790GX built-in DDR2 64MB - BIOSTAR TA790GX A2+ OC report

BIOSTAR TA790GX A2+
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/1417/b790gx01lq0.jpg

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/9787/b790gx02pm3.jpg

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/8623/b790gx03qg3.jpg

http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/7330/b790gx04qu1.jpg

2 X PCI-E X16(CorssFiieX X8+X8)
2 X PCI-E X1
2 X PCI
Realtek RTL8111C,Realtek ALC888
http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/237/b790gx05bd1.jpg

6 X SATAII(SB750)
1 X Floppy
Power/Reset
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/1853/b790gx06mp5.jpg

4 X DIMM DDRII,533/667/800,Phenom up to 1066
1 X IDE
24PIN
http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/7861/b790gx07fe9.jpg

http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/3962/b790gx08fm7.jpg

IO
D-SUB/DVI/HDMI
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/1048/b790gx09rg1.jpg

DDR2 64MB IC
http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/8746/b790gx10jl4.jpg

BIOS
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/3...90gxb01hq9.jpg

CPU
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/6...90gxb02td7.jpg

CPU Over Voltage +0.012~0.787V
Memory Over Voltage 1.9~2.6V
Chipest Over Voltage 1.2~1.5V
HT Over Voltage 1.2~1.5V
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/6...90gxb03yc5.jpg

DRAM
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/8...90gxb04io2.jpg

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/4...90gxb05pq2.jpg

GPU
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/3...90gxb06cf6.jpg

32~512MB
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/2...90gxb07rv2.jpg

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/6...90gxb08yp4.jpg

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/264/b790gxb09si8.jpg

Advanced Clock Calibration for Phenom OC
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/8...90gxb10ea1.jpg

what sb? what will the DDR2 64mb do to ocing results
for some reason i wanna step on that cat thing.... sorry:)

http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/998/b790gxb11sa1.jpg

CPU: AMD Athlon64 X2 5400+/Phenom X4 9950 Black Edition
MB: BIOSTAR TA790GX A2+
DRAM: CORSAIR Dominator TWIN2X2048-8888C4DF
VGA: GAINWARD HD4850 + MSI 4850 CrossFire
HD: Seagate 7200.10 320GB
POWER: POWER:Corsair HX620W Modular Power Supply
Cooler: Thermaltake BigTyp VP/JETART Nano Diamond/Lubic
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/4158/b790gx11wh9.jpg

TSeries OVERCLOCK 3
http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/6254/b790gxos1mr3.png

Hardware Monitor
http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/6579/b790gxos2py6.png

BIOS Update
http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/6221/b790gxos3yz3.png

GPU HD3300
VGA 650/1066

3DMARK2003
http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/8325/b790gx03cc9.png

3DMARK2005
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/9531/b790gx05xd1.png

3DMARK2006
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/1433/b790gx06il0.png

Chipest 1.4V,HD3300 OC 933/1066
3DMARK2003
http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/692/b790gx03ocos5.png

3DMARK2005
http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/8...0gx05ocil7.png

3DMARK2006
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/7...0gx06ockt2.png

Need For Speed Carbon
1280x1024

HD3300 650/1066
http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/9...90gxnfsnt8.jpg

HD3300 933/1066
http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/136...gxnfsocqw4.jpg

Crysis Benchmark

HD3300 650/1066
http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/3348/b790gxcbkn7.png

HD3300 933/1066
http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/9...0gxcbocia8.png


GAINWARD HD4850 + MSI 4850 CrossFire
625/993Mhz

3DMARK2003
http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/1...0gx03cfsq4.png

3DMARK2005
http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/7503/b790gx05cfhh9.png

3DMARK2006
http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/2...0gx06cfup6.png

Need For Speed Carbon
1600X1200

HD4850 CrossFire 625/993
http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/2...gxnfscfne5.jpg

Crysis Benchmark

HD4850 CrossFire 625/993
http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/6...0gxcbcfxh3.png

Great review as aways dude, thanks for posting :clap:

4 phase VRM... I smell burnt mosfet :(

DRAM
DD2 1066 CL5 5-5-15 2.0V
SP2004 Blend
http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/386...x1066spym7.png

AMD Athlon64 X2 5400+ Black Edition
438X7=>3066Mhz
http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/4...gx438spkm2.png


BIOSTAR TA790GX A2+
Performance ★★★★★★★★☆☆
Components ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
Layout design ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Cost/ performance ratio ★★★★★★★★☆☆

BIOSTAR TA790GX A2+ about 100 usd

BIOSTAR TA790GX3 A2+,on board 128MB DDR3
about 130 usd
http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/8533/b790gx12fl6.jpg

BIOSTAR TA790GX XE,on board 128MB DDR3
about 100 usd
http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/9894/b790gx13wk0.jpg

Thanks:)

nice looking mobos and my only object would be lack of MOSFET heatspreader, especially in situation where it was obviously planned, since there are mounting holes on PCB... also other manufacturers are using 4+1 PWM configuration, and it looks like Biostar is using only 4-phase.

I like the possibility for IGP to use only sideport memory, it would be nice to see the impact on performance on 128MB DDR3 equipped models...

Oh and, great reviews windwithme!

Great review!
In the picture of your setup, the topmost 4850 does not have external power connected while the bottom card does, is it powered entirely through the board's PCI-E slot?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Frodin

Great review!
In the picture of your setup, the topmost 4850 does not have external power connected while the bottom card does, is it powered entirely through the board's PCI-E slot?

---

I forgot installed the electric wire of power when I took photos, but I did in test .

Sorry to resurrect such an old thread guys....

I got kind of bored today, MicroCenter had this board for $99 and I had a little extra cash. :p:

I killed my MSI DKA790GX Plat., so this left me without a GX board and I just couldn't resist....

There is no cooling on the FETS, so I bought an 8 pack of Zalman video ram coolers to put on them and they actually fit quite nicely (took 4 to cover all the FETs) it's not alot, but I'm running it on a bench so I stuck an 80cm right on top of them.

I've never had a Biostar board before, but Polygon over at Rebels Haven seems to put alot of work into bios for it... I had all the parts except a Board so I thought I'd try to push my pathetic 9850BE to the Max. ;)

If something dies, so be it.... :devil:

Here's a few pics of my wimpy mods (all clickable):

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...h_DSCN0223.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...h_DSCN0224.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...h_DSCN0225.jpg

I just got done installing Vista 32 on the machine and already OC'd to 2.9 on the CPU (everything seems fine)...

windwithme: Any suggestions? Best Bios, tricks or tips?
The same goes for anyone else who may be using this board..

One problem I had on initial build... Post kept giving me a wierd error "SPD error 23 & 25 unreadable", I assumed this was related to the EPP profile of my OCZ Reapers. I can't remember the exact thing in Bios I had to turn off, but I basically told it to ignore MEM errors and everything is working fine @ 1066.. ;)

I'll post a little more on my experiences later.... :D

Well... That was quick!! :D

The Board/CPU is probably fine, but my trusty CoolMax 500w PSU popped, it even smoked a little... :smoke:

I knew it was really weak (Think I paid $29 for it a couple years ago), but I didn't expect it to die at 1.45 Vcore. :shakes:

On the bright side, it primed my 9850 @ 3.177 for about 5 minutes without a Prime failure. Thats better than that chip has done in the past, seems like a decent low budget board... :cool:

Guess I need to get a new PSU... :yepp:

New toys:up::p:

keep us updated, Im looking around for a nice alternative of my current board, but I fail at it so:D

I just bought this board today at the egg along with some other goodies, they had toxic 4870 on special too, building a christmas present hehe. So the mosfets get really hot on this thing? Would be wise for me to pick up some heat spreaders for them? i have a 9950 be going into, hoping to get a 3 - 3.1 stable on air with this board. Think that is possible? The psu wont go on my, its a 620W PC power and cooling. Also Windwithme, those benchs, was the cpu stable at 1.280 cpuz voltage at 3.1, if so that would be most excellent :) Cheers.

mosfet coolers

was thinking these might work.. ?

Check this out, nice alternative as well;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rammsteiner

Check this out, nice alternative as well;)

---

Ohh very nice, I can get them here too at the same place.mosfet heat spreaders

Think it will make more of a difference than the other spreaders?

Just an update for those who may be interested.. ;)

The good news is, the board and CPU both survived, only the cheap PSU died... I didn't have alot of extra cash so I bought a Xion 630w just to play with ($50), it got me back up and running (didn't want to tear my main rig apart!). :p:

This has been a pretty decent toy, and it seems to OC this wimpy 9850be pretty well, just got the new PSU today....

The BIOS on this board is WAY different from any other board I've had. Theres no adjustment for IMC v's, it has a limited P-State option, adjusting the CPU VID seems to set NB VID to the same voltage. If you want to give a little more juice to the CPU core you need to use the CPU offset voltage.

It's different, but not necessarily bad. I'm actually catching on to it's quirks pretty quickly.. :D

Here are a few odd things I've noticed:

1) AMD Power Monitor doesn't show NB(IMC) voltage.
2) CPUID HWMonitor doesn't show Core Temps correctly on the TMPIN0 list, but it does show proper temps on the cores.
3) AOD's options are pretty weak, the Asus 79-T offers alot more info and adjustments.
4) I'm having some weird IGP video blanking problems, but it never crashes (I'll give the chipset a little more v's when I reboot). ;)

All in All, I kinda like this board... I've got it running this 9850be @ 3.0 (apparently) stable after only a few hours of playing with it, not too shaby considering this chips history... :p:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Daveburt714

Just an update for those who may be interested.. ;)

The good news is, the board and CPU both survived, only the cheap PSU died... I didn't have alot of extra cash so I bought a Xion 630w just to play with ($50), it got me back up and running (didn't want to tear my main rig apart!). :p:

This has been a pretty decent toy, and it seems to OC this wimpy 9850be pretty well, just got the new PSU today....

The BIOS on this board is WAY different from any other board I've had. Theres no adjustment for IMC v's, it has a limited P-State option, adjusting the CPU VID seems to set NB VID to the same voltage. If you want to give a little more juice to the CPU core you need to use the CPU offset voltage.

It's different, but not necessarily bad. I'm actually catching on to it's quirks pretty quickly.. :D

Here are a few odd things I've noticed:

1) AMD Power Monitor doesn't show NB(IMC) voltage.
2) CPUID HWMonitor doesn't show Core Temps correctly on the TMPIN0 list, but it does show proper temps on the cores.
3) AOD's options are pretty weak, the Asus 79-T offers alot more info and adjustments.
4) I'm having some weird IGP video blanking problems, but it never crashes (I'll give the chipset a little more v's when I reboot). ;)

All in All, I kinda like this board... I've got it running this 9850be @ 3.0 (apparently) stable after only a few hours of playing with it, not too shaby considering this chips history... :p:

---

Well this board is arriving from the egg monday, although i have an OCZ 700W modular psu for it, saphire 4870 toxic, 4gb of mushkin ddr1000 redline, couple wd500gb sata3g, and a 9850 thats already here, batch : 0829epmw , dunno how those clock, but looking to hit 3.1ghz 24/7 with a xigmatek s1283 hdt..

So from your post, seems like AOD is working well, or isnt? I also bought the thermalright mosfet cooler for it as well. Couple questions, i ve pre-empted and gone to biostars site. Downloaded several drivers, i noticed they had one specifically for the hdmi..but i believe it was to enable sound via hdmi. ARe you running the newest bios, i noticed one in there talking about screen blanks that your describing and it is a fix for it. What kind of Volts to the cpu are you pushing, what ram timings etc.. hehe a little breakdown if you have the time to list it out, just so i can get a feel for the board, I havent played with AMD's for a while, since my fx 57

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nedjo

nice looking mobos and my only object would be lack of MOSFET heatspreader, especially in situation where it was obviously planned, since there are mounting holes on PCB... also other manufacturers are using 4+1 PWM configuration, and it looks like Biostar is using only 4-phase.

I like the possibility for IGP to use only sideport memory, it would be nice to see the impact on performance on 128MB DDR3 equipped models...

Oh and, great reviews windwithme!

---

Nedjo, the SP Memory if very slow, it only helps a little:
http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/6...onboardsa6.gif
That was on the Jetway HA07-Ultra, with 128MB DDR3 1333 SP.
Games at 1024x768 (Crysis and GRID at Low setings, FEAR and TrackMania at Medium).

windwithme, what are the ASCI codes for those stars of yours ALT+???

hi guyss...
biostar TA790GX A2+ or TA790GX XE just used 4phase, does is not to "heavy" to load phenom X4?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by angelicavoc

hi guyss...
biostar TA790GX A2+ or TA790GX XE just used 4phase, does is not to "heavy" to load phenom X4?

---

From what I have read, we need to put some heatsinks on those FETs if you are o/cing 125/140Watt CPU. The question is, even with heatsink, how many watts can it sustain for 24x7 full load (say WCG or F@H)?

From the specsheet, the FETs can sustain max Drain current up to 58A @ 25C.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by davidletterboyz

From what I have read, we need to put some heatsinks on those FETs if you are o/cing 125/140Watt CPU. The question is, even with heatsink, how many watts can it sustain for 24x7 full load (say WCG or F@H)?

From the specsheet, the FETs can sustain max Drain current up to 58A @ 25C.

---

i see, according to you, how much watt and temp to OCing deneb ? to use 24 / 7

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by angelicavoc

i see, according to you, how much watt and temp to OCing deneb ? to use 24 / 7

---

Well use Ramsinks or a good PWM cooler..

Keep the Volts medium say 1.48v- 1.5v.. i fried mine with 1.69v and three hours of Prime with 3.45ghz 9950(140watt)..

If i didnt cook it so fast i woulda helped with Bios feed back to Polygon..

He's amazing with those Bioses. Thats how i succed @9950@ 3.55ghz and TA770. THe GX is funner and more reliable, Despite ME, i goofed when i Maxed the Volts and forgot to Cool my PWM's.

I may grab another down the Road , but am busy with the ASUS 79-T for now.

Are you able to run a single GFX card at PCI-E 2.0 x 16 in the slave slot with this board?

Do you need the molex power connecter for the input next to the northbridge?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by villa1n

So from your post, seems like AOD is working well, or isnt? I also bought the thermalright mosfet cooler for it as well. Couple questions, i ve pre-empted and gone to biostars site. Downloaded several drivers, i noticed they had one specifically for the hdmi..but i believe it was to enable sound via hdmi. ARe you running the newest bios, i noticed one in there talking about screen blanks that your describing and it is a fix for it. What kind of Volts to the cpu are you pushing, what ram timings etc.. hehe a little breakdown if you have the time to list it out, just so i can get a feel for the board, I havent played with AMD's for a while, since my fx 57

---

Hey villa1n, I've really only had a few hours to play with this board so far (busy @ work). I'm running the newest release Bios "080014 11/11/08"

As far as AOD goes, it seems to work OK but has limited adjustments compared to the Asus 79-T and most other boards I've had. The sliders for CPUVid and NBVid act a little strange, if you don't set them to the same Vid they will jump to the lower of the 2. Actually, that is very similar to setting them in BIOS, IE: there is no adjustment for NBVid and setting CPUVid applies the same setting to the NB. If you want to give more juice to just the CPU you need to use the CPU offset voltage. Heres a SS of my best current OC:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...BiostarAOD.png

This 9850 (0811 BPJW) is pretty weak, so that really isn't too bad considering the short time I've had to play with it.... ;)
You have a much newer week so hopefully you'll have a little better luck!

I think the mosfet cooling is a very good call, my wimpy solution seems to be working OK so far.. Well, company just came over so gotta go... I'll post more info later.

Are you able to change your HT multiplier? When lowering mine and applying, my system always locks up.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Firestrider

Are you able to change your HT multiplier? When lowering mine and applying, my system always locks up.

---

Hmm if i remeber correct the Second slot (lowest)runs 8x max.

primary top 16x,, both will Run PCI-E 2.0


As for HT in AOD its know not to work with many Mobo's if the BIOS on the particular Mobo is not optimized by the vendoer correctly.


On my78-T it did the same thing as well on the Biostar GX3. It seems to work on my ASUS 79-T yet. I usually only CLOCK through the Bios and use AOD to just Monitor or show me values compared to other monitoring tools.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gOtVoltage

Hmm if i remeber correct the Second slot (lowest)runs 8x max.

primary top 16x,, both will Run PCI-E 2.0


As for HT in AOD its know not to work with many Mobo's if the BIOS on the particular Mobo is not optimized by the vendoer correctly.


On my78-T it did the same thing as well on the Biostar GX3. It seems to work on my ASUS 79-T yet. I usually only CLOCK through the Bios and use AOD to just Monitor or show me values compared to other monitoring tools.

---

In GPU-Z if I put it in the master (bottom) slot with the paddle card I get 16x PCI-E 2.0. Without the paddle card I get 8x PCI-E 2.0. If I put the card in slave slot (top) I get 8x PCI-E 1.0 without the paddle card. With the paddle card the system will not POST.

Any BIOS settings to change this? I would really just like the card to run at 8x PCI-E 2.0 in the slave slot since then there would be no bottleneck from the interface and the location would give me better cooling.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Firestrider

In GPU-Z if I put it in the master (bottom) slot with the paddle card I get 16x PCI-E 2.0. Without the paddle card I get 8x PCI-E 2.0. If I put the card in slave slot (top) I get 8x PCI-E 1.0 without the paddle card. With the paddle card the system will not POST.

Any BIOS settings to change this? I would really just like the card to run at 8x PCI-E 2.0 in the slave slot since then there would be no bottleneck from the interface and the location would give me better cooling.

---

Im Bad ,, I said it backwords.. i forgot my GX3 was like the first post and my ASUS was Primary on bottom.. If its to run your Graphics @ 8x Either slot will still perform Even @ 1.1spec vs 2.0 and 8x.

Even Running My 3870x in PCI-E 1.1 @8x mode was no faster or Slower than PCI-E 2.0X16. That was on BiostarTA770//790 GX3 and ASUS 78-T. It did not get bottle necked from lack of throughput.

The Slave slot will always be 8x,, No 790-GX series uses 2x 16slots from BIOSTAR or ASUS unless using the 790/fx/sb750 like a 79-T which is 2x8 and 2x16 . Allowing a top and bottom to run X16 or x8 at the same time or in single mode.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by angelicavoc

i see, according to you, how much watt and temp to OCing deneb ? to use 24 / 7

---

No idea :shrug: LOL.
In the link below, it shows almost half full load power consumption clock vs clock with Agena. :shrug:
http://en.hardspell.com/doc/showcont...58&pageid=3150

If 3GHz Deneb has the same TDP as 2.6GHz Agena....then I think the Biostar can o/c higher than it can o/c an Agena.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Daveburt714

Hey villa1n, I've really only had a few hours to play with this board so far (busy @ work). I'm running the newest release Bios "080014 11/11/08"

As far as AOD goes, it seems to work OK but has limited adjustments compared to the Asus 79-T and most other boards I've had. The sliders for CPUVid and NBVid act a little strange, if you don't set them to the same Vid they will jump to the lower of the 2. Actually, that is very similar to setting them in BIOS, IE: there is no adjustment for NBVid and setting CPUVid applies the same setting to the NB. If you want to give more juice to just the CPU you need to use the CPU offset voltage. Heres a SS of my best current OC:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...BiostarAOD.png

This 9850 (0811 BPJW) is pretty weak, so that really isn't too bad considering the short time I've had to play with it.... ;)
You have a much newer week so hopefully you'll have a little better luck!

I think the mosfet cooling is a very good call, my wimpy solution seems to be working OK so far.. Well, company just came over so gotta go... I'll post more info later.

---

Awesome, thanks for the pics. So the CPU offset voltage is a bios setting..and its a number that allows you to add voltage to the cpu.. so for your example you have the VID set at 1.4, does the cpu offst voltage work, like setting it to .05, would make the actual cpu voltage 1.45 while keeping the nb volts at 1.4? Just wanna clarify that hehe so i don't fry my chip :P I think i m gonna end up putting a 9950 in this mobo instead, and use the 9850 in the foxconn. If i can get over 3ghz i ll be happy :) I should be mucking about with it, either by tommorow or tuesday, so i ll post some results to see what i can get running :P

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by villa1n

Awesome, thanks for the pics. So the CPU offset voltage is a bios setting..and its a number that allows you to add voltage to the cpu.. so for your example you have the VID set at 1.4, does the cpu offst voltage work, like setting it to .05, would make the actual cpu voltage 1.45 while keeping the nb volts at 1.4?

---

Yep, thats the way it works... IMO, the verdict is still out on this board, it takes quite awhile to figure out Phenom OCing on any board but the Bios on this Biostar are downright confusing.... OCing adjustments are spread all over the place and duplicated in a few instances (ACC for example). Along with that the AOD implementation/options are weak and a little squirley. :rolleyes:

One odd thing I noticed tonight was that using the P-State option to increase the IMC clock to 2200Mhz seems to STICK, IE: going back and lowering it will NOT actually lower it and you will be stuck at 2200 until you clear CMOS or reset defaults. :shakes:

Memory Timings are another problem and the board seems to have trouble reading the SPD settings from the DIMMs.. If you have problems posting make sure you "ENABLE, Ignore Memory Errors". That was the only thing that actually got my OCZ Reapers to post.

On the bright side I can get this old 9850 to run fairly stable @ 3Ghz (haven't really tested thoroughly) which was it's limit on a number of other boards, but it takes alot of fidgeting... :yepp:

I haven't had this board very long, and I've been pressed for time lately so if you figure out any tricks let me know... :D

On that note, if you have any questions just ask, if I can offer any advice I will. :up:

BTW: I tried Polygons latest modded bios. If you use it don't try to change the "TLB Option" from Auto, it's nothing catastrophic but it locks up bios and you have to reset. I'm back on the latest release version...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Daveburt714

Yep, thats the way it works... IMO, the verdict is still out on this board, it takes quite awhile to figure out Phenom OCing on any board but the Bios on this Biostar are downright confusing.... OCing adjustments are spread all over the place and duplicated in a few instances (ACC for example). Along with that the AOD implementation/options are weak and a little squirley. :rolleyes:

One odd thing I noticed tonight was that using the P-State option to increase the IMC clock to 2200Mhz seems to STICK, IE: going back and lowering it will NOT actually lower it and you will be stuck at 2200 until you clear CMOS or reset defaults. :shakes:

Memory Timings are another problem and the board seems to have trouble reading the SPD settings from the DIMMs.. If you have problems posting make sure you "ENABLE, Ignore Memory Errors". That was the only thing that actually got my OCZ Reapers to post.

On the bright side I can get this old 9850 to run fairly stable @ 3Ghz (haven't really tested thoroughly) which was it's limit on a number of other boards, but it takes alot of fidgeting... :yepp:

I haven't had this board very long, and I've been pressed for time lately so if you figure out any tricks let me know... :D

On that note, if you have any questions just ask, if I can offer any advice I will. :up:

BTW: I tried Polygons latest modded bios. If you use it don't try to change the "TLB Option" from Auto, it's nothing catastrophic but it locks up bios and you have to reset. I'm back on the latest release version...

---

Just actually got it all up and running, and yes the bios is very confusing relative to what i m used too (gigabyte / asus and mainly intels. ) I have another coming tommorow the foxconn so i ll have a good compare and contrast.

So far with just a little playing , i m running 15.5 multi, 1.365 + overvoltage so its at 1.392 cpuz .. the problem i m encountering is that AOD wont apply any voltage settings.
I have my ram volts at 2.1v in bios, on the ocz SLI ram, 5 4 4 12 @ 1066 which is good, but when i load AOD, it shows 1.832 mem vddq voltage, and shows cpu and nb volts at 1.3v Trying to change them does nothing, pretty much all i can do in AOD is change the multi.. So i think i ll have to do all my oc'ing from bios, which is ok, but less convienient :P I have ACC enabled so hopefully that will create some stability. I had it posting at 3.4 with the 16.5 multi, but it would BSOD in windows with a machine check error.
I m also kind of worried about the nb thing, i set it too 2400mhz, but then set it back to 2200mhz.. where is it showing that it hasn't changed for you?

anyways gonna catch some sleep and play around with it tommorow probably, thanks for the update.
On the plus side, my toxic edition 4870 is 820mhz core and 1190mhz mem, idles at 42C and only 57 at load! So happy with that. It also seems the hybrid crossfire is working.. as the card idles quite a bit, and the windows vista experience for Graphics card is 1...so i m assuming its running on onboard video for that... although i hope that doesnt conflict with playing games, just installing COD4 as we speak.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Daveburt714

One odd thing I noticed tonight was that using the P-State option to increase the IMC clock to 2200Mhz seems to STICK, IE: going back and lowering it will NOT actually lower it and you will be stuck at 2200 until you clear CMOS or reset defaults. :shakes:

---

After changing the IMC multiplier you need to turn off computer for few seconds.
I'ts a BIOS bug. I send info about this to Biostar a month ago.

*after cod4 it turned into a BSOD party, ndis.sys error, but just means the driver after it is causing it to fail.
I ve downed the volts to 1.3875 and down clocked to to 3.0ghz running a stability test now.. through AOD... occt later when its more stable :P trying to figure out what happend. A 9950 should be able to run no prob at 3.2, on sb750, also have ram at dd2 800 instead of 1066, wiht loose timings.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by villa1n

*after cod4 it turned into a BSOD party, ndis.sys error, but just means the driver after it is causing it to fail.
I ve downed the volts to 1.3875 and down clocked to to 3.0ghz running a stability test now.. through AOD... occt later when its more stable :P trying to figure out what happend. A 9950 should be able to run no prob at 3.2, on sb750, also have ram at dd2 800 instead of 1066, wiht loose timings.

---

Turn s out its my Ram Crashing it now, I have the NB to 2200, 16x multi 3.2 with 1.392v stable, but i have to keep my ram down ddr 800 , but timings ok, 4-4-4-12.. so i ll take that for now, since its my bro's christmas comp and not mine hehe, hopefully he wont notice the difference :P The foxconn a7da-s came today, so i ll see what i can do with that and the 9850 :)

I will Add the vdroop is "Phenomenal!" hehe, on OCCT, 1.39 at idle, 1.38 at load... .1 !! thats impressive, considering just tried oc'ing a p965-ds3 with a q6600 with volts at 1.41, drooping to 1.34 under load.. and dont want to frack the board with a pencil mod, as i cant test resistance. But very impressed with the stability of the 790gx voltage wise.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by superpyton

After changing the IMC multiplier you need to turn off computer for few seconds.
I'ts a BIOS bug. I send info about this to Biostar a month ago.

---

Thanks for the tip! I'll try that next time.. :up:

villa1n: You might want to try running you CPU multi @ 14.5x and raising your HTRef to around 220 at least that would give you a little speed back on your RAM. Just make sure you lower NB to 10x (2000) before you try it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Daveburt714

Thanks for the tip! I'll try that next time.. :up:

villa1n: You might want to try running you CPU multi @ 14.5x and raising your HTRef to around 220 at least that would give you a little speed back on your RAM. Just make sure you lower NB to 10x (2000) before you try it.

---

Thanks, will try that. Will raising the HT 220, heat up the board much?

Just got a Biostar 790GX3 A2+ for my dad. He's using my old Opteron 146 @ 2.8Ghz rig now with a X1800XT. Although they hardly do anything which needs raw power, my dad is a bit of a :banana::banana::banana::banana: now and then and let all the drivers load at start up:ROTF: Although the CPU is a lot faster than they need, due to all the programs running in the back ground it's slow as :banana::banana::banana::banana: really.

Since Ive a 9850BE spare which suffers badly from idle freezing (even if it's OC'd just 1Mhz), also some OCZ Reaper X PC6400 4-4-3-12 4GB kit, I thought this would be a nice thingy for them. With this motherboard they dont have that power sucking GPU anymore either.

I bought a Thermalright HR-09S Type 2 for the MOSFETs just in case, I dont trust stock (or in this case non) cooling for the MOSFETs on any board anymore.

Although this CPU cant OC, I do hope I can drop the Voltages of it so it runs cool and as well doesnt use a lot of power. Ill also try to mess around with P-States and CnQ eventually although I dont see my parents using that since they most of the time shut the PC off when they dont use it anyway:rolleyes:

Ill try reducing Vcore after I gave it for christmas and when they dont use it.

My first impression of this board is very good though. It doesnt look all fancied and hyped up, just a nice and solid board. I hope this impression becomes true, but I guess it will, especially since there wont be OC'ing involved:D

I hope they'll like this christmas present but Im sure they do. In the end with all the background apps my dad is running this should be quite an upgrade:rolleyes:

superpyton: Thanks man, changing the IMC clock in P-States and then shutting down for 30 secs does reset the NB multi, big help! :up:

villa1n: I've been playing with this board a little more tonight and I have a few more observations for ya... I'm running it on a bench, so I can do the finger test on most components (call me Old School, but I've always found this to be reliable :D)...

In "Voltage Control" upping the Chipset and HT V's to 1.5v seems to help stability quite a bit and neither one of them get hot to the touch (I'm NOT running IGP though, so watch that, it may make a difference on the NBchip if you are!)...

Like I said before, my 9850BE is old and pretty weak, but I did manage to get it stable at 3.0Ghz/2200NB and 1066 Memory, so the board is capable even though it's very squirley compared to other boards.. :p:

I pushed MAX HTRef tonight with everything else lowered, and 235 was the best I could get (may be my chip), but the board didn't seem to heat up too much other than the PWM section.. If there is a weak part to this board that would be it, even after my mods and the fan on top of the FET's that section still got toasty, especially the chokes. :cool:

Good luck man... Hope this helps a little... :up:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Daveburt714

I pushed MAX HTRef tonight with everything else lowered, and 235 was the best I could get (may be my chip), but the board didn't seem to heat up too much other than the PWM section..

---

Try to play with other memory sticks and timings (5-5-5-18-26 2T TRFC 127ns/195ns, TRRD 5T etc.).
I was able to get 295MHz stable and 298MHz for validation with four memory sticks so it can't be problem with motherboard ;).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Daveburt714

superpyton: Thanks man, changing the IMC clock in P-States and then shutting down for 30 secs does reset the NB multi, big help! :up:

villa1n: I've been playing with this board a little more tonight and I have a few more observations for ya... I'm running it on a bench, so I can do the finger test on most components (call me Old School, but I've always found this to be reliable :D)...

In "Voltage Control" upping the Chipset and HT V's to 1.5v seems to help stability quite a bit and neither one of them get hot to the touch (I'm NOT running IGP though, so watch that, it may make a difference on the NBchip if you are!)...

Like I said before, my 9850BE is old and pretty weak, but I did manage to get it stable at 3.0Ghz/2200NB and 1066 Memory, so the board is capable even though it's very squirley compared to other boards.. :p:

I pushed MAX HTRef tonight with everything else lowered, and 235 was the best I could get (may be my chip), but the board didn't seem to heat up too much other than the PWM section.. If there is a weak part to this board that would be it, even after my mods and the fan on top of the FET's that section still got toasty, especially the chokes. :cool:

Good luck man... Hope this helps a little... :up:

---

Yeah, oldschool way is the best, but alas even though i m playing with this machine, its main purpose is for someone elses gaming enjoyment :P

Here is the RAM i m using in the board, but for the life of me I cant seem to play with the timings above ddr800 to any degree to get them to hold. I have the Volts on it 2.1 at the moment in bios, but AOD doesn't show this.
So you think i should change the chipset and ht volts... i have the ht low now, and don't really want to tax the mosfets anymore than necessary, i think this chip is capable of 3.2-3.3 under 1.4 volts if i can find the right settings, I don't use IGP atm, as i have a 4870toxic in there to stay. So that shouldnt be an issue. here 's a screen of what i m running stable at the moment.

http://i44.tinypic.com/ehafr6.jpg

Why does these boards have limited AOD and ACC function? It does have 790GX and SB750 on the paper, but seems to lack some of the features. Why is this? I've read some reviews where the ACC does seem to go ON or AUTO, but it doesnt do anything, processor maybe clocks more but the scores are the same as the lower clock.

Its like when I bought a MSI KA790GX board which has 790GX and SB750 .. when I got it there was no ACC in the bios and it was very very hard to get to post or boot with phenom. Had to do many tricks to get to Windows. Then I updated the bios and it worked fine then, even thought it still lacks of the ACC-support and MSI says it never adds ACC on it.

The KA790GX is the same board as KA780G(it even has the 780G stickers on it http://faior.miumau.net/271120082572.jpg), only that it really has the new chips (790GX and SB750), but the PCB doesnt have the lines for ACC for example(because of the old PCB..). I was really disappointed with MSI :/

Also the AOD looks like this:
http://faior.miumau.net/MSI/msicrap.JPG .. its like running an old SB600 ? wtf? And all the settings are very limited. Even the HD3300 IGP was LOWERclocked than it should.(700MHz -> 500MHz) and the MSI website says it should be default at 650MHz@1000MHz with this board.. lol? + I didnt never reach 2000 points in 3dmark 2006 with this, my best was CPU OCd to 3100MHz(phenom x4) and the HD3300 OCd to default 700MHz, I still got only 1900 marks. For some reviews HD3300 should get around 2200points. All default it gives 1600 marks with 2.6GHz phenom


Sorry for offtopic but its very similar to this Biostar functionality, except biostar seems to work very much better still.

Hi,

I liked this board pushed it reassonably far, but as soon as I hit 1,5v Vcore
The mosfets die. they did on both boards I had! So for those worried be warned!

Other than that it actually did everything I wanted, just don't really enjoy it when they die! It isn't a really bad clocker but than again I didn't get to play with very long!

I did a 23,6 sec superpi, but that's all.
Anyways, I think I'll buy another board but $$$ ...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by faior

Its like when I bought a MSI KA790GX board which has 790GX and SB750 .. when I got it there was no ACC in the bios and it was very very hard to get to post or boot with phenom. Had to do many tricks to get to Windows. Then I updated the bios and it worked fine then, even thought it still lacks of the ACC-support and MSI says it never adds ACC on it.

The KA790GX is the same board as KA780G(it even has the 780G stickers on it http://faior.miumau.net/271120082572.jpg), only that it really has the new chips (790GX and SB750), but the PCB doesnt have the lines for ACC for example(because of the old PCB..). I was really disappointed with MSI :/

---

This explains why KA790GX is so cheap (comparing to other 790GX mobo's).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by faior

Even the HD3300 IGP was LOWERclocked than it should.(700MHz -> 500MHz) and the MSI website says it should be default at 650MHz@1000MHz with this board.. lol? + I didnt never reach 2000 points in 3dmark 2006 with this, my best was CPU OCd to 3100MHz(phenom x4) and the HD3300 OCd to default 700MHz, I still got only 1900 marks.

---

I was not able to get stable 1GHz (NB@1,5V) on integrated GPU even on a more expensive DKA790GX Platinum.
In my opinion this Biostar with heatsinks on power section is a lot better motherboard for overclocking than DKA790GX Platinum. It even runs my four XTune sticks on divider 1066 without problems.

Whats the max HT ref clock you can get with this board?

I'm trying to get my lowly 9550 to 3 Ghz stable but that would require 273 HT ref clock. Is this a function of the chip rather than the board? In other words if a chip could hit 3 Ghz with an unlocked multiplier and the board can hit 280 HT ref clock, could the chip theoretically hit 3 Ghz with a locked multi?

Of course this is taking in account keeping the HT link and NB freq. under stock spec since my chip doesn't seem to like anything over 2000 Mhz for HT link or NB.

Is 3 Ghz at 1.375v 24/7 stable?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Firestrider

Whats the max HT ref clock you can get with this board?

---

Biostar TA790GX A2+ HTT @298MHz with 4x1GB.

Ok thanks I remember you posted that :P

It's good to know that this board can push that high, but can HT ref clock still be limited by the CPU? Or as long as the board can do it then the CPU should do it also... negating the Core clock.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by superpyton

Biostar TA790GX A2+ HTT @298MHz with 4x1GB.

---

OMG someone as old as me (points to his avatar)

Topic (sort of) I want one of those motherboard stations..Where did you get that one?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Firestrider

Whats the max HT ref clock you can get with this board?

I'm trying to get my lowly 9550 to 3 Ghz stable but that would require 273 HT ref clock. Is this a function of the chip rather than the board? In other words if a chip could hit 3 Ghz with an unlocked multiplier and the board can hit 280 HT ref clock, could the chip theoretically hit 3 Ghz with a locked multi?

Of course this is taking in account keeping the HT link and NB freq. under stock spec since my chip doesn't seem to like anything over 2000 Mhz for HT link or NB.

Is 3 Ghz at 1.375v 24/7 stable?

---

Yeah seems to be, ran 4 instances of prime 95 12hours, and 2hour OCCT for good measure, and not a hitch. The voltage is really stable on the board, but I also have this power supply and under load or idle the volts stay the same, no vdroop, as well, cpuz reports same volts as bios :) So that part of it i m happy about. I think if the mosfets burn out at 1.5v, even with my thermaltake cooling on them, i ll keep the volts under 1.4 then since my bro wants longevity and stability vs the extra 300 - 400 mhz i can milk out of it. Although i would like the ram to run 1066 stable :/ even with loose timings.

In other news ,the other comp i built as a surprise for my little bro, is clocking better. 1.38v , phenom 9850 and just bumped the multi up to 16 and OCCT'd 2 hours no problem. Ram is mushkin pc6400 vs the ocz i have in the biostar, same cooler, a bit better powersupply (pc power and cooling 620W) but the settings are easy, its a FoxConn A7DA was only 20 bux more than the biostar, but worth it,because i paid the 20 bux for the thermaltake mosfet cooler anyways. No Vdroop on this board either, and a much friendlier bios. I think i may be able to bump the multi up .5 and possibly the ht to 205mhz, thats my next attempt. But I think i lucked out as this chip feels like a good clocker, It booted into windows with 1.325 volts at 3.2, as for somereason the AOD settings didn't save to bios on reboot.. and it was windows stable for about 15 mins before i looked a cpuz a little closer and realized the volts had gone way down :P

A new BIOS was released - you can download it here (release date: 26.12.2008).
Changes:
- Support for AM3 CPU's
- NB Multiplier now works correctly (changing it often causes dualboot - but it works now without previous issues)
- New tab called "Debug Option" (Chipset -> AMD 790GX Configuration -> Hyper Transport Configuration -> Debug Option). Here's a foto of this section:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by superpyton

A new BIOS was released - you can download it here (release date: 26.12.2008).
Changes:
- Support for AM3 CPU's
- NB Multiplier now works correctly (changing it often causes dualboot - but it works now without previous issues)
- New tab called "Debug Option" (Chipset -> AMD 790GX Configuration -> Hyper Transport Configuration -> Debug Option). Here's a foto of this section:

---

Nice, i ll try it out. Thanks for sharing :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by superpyton

A new BIOS was released - you can download it here (release date: 26.12.2008).

---

Can anybody else confirm cpu temp operation with this bios, after updating my temps actually go backwards, as in the temp starts around say 25C and drops to 0 when under load and never climb back up with the load removed.

EDIT: With a 940 cpu

EDIT: NM, I loaded optimized defaults and shut the system completely down for a bit and now temps are working fine again, something must have happened with the settings after I flashed the bios.

Hey fellows this will be my first build of a Amd Rig...I'm planning to stick with Biostar all the way..there's a rumor out there that a amd biostar board can't
reach 4.0 only only the mid 3's in oc'ing ..I heard that the Gigabyte GA-MA790GP-DS4H is doin it with ease reaching 3.8 with the AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 Kuma 2.7GHz Question is easier to Oc a dual core amd better that a quad core amd?..I know it like that with intel..but..I want a Amd Rig now...my setup so far is:


BIOSTAR TFORCE TA790GX3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813138129

AMD Phenom 9850 BLACK EDITION 2.5GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103249

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231166

I just wanna know if this would be a good setup to run with:)

I would change to a Dual Core if have to

AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 Kuma 2.7GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103300

Trying to figure out which cpu would work best with this Board

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bigwill68

Hey fellows this will be my first build of a Amd Rig...I'm planning to stick with Biostar all the way..there's a rumor out there that a amd biostar board can't
reach 4.0 only only the mid 3's in oc'ing ..I heard that the Gigabyte GA-MA790GP-DS4H is doin it with ease reaching 3.8 with the AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 Kuma 2.7GHz Question is easier to Oc a dual core amd better that a quad core amd?..I know it like that with intel..but..I want a Amd Rig now...my setup so far is:


BIOSTAR TFORCE TA790GX3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813138129

AMD Phenom 9850 BLACK EDITION 2.5GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103249

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231166

I just wanna know if this would be a good setup to run with:)

I would change to a Dual Core if have to

AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 Kuma 2.7GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103300

Trying to figure out which cpu would work best with this Board

---

I m sure, depending on your chip, you could reach the same clocks on both boards, just make sure you cool the mosfets on this on ;)

It's a good board. I took a 9950 to 3G with one click on voltage, on one of these things.

I like em. I aint gonna say love em, but... it's good and cheap.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bigwill68

Trying to figure out which cpu would work best with this Board

---

Not sure if you looked yet but they offer some decent discounts for the combo deals: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ize=100&Page=1

So far so good..
NBV @ 1.472
Just need to tweak memory

http://img103.imageshack.us/img103/7...shot114qt1.jpg

Damn nice NB oc there Dumo!!!

Is that on the stock chipset cooling?

Yep. I put sinks on pwm, just look scary naked:)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by highoctane

Not sure if you looked yet but they offer some decent discounts for the combo deals: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ize=100&Page=1

---

thanks for the inside look at the combo selections:clap: but my mind in stuck on the 790GX3 platform..I believe there the same setup 790GX & the 790GX3
but what..I was trying to find out was that the rumor is the
GA-MA790GP-DS4H is a way better board than the TA790GX & the TA790GX3
and it can overclock better also.. and the TA790 can't get over 3.8ghz..I wanna prove that wrong..


@Dumo

ic you got 3.9..what's your temps looking like on stress testing and idle my friend? and great job getting that Oc also:yepp:

Bigwill,
I think the result is excellent. I do think it would be better with the x19 multiplier. That would put it at 3.8GHz with a much fatter memory bandwidth and more memory speed. All the serious 4.0GB and up OC's I've seen have used the x19 or 19.5 multiplier. From his post, Both Biostar and Gigabyte have figured out the voltage problem, where Asus, MSI and others have not. I would love to see a head to head test and review between the Biostar and Gigabyte MBs.

My order for my AMD build goes in on the 30th. The Lady that bought mine is picking it up on the 27th. The High end Gigabite 790GX, AM2+ 7750 2.7GHz Black Edition, Freezer 64, 4GB Dominator 1066, 1 AD-7220s burner, all installed along with my existing 250GB Daskstar into a nice Antec case complete with an 80+ Certified Earthwatts 430w PSU. Man am I going to have fun! All for $542.47, delivered and I can afford to get my Sceptre widescreen fixed! My first real AMD build that I can play with, and I'm excited. 3.8GHz seems to be fairly common with the 7750BE at around 1.44v or less. Trust me, by the time I'm ready for a Phenom II, the DS4H motherboard and I will be on speaking terms! We will understand one another! LOL!! The way I look at it is I have the best performing dual core AMD has ever made by a wide margin, in the best of the 790GX chipset motherboards with all the bells and whistles of AM2+ enabled. I don't see any way that I can lose! This is going to be fun!

Best Regards my Friend,
Russ

BIOS 78DBA113.BST was released (compilation date: 13.01.2009). Works fine - there's more options to overclock SidePort (i.e. 433, 450, 466).

Anything else noticeable about the new bios? mkay, thanks

It aint like beating a dead horse. :D

I just been playin w/ a 940 Deneb combo on this board. Got it up to 3.5G stock cooler tweaked and backed it down to 3.45G w/ 2440NB and got this w/the 3300 Radeon built in.

http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=9466175
:D Chew is there setting records. I'm just happy to have my name mentioned in the same category.

Love these Phenom II's. It's only gonna get better from here. :up:

If AMD doesn't at least make an effort, we'd all be being robbed by intel fanboys trying to support their habit. :rofl:

Anyone else besides iandh and myself running this board with PII?

anyone know and show me a picture , how to run 16x pcie on TA790GX A2+, becaus i saw my cpuz it show that my link wide its only 8x, please need help

Run graphics card in the slot labeled master(lower&orange), and paddle card in the upper green slave slot.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Oc-Ghost

Run graphics card in the slot labeled master(lower&orange), and paddle card in the upper green slave slot.

---

already try that, is there something in bios that i should change, because the cpuz still shows that link wide is 8x , need help please

Bios -> Chipset -> PCI Express Configuration -> GFX Dual Slot Configuration -> Disabled

Should do it, not that it matter´s much with one card/gpu.

Cheers