The OFFICIAL MSI K8N Neo2-939 tips and tricks guide thread

Mikee - I'm using x2 Corsair Twinx CMX512-3200XLPRO sticks which have the same 2-2-2-5 SPD timings. They've always worked fine at stock speeds at 1T and their rated 2.7v.

But as Losphoron suggests, you probably need to relax the timming on your memory to do any overclock.
I couldn't get mine above 214Mhz without doing so. System would reboot when going into Windows.

I'm new at this and still messing with the timmings, but give 2.5-4-4-7 a shot just for grins.
I was able to at least start going to higher HTT with those.

I got these timmings after looking at an old review for this RAM where they did a bit of testing on OC'ing them.
Those timmings may give you a starting point for yours.

I'm using Sideeffects 1C3 BIOS if that helps.

Is there anyway to get a x10.5 CPU Multiplier with Sideeffect's 1C3 BIOS?

Found some folks running 240 and getting 2520 CPU Clock which I want to try.

Thanks

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/pike444/OC3.jpg

Special K, here is that printout from the new tool. I think the problem might be that I don't know the voltage settings besides the timings...but I'm just not sure what I'm doing wrong. Thanks for your help

Well, after some good and mostly failed tests (that were driving me nuts) I replaced my PSU and got a Corsair Nautilus 500 cooling system for the CPU.

Those changes seems to have made a world of difference.
I'm still testing and by know means are these the best, but this is what I have so far:

Hardware Setup:
BIOS - Sideeffect 1DB1 Standard
AMD 64 4000+ San Diego
CPU Heatsink - Corsair Nautilus 500
Memory - Corsair TwinX 1024XL PC3200 (x2 Corsair CMX512-3200XLPRO Default SPD 2-2-2-5 @ 2.7v )
Video - Nvidia 6800GT - PNY Verto - BIOS 5.40.00.15.51 - Default 350Mhz/1Gig - Driver 84.21
Hard Disk - Seagate Barracuda 120GB 7200RPM - ST3120026AS (on SATA 3 next to CPU)
Power Supply - Silverstone 550W

OC:
CPU Clock: 255
CPU Multi: 11 (2.8Ghz)
CPU VID: 1.45
HT Multi: 4 (1020)
Mem Clock: 183
DDR Volt: 2.7
Timming: 3-3-3-5-1T
All other BIOS settings at default.

Some Scores:
Sandra Lite 2007.5.10.98
Mem Int: 6824
Mem FP: 6724
ALU: 10158
SSE3: 8601
MM Int: 26391
MM FP: 28666

3DMark03: 12308
3DMark05: 4971
3Dmark06: 2426

Super PI mod 1.4/checksum mod was tried when I thought the system was stable enough.

I know my memory is holding me back to DDR480. I've tried upping the volts and different timmings without luck and I found other reports of the same memory not being able to go above 480. So unless there's some magic numbers or settings to help correct that I'm not sure what else to try. Over all, I can't complain about the memory considering it's rated as PC3200 / DDR400 memory to begin with.

I'm going to try some more timmings to see if I can tighten them down a bit.
Any recommendations?

The 3DMark Scores were for grins and to see how well the overclock was working. I found 3DMark03 to stutter or reboot the system when settings were unstable, so it was somewhat of a good indicater what would happen when gaming. The PNY 6800GT doesn't overclock well, but I'm replacing that with a BFG 7800 GS OC which I got a deal on. I expect those scores to change some.

I'm afraid to try much further on the FSB considering I can't seem to understand which temps are accurate. Seems MBM and Core Center aren't reporting them correctly - I get 31c idle and 45c for CPU, but case is showing 7c ? BIOS is showing 41c for CPU. I probably need to reseat the block and let the AS5 settle in as well, but would like to figure out which tool to use to get accurate temps in windows.

If you'd like me to try any other settings or have other advice, please let me know.

Thanks!

EDIT: ARG! I just installed the 7800GS OC at the 255 FSB settings above and the system won't post at all.
I'm not even trying to OC it. For AGP clock I tried 66 and 67 (due to the earlier reports that AGP wouldn't lock unless it was 67) with no luck.
Currently working with it at 240x11 / x4 HT / 200Mhz DDR and it's ok. Is there an issue with AGP 3.0 cards at or above 250??

try 68

Do you guys think my early NewCastle 130nm core is why I can't get an easy OC? I'm just not sure what I should set all the things (timings, voltage) to (or even if this is the best BIOS), without causing damage, and would rather wait for advice from someone who may have experience with this setup.

New offical bios is out, 1.C0. Seems to have corrected the nvidia lan ROM error, also for my board the AGP stays at 66mhz with the overclock, not sure why it would raise with the previous bios (when it shouldnt have).

I havent tried to beat my overclock with this bios yet, but Ive put it at max and its rock solid atm, its an older 3000 Winchester:

Core speed: 2196 MHz
multi: 9.0
HTT: 244 MHz
HT: 4x

Memspeed in bios: 166 mhz
Mem Frequency 199.6 mhz(I may be able to bump up HTT even more, it used to be around 200)
2-3-3-6 timings, Command rate 1T (corsair xms memory, 2 x 1 gig)

I would post a CPU-Z pict, but I figured save the bandwidth and just type this stuff out.

Another thing, I see a new "driver" called "AMD Away Driver", what is that?

is anybody running twinmos 3200(mtec chips)? Could you post bios/settings/slots, I can't get these sticks stable

thanks

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by -TooL

New offical bios is out, 1.C0

---

I can only see 1.c


Update date 2005-12-21

do you have link

thanks

i tried to get 1.c3 but the site seems to have been wiped again :( Im using 1.c final but it sucks,i can be memtest stable all day but BSOD in windows like crazy. pls email me sideeffect or anyone with the regular or tccd version of 1.c3 at this name at yahoo dot com. Thanks.

http://www.msi.sploitz.com/

Here is the link for the 1C3 Beta. It's the one on the top right

What are the possible causes of bios corruption? I thought that maybe I was using a less than stable version so I reflashed from Sideeffects 1C final to sideeffects 1C3 and everything was good for a couple of days but now it's doing the same things again.
It will get to the point where windows won't boot so I reset the cmos and redo all my settings and when I reboot it gets stuck on the "Nvidia searching for array" part and freezes. After that I try to press "Delete" to go into the bios settings and it goes into it but immediately freezes.
This all started when I booted into windows and got a bsod that said something about "PFL_CORRUPTED" or something similiar.

Could someone please post a a64 screenshot of good settings for tccd with this mobo? I am going out of my mind trying to get this to work right, i am using an opty 165 where the previous owner had it stable at 2.88ghz with the mem at ddr600 2.5-4-4-6, the cpu tests out nice at 2.88ghz but with the mem at ddr400. My ram is g.skill tccd rated for 275mhz 2.5-3-3-7. I testes the system at 2.7ghz and ddr550 with memtest for 16 hours with no errors, but I can barely last a few seconds in a fresh xp install! :slapass: Even with the cpu on a lower multi around its stock 1.8 I cannot get even the first line of a 1MB superpi to go! I am trying to use sideeffect's 1.c3 tccd bios, thanks to any who can help! *edit* they are week 440 chips, if that helps at all...Ive been trying the settigns from the tccd guide o nthe forums with a tiny bit of sucess with the cpu down low, but up the cpu and it goes to hell.

have you tried lower volts on ram

Yes, and in some cases, 2.7 got me some headroom, but for high overclocks, anything less than 2.8v wont even post. previous testing showed higher scores with higher volts in everest home edition (back when I had a working memory controller on my cbbid wincheser, imagine that); so I had thought I had gotten the tccd that likes voltage.

I've found this to be a problem with the board.

With my BH-6 I can be memtest+ stable at 220Mhz 2-2-2-10 1T no problem. But in Windows, not a chance, lock up city.

Its a shame as I have to run my memory at 180Mhz :(

This is a straight xp sp2 install im using, no newer patches, and most noticably, no dual core fixes....could those be a problem??

*edit* I've been thinking...I remember messing aroudn with the opty in bios 1.8, and while a bunch of optiosn went missing (like cpu multi and cpu vid), I did get ddr550 working for a nice 27 second superpi (my best ever). What exactly is it about 1.8 that it doesnt support dual core? I'm going to try going back to it as it seems vastly more stable than 1.c3 (many times the post will lock up, or display garbled info). Thanks for any clarification...

finally figured it out....this board or cpu has some kind of 2t bug. with dual core, or at least this chip, i cant run mem at 1t, even at ddr400. Should I try to rma my ram? I dont know what else to do at this point, ive tried EVERYTHING. I foudn this out when I tried the 1.8 again, I realized it set the mem to 2t so thats why it was stable. back on 1.c3 tccd mod by sideeffect, still ddr550 isnt stable with 2t, but ddr400 is, so ill stay here for a little while... thanks for any feedback, i think i will sell these sticks and get 2gb of ddr400 :( sux I paid so much for a 165 with a memory controller i cant even use...

Sideeffects main site been wiped again?
http://www.swjka.com/neo2/index.php

I'm trying to find Sideeffects 1C final standard (not the Beta 3 that the other BIOS sites link to as 1C)

The mirrors appear to be down as well.

Thanks

There appears to be a set of new CoreCenters (yes, plural) available at MSI's site here MSI Mainboard Utility. There's now a "Dual Core" and single version listed.

Unfortunatly there still isn't a nForce3 NB temp option to look at and I suspect my nForce3 chip was getting a bit hot.

I started to take a look at Systool, Speedfan, MBM, (etc) for monitoring temps and voltages with this board.

Anybody ever noticed that the nForce3 chip temperature is not only reported inaccuratly, but it's backwards??

That is: The hotter the chip gets, the lower the C is.

I confirmed that in both SpeedFan and Systool (which has an offset, but not something that handles the backwards temp scenario).

I modded a somewhat larger heatsink (40x45x25mm) to fit in a way that wouldn't interfere with the AGP card. Had to epoxy the sink on (with Artic Alumina) as there was no way to clamp it down.

I ran the system without an active fan on it for awhile and watched as the temperature being reported by Systool go down (had started at about 22c).
At first I thought that was a good thing until the temp started getting ridiculous (below 10c).

I plugged in a NB fan and just let it rest on the heatsint. I immediatly saw the temp climb back up and settle in at about 18c.

Suppose there is no way to get an accurate reading from the board and need an external method?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Signal64

Anybody ever noticed that the nForce3 chip temperature is not only reported inaccuratly, but it's backwards??

---

How do you get the temps of the NB? No utility I have found does the job unless I am looking at it wrong.

If it makes a difference I installed an after market NB copper HSF when MSI sent me a substandard replacement. Maybe my temps would be lower?

If I want the most stable BIOS what should I be running? Are the new MSI BIOS's any good? Keep in mind I am not an aggressive over clocker.

Edit:

Is there any reason you can think of as to why my motherboard is not stable at 1T with anything over 200FSB? I tried different ram and all.

I had OCZ gold gamer extreme rated at 2-2-2-5 230FSB(I think) and I could not get even 201FSB. This includes loosening timings, higher voltage, and all. And the ram worked 100% in another board.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sleepy Samurai

How do you get the temps of the NB? No utility I have found does the job unless I am looking at it wrong.

---

SysTool, SpeedFan, and older MSI CoreCenter versions report them.
SpeedFan reports it as Temp1 on my board.
SysTool and the older CoreCenter lists it as Northbridge/NB.

Just remember what I said above, the temp is reported "backwards".
9c is hotter than 14c in this case.

Quote:

---

If it makes a difference I installed an after market NB copper HSF when MSI sent me a substandard replacement. Maybe my temps would be lower?

---

Which aftermarket did you get? I couldn't find anything that was low enough and not get in the way of a longer AGP card (like a 7800GS).
If it doesn't have a fan on it, then you may need to consider it. The nForce3 does get pretty hot.

I can't say what a good temp is considering I can't find a thing on what the normal/max temps are for an nForce3 250 Ultra.
nVidia doesn't make that info publicly available, so standard common sense is keep it as cool as you can.

Quote:

---

If I want the most stable BIOS what should I be running? Are the new MSI BIOS's any good? Keep in mind I am not an aggressive over clocker.

---

In going through the thread, I never saw a consensus that one was better than the rest.
Only thing to consider is if your running X2 then you need 1.9 (I think) or later.

I'm having good luck with Sideeffects 1C3 and 1D1 standard versions.
I'd rather use his 1C final, but can't find it.

Quote:

---

Edit:

Is there any reason you can think of as to why my motherboard is not stable at 1T with anything over 200FSB? I tried different ram and all.

I had OCZ gold gamer extreme rated at 2-2-2-5 230FSB(I think) and I could not get even 201FSB. This includes loosening timings, higher voltage, and all. And the ram worked 100% in another board.

---

Had a similar issue with Corsair 3200XLPRO. Had to relax the timings to go above 211. Settled on 3-3-3-8 (was 2-2-2-5 like yours).

On the first page, there's a tip that mentions if TRCD (second number) is 2, then the VDIMM drops by 0.1 volts (i.e. if your ram requires 2.7 and you set it to that, then it drops it to 2.6 if TCRD = 2). You might want to look at that as well.

I'm trying out the OCZ Platinum PC4000 (DDR500) 2Gig kit. Runs fine at 2.7v @ 250 3-3-2-8-1T and has been very stable so far.

And kind of funny, I noticed that the pic at the top of this thread shows the memory in the wrong slots for dual-channel operation (although noted elsewhere).
You need them in the Green/Purple slots (not Green-Green or Purple-Purple) for Dual-Channel to work (at least on the Version 1 boards)

Well... I have some good news.

There were a few in the thread that had issues with Cold Boot when they updated their AGP card.

I found myself in a similar situation when I went from a 6800GT to a 7800GS.

The system would work fine with HTT above 250, but when you put in a more recent AGP Card, Cold Boot problems.

You reset everything, boot, OC to something lower and the system would boot fine. Going further, you up it to your higher HTT again and things are running stable. Turn off the system power switch and try to boot, Cold Boot problem. Not an issue with your prior AGP card.

Upping the voltage on AGP and other tweaks wouldn't correct the problem.

I tried more than a few BIOS's last night and finally found that Sideeffect's 1Brev2 standard didn't have the issue at all. Things are cold booting fine again.

I didn't try MSI's 1B or other variations as I'm happy with this one.

The CPU temps are off again (seems to report about 5-7c hotter?) but I'll live with that. I don't trust any of the temps on this board as it is.

Anyway... back to it.

I have a ventec copper after market cooler that the retailer recommended. Applied some arctic silver and the install was easy. It is the same size a stock with a bigger fan by about 2mm.

With my CPU at 45c my NB is -19c so I must be smoken?

today my new "OCZ5002048EBPE-K" (CL3-3-2-8 Dual Channel Platinum EL) arrived! with 2.8V they´re running this:

http://home.arcor.de/cm50k/bilder/ocz_260mhz.jpg

but i´m still using the sideeffect 1.d TCCD bios.
so which bios is the best for this ram?
and what settings should i use?
Trc and DRAM Idle Timer say nothing to me...