Good design, good overclock, good pipe-The MSI P35 Neo2-FR overview

[sonicsallen]

Is it? Then i have to try 1.8. I only can hit 528fsb because of my memory.

MSI Dualcore center is not that accurate. Sometimes it read Vdimm 3.1v while it runs @ 2.2v
I have this board for 3 months and i still like it. I never had any issue yet.

I like it too, with mixed feelings though

[@rne]

Do you guys know any vdimm measure points? what be good if somebody who is able to reach >600MHz could measure it

[ownage]

DDR2 vdimm measure points. Should work on any DDR2 motherboard

[-iceblade^]

i have it and like it...

it was a bit iffy when i tried installing XP, and somehow refused to boot with dual channel ram installed, but overall, it's a good board

anyways, anyone mind telling me if it's a good idea to use the hardware jumpers to go to 333mhz with my 2140 (rig specs are in my sig)

[mehmehmeh]

How do you set the FSB jumper? I had this double-boot problem when they're set to 333. After taking them off (set to 400), no double-boot unless the PSU is completely shut down.

mine are the factory default 200. That's what I meant by cold start, first power up from a shut down PSU. S3 sleep state basically saves the ram state to disk and then shuts down the computer.

antec earthwatts 430w
ati x1650 pro

[sonicsallen]

Update DDR2-1500 @2.4v
This board is insane.


Validation link
http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc.php?id=318661

[clon22]

Holy.....
Madness...
But I like...

[ownage]

Update DDR2-1500 @2.4v
This board is insane.


Validation link
http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc.php?id=318661

That is madness!

What memory is that? ballistix 8500?

[[LCN]Knowledge]

Ummm interesting, so newer BIOS's improve memory overclocking. Just what i needed . Thanks

[sonicsallen]

Yes, they are Crucial 8500.

Update
My previous post DDR2-1500 @2.4v has shown this board is very good at 5:8 ratio. What about the others? I chose 5:6, 2:3 and 4:5 and did a little research. Let's look at these three screenshots first. Settings were all the same except FSB to run memory at 600MHz, vDIMM=2.1v, NB=1.45v. CPU is E8400 and memory is Team 800 cas4 D9GMH. For comparison, This pair of RAM does 600MHz ORTHOS Blend on P5K premium with 2.1v in BIOS.

PIC 1 5:6


PIC 2 2:3


PIC 3 4:5


Seems like no difference, they were all stable @ 600MHz. Actually no, there IS difference. Here's how I did the test exactly.

1, I set vDIMM =2.1v, NB=1.40v. 5:6 ran over 1 hour before an error was detected; 2:3 detected error in 5 seconds; 4:5 was the worst, blue screen right after I clicked Start button. So mem raito difficulty is 5:6 < 2:3 < 4:5

2, I raised NB to 1.45v, 5:6 ran over 10 hours and no error; 2:3 ran 2 hours and no error; 4:5 was still the worst, error detected in 5 minutes and then system automatically restarted.

3, I thought NB still need more voltage to stablize @ 4:5, so I set NB to 1.50v. No, still error in 3 minutes, but no auto restart this time.

4, The prebious 3 setps were done with FSB jumpers taken off, which means 400 FSB. In this step, I set those jumpers to 333 to see if there's any change.
And there IS. With NB=1.45v, 4:5 could run over 1 hour and no error, like PIC 3 shows. Apparently, 333FSB jumper made it easier for the northbridge to run high memory clock.

5, To confirm the conclusion from 4, I used 333FSB jumper to go back and test 2:3. NB set to only 1.40v, 5 minutes no error. Compared with 1st step, which detected error in 5 seconds, 333FSB jumper also made NB more stable.

6, I used another pair of DDR2, Bufflo 800 D9GMH. It's not as good as those TEAM. I set vDIMM=2.2v, NB=1.45v. With 400FSB jumper, it couldn't even successfully log on Windows, just like on P5K premium. While with 333 jumper, it was able to run 16M superPi.


7, From 400 to 333, the performance did not fall. Everest read bandwidth was still 102xx MB/s.

Now we can see these FSB jumpers are not just for "easy overclocking", they do have some hidden effect on the memory controller. In my test, 333FSB is easier than 400 and gives the same performance. But with 333 jumper, the board has "double-boot" issue, which does not happen in most cases when set to 400.
I also did a small comparison between 333 and 266 jumper. It did not seem to have any improvement to me. But you may get different results if you are running a 1066FSB or 800FSB CPU.
This board is ecellent in dual core CPU and memory overclocking. It beats ASUS P5K-Premium (also very good IMO, except mem clocking) and blows Maximus Formula away, not even to mention Gigabyte. I am really suprised that a sub $100 board could be so much fun. It has some issues, but overall it's the best mobo I've owned so far. Good job MSI

[WSX]

Thanks for those results, you should post them on the DDR2 overclocking database, the highest clock reached over there on Ballistix is 1335 MHz. The thing I like about this MSI board is it's ability to recover from a bad overclock, it always leaves my last settings in the BIOS even when the overclock has failed, I've rarely had to use the clear cmos button. For me the double boot with the 333MHz jumper is not an issue, it only occurs then I'm overclocking, once I have stable O/C settings in bios there's no more double boot.

DDR2 overclocking database
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=114977

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[clon22]

Change in strap loosen the timings?
I did realise that in some cases, 333fsb helped me achieved a slightly higher max fsb over 200fsb default jumper.
Anyway, alot of effort put in to do those tests, sonicsallen.
Thank you for the hard work.

[ownage]

Probably affects the "Performance Level" which is strongly related to the boards strap. P965 had straps, with P35 we have performance levels. If i have the time i will test test if the memory's performance level chances from 333 to 266. A higher performance level should make it easier for the NB to clock the memory.

[sonicsallen]

Well the performance level is 8 in both cases when memory is is running @ 600MHz (5:6). Too bad we cannot set this value in BIOS like the ASUS or Gigabyte boards. And the performance drop from 400 to 333 is minimal. It does not look like a change of the preformance level.
Thing might be different from 333 to 266. The review on Xbit Labs says setting the jumper from 266 to 333 avoid performance drop at high FSB.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/mai...m_8.html#sect0

[rscl]

I personally set 266, what settings do you guys use?

[sillybighair]

Greetings all.

A newbie here. Finally changed the MB since my Gigabyte 965P-DS3 turned out to be a dud for overclocking (at least with my E2160) and has the inability to take 4Gb of ram.

Read a review online about the P35 Neo2-FR which is a Platinum in disguise (I love the red sticker on the MB, hehe). Anyway, the board is stable at stock speeds. However, it DOES NOT like memory put in the orange slots. I've tried the following:

1) 1Gb Hynix PC5300
2) 1Gb Elixir PC6400
3) 1Gb Geil Ultra PC6400 CL4
4) 1Gb Crucial Ballistix PC8500

They ALL perform flawlessly in the green slots. As soon as ram is put into the orange slots, the LEDs would show the "decompress to ram..." combination. Did all the reset CMOS and battery removal, etc, that many threads had suggested.

I've tried JEDEC on all of the above. I've also tried setting the ram to 667 for the Hynix. And I'm sure you can guess that they didn't work.

I thought it might have been a PSU issue. So, got myself an Antec 380W EarthWatts and plugged it into the motherboard and nothing else. Unfortunately, no luck.

Now, I have to make do with 2 x 1Gb Ballistix PC8500 at 3.4.4.12 with 1:1 running at 700mhz (single channel in green slots) on my E2160 (350FSB x 9).

Has anybody encountered this problem before? Oh, this is already my second board. I RMAed the previous one with the same problem assuming it was faulty, but besides PSU and ram, I can't think what might prompt this bizarre and somewhat annoying hiccup on otherwise a very good MB.

I'd appreciate any advice and suggestions. Many thanks

[Dr.Leary]

You know that MSI colourcode diffrent,right? One colour for each channel.

[ownage]

You know that MSI colourcode diffrent,right? One colour for each channel.

No its not. I run dualchannel (according cpu-z), but i hav one stick in the green slot, and another in the orange slot.

[Dr.Leary]

Yes, correct. Thats not like most boards.

[sillybighair]

I can confirm that putting the ram in 2 green or 2 orange slots = single channel. Dual channel has to be 1 x green and 1 x orange. This is what I don't understand. The green slots on my MB work perfectly fine. The orange slots don't work at all.

[mreld3r]

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/....php?p=2675094
hey anyone seen or tried this?
I would like to have more info on this; but cant seem to find anything.

Im running a neo2-fr with a 2160@3.1Ghz...1.485volts (in bios),,,ram is teamXtreem hc4@4,4,4,12 and 2.1Volts.
3dmark06 is 11956 with an Evga 8800gt,SSC
Core voltage is 1.42 under a load
memory is 414 Mhz@5:6
Cooling is <60C under a load with BigTyphoon

Now 3dmark is 12056 with ram@430Mhz--4,4,4,10 4:5
not much improvement, but I broke 12K
Bios ver. is 1.8

[ZorK]

Do you think that this ram TWIN2X2048-8500C5D will work ok with this mobo?10x

[mreld3r]

Im gonna try the vdroop mod to see if it will stabilize my Vcore some.
The chip is in between the Cpu-fan connector and the first ram slot, maybe a little toward the back of the mobo. But that resistor is SO small that my Old-eyes are gonna give me problems. The resistor that needs to be pencil'd is directly under the CpuFan header. Does anyone know the Dmm measure point for Vcore?? I dont trust any software program for measure Vcore. I would like to see for myself what the Vcore is with a meter.

[Flak]

Anyone with a Q6600 @ 3.6ghz care to share their bios settings? I have a rev 1.2 board from clubit. Have tried both the 1.8 and 1.84 bios. With the jumper on the board left at default, I can't overclock at all doesn't matter voltage. However I can set the jumper to 333 and the machine boots up fine. I manually set to 9x multiplier and leave everything else and it's prime stable for 8hrs now. However, even 334 is not stable at any voltage apparently. I am using Vista Business x64 and 8gb of ram (4x2gb Adata ddr2 800, 5-5-5-15 1.8v is what its rated at and what I have it set to)

[[XC] DragonOrta]

Anyone with a Q6600 @ 3.6ghz care to share their bios settings? I have a rev 1.2 board from clubit. Have tried both the 1.8 and 1.84 bios. With the jumper on the board left at default, I can't overclock at all doesn't matter voltage. However I can set the jumper to 333 and the machine boots up fine. I manually set to 9x multiplier and leave everything else and it's prime stable for 8hrs now. However, even 334 is not stable at any voltage apparently. I am using Vista Business x64 and 8gb of ram (4x2gb Adata ddr2 800, 5-5-5-15 1.8v is what its rated at and what I have it set to)

You might try it with just 2 sticks to begin with. I've gotten my Q6600 up to 4.3ghz with the jumpers set to 266.