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

[XavierMaxx]

There's definitely a hole there. I gave rough numbers, but really the only values I got at all stable were 3.2 and 3.4 GHz - 1422 and 1512 FSB. Between or around those is a decently sized FSB gap.

The old values definitely equate to the newer ones. I did the math in my head, but generally speaking the "auto" value relates to exactly 2/3 or .667% of the FSB term. for both CPU and NB GTL. If you go backwards, which in the old system starts at "80," you get 69%, which before rounding is .901/.903 at 1.3125 ("1.313v" or "63"). Each value below that is 1/3rd a mV, or each step (of 5) is 5/3 or 1.67 mV, such that from "80" to my "20" it is roughly a 19 mV difference, but that is proportionate to the FSB term. That basically leaves you with a total range of .65-.69, or 65-69%, if you account for all values.

[panheimer]

Wow, thinking i'm not smart enough to comprehend your explanation...now i'll print down your post and start studying...but if you want to post a complete conversion table for me and other newbies like me you'll make us happy!

[Bjynne]

I'm a little frustrated because my P7N Diamond/Q6600 Setup is limiting me to a mere 3.1GHz overclock, when it seems that most people can get closer to 3.6 GHz.

I've got some decent Corsair XMS2 6400C4 RAM (2x1GB) rated for 2.1V, and am cooling with a Kingwin Revolution RVT-9225 (92mm Fan). I was formerly using a Freezer 7 and found that it was pretty comparable in performance, although it seemed that things were running a little hotter than they should have been.

I've got 4 120mm case fans installed, and although I used to run them at 7V to keep things quiet, I've ramped them up to 12v after installing a couple of very hot 8800GTS video cards.

Anyways, it seems like no matter what I do with voltages, I can't get much over 1680. That speed runs fine, OCCT runs for a long time no problem, but if I go to 1400, I can't even boot Vista. System posts fine even at 1600, however, but Vista won't completely boot.

I've just recently updated to the V1.10 BIOS available from MSI's Liveupdate, but it doesn't seem to make much difference, other than voltages are set differently.

I've tried the following settings, just to get a boot at 1400:

CPU FSB: 1400 MHz
Memory: 700 MHz

CPU V 0.1750 (or less, makes no difference)
DRAM V 2.1
NB V 1.45V (or less)
CPU GTL (67% FSB Term, at 8.879V or less)
FSB Term 1.313V or less


All the CPU options are disabled, and all the other general recommended settings are made.
I am a little frustrated that I can't even hit 1400 MHz. I'm wondering if perhaps there is something that I'm missing here, or something else that I could try.

I'm currently running very stable at 1380 Mhz (3.1 GHz) at much lower voltages than those above. I could probably run stock voltages (or close to) at this speed... it's almost like the board isn't actually changing them, but that's a bit of a jump to a conclusion as to why my overclocking performance is so lame.

Any ideas would be much appreciated!

My Q6600 G0 (1.3 vid) is stabel at 3600mhz 450X8
Vcore +3.000v
vDimm 2.2v(Defualt)
Vnb 1.45v (1.5 4GB memory)
Cpu Gtl Ref 0.902v
FSB Term 1.313v
The Rest on auto.

This is on watercooling.
because of the high vcore.

But i tried with less vcore and it wouldn`t finish occt 2hours test, on +3V it was completely stable.

[loonym]

Bjynne, what is the real vcore in windows? Is vdroop a lot on your board?

[Bjynne]

Bjynne, what is the real vcore in windows? Is vdroop a lot on your board?

vdroop is huge,load the vcore is 1.496v, idle 1.568v.

[XavierMaxx]

but if you want to post a complete conversion table for me and other newbies like me you'll make us happy!

You start with the FSB termination voltage, or just FSB voltage, which on "auto" is equal to 1.2000v. Under the old BIOS you can go from "auto" up to "63," which is equivalent to 1.3125v (or 1.313v rounded) in the new BIOS revisions. That's a difference of 0.1125v, which divided by 63 comes out to 1.8 mV per value.

You then go to the GTL voltages, which for a Q6600 are at 2/3 of the FSB voltage at "auto." 2/3 is of course 66.67%, or .667 the value of the FSB voltage, which with everything at "auto" is ~.800v for the GTLs. At the maximum FSB voltage, the "auto" GTLs are still .667 the value, which becomes ~.875v.

Under the old BIOS, you would go backwards to "80" and then in steps of 5 back down to auto, "75," "70," "65," and so forth. At the maximum, which is "80," the GTLs will be 68.7% or .687 the FSB voltage. Since there are 16 positive values, and you are gaining 2% at the maximum, each value is .125% more of the FSB voltage. Hence, "5" would be 66.7% + .125%, "10" would be 66.7% + .250%, and so forth. At "auto" FSB voltage, "80" is ~.824v and at maximum FSB voltage it is ~.902v.

You can also lower the GTL values by 2%, down to 65.7% or .657 the FSB voltage. At the "auto" FSB voltage this would be ~.788v and at the highest this would be ~.862v. You can see why it would be difficult to read a chart - you'd have 63*33 values, a considerable amount. It is easier to calculate on-the-fly using my basic rules.

[XavierMaxx]

I've made an Excel spreadsheet with the rough values as I believe them to be. Note that the GTL in this case is CPU GTL for a Q6600 on this board, and NB GTL in that case is generally a notch higher, and although I am only assuming they round the FSB termination voltage at the end, the values should nevertheless be close to real-world.

http://www.borecraft.com/files/P7N_D...m_GTL_rev2.xls

[loonym]

Nice work XavierMaxx

[AaronYuri]

Nicely done, XavierMaxx

----------

This just came through my door:



Once I get some DDR3, I'll be focusing more on the X48 boards. Because lots of people have been asking questions and I just don't have any answers.

I will still continue to provide beta/performance BIOS releases for the P7N Diamond, and also continue monitoring this thread. But as far as personal tweaking goes, this draws the line.

Good luck to you all!

[BababooeyHTJ]

I think I fixed my 3d stability issue. Yesterday I decided to run prime small fft and scan for artifacts with ati tool at the same time. After about 10 minutes I started geting errors with ati tool left and right but as soon as I stoped prime the errors in ati tool stoped. I bumped up my north bridge a little and played with my fsb term and cpu gtl ref. I ran prime and ati tool at the same time again and it stayed stable for well over an hour so I stoped ati tool and let prime run for another 4 hours and it stayed stable. My benchmarks in everest memory bench are much better. I just added 2 disks to my stripe today so I cant test with any games for abit. I also pulled the heatsinks off the nb, sb , etc and applyed mx-2 and my motherboard temp in everest(Is that the north bridge?) droped by 5c! I cant wait to do alittle more benching and testing. Thanks for all the help.

[loonym]

Looks like a lot of fun there Aaron. Enjoy!!

[panheimer]

Wow! What a work! Thanks very much xaviermaxx! Now it will be much easier to swap back to a recent bios release...btw, can someone confirm me that cpu gtl, nb gtl and fsb term values can be kept through different bios release or each one has its point of stability?

[AaronYuri]

panheimer,

The nominal for stability the vGTLref is at 66.66'% of the VTT (FSB Terminator) voltage.

loonym,

I have to get some DDR3 first... So you're stuck with me until then.

Still haven't been any new BIOS releases beyond the 1.2B2. Pity, because I was looking forward to trying a performance BIOS release. Maybe I'll bust the E6600 out when the time comes.

[panheimer]

thanks aaron, but i was wondering once i find stable values with one bios, and then switch to a more recent bios release, will i be able to keep theese values or do i have to look for another ones?
The fact is i'm now using the p07 wich has integer numbers for CPU gtl, NB gtl and FSB term settings, wich works great with Q6700 but has some usb issue (i have to disconnect and reconnect my usb wireless dongle every windows boot to have it working), so when more recent bioses will be released i want to know if i can continue use theese settings or will have to waste another lot of times finding stability.
Hope you've comprehended my bad english...

[AaronYuri]

If you follow XavierMaxx's table you should be fine.

[XavierMaxx]

thanks aaron, but i was wondering once i find stable values with one bios, and then switch to a more recent bios release, will i be able to keep theese values or do i have to look for another ones?
The fact is i'm now using the p07 wich has integer numbers for CPU gtl, NB gtl and FSB term settings, wich works great with Q6700 but has some usb issue (i have to disconnect and reconnect my usb wireless dongle every windows boot to have it working), so when more recent bioses will be released i want to know if i can continue use theese settings or will have to waste another lot of times finding stability.
Hope you've comprehended my bad english...

There can be differences between BIOS revisions, including changes in stability, but generally speaking your GTL/Term voltages should remain constant across all revisions in terms of stability. So, yeah, if you use my table like Aaron suggested, and convert the old numbers to the new ones, your stability should be identical.

[XavierMaxx]

Added GTL minimum values, the GTL maximum-minus-auto values, and the millivolt per step GTL values. The first provides some reference of "negative" values, the second illustrates the exact amount of +mV between maximum and auto GTL values, and the last shows the exact GTL mV change per +/-. I added a graph on Sheet2 depicting GTL min/auto/max and FSB Voltage versus FSB Term, and another depicting GTL values versus auto and maximum FSB voltage. The former gives an idea of the ratio of GTL and FSB voltages over the full FSB Term range, while the latter illustrates the ratio between different GTL voltages for a given FSB voltage.

I also made the table a little more attractive, and there were some other cosmetic changes. Lastly, I fixed and/or tweaked some minor things, mostly to streamline the table, like highlighting the most commonly-used GTL and FSB values. I will likely not add the minimum FSB voltage as I do not believe the reference is required, and FSB voltage is an unlikely candidate for undervolting. Certainly open to suggestions for possible changes/additions, and also would like feedback on number accuracy so I can fix the values if my estimates were off (too sick of seeing the BIOS screen to check).

http://www.borecraft.com/files/P7N_D...m_GTL_rev2.xls

[Leeroy]

Nice work XavierMaxx !!

Gives me a much better understanding of how's it's all related.

[crucial33]

Hi, just thought i would post a few comments after buying the new MSI P7N2 DIAMOND board 4 days ago, i hope this is an ok place to do so, and please dont flame me if it's not, as there does not seem to be anywhere else to post comments concerning this board, so forgive me if i have done wrong but i hope these comments help you pre-purchase. I have had a total nightmare just getting the thing to even post, and so far i have not been able to, the board chipset seems to be attracting criticism everywhere, which seems a true shame, as the board looks to be totally kitted out with all the latest 790 ultra goodies. My experience has not been good, and the boards going back to the supplier. Im pretty sure problems may be around the corner for everyone, especially on the early boards with an early BIOS. I e mailed MSI for help, and there ideas and comments did not help 1 bit, which is a shame as the information i found in this thread indicated generally they were great. I think i may just be unlucky, and got a duff board, but if not, then it seems very very fussy. Hopefully when this board becomes more widely available in the USA some other users will sort out all the problems, and hopefully a newer BIOS will calm a lot of the problems. I hope this information helps someone here at least a little bit. I'll keep you all informed of my progression trying to get the board to work.

[XavierMaxx]

Thanks to everyone who is making use of my spreadsheet, that's why I made it!

Crucial33:
This board was a nightmare for me. I came pretty close to punching it Office Space-style on several occasions. I am extremely patient with hardware, and it took me a good month to get this board stable, and I've had just about every problem in the book. This board is, for many people...I'd go as far as to say most...an exercise in frustration. It really is for more experienced users who want certain features, and I wouldn't recommend it to a regular user. I didn't RMA my board despite urgings from my friends because I just knew it wasn't the board at fault. Certainly getting the IP35 Pro or BloodIron (my first options) would have been far easier and resulted in a better overclock, but really it's just that this board is extremely stubborn with certain configurations and you need to know your stuff to get the most out of it. The chipset still seems pretty immature, as the BIOS issues with all 780i boards shows.

I hope the users here can help you with your issues, I'll be glad to offer any advice I can give, as again I've had and solved over a dozen issues with this board.

[AaronYuri]

Hi, just thought i would post a few comments after buying the new MSI P7N2 DIAMOND board 4 days ago, i hope this is an ok place to do so, and please dont flame me if it's not, as there does not seem to be anywhere else to post comments concerning this board, so forgive me if i have done wrong but i hope these comments help you pre-purchase. I have had a total nightmare just getting the thing to even post, and so far i have not been able to, the board chipset seems to be attracting criticism everywhere, which seems a true shame, as the board looks to be totally kitted out with all the latest 790 ultra goodies. My experience has not been good, and the boards going back to the supplier. Im pretty sure problems may be around the corner for everyone, especially on the early boards with an early BIOS. I e mailed MSI for help, and there ideas and comments did not help 1 bit, which is a shame as the information i found in this thread indicated generally they were great. I think i may just be unlucky, and got a duff board, but if not, then it seems very very fussy. Hopefully when this board becomes more widely available in the USA some other users will sort out all the problems, and hopefully a newer BIOS will calm a lot of the problems. I hope this information helps someone here at least a little bit. I'll keep you all informed of my progression trying to get the board to work.

Go to forum.msi.com.tw | Open a new topic up and we'll see what we can do to help you.

[crucial33]

Go to forum.msi.com.tw | Open a new topic up and we'll see what we can do to help you.

Hi AaronYuri, i have already tried there, and it seems theres no help available. I just cannot find anyone much who has experience with the new 790i chipset MSI board. 1 whole week now of trying and trying, and still it just will not post. I feel like using the thing as a flying saucer, its been very frustrating.Of course, since it will not post, theres no way to even get into the bios to check the settings and alter things. Anyway, hopefully on this forum there may soon appear an MSI P7N2 official thread, detailing problems and solutions, im so new here , it would not be right for me to start it off i dont think. Suffice to say though, those waiting in the USA for this board will hopefully have better luck than me, or else im sure there will be a lot of dissapointed customers. Im still trying though.

[Cal]

Got a new prob with my P7N lol

load into windows no probs with the cpu @ 3.6 (400 x 9 ) but once on the desktop something happens and the fsb drops to about 360ish and pc locks up now I'm only running a small voltage on the cpu of 1.35 i have tried upping some volts on all parts of the board and cpu plus the ram but i cant work out what would make the fsb drop like this.
I have tried loading up with a lower multi of 8 and 7 but its the same thing fsb drops and she locks up.

anyone got any ideas I'm running memtest atm just to see if i get any errors but i cant really see the link I'm at a loss

cheers

[Cal]

Humm scrap that looks like it was a video driver after uninstalling it no lock ups just got to find a drive i can use now lol

[AaronYuri]

Hi AaronYuri, i have already tried there, and it seems theres no help available. I just cannot find anyone much who has experience with the new 790i chipset MSI board. 1 whole week now of trying and trying, and still it just will not post. I feel like using the thing as a flying saucer, its been very frustrating.Of course, since it will not post, theres no way to even get into the bios to check the settings and alter things. Anyway, hopefully on this forum there may soon appear an MSI P7N2 official thread, detailing problems and solutions, im so new here , it would not be right for me to start it off i dont think. Suffice to say though, those waiting in the USA for this board will hopefully have better luck than me, or else im sure there will be a lot of dissapointed customers. Im still trying though.

I can't find your topic, or your username. Could you direct me to it?