Official MSI P7N Diamond (780i) Discussion/Review/Overclock/Guide/BIOS Thread

[wolf1974]

sorry i am getting to this so late but i am here now, try and disable the speed step in youre cell menu, i am surprised you got it this high with it sill enabled,and for all,,,like me 9650 users MSI WILL BE POSTING A BIOS FOR OUR BIG FAST CPU,,,,IN ABOUT A WEEK SO JUST BE A LITTLE PATIENT OK GUYS,,,I GO BACK A LONG WAY WITH THE HIGH END MSI BOARDS AND WE WILL BE HAPPY WHEN THEY GET THE NEW BIOS OUT,RIGHT NOW I AM UP TO 3.7 GHZ,,, 9650 X 11 3770 FSB NB 1.40 V CORE 1.304 FSB TERM 4 AND MY CORSAIR 1066 SET TO MANUAL 2.1 VOLTS,WITH 2 FOXCONN 8800GTS 640,S I AM GETTIN 1900 AND SOME CHANGE, 3D MARL 06 1280 RES NOTE ALSO UP YOU PCI FREQ TO 107 THIS I LEARNED WITH MY K8N DIAMOND PLUS WITH FX-60 IT WILL LET YOU OVERCLOCK MORE,,I WILL TRY TO HELP ALL AND I AM SURE I WILL NEED SOME HELP, THIS IS MY FIRST INTEL BUILD,,, GOOD LUCK OK,,AND BY FAR THIS IS THE BEST 780I BOARD!!! LETS GIVE IT SOME TIME OK GUYS,,,,,WOLF

[theYipster]

Overspeed, try setting FSB Terminator voltage to 15 and see if that improves any. Also, please share how you are running your RAM timings and speed. When OCing, you should run your RAM at a 1:1 ratio with your FSB, thus eliminating RAM OC issues in your attempt to OC your proc. On the MSI P7N, you must do some manual math to find which RAM speed will get you a 1:1 ratio.

First set RAM speed to manual. Then, whatever you set your FSB to in the BIOS, divide that number (the quad pumped number set in the BIOS) by 2. Hence, a 3.6ghz E8400 should run with an FSB set to 1600mhz in the BIOS and RAM set to 800mhz. A 4.05ghz E8400 should run with an FSB set to 1800mhz in the BIOS and RAM set to 900mhz.

Also, be sure to loosen your timings to 5-5-5-15. Once you've found a proc OC you are happy with, then go back and work on your RAM timings. If you're confident it's not voltages, then perhaps its your RAM.

Also, maxing out your NB may just cause it to overheat. You're NB will definitely need a boost however to run a 4ghz proc. Expect 1.4+-. Maxing out will just cause other issues, especially if you are running it on the stock passive cooling.

[theYipster]

Wolf.. Thanks for sharing the result. Are you prime or OCCT stable with those settings?

[Overspeed]

Thanx for the reply yipster. Here are some details as per your post. First my system: P7N, E8400, 4x1GB PC2-8500 rated at 5-5-5-15, Termaltake Big Typhoon. So I have great cooling on the CPU. In the BIOS, I have not changed in any way the ram timings. Currently set to SPD. I have been doing as your suggested with the ram divider, I always make sure i'm set to manual and the ram frequency is set to half of FSB ... ie ... 1600/800. My ram manual says recommended voltage of 2.1 so I have manually set this. Other points to note:

BIOS says core votage at 1.2 - CPU-Z says 1.1 and I gather this is normal.
For now I don't intend on OC the RAM in anyway, just CPU

This next point i'm no expert so bear with me. After recovering from the failed OC I set everything back to auto and PC runs fine. When I go into CPU-Z, then under SPD tab, it shows as PC2-6400 (400). I know im in dual channel so really the 400 is 800. So the mobo is setting ram to 800 when set to auto even though it only needs 666Mhz to run CPU at 1333 the default. Here's what puzzles me. In the CPU-Z SPD tab, there is a chart below called Timings Table. JEDEC #3 lists frequency as 400Mhz with the followng timings: 5-5-5-18 at 1.8v. ??? According to my ram manual, its rated at 5-5-5-15. There is another table called EPP #1 with the following timings: 5-6-6-15 2T @ 2.1v. Is my ram manual or is CPU-Z wrong? Or do I interprate this all wrong?

An update from my last post in regards to D.O.T. This time I used the MSI windows application. I was able to acheive the 3% gain OC stable. 5% and higher caused system to freeze. Suffice to say i'm concerned that 1 or more of my hardware may be faulty.

I'm not sure if this is worth noting but the MSI windows application also has a feature to monitor power levels and efficiency. My rig is constantly flucuating between 20-80% efficiency. This flucuation is not present when looking in BIOS HW-Monitor. I would think that if this is bad, and that my PSU is faulty, I would be experiencing issues even in no OC setups.

Anyways I will try your FSB Terminiation suggestion and let you know how it goes. Thanx again.

[Overspeed]

Yipster, I tried adjusting FSB Termination. No go. Here are the settings I used:

1600 FSB
800 on RAM (timings controlled by SPD)
RAM at 2.1v
CPU core at +0.15v
NB at 1.3v
FSB Term at 15

No post after 3 retries. I also tried twice at CPU voltage at +0.2v with the same other settings. No go. Over all, to date I have been able to achieve a 7% OC using BIOS and only 3% using MSI application.

I have one question to P7N owners that is not OC'ing related. When you first power on your rig does your mobo beep? Mine make one long loud beep followed by 2-3 shorter beeps. I know that MSI mobos always make at least 1 beep during post, but I don't seem to remember hearing the other beeps when I first got this. Curious if this is normal.

[theYipster]

Overspeed,

Remember that for two DIMMS to run in dual channel mode, they need to spaced a part by one empty DIMM, such that if bank 1 is the rightmost DIMM slot furthest from the processor, one stick is in bank 1 and the other is in bank 3, or that one stick is in bank 2 and the other is in bank 4. MSI colors their RAM slots differently than other manufacturers, which can be confusing. Make sure that one DIMM is in an orange slot and the other in the associative green slot.

As for default timings, this is normal. The motherboard will not automatically default to a 1:1 setting. Instead, it will default to the highest standard JDEC setting specified for your RAM. Now you have 1066mhz RAM, but the highest setting specified by JDEC for DDR-2 RAM is PC-6400 / 800mhz, which is why you see your RAM running at 800mhz at stock, and not 1066mhz. If you had 667mhz RAM, then you would see it run at 667mhz at stock. Secondly, the default timings for a given speed are stored in your RAM's SPD chip. This chip stores timing information for various RAM speeds at various FSB straps. 5-6-6-15-2T just happens to be the timings stored with the JDEC 800mhz speed. Now EPP, or SLI Ready memory, will store extra settings in that SPD chip, which can be activated by going into your BIOS and enabling SLI Memory. Set the SLI Memory option to 0% OC or Expert to automatically enable better timings for your given RAM speed.

As for the OC attemps, I'm sorry you're having trouble. Right now it does seem that the board works better with Conroe and Kentsfield chips. I would not recommend you OC through the Windows utility -- they tend not to work well. As for OCing through the BIOS, are you sure you have all the necessary settings disabled? Make sure that EIST and Speed Spectrums are disabled in the Cell Menu. Then go into the chip features menu where the Execute Disable Bit feature resides, press F4, and make sure that C1E is disabled and that Thermal Management is disabled. Lastly, have you tried any of the beta bioses from http://forum.msi.com.tw? The latest, 1.1B4, was released two days ago and people are finding some early success with it regarding the 45-nm chips. Before giving up, flashing to a newer BIOS is absolutely worth a try.

Good luck. Lastly, what's your PSU?

[Overspeed]

Overspeed,

Remember that for two DIMMS to run in dual channel mode, they need to spaced a part by one empty DIMM, such that if bank 1 is the rightmost DIMM slot furthest from the processor, one stick is in bank 1 and the other is in bank 3, or that one stick is in bank 2 and the other is in bank 4. MSI colors their RAM slots differently than other manufacturers, which can be confusing. Make sure that one DIMM is in an orange slot and the other in the associative green slot.

I am running 4x1GB DIMMS so all slots are full.

As for default timings, this is normal. The motherboard will not automatically default to a 1:1 setting. Instead, it will default to the highest standard JDEC setting specified for your RAM. Now you have 1066mhz RAM, but the highest setting specified by JDEC for DDR-2 RAM is PC-6400 / 800mhz, which is why you see your RAM running at 800mhz at stock, and not 1066mhz. If you had 667mhz RAM, then you would see it run at 667mhz at stock. Secondly, the default timings for a given speed are stored in your RAM's SPD chip. This chip stores timing information for various RAM speeds at various FSB straps. 5-6-6-15-2T just happens to be the timings stored with the JDEC 800mhz speed. Now EPP, or SLI Ready memory, will store extra settings in that SPD chip, which can be activated by going into your BIOS and enabling SLI Memory. Set the SLI Memory option to 0% OC or Expert to automatically enable better timings for your given RAM speed.

I'll give that a try.

As for the OC attemps, I'm sorry you're having trouble. Right now it does seem that the board works better with Conroe and Kentsfield chips. I would not recommend you OC through the Windows utility -- they tend not to work well. As for OCing through the BIOS, are you sure you have all the necessary settings disabled? Make sure that EIST and Speed Spectrums are disabled in the Cell Menu. Then go into the chip features menu where the Execute Disable Bit feature resides, press F4, and make sure that C1E is disabled and that Thermal Management is disabled. Lastly, have you tried any of the beta bioses from http://forum.msi.com.tw? The latest, 1.1B4, was released two days ago and people are finding some early success with it regarding the 45-nm chips. Before giving up, flashing to a newer BIOS is absolutely worth a try.

Good luck. Lastly, what's your PSU?

As of reading your reply I am 99% certain I have the necessary options disabled but i will go and verify. EDIT: I have verified that my settings match that you specified, all disabled. I have not been able to find any download locations for the beta BIOS yet. As for my PSU, I am running a Thermaltake Toughtpower 700W. Does your mobo beep like mine from cold boot?

I'm curious as to how these guys made it all work:

http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/sh....php?t=1886633

If longsiew is to be beleived, he got the E8400 to 4.6Ghz on this board ... only difference that I can see was the ram used.

[theYipster]

There is a subforum in the Overclocks forum for beta bioses. Note that you may need to register to access that forum. If so, registration is well worth it. I believe the E8400 user in the Singapore forum used a beta bios. I'd say that's your best bet.

[x-built-Stan]

theYipster,

I checked my voltage and here are the results.
VID: 1.256v - Read from BIOS, EIST disabled Q6600@2.4GHz stock
Vcore(no load): 1.432v - Read from CPU-Z, EIST disabled Q6600@3.4GHz
Vcore(load): 1.376v - Read from CPU-Z, EIST disabled, Q6600@3.4GHz

Load was Prime95 v25.5, 4 threads, small FFT.

You can see that my voltage drop under load is 0.056v or 3.9%. Is that inline with your observations?

I'm going to push the Vcore up and see if I can drop back the terminator voltage. I'll keep the FSB at 1512Mz for now.

[BKA]

I'l chime in with some overclocking results of my own with my e8400 on this board. I started off going with 1600(400x9)(3.6) FSB and memory at 800 linked. Tried uping the cpu voltage all the way up to +.18750(1.200-1.208 in BIOS) (1.21-1.22 in CPUID) (1.208-1.216 in CPUZ). NB up to 1.4, memory at default of 2.2v. All other voltages on auto. I can boot into Vista but 3DMARK06 would lock up during the test at different test, requiring a hard reset.

Dropped FSB down to 1520(380x9)(3.4) and memory still linked, NB down to 1.35 and left the CPU voltage at +.18750. Got through a full 3Dmark06 test and and now running prime95 for about 2 hours with no errors.

I'm coming from an ASUS P5N-T deluxe which did 3.6 but required a very high CPU voltage. Not sure what I should try next to get stable at 400x9 but I will follow this thread and post when I can. I do know one thing though, it's much snappier than than the ASUS board and installed Windows a heck of a lot quicker.

[x-built-Stan]

I'm editing this post to clarify the beep codes. When you boot there are two series of beep codes with a slight delay between them. The first is the boot beep code - see table below. The second is the number of USB devices plugged into teh motherboard directly. So if you get 1 long <pause> 2 short you have an OK POST with 2 USB devices plugged into the motherboard. Note that plugging multiple devices into a monitor or USB hub and them plugging the monitor or hub into the motherboard only counts a sone device - 1 short beep. If you are concerned or confused, unplug all USB devices and boot to get the 'true' sequence.

Overspeed,

Here are thge AMI beep codes. Note that the 1 long is a good POST.

AMI BIOS Beep Codes:

1 short DRAM refresh failure The programmable interrupt timer or programmable interrupt controller has probably failed
2 short Memory parity error A memory parity error has occurred in the first 64K of RAM. The RAM IC is probably bad
3 short Base 64K memory failure A memory failure has occurred in the first 64K of RAM. The RAM IC is probably bad
4 short System timer failure The system clock/timer IC has failed or there is a memory error in the first bank of memory
5 short Processor error The system CPU has failed
6 short Gate A20 failure The keyboard controller IC has failed, which is not allowing Gate A20 to switch the processor to protected mode. Replace the keyboard controller
7 short Virtual mode processor exception error The CPU has generated an exception error because of a fault in the CPU or motherboard circuitry
8 short Display memory read/write error The system video adapter is missing or defective
9 short ROM checksum error The contents of the system BIOS ROM does not match the expected checksum value. The BIOS ROM is probably defective and should be replaced
10 short CMOS shutdown register read/write error The shutdown for the CMOS has failed
11 short Cache error The L2 cache is faulty
1 long, 2 short Failure in video system An error was encountered in the video BIOS ROM, or a horizontal retrace failure has been encountered
1 long, 3 short Memory test failure A fault has been detected in memory above 64KB
1 long, 8 short Display test failure The video adapter is either missing or defective
2 short POST Failure One of the hardware testa have failed
1 long POST has passed all tests

[theYipster]

Hmm... X-built-Stan, my guess is that you need more voltage through that processor. A G0 VID of 1.256 isn't bad by any means, but paired with an nForce board, I'm not sure you'll get it stable under 1.4v at load. Try upping the vCore in the BIOS until you the board is pumping 1.4v at load. Note that this may require setting up to 1.45-1.48 in the BIOS.

Your vDroop looks to be in line with what I've experienced.

As for myself, I don't think I'll be getting around to testing tonight. Hopefully tomorrow I can continue my quest to 3.6ghz.

[malik22]

does the thermalright ultra extreme fit on this board?

[theYipster]

I believe it does if you rotate it 90 degrees, but I am not certain. You may want to double check elsewhere.

[x-built-Stan]

theYipster,

I upped the Vcore delta in the bios to 0.2000 for a load core of 1.41v and dropped the FSB terminator voltage to 30 from 63. I've got Prime95 running now for 1.5 hour. Core temp is 60C and NB is 60C. We'll see how long that runs.

[theYipster]

Sounds good! You should be in the home stretch now. If Prime fails before you're ready to call it stable, just up the vCore one notch until it becomes stable. If it fails between 2-8 hours, usually one or two notches of vCore will take care of it and you'll be stable.

60C is within tolerable limits of the 780i nb, but keep an eye on the temp. If it hits or passes 70C, you'll want to investigate in an active cooling method. I just purchased an Antec Spot Cool fan for mine -- should be here by Friday. It's supposed to do wonders for the NB temp on this board, which at least on mine is not unreasonable, but could use the extra cooling as I pump up voltage past 1.4v.

A 780i NB running between 40-50c, in my opinion, is a happy 780i NB. Note that on the 680/780 reference boards, NB temps in excess of 70C were usually a good indication that a NB burnout / failure (represented by everyone's favorite C1 error) was not far away. I do not expect the P7N to suffer from these burnouts, thanks to the better capacitors and PWM system used. Still, it's best to keep temps under control when possibler.

[malik22]

I believe it does if you rotate it 90 degrees, but I am not certain. You may want to double check elsewhere.

Is there any cons to installing it that way? and does it have alot of vdroop with quads?

[Overspeed]

Just posting new results on the E8400. I was able to achieve 3.4Ghz and I think it was stable. It survived 2 3DMark runs, and using Handbrake was able to encode Simpsons Movie to H.264 in 19 minutes. Total stressing lasted about 32 mins. Here are the settings used:

1510 FSB (377x9 = 3.4Ghz)
Ram at 755Mhz
Vcore at +0.25 (15 jumps) CPU-Z reported 1.38v
Ram at 2.10v
NB at 1.4

Anything but these setting resulted in no post. Did not have to modify the FSB Termination. During stress, CPU temp reached 33C, and idles at 26C. Case temp was 45-52C. Vid card idles at 60C (8800GTS 512). I have no way of reading the NB or SB temps but when I touched the rollercoaster fins I had to pull away within 3 seconds of being burned, SB I touch for 8 seconds before got too hot. During non OC state I can touch the SB indefinately and the NB for a good 20-30 seconds.

I was not able under any conditions to reach 3.6Ghz.

I am concerned about the beeps my mobo gives off during post. According to X-built`s research on this I am suffering from the following: 1 long, 2 short Failure in video system An error was encountered in the video BIOS ROM, or a horizontal retrace failure has been encountered. I don`t know what this means. I just got this rig less than a week ago, should I be calling the store that built it for warranty support? I would be greatful if someone could explain what this error code actually means.

[Overspeed]

Yipster, I created an MSI forum account as you suggested and got all 3 beta BIOS's. The mods there were very fast in helping me with the mobo beeping problem as well. Turns out this mobo will beep once for every USB device it detects during post.

I have not tried the beta BIOS's yet. MSI also provides a utility that allows for a BIOS flash from a USB key. So the question is, which BIOS should I install? My options are 1.1, P05 or the 114. I think I can rule out the 1.1 as the MSI forum mods confirmed it was a junk release.

[BKA]

Hey Overspeed, did you see my overclocking results for my e8400. I am only able to get stable at 3.4 also although FSB is at 380 so far.

1520 FSB (380x9 = 3.4Ghz)
Ram at 760Mhz
Vcore at +.18750 CPU-Z reported 1.21v
Ram at 2.20v(default)
NB at 1.35

I can get Windows to boot at 3.6 (400x9) by just bumping the nb to 1.4 but 3DMark06 would lock up. I will try to get some more testing done today considering we got a snow storm and my place of work is closed.

My temps weren't nearly as cool as your though. What are you using to monitor. CPUID HW reports on prime 95 load, CPU up tp 60C and MB up to 55C.

[theYipster]

Overspeed, 1.1 is indeed a junk release. For the Wolfdales and Yorkfields, I believe people are having the best success with 11B4. Let me know what you find.

Interestingly enough, my NB doesn't seem to run as hot as others. I keep tabs on the motherboard temp sensor and from time to time I'll place my finger on the roller coaster fins and on the bottom heat pipe. At no time did I feel like I was going to get burned by the roller coaster fins, although when above 1.4v it did feel very hot to the touch. The bottom running heat pipe at 1.4v was thoroughly hot however. At stock, the coaster fins and heap pipe run cooler than the bottom of my Macbook Pro. I wonder if I just have a cooler running NB or if there's a problem with the mount -- although there certainly doesn't seem to be one from what I can detect.

EDIT: I also don't get any more than the standard one "Post OK" beep, and I have two USB external hard drives as well as a USB keyboard and mouse attached the computer.

[wolf1974]

Wolf.. Thanks for sharing the result. Are you prime or OCCT stable with those settings?

i am prime stable for 4 hours then i stopped it, and i am waiting for a good 45nm bios before i try and push further but i do believe 4 to 4.5 on air will be no problem. hey any one got a good temp monitor for nb,,cpu so on windows based??? i used to use ntune for this but i can only read the video cards with the ntune msi sent on the drivers disk,,, thanks wolf

[GOLDFISH]

Hi guys!
Interesting thread, gonna participate since I running the same board and we need a good know-how thread.

I got these goodies in my case:
Q6600 G0 cooled by Noctua-12, 2Gb GeiL Ultra 667MHz 3-4-4-8, 2x MSI 7900GTO and of course the P7N Diamond

I used OCCT to determine that system stability since OCCT seems to torture system even more, but it DOES NOT push the temps high. Hardware even makes a strange I-am-really-struggling-here-sound when it is running. Ran Prime95 for 10 hours with no errors (BLEND mode), but after 6 minutes of OCCT the thing crash.

Yes, and i'm experiencing a giant FSB-hole, actually from 1370 to 1505, but for all I know it might be my Q6600. Tried to change RAM speed from lowest the board can run to max oc the RAM can run.
When i select 8x multi, it will usually boot with 9x.
Tried @ 3.6ghz, but could get it nowhere close to stable.

Currently i'm running with these settings stable:
FSB Clock (MHz) : 1511
Memory Clock (MHz) : 814 (4-4-4-12 T2)
-------------------------------------------
Adjust PCI-E Frequency : 100
Auto Disabled DRAM/PCI Frequency: Enabled
-------------------------------------------
CPU Voltage (V) : 0.1500
DRAM Voltage (V) : 2.10
NB Voltage (V) : 1.325
SB Voltage (V) : 1.525
NB Memory Reference Voltage : Auto
Memory Reference Voltage : Auto
Memory Terminator Voltage : Auto
CPU GTL Reference Voltage : 25
NB GTL Reference Voltage : Auto
FSB Terminator Voltage : Auto
NB Memory Reference Voltage : Auto
SB Sleep Mode Voltage : Auto
PCIe Expander PLL Voltage : Auto
-------------------------------------------
Spread Spectrum : Disabled

Best regards, The Goldfish

[Overspeed]

Hey Overspeed, did you see my overclocking results for my e8400. I am only able to get stable at 3.4 also although FSB is at 380 so far.

My temps weren't nearly as cool as your though. What are you using to monitor. CPUID HW reports on prime 95 load, CPU up tp 60C and MB up to 55C.

Yes I did review your results, I think using shipping BIOSs we have both hit the same wall. I was using the MSI app to monitor my temps. I will try your HW monitor and see if it's different. That said, someone once told me that the E8400's were produced with a sometimes faulty temperature monitoring diode.

Edit: Ok I have CPUID HW running. I also set my bios to your exact settings. Here is what it reads:

vcore: 1.29v
tmpin0: 23C
tmpin1: 47C
core 0: 35C
core 1: 36C
gpu: 56C

What are the tmpin temps, I think 1 may be the mobo temp. I will now put under stress and see where the temps go...... ..... ..... .....
Ok according to CPUID HW monitor my temps hit 42C max after a 15 min prime95 run. The cores cooled back to the low 30`s within a minute. One thing I do notice about your settings is my NB did not get nearly as hot and still seems stable.

[Overspeed]

I also don't get any more than the standard one "Post OK" beep, and I have two USB external hard drives as well as a USB keyboard and mouse attached the computer.

Interesting. To test further, I added an external drive, a USB key and a printer along side my USB mouse and keyboard ... total of 5 USB devices. Rebooted and got 1 long, 5 short. I wonder why I hear the additional beeps and you don't?