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

[freakBYnature]

I've discovered why!!! Yeah I truly did! If you set 1.35 from BIOS it will pump out an approx. 0.05~0.1V EXTRA! So the bios settings regarding vcore is wrong! If you want 1.35V you have to set 1.3 or EVEN LOWER! That's why the higher temps, cause it overvolts it on every single setting!

Enable overvolt: ON (which give 0.205V extra)
VCORE: 1.125

Reboot............ ........... ..........

Windows reads: 1.39V!! Which aint logic, cause it should say like 1.33V!!!

I've figured it out... and by doing this, the temps are NORMAL! Like they should be... idle 30c and load like 44~46C!! And I even oc'd my Opteron 170 to 2.6GHz on this volt I just wrote... 1.33V from bios SICK!

cool, thanks for the info. I'll try 1.275 and see what happens. I'm gonna take another stab at the PC tonight so appreciate the info.

I hope I can get the pc to run cooler... running 45C+ on stock clock sucks.

Is that 45+ idle? My is running 49~54C when crunching WCG (both cores at 100% load). And that is when oc'd from stock 2 GHz to 2.8 GHz @ 1.44V. And this is when set 1.275V in bios (without enable overvolt: off) ! It's insane how wrong the bios volts are! Misleading and downright dangerous if you are not aware and pump it up to 1.6V and get more like 1.7V!!

[rintamarotta]

Not bad at all..

[QuietIce]

It's insane how wrong the bios volts are! Misleading and downright dangerous if you are not aware and pump it up to 1.6V and get more like 1.7V!!

I've never had that issue. Without over-volt I can't get the board above ~1.45v. With over-volt the vCore is very close to what it should be if you're truly over-volting (1.35 VID + OV = 1.55v) ...

[hp7909]

Please see here

TIA

[lazy]

decided to put my opty and this board together again but it just wont go pass the windows loading screen w/out bsod.

All settings are on default and so far i have been only able to get into windows through safe mode.

Can someone tell me what is wrong?

[QuietIce]

That sounds like a driver problem of some kind. Are we talking about a clean Windows install on the HDD ...?

[stealth]

decided to put my opty and this board together again but it just wont go pass the windows loading screen w/out bsod.

Can someone tell me what is wrong?

Leave only the basics on the system(PSU,CPU,VGA,one HD,one stick of Ram in B1 slot)make sure all the power connectors are in the correct place,have a look at the manual.

Disable "PEG Link Mode" and "Legacy USB Support" in Bios and try to memtest your Ram.

Have you got an idea of what the blue screen says?

stealth

[lazy]

No the install was not new. The drivers were originally there but i tried to use it on a older MB(A8N VA CSM) i think thats the model name.

I changed the cpu out but it took forever to put so i put the original cpu and mb with the hdd and now this is the problem


the bsod screen disappears too fast for me to make it out

[stealth]

@QuiteIce,

I have put a question on this thread for you some time ago,if you have time can you have a look please?

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...96900&page=159

Thanks.

stealth

[QuietIce]

No the install was not new. The drivers were originally there but i tried to use it on a older MB(A8N VA CSM) i think thats the model name.

I changed the cpu out but it took forever to put so i put the original cpu and mb with the hdd and now this is the problem


the bsod screen disappears too fast for me to make it out

I'm not used to swapping HDDs like that so please bear with my stupidity. You'll have to go into windows and disable the current drivers for the MB (chipset, etc.) and let Windows take it over with it's default drivers. Then you can boot normally (I hope!) and install the correct drivers. Just install the chipset drivers - don't bother with the Firewall or other stuff on the CD ...

@QuiteIce,

I have put a question on this thread for you some time ago,if you have time can you have a look please?

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...96900&page=159

Thanks.

stealth

I'm having trouble finding that - did you link to a forum page or to the post itself? If you linked to the page go back to the post and click the post # to show the post only, then use that link. I don't use the forum default for posts/page so any page link is usually way off unless it's the first or last page.

[stealth]

I am not sure if i did it right,here it is:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...postcount=3953

If it doesn't work the post is at the "Dual Core Opteron 2" thread page 159(the one before the last) third post from the top.

Thanks.

stealth

[QuietIce]

I am not sure if i did it right,here it is:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...postcount=3953

If it doesn't work the post is at the "Dual Core Opteron 2" thread page 159(the one before the last) third post from the top.

Thanks.

stealth

That link worked fine reply posted ...

[jcniest5]

Okay, just wondering if anyone is still using this board and if you have bought it recently or some time within the last year or so, what is the latest board revision in existence. Thank you all.

[QuietIce]

The latest (and only) revision I know of is the "REV 1.01g" board. There may be others since I've been buying used and OEM boards for awhile now but I haven't seen or heard of one. The main difference I see in the "g" board is the FSB top speed. It doesn't seem to go as high as the originals (REV 1.01), though 310-320 MHz isn't too bad I guess. All the original boards I've tried go up to 360-370 MHz FSB.


BTW - The latest stable BIOS is still 1303 AFAIK but an unofficial 14xx version is out there somewhere. 1303 seems to work fine except for Legacy USB. It's still a little buggy for some people and needs to be turned off, which can cause issues with some USB mice and keyboards ...

[jcniest5]

The latest (and only) revision I know of is the "REV 1.01g" board. There may be others since I've been buying used and OEM boards for awhile now but I haven't seen or heard of one. The main difference I see in the "g" board is the FSB top speed. It doesn't seem to go as high as the originals (REV 1.01), though 310-320 MHz isn't too bad I guess. All the original boards I've tried go up to 360-370 MHz FSB.


BTW - The latest stable BIOS is still 1303 AFAIK but an unofficial 14xx version is out there somewhere. 1305 seems to work fine except for Legacy USB. It's still a little buggy for some people and needs to be turned off, which can cause issues with some USB mice and keyboards ...

Thanks for the reply. I'm in the process of aquiring a used one, so I'm just making sure how many revisions existed, that's all. Appreciate that.

[QuietIce]

Thanks for the reply. I'm in the process of aquiring a used one, so I'm just making how many revisions existed, that's all. Appreciate that.

When you do get it you may want to browse through this thread to help you find things. Not much on actually OC'ing (what's the fun of that anyway? ) but plenty of info on where things are located in BIOS and a couple of gotcha's you might want to be aware of ...

[tbone8ty]

Thanks for the reply. I'm in the process of aquiring a used one, so I'm just making how many revisions existed, that's all. Appreciate that.

yeah mine is rev 1.01

sexy time!!!







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i got my opty 165 pretty stable at 2.7ghz.... the voltage settings are pretty wack with this mobo. right now its 1.375V in bios but its reading anywheres from 1.41-1.46 in cpuid hardware monitor. it was kind scary at first but its been running fine for awhile.
____________________

i just ordered a thermalright sli/ifx heatpipe for the NB, temps do seem to climb to 40-45C, im gonna have to cut the lower heat pipe off, haha. ill let u know how it goes.

maybe ill try the thermalright for the pwr chips, though im no to worried about those.
__________________________

does anybody know how well a G92 8800gts fits on this mobo? will it be hard to connect the sata cables? or just a little bending?

_______________

glad to see people still using this mobo. i think its been great to me and ive only had it since march 2007.

[jcniest5]

I would receive it by Thursday or Friday if my seller wasn't slacking. Now, it has to be some time next week before I receive it. Not too please with his shipping time.

[QuietIce]

i got my opty 165 pretty stable at 2.7ghz.... the voltage settings are pretty wack with this mobo. right now its 1.375V in bios but its reading anywheres from 1.41-1.46 in cpuid hardware monitor. it was kind scary at first but its been running fine for awhile.

I think ASUS does that for the AI clocking people (I never use that and don't recommend it). Try the [Enable] setting on CPU Over-voltage and turn down the VID to 1.200v. That should get you an even 1.400vCore at idle. Also be aware these boards have a "standard droop" of 0.010v-0.015v per loaded core just as many DFI's do.

i just ordered a thermaltake sli/ifx heatpipe for the NB, temps do seem to climb to 40-45C, im gonna have to cut the lower heat pipe off, haha. ill let u know how it goes.

I wouldn't touch the heatpipes. I've never seen a situation where it helped on these boards. If you want to do something to help the chip temps a little put some Ceramique on the back of the NB & SB heatsinks. Proper ventilation is important but it doesn't take monster fans to get it. Just make sure you don't mount the board in a BX (up-side-down) position. I'm pretty sure you'll have to add an HS to the SB if you take the NB HS off. The SB is usually the hottest of the two since it only has the heatpipe. The NB has an actual HS on top of the heatpipe.

My hottest board is sitting on it's back running caseless. The heatpipes can't work as well in that position (they're partially gravity driven) but it only runs ~43°C and it's at 323x9. The coolest board is upright and caseless, it runs ~36°C and uses the add-on heatpipe fan since it's got a Storm on the CPU.

If you really feel the need you could put the Thermaltake on the SB. That would help temps on the NB as well since the heatpipe radiator (up by the CPU) would only be cooling the NB instead of both the NB & SB.

maybe ill try the thermaltake for the pwr chips, though im no to worried about those.
__________________________

does anybody know how well a G92 8800gts fits on this mobo? will it be hard to connect the sata cables? or just a little bending?

_______________

glad to see people still using this mobo. i think its been great to me and ive only had it since march 2007.

I wouldn't be worried about the MOSFETs, either - never a problem if you've got decent case ventilation.
__________________________

My 7900 GTX fits fine and will soon have a twin brother.
SATA cables have never been an issue but SATA drives will be when installing Windows - MS still likes IDE.

Strangely enough, if you've got an IDE HDD installed as well as a SATA you can install Windows on the clean SATA drive w/out the driver disk. I've got an old Win98 4 Gb HDD IDE drive I use just for that purpose and it's how I discovered that little tid-bit. I went to install XP Pro on the system that used to have that drive in it but I hadn't taken the drive out yet. Shear luck but a great discovery - saved me a ton of heartache messing with those driver discs for every machine!
__________________________

I've got 5 of these boards, one for each main machine*, and all run 24/7 crunching SETI & Einstein in their spare time. No issues to speak of except those mentioned here.

* All ASUS A8N32-SLI boards:
Opty 165: 323x9 (stock 4-pipe air - caseless, on it's back)
Opty 165: 322x9 (Storm - stock heatpipe fan - wall-mounted)
Opty 180 (older): 255x11 (Storm - DIY heatpipe rad cooler)
4400 X2 (older): 246x11 (Storm - stock heatpipe fan)
Opty 165: 306x9 (DIY air from a Zalman 775 cooler, tweaking > this chip should run faster but it's still too hot)

[tbone8ty]

oh yeah i ment i was gonna put the thermalright ifx on the lower chip which i thought was the nf4 chip?
the one that doesnt have any heatsink fins (closest to the sata ports) ......i think that gets the hottest.


i put artic silver 5 on the mosfets, and NB and SB. would Ceramique be better?

the copper heatpipe covering the mosfets doesnt seem to cover all of them very well. you can see in the picture above.

i thought maybe because the stress the heatpipes bends it alittle. maybe i could use a thin piece of metal as a spacer to combat that.




i tried the over-voltage on the cpu and i have it set at 1.1875 + the 200 mv, now it hovers closer to 1.39-1.41 which is much better. thanks alot!! (yeah without the overvoltage i had it set a 1.375 and it was all over the place.)


what do u have your over-voltage NB and SB set at? would this help my overall OC of the opty165? my memory is limiting though.

i am using a thermaltake tr2 psu which is average at best so that might be limiting but it hasnt given me any problems so far. planning on upgrading to a mushkin 550250 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817812004 when i order the G92 8800gts

im loving this board more and more, hopefully ill have this baby for awhile. sweet were at 77 pages! haha

[jcniest5]

Haven't heard from my seller the last few days, hope I wasn't trolled. Hope Paypal is ready to help in case I was.

[QuietIce]

I believe the upper (C51D) NB is the "NF4" chip but IIRC all the drive I/O and USB(??) go through the SB. I think it stays hot because it's only got that one heatpipe to cool it.

AS5 is better but I never recommend it for exposed chips because some people are messy and that stuff has an electrical capacitance and needs to be kept off the electronics. If you know what you're doing it's better to use AS5.
The MOSFET contacts are uneven because the chips are slightly uneven (in height) on the board. Both MOSFET coolers use thick thermal pads and I've never noticed any difference when changing the pads for Ceramique or AS5.

I don't over-volt either bridge. If you test the limits of your FSB then over-volting the NB might get you an extra 10-15 MHz but if your board is normal you shouldn't reach that until you're above 320 MHz at the least and maybe a lot higher. My main board managed 350x8 stable and went higher at x7 without the over-volt (not that I left it there ) but others top out near 330 MHz. I wouldn't use the over-volt unless you really need it.

Haven't heard from my seller the last few days, hope I wasn't trolled. Hope Paypal is ready to help in case I was.

One of the reasons I like using PayPal ...

[tbone8ty]

yeah crap i disposed of that thermal pad. now that i think about i should have left it on. hmm anything u recommened as a replacement for that stuff? i kinda wanna take the AS5 off and put the thermal pads back on the modfets again.

what about the AI clock skew channel A + B in the bios. mine is set at defauly 450 p2.

[QuietIce]

Don't worry about not seeing the height difference. I didn't see it until I started to put the sink back on then noticed it wasn't quite contacting half the chips. I used Ceramique on the first couple of boards w/out any problems but not much (if any) improvement in temps, either. Since there's no improvement by replacing them I suggest leaving the thermal pads on (as I've done on subsequent boards) but it doesn't hurt if they're already off.

However, I do NOT use AS5 since it isn't electrically neutral while Ceramique (and AFAIK most white TIM) is electrically neutral. I put it on a little thick and it seems to work OK by filling in the slight gap. If you push down a little on the sink it'll squeeze out whatever is extra and temps will be about the same as stock.


As far as clock skew goes, I've used it a couple of times when I'm within a few MHz of hitting a memory threshold (where the memory needs to be loosened to accommodate a higher clock speed). It's helped get that two or three extra MHz out of the memory but you have to play with it awhile to get the right setting - it's all trial & error. If I'm not near a threshold I just leave it on Auto and it's fine. I guess if you were an avid Bench-buster you might want to mess with it but for me it's not worth 2 hours of resets and testing to get an extra 1% (at best) out of the RAM bandwidth ...

[jcniest5]

Dang...the second outrage that happened on Saturday 4/18 deleted all our posts since last week. Dang it....

Okay, would the person that supposedly sent me his X2 3800+ please PM me again...the outtage last Saturday erased all my PM communications with this user and now I don't remember what his username was. Thanks...