msi 790 fx-gd70 thread

[zanzabar]

yes, never use the jmicron for raid

[lemonlime]

I seem to be having the same issue as you FrOzE. I've got a 0922APMW as well, and simply can't get the system stable. It hard locks as soon as I Prime95 load it. Reducing the clock down to 2.6GHz and lower didn't seem to help either. Neither did higher vcore. I can only assume that this is a BIOS bug of some sort. I haven't been able to find any examples of BE 550 owners unlock successfully (with stability) on the GD70.

I'm using 1.4b3 right now, which seems like a good BIOS with the exception of the stability issues. It seems that just about everyone is able to get these 0922APMW chips stable on gigabyte and DFI boards. Most are overclocking well up to 3.8+ GHz as well. I'm hoping that either the retail 1.4 BIOS or perhaps a new beta will solve this issue. Too bad I don't have another board to test with to confirm that my chip is good.

EDIT: Has anyone confirmed that 1.4b6 still has issues with stable 550 unlocking? I havent tried that latest one yet. MSI mentioned "Fixed BTS error" but I'm not sure if that is related at all.

[FrOzE]

Sometime i feel that it's the GD70 that having the problem :P

[Entropicity]

Sometime i feel that it's the GD70 that having the problem :P

Bro, the only good bios for me at the moment is 1.3 or 1.4b3.

I am currently running on 1.4b6 but I am not going to play with unlocking 4 cores on my X3 720 till MSI releases a much better bios.

I know my X3 720 can definately unlock as it was running for a couple of months with 4 cores o/c to 3.2ghz at 1.37v with no issues on another mobo before I switched to the GD70.

So just wait for MSI to fix the bios. I think they messed up something in there which is why we havent received a new beta bios for the longest time since they released a slew of 1.4 betas over a fortnight.

[Slave1974]

I am wanting to pull the trigger in this board Friday.

I have 2 questions, which ram is everyone using? I wanted to use the Mushin, because its blue

Or this OCZ because I have had some hellishly good luck with OCZ, the volts are low, and the timings are good.

My other question is really a concern. It seems the number one rip on this board is people can't buy a dual core or tri core processor and get a free quad core phenom II out of the deal.

I understood that if you wanted a quad core, you bought a quad core, and if you got a dual/tri core, and you could unlock the 4th core, good news for you, but its not supported, or even advised. Why is a mother board being talked bad about because people can't get something for nothing out of it.

If all dual dual cores and tri cores where meant to be unlockable to be a quad core, shouldn't that be a feature? Since they are not, why are people talking bad about a motherboard because it can't unlock cores on a processor that where supposed to be disabled?

Is this the only issue with this board?

[shadow_419]

.....
Is this the only issue with this board?

I don't see it as an issue. It's a shame that MSI hasn't been able to get a working bios out that unlocks while their competitors have, but it's not a knock on the board. I'm using some g.skill pi 1333 sticks because they were on sale when I bought them, but overall any good quality sticks that have decent timings should be fine unless you're benching.

[xplosiv]

Hello people I have 2 questions.

1. Will this board start with Phenom X2 II 550 without updating bios ??

2. Does anyone use on this board OCZ Platinum DDR3 2x2GB 1600 MHz CL 7.0 [OCZ3P1600EB4GK] ??

Thanks for answer...

[inferKNOX]

Hi everyone, as you can see, this is my 1st Post.
I just bought this mobo recently and believe it or not, have read through this WHOLE thread! Why? Well I got quite a bit of general PC experience and am a PC Tech actually, but have no overclocking knowledge whatsoever.
I'm looking to overclock the CPU about 20% (3.84GHz) but if it proves too hard, I may fall back to, what seems to be for most, a pre-voltage tinker clock of about 3.6GHz. Hoping to keep Cool'n'Quiet on too, during overclock.

(I hope I'm not veering things OT, if so, please at least redirect me, but I think this all applies to this motherboard.)
So here's some questions:

1. Is overclocking memory necessary, because I bought A-DATA DDR3-1333 RAM that I don't think is very overclockable at all & is not an option for me.(Answered by shadow_419=post #819)
2. I noticed SNiiPE_DoGG bought the OCZ Platinum AMD Edition, which is lower voltage wise compared to the OCZ Platinum Enhanced Bandwidth Edition I've had my eye on (extended RAM heatsinks are not an option for me). The AMD edition says it's meant solely for AM3, which is hard to sell later, so my question is, is the higher 1.9v vs 1.65v bad for the Phenom II? (Answered by TurboDiv=post #816)
   I was thinking of getting the 1.9v and trying to dail down the voltage as best I can. Does that sound ok?
3. What is the benefit of NB overclock, is it speed gain, stability or to enhance the ability to overclock the CPU and/or RAM?(Answered by shadow_419=post #819)
4. Lastly, does overclocking decrease the lifespan of components? If so, it is significantly so? (obviously I don't mean Xtreme overclocking, just a 24/7 OC)
   I'd also like to get maximum life out of the equipment, hence my modest overclock ambitions.(Answered by shadow_419=post #819)

I hope I get some responses, looks like I got to this thread quite late when most have moved on.

@xplosiv: I saw online, that the OCZ3P1600EB4GK RAM is successfully used with this board. It's the same one I'm eager to get. Note the EB is for Enhanced Bandwidth.
Also, the 1.3 BIOS supports the 550, and the boards currently being sold should already have it, so I think that's another yes.

@Slave1974: I'd recommend u get the same Enhanced Bandwidth OCZ as I was talking about in my 2nd question and xplosiv is asking about.

[xplosiv]

Also, the 1.3 BIOS supports the 550, and the boards currently being sold should already have it, so I think that's another yes.

I'm not so sure about that and don't want to have some problem...

So You think that this ram is good option ??

[inferKNOX]

I'm not so sure about that and don't want to have some problem...

So You think that this ram is good option ??

Well if you're shopping @ Newegg, there's almost no doubt its 1.3.
I definitely do think the RAM is good, and wish I could get it immediately. It also looks like OCZ gives good support and is willing to exchange anything faulty. It's just a matter of manually setting the timings, freq and voltage to match what OCZ has given as the RAM's default.

[lemonlime]

Hello people I have 2 questions.

1. Will this board start with Phenom X2 II 550 without updating bios ??

2. Does anyone use on this board OCZ Platinum DDR3 2x2GB 1600 MHz CL 7.0 [OCZ3P1600EB4GK] ??

Thanks for answer...

My GD70 started without an issue on the retail 1.0 BIOS release. It identified it as "AMD Processor Model Unknown" but worked perfectly fine. Flashing to a more recent revision corrects that.

I'm running this OCZ kit, which is playing very well with the 550 and GD70: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227381 . I'm only using two of the three sticks though.

[Tony]

http://www.ocztechnology.com/product...um_amd_edition this is 2 modules
http://www.ocztechnology.com/product...triple_channel this is 3 modules so keep 1 spare
http://www.ocztechnology.com/product...triple_channel this is 3 modules so keep 1 spare


notice there is a cl6 kit in there for 1600, this may need cas7 on AMD platforms...but 7-6-6- is still fast. All kits need 1.65V or less

froogle search for Animal, remember these 1333's are really 1866 with a different sticker/part number.

http://www.google.com/products?q=OCZ3P1333LVA6GK&aq=f

[inferKNOX]

@Tony: are u saying it's better to go for a 1.65v and avoid 1.9? If so, why?
Guys, pleased help out with post #808

[xplosiv]

My GD70 started without an issue on the retail 1.0 BIOS release. It identified it as "AMD Processor Model Unknown" but worked perfectly fine. Flashing to a more recent revision corrects that.

Uff thanks man I was waiting for answer like that. And about the ram which I wrote up there is good option ?? Like I said before non RAM OC just want them to work stable.

[lemonlime]

Uff thanks man I was waiting for answer like that. And about the ram which I wrote up there is good option ?? Like I said before non RAM OC just want them to work stable.

Not a problem. I don't have any experience with "EB" kits on Phenom systems, but if you are most interested in stability, I'd stick with one of the OCZ kits Tony listed above instead. They definitely play well on Phenom II systems. I can personally attest to the Platinum 12800 "LV" or "Low Voltage" kit working well on the GD70. They should have a decent amount of overclocking/timing headroom as well if you ever decide to start pushing it.

The "Animals" kit he linked is definitely the best bang for the buck and is an excellent clocker too.

[TurboDiv]

@Tony: are u saying it's better to go for a 1.65v and avoid 1.9? If so, why?
Guys, pleased help out with post #808

Look at my signature, they are 1.9v. Patriot tested them on the GD70 and recommended them for use in AMD systems so i'd say 1.9 is fine too. They are working fine even on moderate overclock. I have them running at 1620 7-7-7-20 1T. Cheers.

[TheHowster]

http://www.ocztechnology.com/product...um_amd_edition this is 2 modules
http://www.ocztechnology.com/product...triple_channel this is 3 modules so keep 1 spare
http://www.ocztechnology.com/product...triple_channel this is 3 modules so keep 1 spare


notice there is a cl6 kit in there for 1600, this may need cas7 on AMD platforms...but 7-6-6- is still fast. All kits need 1.65V or less

froogle search for Animal, remember these 1333's are really 1866 with a different sticker/part number.

http://www.google.com/products?q=OCZ3P1333LVA6GK&aq=f

Anywhere in the UK for these or the animals to be found? I've been waiting and waiting but not seen them yet.

[inferKNOX]

Look at my signature, they are 1.9v. Patriot tested them on the GD70 and recommended them for use in AMD systems so i'd say 1.9 is fine too. They are working fine even on moderate overclock. I have them running at 1620 7-7-7-20 1T. Cheers.

Thanks TurboDiv. If they're recommended I guess they should be good.
After reading through this thread, I saw that even 2v is possible, but just wanted to confirm that the higher voltage doesn't stress the CPU's memory controller and eat away lifespan.
Any word on any other of my questions?

[shadow_419]

1. Is overclocking memory necessary, because I bought A-DATA DDR3-1333 RAM that I don't think is very overclockable at all & is not an option for me.
2. I noticed SNiiPE_DoGG bought the OCZ Platinum AMD Edition, which is lower voltage wise compared to the OCZ Platinum Enhanced Bandwidth Edition I've had my eye on (extended RAM heatsinks are not an option for me). The AMD edition says it's meant solely for AM3, which is hard to sell later, so my question is, is the higher 1.9v vs 1.65v bad for the Phenom II? (Answered by TurboDiv=post #816)
   I was thinking of getting the 1.9v and trying to dail down the voltage as best I can. Does that sound ok?
3. What is the benefit of NB overclock, is it speed gain, stability or to enhance the ability to overclock the CPU and/or RAM?
4. Lastly, does overclocking decrease the lifespan of components? If so, it is significantly so? (obviously I don't mean Xtreme overclocking, just a 24/7 OC)
   I'd also like to get maximum life out of the equipment, hence my modest overclock ambitions.

1) Overclocking memory is not required. All you need is ram that will run stable at whatever frequency and timings it's rated for.

2) Answered

3) NB frequency is tied to your L3 cache. The faster your cpu-nb the faster your L3 cache is running. Performance is the reason to overclock this.

4) Overclocking by itself does not decrease the lifetime of the cpu or motherboard. The heat generated if not dissipated properly is what degrades the components and leads to decreased lifetime. I have an opteron 165 running at 2.8ghz(1.8ghz stock) for 3 1/2 years never a single problem. I have a Athlon XP 2500+ that I ran at 2.3ghz for 6 years 24/7. I finally semi-retired that old bad boy. Take a rest good buddy you've served me well. lol

[inferKNOX]

Thanks shadow_419, you rock.
Well in that case, I'll be pushing the rig quite a bit harder and look forward to reaching your guy's ranks.

[shadow_419]

No problem, I help with what I can. Just watch your temps and add voltage when absolutely necessary. The 955 don't need huge amounts of voltage usually to get up in the 3.8-3.9ghz range but they do need to be kept cool.

[inferKNOX]

Uff thanks man I was waiting for answer like that. And about the ram which I wrote up there is good option ?? Like I said before non RAM OC just want them to work stable.

Without a doubt get the AMD Edition OCZ I talked about in the 2nd question on post #808, I just got the confirmation here:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=223668
that it's universally supported (not just on AMD platforms), it's just called AMD Ed. because it's dual channel, as opposed to the i7's triple, and it handles the best for the price +it's low voltage +it's "animal" series +it's very overclockable and stable as said by chew* and other Xtreme overclockers.

[inferKNOX]

No problem, I help with what I can. Just watch your temps and add voltage when absolutely necessary. The 955 don't need huge amounts of voltage usually to get up in the 3.8-3.9ghz range but they do need to be kept cool.

Yup, I saw that on average it wants about 1.4 - 1.45volts to sit at about 3.8GHz, and want to be brought there incrementally, not just a jump. I hope my Nirvana 120 will do justice now when it counts after just sitting pretty all this time, lol.

[FrOzE]

Anyone here successfully unlock all 4 cores of a X3 720BE or X2 550BE? Can u share ur settings of ur BIOS?

cpu:
cpu nb:
ht link:
cpu vdd:
cpu nb vdd:
nb volt:
ram:
c1e:
cool n quite:

Anyone?

[shadow_419]

There's a problem with stability using the available betas with unlocking. My x2 550 unlocks, but it hard locks with any ram intensive stress testing (p95 blend, large fft, ect.) There's a promise of a fixed bios soon so we'll just have to be patient.