Foxconn A79A-S SB750 Rocks

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Originally Posted by merkk1

Particle & Keithlm you guys using vista-64 also ? If so maybe 3.6-3.7 is what you get when using the vista-64 on the Phenom II

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Not yet... I"m on Vista 32 right now. I went back to Vista 32 awhile ago so I could play with the ATI Gaming Fusion beta. Now the release version includes a 64 bit version.

I plan on re-loading in the next week or so after I play some more. (I may also try 8Gb of ram just for fun... but I suspect I'd have to slow it down a bit. If not that would be very cool.)

I suspect that I will be able to very easily get 3.6-3.7Ghz even with Vista 64. (I believe I can get 3.8-3.9 on Vista 32. I SOOOOO want to buy water cooling and a pretty case for it.)

EDIT: OMG::: Just upped the NB to 2.6Ghz in bios... rebooted... tested... it gained me almost 1Gb/s memory bandwidtch and the latency went from 56 to 49ns. (Sadly I had to back it the NB back to 2.4Ghz... so only 800Mhz/s faster and 50.5 nm latencty.)

With the 2.4Ghz NB I re-ran 3DVantage.

CPU@3.6Ghz NB@1.8Ghz:
P11780
CPU 12106
GPU 11675

CPU@3.6Ghz NB@2.4Ghz:
P12058
CPU 12180
GPU 12018

So the NB made the CPU and the GPU score go up just a bit.

(The newest ATI 8.12 drivers are not "certified" so if you search on the orb for 3dVantage you have to tell it to show ALL video drivers AND also to show "unofficial" results...)

po6 working good for me. running prime95 (large) and no blue screens. w-cooled and w7-64bit. 3.6 at the moment and good so far. i use ddr800 g-skill and epp will change timings for me on po5, have not tried po6 yet.

Is it me or am i dreaming. i think nb freq and cpu-ht seem backwards with po6 bios. Could that be why they pulled the bios.

unfortunately I had to get rid of this great board. The BSOD and random black screens in suspend mode pissed me off. And foxconn support seemed not to give 2 craps about a bios update to fix it. I found out the problem was ACC related but they still didn't care. To bad such a nice board.

What's that ?
I try to load the new bios, date 13.01.09, but get the notification:
File is not exist
I love my Foxconn Mainboard, but getting a new bios is heavier than winning 1 Million Euro in Lotto.

That happens when you run the batch file that comes with the download or that's what you get when you try to start the download?

The notification comes when i try to download the file.

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Originally Posted by backhand

The notification comes when i try to download the file.

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Alright, try this link then:

http://downloads.pcrpg.org/comp/A79A-S/782F1P06.zip

Thanks Particle.
I know some users, which have the same problem and get this notification when trying to download the new bios.
I wrote to Foxconn but nothing happened at all. I am very disappointed about Foxconn support.

I've only had that one BSOD so far on P06, so I'm attributing it to a fluke that first day of having it on. So far since then things have been fairly normal. No improvements to clocking as far as I can tell, but at least it shows as a Phenom II X4 940 now. :)

Glad that link worked for you backhand. So long as Foxconn doesn't mind me sharing the file anyone is free to use that link. I don't see why they'd care.

The story of my Gigabyte Hatred. And the saving of my Foxconn. By Keith.

Today my power supply just blew up. I had another one handy and tried to use it with only a single video card. My Foxconn would go into CMOS and then lock up at the CHECKING NVRAM. I put my old Gigabyte expensive piece of trash in. It wasn't stable at stock. So I put the Foxconn back in determined to find a solution.

The solution turned out to be enabling and disabling the eSata controllers. (JMicron?) I turned them OFF and it made it past the NVRAM stuff. Then on the next boot it locked up again at that point and I had to go into bios and turn them back on again. (I may or may not have disabled/enabled other SATA/IDE settings. But the eSata was the main one that seems to have fixed the problem.)

But now seems boot up correctly.

I thought I'd mention that in case somebody else ever hits this little snag.

Anyone know when we can expect support for the new AM3 processors?

I'm stuck at 3.1ghz @ 1.4v with 9850BE on this board. I have the updated BIOS P06. Do you guys think I can push the 9850BE further? Let's say using 1.5v and so on?

Do they not work in the Foxconn already?

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Originally Posted by Particle

Do they not work in the Foxconn already?

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The P06 BIOS did not change the AGESA version from 3.1.9.0 to the newest available version which is 3.3.2.0. Most other manufacturers have updated to the newer 3.3.2.0 version.

I think the newer AGESA is required for the AM3 chips.

I asked Foxconn about this but got the standard: "We'll research it" response. (In other words... IF they come out with a new bios then I'll have an answer.)


NOTE: Anyone else notice how this board is back up to $225 on newegg? For premium prices we should be getting slightly better bios support.

I agree, their support has been slow so far. Hope we get an updated BIOS soon. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by keithlm

The P06 BIOS did not change the AGESA version from 3.1.9.0 to the newest available version which is 3.3.2.0. Most other manufacturers have updated to the newer 3.3.2.0 version.

I think the newer AGESA is required for the AM3 chips.

I asked Foxconn about this but got the standard: "We'll research it" response. (In other words... IF they come out with a new bios then I'll have an answer.)


NOTE: Anyone else notice how this board is back up to $225 on newegg? For premium prices we should be getting slightly better bios support.

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Originally Posted by keithlm

The P06 BIOS did not change the AGESA version from 3.1.9.0 to the newest available version which is 3.3.2.0. Most other manufacturers have updated to the newer 3.3.2.0 version.

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I am now downgrading my opinion and recommendations concerning the Foxconn A79A-S motherboard.

I now recommend that everyone avoid this motherboard like the plague: They have released 3 bios in the last day for the bloodrage... but they can't get the AGESA updated on the A79A-S bios to save their lives.

And this board is no longer a $100.00 budget board but is back to 175++ on newegg. Ok. 140.00 with a mail in rebate. (But you WILL be sorry.)

new bios out P07

able to change multi but will not change speed of cpu. ACC will boot in auto,not sure if it would boot in P06. These are the only changes i have tried. Will try tomorrow to see what else is new. Post your results to let us know what you find. Cpu is a 940

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Originally Posted by Hemi

new bios out P07

able to change multi but will not change speed of cpu. ACC will boot in auto,not sure if it would boot in P06. These are the only changes i have tried. Will try tomorrow to see what else is new. Post your results to let us know what you find. Cpu is a 940

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I have my 940 coming on Thu so I will test. Looks like the new BIOS is a dud if overclock is not possible. If anyone else can confirm this will be great.

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Originally Posted by Hemi

new bios out P07

able to change multi but will not change speed of cpu. ACC will boot in auto,not sure if it would boot in P06. These are the only changes i have tried. Will try tomorrow to see what else is new. Post your results to let us know what you find. Cpu is a 940

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Could you check NB-multiplier? It doesn't work properly in P06.
Just change HT-multiplier to i.e. 5x and after this set NB-multiplier to 0 (4x) - 4 (8x) in BIOS.

You can get the new bios P07 for A79A-S here

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Originally Posted by backhand

You can get the new bios P07 for A79A-S here

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Tried this BIOS on my new 940/A79A-S setup. CPU multi does not change processor speed. It is stuck at 3.2Ghz no matter what I set the multi at (what they call CPUFID).

This is a good board backed up by a bunch of jokers a.k.a the Foxconn BIOS team :rofl:

Switched back to P06 and I am running at 200X18 at 1.45V. Temp is at 52C.

My observations on the P06 bios with a PII 920:
* HTT multi does not work.
* This board refuses to cold-boot on even the mildest overclocks (2 instead of 1.8ghz NB speed, mild htt overclocks, ...). Hot-boot/reset/reboot goes fine, prime torture test runs fine but shut the system down completely and boot: nothing. Leds light up, fans run but that's all - no video output, debug display reads FF, codes are not explained in the manual.
* Memory timing readouts are completely wrong
* Some performance enhancing options others provide are completely missing here.

I really regret not getting a DFI, Asus or Gigabyte. I know you only get a 790GX from those for the same price as this board but trust me, that's a sacrifice worth making.

Haven't tested the P07 bios yet. It's not showing on their global/english or en-us support site.

Observations on P07 from the CN site:
* AGESA updated to 3.3.2.0
* NB multiplier description changed to NB FID multiplier

* Cold boot problem still present when trying to change NB multiplier. Upped HTT cold-boot seems to work now. Haven't tried to change CPU multi or HTT multi since the 920 is not a BE.

Problem with both P06 and P07:
* No CPU-NB voltage, HTT Isochronous Flow-Control Mode, UnitID Clumping, 2x LCLK Mode options in BIOS
* booting from usb key not possible when there's a hard drive with OS present. You have to enable the "Try booting other devices" to boot from usb key, but the bios just takes the first device it detects that's bootable, which happens to be the HD (even if it's not listed in the boot devices list). If you disconnect the HD, you can boot from usb key. Irritating problem

Are there any windows utils that allow changing NB multiplier?

it would be nice if they would fix these problems they are causing. This board could be the best out there if they would get it working right. All they have to do is add all the options that are missing or left out and fix what does not work, then they would have the best. Right now i will be looking for a different brand next time i upgrade. Foxconn and AMD need to get it together on these bios problems.