Asus A8N32-SLI initial impression....WOW!

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04-14-2006, 07:19 AM
Smalltimer

Quote:

Originally Posted by shmadz

I was having all kinds of weird problems that I blamed on this board, but I think I may have found the real problem so I thought I'd share.

My issues have been strange and somewhat counter-intuitive. Prime stable 8 hrs overnight and then crashing in two seconds at lunch. Stable all night friday and then won't even boot on saturday. Also it seemed like more voltage was making it LESS stable!??!

For example I would start to OC the ram at stock volts and 3-3-3-8 and it would go to 240 and then start to see errors. Not bad, so let's up the voltage and try to reach 245, 2.65v - nope, 2.7v - no, 2.75 - nothing. I tried loosening the timings but no luck. The really weird thing was that at 2.7v I would see errors at much lower speeds. It even corrupted windows, twice. I would set a conservative overclock that should have been stable(9*260 with ram at /166) and start priming and go to work and when I get home, black screen and windows will no longer boot at any setting.

I noticed that the voltages were really fluctuating but I didn't worry too much cuz many were saying the same, but what really made me think was the fluctuations increased when I enabled cpu over-voltage when most agree that it improves the situation(decreases fluctuations). So I started paying close attention to voltages and I verified that when I add voltage to ANY setting, my stability goes down... I have a 600w PSU so I start blaming the board and getting real mad and trying to figure out how to RMA or if I could swap for a DFI or something... and then I read Ic3man's prophetic words from like 20 pages back... "check everything"

So then the light comes on and I take one of the really expensive powerbars from work and plugged it in and guess what, "site wiring fault". I checked all the plugins in my apartment and of course the only one that lights up red is the one by my desk :cussing: Now, I haven't had a chance to test fully but the voltage fluctuations have diminished and early OC efforts are bringing much more normal and predictable results (2.6v=240 ; 2.65=244 ; 2.7=250+ haven't gone past 250 yet)

I really should have realized the problem earlier, but my old P3 ran on that plugin without any problems, so I didn't think it was the power. In hindsight the P3 probably draws 1/5 of the current of my new rig so the voltage problems most likely weren't showing up under light load. I'm a little worried that the dirty power affected lifetime of my hardware (mostly the ram and mobo chipsets) but mostly just happy that everything now works.
:party: btw, the board is a beauty, some quirks but that just gives it personality.

A very interesting scenario.
However given the design of the PSU the effects of what you described should not be so prevelant. Unless of course your voltage fluctuations are extreme! :)

If you are having voltage fluctuation problems and instability issues, I would recommend you took a good look at all the passive cooling components on the board. Poor contact and cooling of the components voltage regulators could produce the effect you mentioned. I have not done it yet, but I would inspect every inch of the passive cooling system, remove the tape, apply proper thermal coumpound and reseat everything. Additionally if your not using the riser fan, I constructed a simple duct that forces the rear 120mm fan on my case to pull the air in through the central cooling fins of the heatpipe network. The results where staggering to say the least!

Good luck on your project :)

PS. I have been on the same path you are on now. I have ironed out almost every quirk this board has presented me with however one remains. When under heavy HDD I/O. My entire system sags to its knees. (the CPU meter shows no load) and for that I am very disapointed :(

Otherwise its a nice board :)
04-14-2006, 09:17 AM
cronic

Has anyone else noticed that the A8N32 will not run UCCC at or above 280 1t 1:1. I have tried this on two different boards with approx 24 sets of Gskill HZ, with numerous cpus and none will go over 280 1t 1:1

Has anyone had different results?

My guess is no and this is a limitation of this board.
04-14-2006, 02:20 PM
Crashtack

I just got this board this week and am now starting to try some over clocks. Evertime I boot I get this message.

"New CPU installed! Please enter setup to configure your system."
new_cpu_installed.jpg

Is this the cold start bug? I have been lurking this thread for months and have read all 62 pages and haven't seen it explained this way.

Because of this and problems with OCing I have reverted back to bois version 1009.

Also, I noticed that CPU-Z reports this as a Rev. A2 board. Is that what they all are.
CPU-Z_revA2.jpg

Other pics:
cpu.jpg
case.jpg
04-14-2006, 03:03 PM
tommrussell

Quote:

Originally Posted by cronic

Has anyone else noticed that the A8N32 will not run UCCC at or above 280 1t 1:1. I have tried this on two different boards with approx 24 sets of Gskill HZ, with numerous cpus and none will go over 280 1t 1:1

Has anyone had different results?

My guess is no and this is a limitation of this board.

i've got ocz gold gx and i believe it is uccc its running at 280 1:1 1T 2.6volts and seems to be happy at this
tom

http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/6...onic5ri.th.jpg
04-14-2006, 03:25 PM
rickten

1 Attachment(s)

just got the board for zzf and its 1.01

has anybody tried to disable the pata slots. Even when I disable them they still pop up in windows and my dvdrw functions perfectly. Why can I not disable them? Seems such a simple task for such a complicated board.
04-14-2006, 05:32 PM
cronic

Quote:

Originally Posted by tommrussell

i've got ocz gold gx and i believe it is uccc its running at 280 1:1 1T 2.6volts and seems to be happy at this
tom

http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/6...onic5ri.th.jpg

lemme guess 281 is a no go?
04-14-2006, 07:59 PM
tommrussell

i,ve had them up to 290 but wont pass prime for more than a couple of hours even tweaking timings does no good

a 290 oc 1:1 not prime stable is of no use to anyone

hav'nt had these sticks long enough to really play with them to see exactly what i can get out of them

except for one "honeydos" the weekend is all mine and ocz's
tom
04-14-2006, 11:15 PM
Zeus...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crashtack

I just got this board this week and am now starting to try some over clocks. Evertime I boot I get this message.

"New CPU installed! Please enter setup to configure your system."
new_cpu_installed.jpg

Is this the cold start bug? I have been lurking this thread for months and have read all 62 pages and haven't seen it explained this way.

Because of this and problems with OCing I have reverted back to bois version 1009.

Also, I noticed that CPU-Z reports this as a Rev. A2 board. Is that what they all are.
CPU-Z_revA2.jpg

Other pics:
cpu.jpg
case.jpg

the new CPU evertime u boot seems a strange one (is the CMOS jumper in the right position!) is it fine with bios 1009?

as for the Rev off the mobo mine shows up the same as your pic of CPUZ and I have had mine since release
04-15-2006, 09:47 AM
Crashtack

Zeus...

it gives me the same error with bios 1009, annd the jumper is in the right place.

At first I disabled the "stop on F1 error" thing in the Boot options of the bios. This caused any changes I had made in the bois not to stick once the system was fully booted. Now after a change in the bios I save and exit the bois, wait for the error after the reboot, and then shut the system down at the power supply. Then I turn the power supply back on, click the power botton, and it will boot straight to windows.

Seems hookey, but I am able to set manual overclocks now. Currently up to 260 x 10 = 2600 with 1.2v + .2v = 1.41v.
04-15-2006, 11:52 AM
Deus Excalibur

I got the system in my sig set up a few days ago and I started to OC this thing yesterday. My first attempt got me 2855mhz @ 1.424v dual small FFT stable in Prime on air cooling.(gets up to 60C... yikes) For some reason unless I use CPU overvolt I'm stuck at 1.424v.

My old system had a different A8N32 and a 4400+ in it, and I'm sad to say some issues are still not fixed. That damn warm boot issue is killing me here, I can't reboot at 3ghz at all no matter what(cold boots fine), and I'm having trouble doing anything like 1.25v + .2v up to 1.3v + .2v at 2.91ghz.

EDIT: My board says Rev. 1.01G, my old one was plain 1.01 I think.
04-15-2006, 03:21 PM
tommrussell

Quote:

Originally Posted by cronic

lemme guess 281 is a no go?

CRONIC:kissbutt:

your right, i have worked on this since the weehours of the morning, and can not, and will not, get past test 8 in memtest, i can'nt even get past the first pass in test 8 :brick:

droped down to the 183 divider and tightened up the timings
and thats as good as its going to get

hope i did'nt pissyou off, was'nt trying to, just thought i might be of some help (doin' my own thinking again)DOH

tom
04-15-2006, 04:39 PM
cronic

Quote:

Originally Posted by tommrussell

CRONIC:kissbutt:

your right, i have worked on this since the weehours of the morning, and can not, and will not, get past test 8 in memtest, i can'nt even get past the first pass in test 8 :brick:

droped down to the 183 divider and tightened up the timings
and thats as good as its going to get

hope i did'nt pissyou off, was'nt trying to, just thought i might be of some help (doin' my own thinking again)DOH

tom

No problem bud, Unfortunantly it is a limitation of this board. Oh well, it is rock solid. My new VENUS will be here next week.
04-15-2006, 07:25 PM
tommrussell

thanks CRONIC
i wish the best of luck with the venus hope it goes smooooooth as silk
tom
04-16-2006, 08:08 AM
shmadz

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smalltimer

A very interesting scenario.
However given the design of the PSU the effects of what you described should not be so prevelant. Unless of course your voltage fluctuations are extreme! :)

If you are having voltage fluctuation problems and instability issues, I would recommend you took a good look at all the passive cooling components on the board. Poor contact and cooling of the components voltage regulators could produce the effect you mentioned. I have not done it yet, but I would inspect every inch of the passive cooling system, remove the tape, apply proper thermal coumpound and reseat everything. Additionally if your not using the riser fan, I constructed a simple duct that forces the rear 120mm fan on my case to pull the air in through the central cooling fins of the heatpipe network. The results where staggering to say the least!

Good luck on your project :)

PS. I have been on the same path you are on now. I have ironed out almost every quirk this board has presented me with however one remains. When under heavy HDD I/O. My entire system sags to its knees. (the CPU meter shows no load) and for that I am very disapointed :(

Otherwise its a nice board :)

Thanks for the insight, I will experiment with some ducting and see. Is your hdd problem on pata or on the sata (nvidia or sil)?? I don't think I have seen this problem but I have had other probs with the nforce sata solution. I am thinking I may have a problem with the "southbridge" heating up... (actually I think it's more like a second northbridge but it's further south on the board so :p: ) My vid card is a monster and half the heat goes out the back but the other half blows right over the southbridge, now that you mention hdd probs I am thinking this might be the cause of my windows corruption.?

Oh yeah, I live in a remote community and the voltage fluctuations ARE extreme, we get power failures almost on a weekly basis in the winter and it's common for the lights to go dim and then really bright every once in a while. I really wanted to get a ups or something to ensure clean power but it would cost as much or more than my whole computer. If anyone knows a cheap solution I'm all ears.
04-16-2006, 09:17 AM
Crashtack

just bought an APC smart ups. they have there own inernal sine wave rectifier. so regardless of what the external AC is doing your system will get clean 115v 60hz. I got the 750VA model, which has a 500watt output. suposed to give 5min on full load. my system (including monitor) is only loading it to 50%.

I was rewarded with a lightning storm last night and some major power hits.
04-18-2006, 10:38 AM
shmadz

@crashtack -> How much did it cost ya?? It sounds like just what I need, don't need more than a couple minutes for power outage, just want clean power -
04-18-2006, 08:36 PM
Crashtack

Quote:

Originally Posted by shmadz

@crashtack -> How much did it cost ya?? It sounds like just what I need, don't need more than a couple minutes for power outage, just want clean power -

I bought it localy at Fry's. I beleive it was $240, less then what Newegg has it for. I live in a 1920's built house with some very fishy wiring, and it has alleviated all of my AC worries.
04-19-2006, 06:19 PM
Titus

apparently there is a confirmed new Revision 1.01G of this board out...Rev 1.01G, has better video card release levers than the 1.01 that don't interfere with the CMOS switch...that alone makes this Revision a huge upgrade
04-19-2006, 06:38 PM
jcniest5

Quote:

Originally Posted by Titus

apparently there is a confirmed new Revision 1.01G of this board out...Rev 1.01G, has better video card release levers than the 1.01 that don't interfere with the CMOS switch...that alone makes this Revision a huge upgrade

I'm surprise why instead of the rev. 1.01G, Asus didn't just come up with a 1.02 or better yet 2.0, and rearrange the PCI-E x16 to a better layout (and correct what reviewers and users have been complaining for all this time). I would bet with my own life that a lot of people will sell their 1.01 and jump on the new revision (more so if it is a 2.0 than 1.02). Then I will jump on it myself.
04-19-2006, 06:42 PM
Titus

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcniest5

I'm surprise why instead of the rev. 1.01G, Asus didn't just come up with a 1.02 or better yet 2.0, and rearrange the PCI-E x16 to a better layout (and correct what reviewers and users have been complaining for all this time). I would bet with my own life that a lot of people will sell their 1.01 and jump on the new revision (more so if it is a 2.0 than 1.02). Then I will jump on it myself.

why even bother selling it when you can just do an RMA with ASUS...won't they give you the latest revision as a replacement?
04-19-2006, 06:47 PM
jcniest5

Quote:

Originally Posted by Titus

why even bother selling it when you can just do an RMA with ASUS...won't they give you the latest revision as a replacement?

I do hope so. Don't they give you a refurbished one instead? What's their policy, to fulfill RMAs with new or refurbished products? I read that many manufacturers use refurbished for that purpose.
04-19-2006, 06:54 PM
Titus

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcniest5

I do hope so. Don't they give you a refurbished one instead? What's their policy, to fulfill RMAs with new or refurbished products? I read that many manufacturers use refurbished for that purpose.

I recently did an RMA of my A8N32 board and received what looked to me like a brand new board back as a replacement...even if it was refurbished it was a really nice refurbished one...
04-20-2006, 02:11 AM
cre3d

Quote:

Originally Posted by Titus

I recently did an RMA of my A8N32 board and received what looked to me like a brand new board back as a replacement...even if it was refurbished it was a really nice refurbished one...

Who did you contact for RMA and did you have to send the board back first or were you sent a replacement and then sent your original back?
04-20-2006, 02:26 AM
Titus

Quote:

Originally Posted by cre3d

Who did you contact for RMA and did you have to send the board back first or were you sent a replacement and then sent your original back?

I called the number on the 1st page of the A8N32-SLI manual (on the inside cover)...connect to the RMA department...yes they do advanced RMA's where they send you the replacement board first then after receiving it you send your old board back (you have 14 or 21 days to do it)...they send you the new board via 3 day shipping I believe but you can also have them overnight or 2 day ship it to you for an additional cost...I payed extra to have it overnighted to me

you can also do RMA's through the ASUS website...but I prefer doing it over the phone...seems faster

http://helpdesk.asus.com/
04-24-2006, 06:12 AM
gocchin

Picked up an A8N32-SLI (Rev 1.01) and installed it this weekend in my watercooled setup...

Bios 1009 and warm boot issues immediately even with the bios all set at defaults... I have yet to get the system up and running properly, though I have noticed it's quiet ;)

I know that newer bioses don't actually fix this problem but I'm wondering if any of you found more stability or better OCing with any of the newer bioses?

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