PCI-E 2.0 shouldn't make a difference. I have to double check the manual, but it may be that the white PCI-E slot is fed from the south-bridge, such that data between the two cards has to transfer over the hyper-transport link.
Still, I don't think this matters, as on my system I score 18,300 on 3DMark and performance in games is equal or better to what they were on the 680i using the same components.
Phard,
On a whim, try a GTL REF around 30-35 and see if that makes a difference. We're still not quite sure what the setting for GTL REF actually relates to, but if it's microvolts and not percentage to another voltage as we had thought, then 30-35 would be in line with what people are setting on the references boards and on the Striker II Formula.
Bonne chance!
I too found an increase although not quite as dramatic as that posted by xraymtb for obvious reasons but a full 5% with all other things being equal except the slot change. It's not a huge difference but it could be the difference to being #1 or 2 on orb for 7800gt or being #6 or 7.Quote:
Originally Posted by theYipster
This is cards at stock in slot 1 and 3
http://images6.theimagehosting.com/pci_e_1_3.th.jpg
And in 1 and 2 still stock no cpu changes made
http://images6.theimagehosting.com/pci_e_1_2.th.jpg
A full 5% increase (or more?) just by slot change matters to me and I think also to others.
Hmm, interesting. It's probably a result of both cards being on the NB vs one on the NB and one on the SB. I'm not sure if I'm going to go through the hassle of switching to test for myself, since compared to the 680i I saw no loss in performance (plus I have that X-Fi installed.) Btw, Loonym and xray, what BIOS are you using?
I'm still on .P05... I moved the xfi to the 16x slot 3 and my pci-e raid card to #4 :D
Loonym,
If you would indulge us, could you perhaps swap back to the stock BIOS or 1.1B4 and see how that affects your 3DMark 06 score with one card in the white slot? I've seen that a lot of people are having issues with video drivers when using the P05 BIOS, and it may be that this BIOS incorrectly configures or manages the PCI-E or HT buses.
hi guys, i decided to sell my Maximus Formula and buy a 780i to make a SLI with mu 8800gt
Do you suggest me P7n over XFX reference (but 6 phase power) and over Asus asus p5n-t ?
Maybe p7n has more quality, even in Oc, i can find @ 232€
Does msi p7n any particular problem ? will be q6600 and corsair twinx pc6400 ver 6.2 cl4 ( i have 4 modules of 1gb) good for this board?
thank you for reply:)
I'm confused... When you are running with two or four sticks, you can't post? Or is that you believe you are running single channel when it is supposed to run in dual channel?
Video card RAM can't be set into any mode, and if everything is running correctly then it should behave completely independently. However, it may be that something is screwy with your card, causing errors elsewhere in the system. If you can, try your card in another machine and see if what happens.
Ash,
I had a similar issue when I first installed my video card. I seated the video card and when I mounted it to the case, it poped out slightly. It was not even noticable. Reseating the card and adjuecting the retaining bracket solved the problem. If willing please try the following:
1) Unplug the unit. Very important.
2) Remove all but 2 mem sticks {CPU, Y, N, Y, N}
3) Remove all but 1 video card - blue slot closest to CPU.
4) Pop out the CMOS battery to reset the CMOS. Move the small tab on the right side on the battery to the right. It will pop out easily.
5) Replace the battery after 10 seconds, Push down firmly until it seats. The unit should now be set to the factory settings. Returning to the factory settings will eliminate any possible configuration errors in the bios.
6) Plug in and power on the unit. Watch the hard disk access light. When the light is flashing the unit is booting up. If you get no video signal, power off and re-seat the video card. Try again. It may take a couple of attempts.
7) If the HDD access light is on steady, then the unit is not posting indicating a hardware problem.
Finally, Check the beep codes when the system boots. I posted the beep codes a while back. You should get a single long beep indicating a good post. Note that the single long beep may be followed by a barely audible "tink" (not beep) for each USB socket (not device attached) in use on the unit.
Hope you find this helpful.
Yipster,
I started a project last week to build a surface stability map of the v1.0 bios.
Basically, I've been setting the CPU GTL (Y-axis) and FSB terminator (X-axis) and running OCCT. The z-axis is a stability precentage based on a 30 minute OCCT run and computed as follows:
Stability = (Test Duration - Run time to CRASH) *100 / Run Time to CRASH
Where Test Duration = 1800s (30 Minutes) and
Run Time to Crash = the time reamining in OCCT when a crash occurs (in seconds)
A test that runs for 30 minutes achieves a 100% score. A BSOD or failure to post receives a 0% score.
I'm about half way through the first surface map. It should be interesting to see how these to settings interact with respect to stability. I'll post the results sometime around the end of the week.
My MSI P7N Platinum didn't boot to Vista with 4GB ram. After I installed this kb929777:http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929777 I added another 2GB and now it's working fine with 4x1GB.Quote:
Originally Posted by ash5555
That sounds great X-Built-Stan. I look forward to your results. Btw, which version of OCCT are you using? The new version (2.0.0.a) has a stronger CPU stability test based upon Prime95's small FFT algorithm.Quote:
Originally Posted by x-built-Stan
Also, Aaron Yuri (the board mod at MSI) just received his P7N and will be tinkering as well. Hopefully we'll get final confirmation on what the integer-settings refer (and whether or not they all use the same metric.) My bet is that FSB VTT and GTL REF are either percentages added or subtracted to a mother voltage (you're theory,) or that they're microvolts (like on the Striker II Formula.)
Hmm, the fact that the same issue has happened on two boards, and that you have tested four sets of RAM each suggests to me that your video card may be at fault. I see that it's a non-standard 1 gig model. Unfortunately I don't know much about it, or if it can present compatibility issues with certain setups. I would consider what X-Built says -- that may be the issue. Otherwise I would search for people with issues concerning your video card and see if anyone has a similar problem.
up.Quote:
Originally Posted by edo
so as i read, there could be problems with 4x1gb ?
Edo,
Please do not bump posts on this thread. It isn't a for-sale board.
The P7N in my opinion is the best 780i board on the market. It can OC easily and has far better components than the reference boards which should result in significantly improved reliability. Remember that the P7N Power Phase design is dual-phase. It's actually more robust than the 6 phase design used on the reference board.
thank you for reply first of all.
Yes that's not a for-sale thread, but, i asked for tech info, and there's no better thread than the owners one;)
do you mean dual-4phase , 8 phase total, like asus right ?
what about 4 sticks of 1 gb ?
Edo,
We're all enthusiasts here and none of us work for MSI. We try to answer all technical questions, but please understand that no one is bound or required to answer them in any set amount of time. Bumping posts, especially when they are only 3 hours apart, is not what I would consider appropriate for this thread.
Anyway, it's a dual four phase design which is designed to match or exceed the robustness of ASUS's 8-phase system. Both MSI and ASUS's power phase design are considerably better than that used on the reference boards.
I haven't tested four 1 gig sticks, although I can't imagine them being a problem. Search this thread as well as the threads at forum.msi.com.tw for people using 4x1 gig setups and any issues they may have. Forum signatures are great place to look.
Thanks.
theYipster,
I know you all are enthusiasts, we are on XS forum and not MSI :)
Sorry for bumping ( i think you mean "quoting" ) , anyway my post would be never noticed and like in others thread i think is not out of regulament, sorry anyway.
I got all information i need
Thanks.
I am using the standard bridge cable that came with the board. When I set up with the white slot I had to use the longer cable as the short one was a few mm too short.Quote:
Originally Posted by theYipster
In my case, I have no need for the PCI slot and I have set Rivatuner to keep my gfx temps to a reasonable level so I will be keeping the cards in the recommended slots anyway. I am also using the original shipping bios if that makes a difference.
Edo,
I run 4x1GB dual channel in my rig. See signature. No problems here.
Xray,
Are you using two bridge straps? When I put my cards (2) in SLI, I originally only had 1 bridge strap installed. After I got lousy 3DMark scores, I checked the MSI manual and diagram showed 2 straps. Adding the second strap got my scores up.
FYI: both cards were installed in the Blue PCi-E slots.
X-built,
Interesting. By how much did your scores go up?
really thank you :toast:Quote:
Originally Posted by x-built-Stan
I don't recall exactly. I do remember that it struck me as though I was running in single card mode. That is why I checked the manual.Quote:
Originally Posted by theYipster
Xray,
I do recall that I also had trouble getting the SLI mode enabled in the nVidia control panel after I had made some hardware changes. I had to set the SLI mode, reboot, and then re-install the video drivers. You might want to try that also.