**Official DFI LanParty UT 790FX-M2R Review/Overclock/Guide Thread**

[Jaivan]

Hey Brother is it okay if I use this BIOS flashing method because I don't have a floppy drive:
http://www.csd.dficlub.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1136

[Brother Esau]

Yeah of course it is Logans a good dude and did allot of hard work putting that Tutorial together for folks with out Floppy Drives to use Just remember its better to do the double flash method that I describe and all you need to do is Edit the AUTOEXEC.BAT File as Loggan says and add /E to the Switching Parameters at the end this way you will be brought back to A:\ Prompt so that you may repeat the Process.

I am just partial to my Old Dinosaur

[Brother Esau]

Update: 4/15/2008 Beta is Stable on my end with same settings that I had with 1/30/2008 Official same Low Voltage Overclock I had working on 1/30/2008

[Rammsteiner]

Argh, this CPU is driving me crazy lol. I must have missed something.

I got it to run 13x210 8h+ stable at 1.3V and only at 40C in Core Temp. But as soon as I start to approach anything higher the PC locks up just after loading Windows, or it doesnt start the Ati CCC in system tray. I can move my mouse around, but do nothing, not even press 'start'. Or it loads nothing in system tray (still can move mouse). Adding upto 1.4Vcore doesnt help.

NB multi is 9 and HT 8 (to be sure HT doesnt run higher than NB). RAM is at the 667 devider with 195ns TRFC.

So yeah... wtf? Maybe I should see if flashing to 07-03 BIOS to see if that would make it better. But I feel like I should first try to see if I can 'solve' another way.

[Brother Esau]

Try 14x200 @ 1.2500 set in PWM NB @ Default Multi = 2ghz HT Link Speed @ 2ghz 16 Bit address extension

[Rammsteiner]

Nope, it froze up while loading XP64 with the loading bar.

[illogical]

I'm curious what types of cooler people are using on these CPU's.
As you can see from my sig I'm overclocking my current 6400x2BE at standard voltage, with idle temps reported by Everest of 32>33 celcius and 28>29 as reported by Core Temp.
Saying only 40 degrees scares me.
I reckon cooling plays a big part in OC capabilities, not just the CPU but the whole case cooling/ventilation.

[Brother Esau]

Argh, this CPU is driving me crazy lol. I must have missed something.

I got it to run 13x210 8h+ stable at 1.3V and only at 40C in Core Temp. But as soon as I start to approach anything higher the PC locks up just after loading Windows, or it doesnt start the Ati CCC in system tray. I can move my mouse around, but do nothing, not even press 'start'. Or it loads nothing in system tray (still can move mouse). Adding upto 1.4Vcore doesnt help.

NB multi is 9 and HT 8 (to be sure HT doesnt run higher than NB). RAM is at the 667 devider with 195ns TRFC.

So yeah... wtf? Maybe I should see if flashing to 07-03 BIOS to see if that would make it better. But I feel like I should first try to see if I can 'solve' another way.

Put that Six Shooter away and use your common sense please

I will 'Quote" Myself from a Post I made a few pages Back

Yes I am currently on 1/30/2008 Really don't understand enough or am unfamiliar with Phenom so Flashing Bios when you don't know whats normal and whats not is not a sensible Idea and not very bright at all even if I can reprogram the chip on my end I need a working Baseline on which to Judge other Bios on.

[Rammsteiner]

My cooling is alright. Thermal Right Ultra Extreme 120 with 130cfm 120mm fan. Case, which has its side panel removed atm anyhow, is Silverstone TJ-10. Ive a 70mm (from AMD stock cooler) at PWM's and behind the I/O panel on the back I smashed a 60mm fan in exhausting hot PWM air.

Temps are really not a big concern, Im fine as long it's around 50C, not too much over it though since summer will make ambient rise heh.

It's just I can barely OC this thing which seems strange. Of course CPU's don't have a 'guaranteed' OC, but this is just strange as adding Vcore doesnt help all.

[Brother Esau]

Nope, it froze up while loading XP64 with the loading bar:(.

You don't get out much do you? I wanted more than anything to get Vista 64 Bit but many , many , many people on this forum have documented that there is Indeed a Issue with Phenom and Windows XP 64 Bit & Vista 64 Bit thats why I am running Vista 32 Bit

Also if there is anything that you should have learned by my constant Psycho Babble and carrying ons with 4 Part Harmony and full orchestration is that AMD Processors DO NOT respond well to High Voltage!

Right now I am Priming @ 2800mhz Vcore @1.24375 which equals Less then 1.23Vcore (Real)- Vdimm @ 1.80v - NBvoltage @ 1.200 - PCI-E NBv @ 1.200 - NB-HTvoltage @ 1.230

X14 200HT ~ NB @2GHZ HT-Linkwidth 2ghz 16 Bit address extension 1066 Divider set Ram @ 5-5-5-18 trc 23 195ns

[Rammsteiner]

You don't get out much do you? I wanted more than anything to get Vista 64 Bit but many , many , many people on this forum have documented that there is Indeed a Issue with Phenom and Windows XP 64 Bit & Vista 64 Bit thats why I am running Vista 32 Bit

Also if there is anything that you should have learned by my constant Psycho Babble and carrying ons with 4 Part Harmony and full orchestration is that AMD Processors DO NOT respond well to High Voltage!

WTF, you mean really issues as with OC results? Still strange as I got 13x210 earlier, but although I got to admit I never ever froze up in Windows but still being able to move the mouse around which I found quite strange. I know a freeze in general means lack of Vcore, but then it should freeze al together (I guess at least).

Well, I never searched in that way, so might try it out then. Just as I bought my very first legit Windows OS. Anyway, Ill try that then yes.

Reason why I ask some questions which might have been answereds (multiple times) earlier is cause I didnt have a Phenom lol. As there are about 3~4 big Phenom + X2 mixed threads it's a distaster to find an eventual solution.

[KTE]

I have some qs for you DFI users with Phenoms;

- Does speedfan still kill/crash your board?

- Do you still have voltage problems with only special add option giving you increase Vcore?

- Whats max vCore added through BIOS special add option without changing VID?

- Does AOD now work with your boards without crashing, at all?

- Can you change VID in BIOS and still set low CnQ VID/Volts?

- How much difference in options is there in the BIOS for M2R vs M2RS?

- Do you still have whacko temp feedbacks compared to all other 700 series boards? [most likely ]

- What's the best Phenom BIOS you have?

- Have you worked out what these options are or what they affect yet?



Reason I'm asking is, I'm picking up the board this weekend most likely, since... well.. uncle told me he has a few spare at work now

[Brother Esau]

Hey Tye Will help you out and see But new 4/15/08 Beta is Really nice and has updated Phenom Micro Code and I forsee D.F.I coming out swinging with the Bios Release now that Phenom B3 Revision is out and doing so well

[Brother Esau]

Reason I'm asking is, I'm picking up the board this weekend most likely, since... well.. uncle told me he has a few spare at work now

Ahem...Just what exactly is it that your Uncle Does to get all of this Bichen Hardware laying around all over the Joint?

Also I am House Trained and Make a Great Companion .........Please tell you're Uncle to Adopt me.....I mean Really!!!!!!

C'mon Tye spill it!!! Is your Uncle Shamino or KingPin or something or just addicted to Digital CRACK???

[KTE]

Hey Tye Will help you out and see But new 4/15/08 Beta is Really nice and has updated Phenom Micro Code and I forsee D.F.I coming out swinging with the Bios Release now that Phenom B3 Revision is out and doing so well

I have that BIOS and the wonderful trusty FDD to carry it in () ... but what about my qs Camp

Ahem...Just what exactly is it that your Uncle Does to get all of this Bichen Hardware laying around all over the Joint?

Nothing special. It's a Government sector science corporation he manages and typically desktop components are cheap compared to the rest of the equipment so no one bothers too much about one going missing.. for them. So when he has spares, usually testers, I continuously nag his secretary to keep updating me and pick up anything I like to play with after his permission with the condition I don't damage it and that I return it to him all in one piece. TBH everything I have in IT equip is from there
I asked yesterday and he had a boxed spare DFI not being used so I asked him to reserve it for me for weekend pickup, that's all. PITA to drive 800 miles there and back though!

[Tony]

I have that BIOS and the wonderful trusty FDD to carry it in () ... but what about my qs Camp
Nothing special. It's a Government sector science corporation he manages and typically desktop components are cheap compared to the rest of the equipment so no one bothers too much about one going missing.. for them. So when he has spares, usually testers, I continuously nag his secretary to keep updating me and pick up anything I like to play with after his permission with the condition I don't damage it and that I return it to him all in one piece. TBH everything I have in IT equip is from there
I asked yesterday and he had a boxed spare DFI not being used so I asked him to reserve it for me for weekend pickup, that's all. PITA to drive 800 miles there and back though!

Have it collected and shipped, not worth the juice money driving.


3xUT790FX -M2R arrived today, will work thru them as they are a different rev to the board I already had.

[KTE]

Yea that's what I would do but I have to be there in person and sign docs. Doesn't matter, I need to see someone there anyway but I hope its not snowing when on motorway again.

What rev was your first board and the new ones Tony?

[Brother Esau]

WTF, you mean really issues as with OC results? Still strange as I got 13x210 earlier, but although I got to admit I never ever froze up in Windows but still being able to move the mouse around which I found quite strange. I know a freeze in general means lack of Vcore, but then it should freeze al together (I guess at least).

Well, I never searched in that way, so might try it out then. Just as I bought my very first legit Windows OS. Anyway, Ill try that then yes.

Reason why I ask some questions which might have been answereds (multiple times) earlier is cause I didnt have a Phenom lol. As there are about 3~4 big Phenom + X2 mixed threads it's a distaster to find an eventual solution.

No I mean as in you need to Take into Account that the Memory Controller is in the CPU itself so more is affected directly then just the CPU

Update:....Houston We have Lift Off!!! The X15 Multi is now Functioning correctly..No Freezes...No Random Weird Behavior..... its like Night & Day Compared to 1/30/08 Official .....way to go D.F.I ....Now we just need confirmation from some Dare Devils that AMD Overdrive is not still a steaming pile of dog doo-doo on this board Any takers?????

[Rammsteiner]

Well, installed XP. Then things became worse software side. Somehow both computers here freaking fail to download a non-corrupted version of dutch SP2.

I gave up after 20 times up and down stairs with USB stick. Then I simply decided to 'sod it' and run Prime on vanilla XP. Core 3 and 4 crashed right away and 1st and 2nd were going though. But then lock up. So I thought, maybe I should install AMD DC Optimizer? But well, loaded into Windows again and it BSOD'd.

So Ill give the XP installation another try by trying to get non-corrupted SP2 packs and install as much updates as I know. Then run Prime95 again to see. At least it loads into Windows a lot better, but on the otherhand as I said, Ive no simple driver installed for anything since SP2 is missing, but ít's a requirement for a lot of drivers.

[KTE]

^Do yourself a favor and don't run Prime
Rather, bench the setting and then start using it daily, i.e. games or whatever usage you want, but make sure to leave it on.

If its unstable, sooner or later within 10-20 hours it'll fail by freezing or crashing. Freezing will show instabilty and throws teh power draw up, back down MHz or increase volts, then test again. Freezing occurs when screen motion freezes apart from mouse movement which only freezes after a while of fast movement and clicking. I'm widely acknowledged expert in this last Phenom phenomena

Then, if you do manage to find something that runs smooth without error, first try rebooting a few cycles to see it loads faultless each time and if that passes, finally -> P95 test it.

Keep things constant each time, only moving one parameter. You will need to test a alot.

I've tried all the methods, this one worked best for Phenom. It'll save you much PITA and wife pillow beating

[Slagathor]

No I mean as in you need to Take into Account that the Memory Controller is in the CPU itself so more is affected directly then just the CPU

Update:....Houston We have Lift Off!!! The X15 Multi is now Functioning correctly..No Freezes...No Random Weird Behavior..... its like Night & Day Compared to 1/30/08 Official .....way to go D.F.I ....Now we just need confirmation from some Dare Devils that AMD Overdrive is not still a steaming pile of dog doo-doo on this board Any takers?????

Perhaps I should give this one a try......

Wanting to try the 15 multiplier tonight, so far thats all I have changed.
And AOD locks things up tight, heck, all I did was change from novice to advanced, hit apply and bang.....

[Rammsteiner]

^Do yourself a favor and don't run Prime
Rather, bench the setting and then start using it daily, i.e. games or whatever usage you want, but make sure to leave it on.

If its unstable, sooner or later within 10-20 hours it'll fail by freezing or crashing. Freezing will show instabilty and throws teh power draw up, back down MHz or increase volts, then test again. Freezing occurs when screen motion freezes apart from mouse movement which only freezes after a while of fast movement and clicking. I'm widely acknowledged expert in this last Phenom phenomena

Then, if you do manage to find something that runs smooth without error, first try rebooting a few cycles to see it loads faultless each time and if that passes, finally -> P95 test it.

Keep things constant each time, only moving one parameter. You will need to test a alot.

I've tried all the methods, this one worked best for Phenom. It'll save you much PITA and wife pillow beating

Well, I dont have games installed ATM. Usually I Prime, if that's good, try higher. If it doesnt want higher I install games and take cigars out.

I just read in the MSI thread about Phenom and the issue with freezing while idle. I just put 1.35Vcore, 1.3Vnb and 14x CPU multi. And it's Priming... Tough i got to be honest I loaded it rather quick, so maybe if my problem was indeed idle-ing, I might have skipped the idle problem.

Still, I really love this Phenom. Of course I very much hope to get 3Ghz+ but the playing part is funny, although a bit frustrating.

43C Load btw at 2.8Ghz. But Ill mix your advice a bit KTE, after 8h Prime Ill let it idle a long time. What do you mean with idle anyway, just keep it on and not even touching it? Or web browsing and such?

Also Ive to say, if it's of any use, Phenom OC's which were instable on XP and froze at XP64 sometimes corrupted XP64 install... I never experienced CPU's causing corruptions, though this is only my 4th PC Im OCing, AFAIK I never got that... Might something else be affected by CPU speed and cause corruption? (IF, of course, CPU's CANT cause corruptions).

[KTE]

Idling as it mentions means daily general use, rather than leaving it. Just use it for whatever you want but make sure to use it for something and not full load stability testings.
Your BIOSes are known to under-report temps, they added offsets which fault the original temp readouts. Your first ones were too high and your current ones are too low compared to actual readouts. Usually -15C is what I'm seeing from real. The second I move onto your board I'll show you by how much your board temp readouts are wrecked by comparing the two - most likely by 10-15C as I saw looking at all values around.

OC's corrupting systems is not unusual, and happens if its very unstable especially IMC/RAM being very unstable.

[Rammsteiner]

I went to the shop just a sec ago. And when not behind PC's I try to think about the stuff I might have picked up.

So I think, if I read most stuff right and didnt forget the most important stuff with my shortminded very selective brain, CPU core(s) can be tested with Prime.

But the IMC cant. You said in MSI thread, that when idle you got lock ups. But IIRC, that was with OC'd IMC too right? Im at this moment testing pure CPU multiplier OCíng. No HTT, IMC or HT multipliers changed.

Though it doesnt mean automatically that the 'fix' is to leave IMC at stock since I used the IMC multiplier at 9x while testing the HTT and it crapped out anyhow, while at lower CPU speed it was fine again. Ive the IMC at 1.3V stock speeds and the CPU 1.35V and 14x200 Priming. Still got to test idle of course, but I do hope I made some sort of idea clear what I actually mean here?

Only been testing with Phenom for one day now so Ive not a lot of experience yet, but I think there is something else going on then simply 'HTT is universal, and we got 3 different multipliers for z 'n gigglez'. I guess there must be somehow some sort of ratio for at least the IMC and CPU, be it Voltage and/or speed wise, where it feels happy.

At least, IF idle is stable as well, I hope I can keep going on with multiplier only clocking for a while.

And for the temps, I know BIOS/motherboard readings are more often inaccurate than accurate. This temp is with Core Temp, and yet again, not 100% of course, but I dont think it would differ by more than 5C anyway. Also, I think Core Temp already has the Phenom temperature formula calculated right?

[KTE]

The instability is only when overclocked past the core limit, not just IMC, but the core. P95 doesn't test stability of all core regions but one, FPU.
Temps, as far as I know they are correct from cores on all boards but DFI/Sapphire where they're either too low or two high from one BIOS to another. It's the BIOS that's cusing it now anything else. Your EVEREST CPU "diode" reading should be about 10C less than the core reading, since diode is outisde of the core on the anode/cathode pins. That's consistent on all CPUs which have an internal and external diode. Stock 9850BE, TT120 gave me 48C load at 20C ambient on the MSI and the Abit board. TRUE bettered it by 2C and Xig bettered it by a further 2C.