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

[ben805]

I just received my Asus A8N32-SLI mobo from newegg today, I checked every single inch of this mobo for that rumor's "Rev 2.0 sticker" but it is no where to be found....I"d called Asus tech support and he denied such revision so I really don't know what that ebay seller is smoking but Rev 2.0 doesn't exist!! The package came with loads of cable, optional fan, SLI link and other stuff that I don't really care for Alright, so let's get down to the business, for those who wonder what kind of heatsink is compatible with this mobo, well...let's just say it has plenty of room and clearance for the TT Big Typhoon!! I love the layout of this mobo, all cables are out of the way, installed was painless, and definitely can fit a soundcard perfectly on PCI slot# 2 and still leave plenty of room for the first video card to breath, though PCI slot #1 and 3 are kinda close to the gpu fan but nevertheless they still fit ok.









to be continue.....

[ben805]

The aluminum mosfet heatsink looks kinda out of place, should of been copper to match the SB and NB heatpipe thing, and I was surprised that there were absolutely no thermal compound or sticky pad whatsoever to aid heat transfer either, so I popped off the mosfet sink and apply a thin layer of AS5 on all those little mosfets then slapped the aluminum sink back on.








For those who couldn't get the vcore to over 1.58v, your mobo have to be either defective or it need bios update? I set the vcore to 1.40v and enable the v-core boost(200mv) and gets 1.61v instantly!! setting it to 1.5v with the vcore boost also gave me around 1.78v....not that I would ever use more than 1.70v but it's nice to know I can get close to 1.80v of vcore if ever needed.






Moving my raid from DFI Ultra-D to this Asus A8N32 is painless, don't need to delete the array though Windows XP need to be wipe and reinstall, I'm doing it now as I type on my laptop how well does this mobo overclock? I'll find out soon enough and will post back result as soon as I'm done loading all my apps back on.

[PuNiShEr]

Beautifull Indeed

Now let's go for the tests
Please, when you can, check out the maximum vcore and vdimm...
Did your board came with wifi card?
Which revision your board has written in the PCB?

Thanks

[DAK1640]

Very nice indeed, nice pix too...I want that mobo

[Supertim0r]

that's a real nice board
waiting results

[qdemn7]

The aluminum mosfet heatsink looks kinda out of place, should of been copper to match the SB and NB heatpipe thing, and I was surprised that there were absolutely no thermal compound or sticky pad whatsoever to aid heat transfer either, so I popped off the mosfet sink and apply a thin layer of AS5 on all those little mosfets then slapped the aluminum sink back on.

Strange, I just got my board, and there WAS a thin layer of TIM. Should have taken a picture of it at the time, but I didn't. Sorry.

[phadeout]

Strange, I just got my board, and there WAS a thin layer of TIM. Should have taken a picture of it at the time, but I didn't. Sorry.

There was a thin layer tim on mine too. I took the crappy tim off and put Arctic Silver Ceramique on.

Came with 0502 Bios (now 0703, didn't use the 0502 for long).

[mion]

The aluminum mosfet heatsink looks kinda out of place, should of been copper to match the SB and NB heatpipe thing, and I was surprised that there were absolutely no thermal compound or sticky pad whatsoever to aid heat transfer either, so I popped off the mosfet sink and apply a thin layer of AS5 on all those little mosfets then slapped the aluminum sink back on.

I recieved my mobo today and it has thermal pad underneath that heatsink. Revision 1.01 as well

[Psyche911]

Looks great so far, keep us updated.

P.S. Is it really smart to have it on your carpet? lol

[ben805]

Looks great so far, keep us updated.

P.S. Is it really smart to have it on your carpet? lol

look closer...I'm using the DFI mobo's white color foam pad under the Asus mobo sometime I also use static bag The bios is relatively easy to setup, memory timing tweak is comparible to my DFI Ultra-D and most of those value looks familiar except a few that I've never seen or heard, I'll have to play around with it and keep you guys updated. By the way, I'm using my 148 CABNE opty on this mobo and it has absolutely no problem picking up the stepping, the bios recognized it properly

[trza2k]

What bios are you running? Also what version of motherboard is it.

[Herbal]

You might want to check the mosfets are making good contact with the heatsink.

On my A8N32-SLI I've found the mosfets on the outer edge are slightly 'lower' than the others and thus make poor contact....I need try and sort that on my board.

[Major]

@Ben805

I'm glad to see someone that I know and trust with this board !!

I'm going with one after the first of the year, maybe sooner !! lol

Good to know that 1.7v is a go too, that was a major concern of mine. What memory bios settings are missing ? any ?

[ben805]

@Ben805

I'm glad to see someone that I know and trust with this board !!

I'm going with one after the first of the year, maybe sooner !! lol

Good to know that 1.7v is a go too, that was a major concern of mine. What memory bios settings are missing ? any ?

hehe...you know you want one of these bad boy!! I believe the only memory setting missing is the TWTR, and there's only 3 values for TREF....3.9, 7.8, and 15.6. Dram and data strength are similar to DFI but you can disable the data strength on this, other than that there are a bunch of other settings that the DFI don't have and I still have no clue what they are....will have play with them later, for now I left them on default. All 4 nvidia SATA2 ports appear to be locked and I do not have any problem running my raid-0 array off of port 1 and 2 or 3 and 4 at high HTT. This mobo also loves the Ballistix, these ram are pretty much plug-n-play now and they run just fine to leave all memory settings on Auto though personally I prefer to set everything manually. I'd also noticed everything from DOS base utilities (ghost, partition magic, drive image, etc) to windows apps....everything are much more responsive and quicker. In a way I feel kinda weird that this board is running so darn smooth and stable, as I was always expecting and getting accustomed to the random problems I had with Ultra-D

As for the complaints...The PC Prope II is somewhat inferior and inaccurate, I do not see the vdimm meter anywhere in the bios or the PC Prope...that's a bummer, it would be nice to be able to check for vdimm fluctuation during benching. There is no nvraid drivers floppy came with the package either, you'll need it for XP installation if you're running raid. I had to use the provided CD to make one from another PC.

[chunkylover77]

It's too bad that this is not compatible with my LL v2000 or I would jump all over this. Maybe I will get it and just remove the heatpipe. Show us some good oc's Ben and I will have to. Would love to pair this with an Opty 175 and call it a day for a year.

[LuckMan212]

It's too bad that this is not compatible with my LL v2000

i have the v2000 also... awesome case but the upside-down thing does cause problems sometimes........ by not compatible I guess you mean the heatpipe would not flow properly?

[Marios]

I think this is the first time ever to compare DDR500 DDR400 timings on the same system, at the same CPU and Northbridge speed.
This was possible by implementing the hidden 5/4 divider on Athlon 64 Rev E CPUs.

Comparing DDR500 - DDR400
DDR500 1T, 3-4-4-10-14-18-3-4 Sandra=5775
DDR500 1T, 3-3-3-8-12-16-3-3 Sandra=5775
DDR400 1T, 3-3-3-8-12-16-3-3 Sandra=5514
DDR500 is faster by 260 points.

Comparing 1T - 2T DDR500
DDR500 1T, 3-4-4-10-14-18-3-4 Sandra=5775
DDR500 2T, 3-4-4-10-14-18-3-4 Sandra=5274
1T is faster by 300 points.

Comparing 1T - 2T DDR400
DDR400 1T, 3-3-3-8-12-16-3-3 Sandra=5514
DDR400 2T, 3-3-3-8-12-16-3-3 Sandra=4654
1T is faster by 860 points.

Comparing different timings with the same tCL at DDR400
DDR400 1T, 2-2-2-6-9-14-2-2 Sandra=5614
DDR400 1T, 2-3-3-8-12-16-3-3 Sandra=5574
Difference 40 points. (almost nothing)

Comparing different timings with the same tCL at DDR500
DDR500 1T, 3-3-3-8-12-16-3-3 Sandra=5775
DDR500 1T, 3-4-4-10-14-18-3-4 Sandra=5775
Difference 0 points.

Comparing tCL2 - tCL3
DDR400 1T, 2-3-3-8-12-16-3-3 Sandra=5574
DDR400 1T, 3-3-3-8-12-16-3-3 Sandra=5514
Difference 60 points. (small)

Comparing different timings
DDR400 1T, 2-2-2-6-9-14-2-2 Sandra=5614
DDR400 1T, 3-3-3-8-12-16-3-3 Sandra=5514
Difference 100 points.

Comparing DDR500 1Τ - DDR400 2Τ (BIOS Default)
DDR500 1T, 3-4-4-10-14-18-3-4 Sandra=5775, PCMark05=5759
DDR400 2T, 3-3-3-8-12-16-3-3 Sandra=4654, PCMark05=5621
DDR500 1T is faster by 1121 points.
In this case we have a 25% Sandra boost and a better PCMark05 score by 138 (2,45%).

Conclusions
The most important DDR speed factors in my case were 1T and memory frequency in this order.
Should I dissable 2T at DDR400 or leave it as is and raise the memory frequency at DDR500?
At DDR400 1T I got a 5514 score while by just raising the frequency to DDR500 2T I got 5214 points.

ASUS did a great job with 1009 BIOS.
Auto memory settings gave me the best stable speed as long as I enabled 1T manually.
My Ballistix are DDR500, 3-4-4-10-14-18-3-4.
With default BIOS settings on earlier than 1009 BIOS I would lose a quarter of my DIMM's speed and 2.5% of my PC speed.

This is how I checked.
Athlon 64 4400+ A8N32-SLI Deluxe BIOS 1009.
All tests run at the same BIOS default settings (CPU 201X11=2211MHz).
I used the latest Sandra 2005-10-10-69 version dlded from extremeoverclocking.com
My timings are: tCL-tRCD-tRP-tRAS-tRC-tRFC-tRRD-TWRT

DDR400 was 201MHz
DDR500 was 244.44MHz
(manually calculated, since no program understands a 5/4 divider)
Sandra's 2005 Memory bandwidth Benchmark scores were taken as an average of 5 checks.

[Cybertronic]

I've decided to flash my BIOS from 803 to 1009 by CD as it said in the motherboard manual that you could do it by doing the ALT + F2 method. So I made an empty disc with A8N32SLI.ROM on it and press ALT + F2 during the bootup, flashed fine and after that it keeps saying bad BIOS sum error . It then proceeds to BIOS backup and it still says the same problem when it flashes even after redownloading the BIOS.

I also tried using the Asus support CD which has the original BIOS on and it still says the same thing

Hopefully a floppy drive (which I didn't have in the first place) will fix this problem as I'm getting on from a friend today

[Marios]

I've decided to flash my BIOS from 803 to 1009 by CD as it said in the motherboard manual that you could do it by doing the ALT + F2 method. So I made an empty disc with A8N32SLI.ROM on it and press ALT + F2 during the bootup, flashed fine and after that it keeps saying bad BIOS sum error . It then proceeds to BIOS backup and it still says the same problem when it flashes even after redownloading the BIOS.

I also tried using the Asus support CD which has the original BIOS on and it still says the same thing

Hopefully a floppy drive (which I didn't have in the first place) will fix this problem as I'm getting on from a friend today

This is not a problem.
The first time you may get a Bad checksum error but you should enter the BIOS and load setup defaults.

[ben805]

I think this is the first time ever to compare DDR500 DDR400 timings on the same system, at the same CPU and Northbridge speed.
This was possible by implementing the hidden 5/4 divider on Athlon 64 Rev E CPUs.

Comparing DDR500 - DDR400
DDR500 1T, 3-4-4-10-14-18-3-4 Sandra=5775
DDR500 1T, 3-3-3-8-12-16-3-3 Sandra=5775
DDR400 1T, 3-3-3-8-12-16-3-3 Sandra=5514
DDR500 is faster by 260 points.

Comparing 1T - 2T DDR500
DDR500 1T, 3-4-4-10-14-18-3-4 Sandra=5775
DDR500 2T, 3-4-4-10-14-18-3-4 Sandra=5274
1T is faster by 300 points.

Comparing 1T - 2T DDR400
DDR400 1T, 3-3-3-8-12-16-3-3 Sandra=5514
DDR400 2T, 3-3-3-8-12-16-3-3 Sandra=4654
1T is faster by 860 points.

Comparing different timings with the same tCL at DDR400
DDR400 1T, 2-2-2-6-9-14-2-2 Sandra=5614
DDR400 1T, 2-3-3-8-12-16-3-3 Sandra=5574
Difference 40 points. (almost nothing)

Comparing different timings with the same tCL at DDR500
DDR500 1T, 3-3-3-8-12-16-3-3 Sandra=5775
DDR500 1T, 3-4-4-10-14-18-3-4 Sandra=5775
Difference 0 points.

Comparing tCL2 - tCL3
DDR400 1T, 2-3-3-8-12-16-3-3 Sandra=5574
DDR400 1T, 3-3-3-8-12-16-3-3 Sandra=5514
Difference 60 points. (small)

Comparing different timings
DDR400 1T, 2-2-2-6-9-14-2-2 Sandra=5614
DDR400 1T, 3-3-3-8-12-16-3-3 Sandra=5514
Difference 100 points.

Comparing DDR500 1Τ - DDR400 2Τ (BIOS Default)
DDR500 1T, 3-4-4-10-14-18-3-4 Sandra=5775, PCMark05=5759
DDR400 2T, 3-3-3-8-12-16-3-3 Sandra=4654, PCMark05=5621
DDR500 1T is faster by 1121 points.
In this case we have a 25% Sandra boost and a better PCMark05 score by 138 (2,45%).

Conclusions
The most important DDR speed factors in my case were 1T and memory frequency in this order.
Should I dissable 2T at DDR400 or leave it as is and raise the memory frequency at DDR500?
At DDR400 1T I got a 5514 score while by just raising the frequency to DDR500 2T I got 5214 points.

ASUS did a great job with 1009 BIOS.
Auto memory settings gave me the best stable speed as long as I enabled 1T manually.
My Ballistix are DDR500, 3-4-4-10-14-18-3-4.
With default BIOS settings on earlier than 1009 BIOS I would lose a quarter of my DIMM's speed and 2.5% of my PC speed.

This is how I checked.
Athlon 64 4400+ A8N32-SLI Deluxe BIOS 1009.
All tests run at the same BIOS default settings (CPU 201X11=2211MHz).
I used the latest Sandra 2005-10-10-69 version dlded from extremeoverclocking.com
My timings are: tCL-tRCD-tRP-tRAS-tRC-tRFC-tRRD-TWRT

DDR400 was 201MHz
DDR500 was 244.44MHz
(manually calculated, since no program understands a 5/4 divider)
Sandra's 2005 Memory bandwidth Benchmark scores were taken as an average of 5 checks.

very nice comparison, thanks for sharing

[$JG Money$]

Hi i just bought this mobo and updated from the 903 to the 1009 bios. I cant seem to change my ECC setting(its grayed out). I want to overclock
can som1 give me a basic list of things i need to change in the bios?
I have a opty 144
-2gb ocz platinum el 3200

And i was wondering if the new bios (1009) has the same problems with reading the voltage as the older bios's?

[[XC] moddolicous]

Nice to see asus made a nice 939 mobo. Cant wait for the oc results. What was there under the copper pipe thing for the northbridge & southbridge?? Thermal tape or Thermal paste? Only 3.2 to the ddr?

[trza2k]

Well after seeing this thread i decided to go try and get my a8n32 to give me more vcore(trying every combination of settings). Still doesnt give more then 1.58volt as per the other thread. Will be interesting to know what version of the motherboard and bios you are using.

[lowdog]

You must be using the bios 502 that shipped with the board, can you confirm this please.

Bios 703 and beta 805 WON'T give 1.77vcore using the overvolt cpu option. Max with these two bioses is 1.58vcore.

You can flash to these newer bioses and confirm that for all of us if you like. If correct it looks like only bios 502 gives 1.77vcore.

I'm running 805, 703 was ify for me. I don't want to flash back to 502 atm.

[trza2k]

You must be using the bios 502 that shipped with the board, can you confirm this please.

Bios 703 and beta 805 WON'T give 1.77vcore using the overvolt cpu option. Max with these two bioses is 1.58vcore.

You can flash to these newer bioses and confirm that for all of us if you like. If correct it looks like only bios 502 gives 1.77vcore.

I'm running 805, 703 was ify for me. I don't want to flash back to 502 atm.

I tried 502 lowdog. Still no go... I think it might be something on the mobo stopping it.