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

[Ares323]

First of all I want to say hello to everyone on this forum.

All this beta bioses are just nerve breaking things. For me vers. 1.8 works pretty good but any other 1.9 related bios is crap. I tried all the NFM 1.9 bioses an I get only errors and no post With 1.9 "official" I can get my sistem in WIN but only at default speeds not even 1 Mhz more, that`s great heh ?
My sistem: MSI Neo2 Platinum 54 G, A-Data DDR600, Venice 3800+, Asetek dual radi kit Antarctica CPU block, X800XT PE Sapphire watercooled, 2x Maxtor 120 GB Raid 0 on Sata 3 and 4.

My CPU goes up to 2.95 Ghz max benchable frequency at 1.7 volts but my memory stops at 280 @ 2.5-3-3-8. Temp readings on this mobo are just crazy, I`ve reached 60 degrees on Asetek that`s just wrong.
I hope that MSI will get the final bios up and ready soon.

[sideeffect]

Hi Ares323

That was the final bios of 1.9

Yes its not to good. Im still using 1.8 rev3 with 1t mod as i think its the best bios made so far.

The temps seem ok for me on my vapochill they scale quite well with the vapochill sensor so im pretty sure its pretty acurate on some boards at least.

Dont know why NFM's 1.9 mods wouldnt work for you but it sounds like a memory setting that is messing with you as thats all he changed in the bios.

[Ares323]

The same bios I`m using also. 1.8 Rev 3, I only hoped I can get this 3800+ at 3 Ghz but it seems that I`m out of luck. I tried all the possible settings on my memory but with no luck, I tried also 1.8 volts Vcore but that was a no go. This chip doeas 2.75 Ghz at default Vcore but one step higher I must pump the Vcore over 1.55 volts. I am convinced that my chip can do 3.0 Ghz on a DFI mobo.

[Hoot]

...snip...I am convinced that my chip can do 3.0 Ghz on a DFI mobo.

If you're talking the DFI NF3 Ultra-D, going to that from the Neo2 Platinum is akin to "Jumping from the frying pan into the fire." I just tried that route. It is as screwy as the Neo2. Sure there are a few lucky souls who get great results and the rest of us, like lemmings, give ourselves high blood pressure chasing their good fortune. A test of a good motherboard is not how well a few people get it to overclock, with a few processors and a few memory types. The test is how well the majority of people get it to overclock. Zoom out, read other forums, the NF3 Ultra chipset is doomed because it does not represent the upcoming revenue stream for these manufacturers. It's a bothersome legacy that the manufacturers throw their excess talent at, when they have a little money left in the budget at the end of the month. I'm certainly not going to throw more good money after bad. I'll enjoy my setup for what it's worth and start saving money for when a real solution comes out. Considering how much money that represents, I'll probably have it about the same time that real solution comes out. I'm feeling pretty tired of whipping this horse and it has put me in a cynical mood. That doesn't mean "Not Objective" nor "Trying just to stir the pot", what I said is heart-felt and based upon 30 years experience in the industry. Over that much time, you get a sense in your gut for things. You just heard my "gut feeling".

Hoot

[sideeffect]

The same bios I`m using also. 1.8 Rev 3, I only hoped I can get this 3800+ at 3 Ghz but it seems that I`m out of luck. I tried all the possible settings on my memory but with no luck, I tried also 1.8 volts Vcore but that was a no go. This chip doeas 2.75 Ghz at default Vcore but one step higher I must pump the Vcore over 1.55 volts. I am convinced that my chip can do 3.0 Ghz on a DFI mobo.

If your memory does 280 then cant you use the 11x multi and do 273x11 ? I also had a lot of luck with the 10.5 multi seemed to work well with the san diego 3700.

[sideeffect]

pretty sure im going to be able to beat 3ghz now what i thought was the cpu crapping out wasnt at all. Ram is scalling quite well with Cas 3 might be able to do 275 x 11 . Cas 3 vs 2.5 isnt really noticable in benchmarks from what ive seen as well.

[Lestat]

If you're talking the DFI NF3 Ultra-D, going to that from the Neo2 Platinum is akin to "Jumping from the frying pan into the fire." I just tried that route. It is as screwy as the Neo2. Sure there are a few lucky souls who get great results and the rest of us, like lemmings, give ourselves high blood pressure chasing their good fortune. A test of a good motherboard is not how well a few people get it to overclock, with a few processors and a few memory types. The test is how well the majority of people get it to overclock. Zoom out, read other forums, the NF3 Ultra chipset is doomed because it does not represent the upcoming revenue stream for these manufacturers. It's a bothersome legacy that the manufacturers throw their excess talent at, when they have a little money left in the budget at the end of the month. I'm certainly not going to throw more good money after bad. I'll enjoy my setup for what it's worth and start saving money for when a real solution comes out. Considering how much money that represents, I'll probably have it about the same time that real solution comes out. I'm feeling pretty tired of whipping this horse and it has put me in a cynical mood. That doesn't mean "Not Objective" nor "Trying just to stir the pot", what I said is heart-felt and based upon 30 years experience in the industry. Over that much time, you get a sense in your gut for things. You just heard my "gut feeling".

Hoot

Hoot i gotta tell you that was very well spoken and 100% true.
and i can only repeat what ive been saying for sometime. If your thinking your gunna run these new chips on this old nf3 chipset your playing a game of roullette your not gunna win. end of story face the fact and go buy a good nf4 or better mobo.



Sideeffect hafve you tried other cpu multipliers. ? like i had mentioned my board with this chip eats up an 8x multi. let me crank an HTT up to 370mhz where as the others dont.

again. this board and a san diego isnt gunna work properly guy i think you know that in your heart of hearts.

[Hoot]

For those who care, here's a picture of where to read the Vagp. If you can't get your bearings from the picture, this monitoring point is once again the missing capacitor between the AGP socket and the CPU.


Hoot

[Lestat]

i was gunna ask if increased stability has been seen when adding that cap back but i realised that 8x agp is only 0.8v

you should set up a website Hoot it dont have to be how to's unless you wanted to but basic info about proper voltage checks on a new 2 and other mobo's that you know about.
it would be quite helpful to so many people.

btw i like those nuts you put on the back of the ATI bracket. you must use a different HSF . I've added a spacer under the center and felt like that added enough pressure to ensure a tighter fit of the hsf. but the nuts are quite a nice touch.
wish i still had my tap and die set id thread tho posts on my stock hsf.



Ya know how wonderful and accurate a DMM reads when you put in a NEW 9v battery ?

[corruption]

Ya know how wonderful and accurate a DMM reads when you put in a NEW 9v battery ?

LOL.....I was getting wonky readings about 3 weeks ago. I was scratching my head thinking wtf , as I checked voltage from a new AA battery to verify my meter's accuracy. I should have realized that it needed new batteries when I started to notice that the screen was difficult to read.

[Ares323]

If you're talking the DFI NF3 Ultra-D

I was talking about DFI NF4.

I tried to boot with 11x250 , 1.425 + 10% then I upped the Vcore to 1.7 volts and with clockgen to 3 Ghz, ram at 273 @ 3-3-3-8. I get an instant restart when I open SuperPi or Prime.

[sideeffect]

The 8x multi isnt going to cut it even 370 x 8 is only 2960mhz. The 9x i have tested and the 10x they did no better than each other. The 11x is best for me with the 10.5 showing good results to.

Im pretty keen on staying in 1:1 as its much easier to become stable there. My ram is loving 2.65 volts and is more stable there than at 2.75 and 2.8 volts where it would error.

275 x 11 is 2 hours mb2 stable and superpi 32mb stable so far. Going to test it with Doom3 and Far Cry 64 later.

edit - trying 280 x 11 = 3080mhz memory 280 3-3-4-8. Produced fastest pifast and sisoft mem bandwidth results so far even though i lowered trp to 4

[Corbu']

Ares323, you need a new chip to reach 3 Ghz. That 3800+ will never make it and I don't even mention 3Ghz and Prime95 in the same sentence.

[Lestat]

can i ask why you assume a 3800 wouldnt do 3ghz ?

you see dozens and dozens of 3000's do 3ghz every day so why would you say it wont do 3ghz ?

is it a 3800 venice ? san diego ? winnie newcastle ? what ?
it may not reach it on air but water or colder sure its possible.

and as for Prime and 3ghz in the same sentence ?

how about 2.65ghz and prime not even close dudes.... but i am at 2750 and i can run any game or 3dApp or other program even Pi and it works fine but prime fails... why is that ?

[sideeffect]

Hi guys Systool has been updated to allow exporting to 3rd party apps so you can now make your own motherboard monitors for neo 2 that actually show the right +12v and +3.3v rails. MBM and speedfan and most other tools dont show the correct reading for the neo 2. Systool does though so try it out if you havnt already.

Heres mine

[Hoot]

That sure is the "Swiss Army Knife" of applications. Will it read temperatures off of the SMBus as well as the flawed Winbond 83627 so common on these motherboards?

Hoot

[Lestat]

0.1 doesnt show that. i dont see neo2 listed in the mobo section

what application are you using that has that interface look ?

[Hoot]

The 8x multi isnt going to cut it even 370 x 8 is only 2960mhz. The 9x i have tested and the 10x they did no better than each other. The 11x is best for me with the 10.5 showing good results to.

Im pretty keen on staying in 1:1 as its much easier to become stable there. My ram is loving 2.65 volts and is more stable there than at 2.75 and 2.8 volts where it would error.

275 x 11 is 2 hours mb2 stable and superpi 32mb stable so far. Going to test it with Doom3 and Far Cry 64 later.

edit - trying 280 x 11 = 3080mhz memory 280 3-3-4-8. Produced fastest pifast and sisoft mem bandwidth results so far even though i lowered trp to 4

Not being too proud to try someone elses recipe, I flashed NFM180_3_1T and had a shot at your results. I was disappointed that I couldn't get more than 11x260 3X 1:1 3-3-3-8-1T, but then I re-read your post and realized that you were using a Vapochill, so I didn't feel too bad. It is a promising version of the 1.80 bios none-the-less. One bright spot was though I could not get above 260 HTT, I could drop the CAS to 2.5 and it still worked. SuperPi was only 29.282 though. When I first got this setup, it would do 10x300 @ 1.64V 3X 5:6 2-3-3-8 @ 1.95, but it seems I have "rode it hard and put it away wet" too many times. It was fun trying though.

Hoot

[harpyboy]

0.1 doesnt show that. i dont see neo2 listed in the mobo section

what application are you using that has that interface look ?

samurize

[harpyboy]

i said ur posts at systool forums sideeffect....

but im not really towards running systool and samurize at the same time to get get temp readings.... btw tat looks nice.. simple and does things right

any idea if the NB temp is correct ? coz even corecenter doesn't have this reading...

[h4nc0]

http://msi-forum.de/thread.php?threa...8d2e8e2b5b8938

New BIOS out. v1.A3

[Lestat]

A as in Alpha stage bios ? woah no way if its alpha stage

[h4nc0]

A as in Alpha stage bios ? woah no way if its alpha stage

I believe it's a beta version.

[Hoot]

I'm a sucker for a new release. I flashed it and set it to priming before heading off to work. Will see how it's going when I get home.

Hoot

[sideeffect]

Well systool and samurize together only use a small amount of ram maybe 5mb combined and they can both be started on windows start so its not much of a problem.

The Temp readings all seem about right for me Northbridge temp has that 5000rpm fan beating down on it and does feel cool to the touch so i can quite believe its 20 degrees. The harddrive temps and ambient 6800 temps are all read about the same which suggests its accurate.

Neo 2 is added to systool Lestat in the newer versions you look in Hardware monitoring then settings and motherboard.

Gonna check out that new bios now. Thanks for posting it h4nc0 !

Seems that they have fixed bugs in the venice i dont know how much it will help the san diego. I always thought they were the same chips just with venice chips maybe failing 1mb cache test or being speed bins but it seems that they are not.

Think i might wait for Hoot to post back with results. Good luck Hoot

Seems they have fixed the voltage fluctuations but in doing so have made the max vcore even lower in this bios can anyone confirm that because i really need 1.63 volts to keep this cpu stable.