runs 2x256mb of singlesided and no more. Sometimes even one stick just for high clock purposes. Just my 2 cents its been proven that more memory isnt always better. 1 more fps in doom 3 for $150 dollars more worth of ram isnt worth it to me.

As for some pics heres a couple links to my new and old 3dmark 01 scores.

when i get my ddr booster and if i had a better yield 9800 pro i could score higher i clocked the 9800 pro at 400 core and 349 mem for these tests. however my old athlon xp 3200 score i think is default cant remember.

at 2520 mhz http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=8396447

at 2300 mhz ( this is the speed i run at all the time )
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=8403792

and then my old abit nf7-s /xp3200
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=7681928

In other news i hit a wall at 2500mhz even at 1.7vcore it wont run prime 95 for 8 hours i always crash right around 7.5 hours lol

still cant complain though i told my friend id be happy with 3500 speeds and at 9x255 im at 2300 im using a 4 x HT which gives me roughly 1020 ht and my meory is set at 166 which gives me ddr209. once i get the ddr booster ill attempt to set memory to ddr 200 see how high it goes.

btw my mem timings are in this order if u use a64 tweaker 2/11/15/2/3/10/2/3/2/3

ill try running tighter timings once i get more volts

after a little more tweaking playing with mem timings and threatening my 9800 pro that it could be a paperweight just like my 5900se i managed to get this score.
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=8403856
that puts me at second place compared to all systems at that speed with any OS installed

[sauria]

Great, I'd like to hear of anyone running DS RAM in all 4 slots.

[Dman777]

I'm not really an overclocker, so if I don't overclock will I get the same performance and stability from the GA-K8NS 939 as I would from the GA-K8NS 939 Ultra? I was thinking about saveing the extra cash from the difference of the two boards and useing it toward a new video card.

-Dman

[chew*]

*update*

Tried changing the uniprocessor driver. *WARNING* If you are running raid do not change this driver your sytem will not boot up again and unless your good at hacking your windows you will be forced to reinstall.

2nd issue.
I discovered that the sata raid driver provided by gigabyte is junk. Using this driver will corrupt and or cause permanent damage to your hard drives. Use the silicon images driver provided by MS in they're auto update section. I have tested it and you lose minimal performance but gain maximum stability.

Example of issue with the gigabyte supplied driver. When running in raid 0 if you run sisoft tuneup wizard you will be given a BSOD right near the end of test.

I also experimented with some third party drivers for nf3. In games it would cause my game to freeze. I am now using a whql certified nvidia driver version 5.10. The driver i tested was a 7.xx series.

Will tackle the ram issue over the weekend with dualsided ddr dimms.

[sauria]

Great chew -- thanks for the useful info!

[Lith1um]

Dman,

Sounds like a good idea if you need a new vid card, the boards should perform equally.

There arent alot of differences. I think the main ones are lack of firewire and an active chipset heatsink. Im not sure if the 939 non ultra uses the nVidia firewall or not, but I dont think it does. The non ultra only has 2 sata ports.

[chew*]

I may not have this board much longer. I bought this cuz abit has had they're head up they're ass for the past few months now and via chipsets were not an option for me, however abit may save face with the fatality an8. No i'm not gonna buy the board cuz of the name but more for the quality of components used and features of board. However I'm waiting for reviews to see how it does compared to other nf4 boards. SLi is definitely out of the picture for me. When a single card can sometimes beat a dual card setup why go dual. Maybe when dual cores comeout it will improve but for now it's a no go with me. I must say my experience so far with gigabyte has been decent. I was really impressed when tech support answered my email in 2 days also. With asus i never got a reply 90% of the time, go asus.

[sauria]

I love my Abit nf7-s rev 2 boards -- stable quality. I wonder about the company financially!?

[chew*]

I love my Abit nf7-s rev 2 boards -- stable quality. I wonder about the company financially!?

I think financially they are fine. The problem was nvidia. Abit and nvidia had a falling out due to nvidia giving them crap nf2 chips at the start thus rev 2.0 nf7-s. If u remeber the first nf7-s boards had some small issues. abit wasnt happy about this. So abit was anti nvidia for awhile. Now i think they reconciled but also i think theyre boards are coming out late cuz abit basically told nvidia we dont want your chips till you get them right. instead of abit releasing rev 1.x then revision 2 the product the consumer receives may be bug free this way.I think this is one of abits new policies to quality control. This is why we didnt see a socket 754 till them as of late. Personally i'd like to see what abit can do with the radeon chipset but thats another thred. Sorry for hijacking this one sort of.

P.S. i love my abit nf7-s to 462 fsb sync on a board thats supposed to run at 400 stable gotta love that. http://service.futuremark.com/compare?pcm04=110602

[sauria]

That's a great score -- what would you pick for the best video card for your k8ns ultra 939?

[chew*]

That's a great score -- what would you pick for the best video card for your k8ns ultra 939?

I'm using a ati 9800 pro. Think I hit 22k+ in 3dmark01. My scores are posted in an earlier post mind that i dont have the ultimate athlon im only stable up to 2300 mhz at 1.45 after that i need 1.6 to run at 2400 mhz and thats the highest stable clock speed i can get(thats watercooled on air i might fair worse). My vidcard isn't the overclockers dream 9800 pro either i got the crappy e die samsung/r350 core max stable 400 core 350 mem. Although the 6800gt might fair better I'm not about to shell out 400 for a card with pci express in my near future. My suggestion for someone buying a card due to the fact that they got like a 5200(poor sap)
is a 9800le and pray it has an r360 core and decent memory and either flash it to the gigacube bios or if it uses hynix memory flash it to a 9800xt.

[sauria]

Thanks would a 6600GT beat the 9800 Pro? :confused:

[chew*]

Id say it would be a toss up. halflife would go to the 9800 pro. Doom 3 to the 6600gt. Mainly would look like two cards real close to each other with no clear winner nvidia would win the usual stuff they do good in and radeon winning their usual tests. I would definitely not upgrade to a 6600 gt because its not much of an upgrade.