Asrock 4CoreDual-SATA2

[tomekk600]

I'm from Poland and my english is no good enough.

Can anybody tell me which FSB allows me increase CPU frequency more than 2150mhz???

I have ddr2 667mhz(333) Kingston 2*1gb dual and when i choose in bios

-333mhz ram - I have 3:5 ratio max 215FSB [dram 358mhz (716)]
-266mhz ram- I have 3:4 ratio and max 230FSB [dram 308MHz WHY?? ]
-auto ram - I have 1:1 ratio and max 280fsb [but only 280mhz dram ]

I dont have any ideas yet..

P.S.
CPU: e2180
Bios ver. 2,5
which version is the best for oc??

Plz dont use difficult words

 

[Razgrizo]

Ok, I have another problem. So probably it might be the PSU or maybe I just have to many hardwares running the poor 600w unit. Everytime I boot up, there is nothing on the screen or no video display. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. Also, upon Windows XP, sometimes the computer gets lock-up/freeze. What do you guys think?

 

[Hlafordlaes]

@tomekk600,

Gin dobre! (Sorry if that is bad spelling). The short answer is that with a 800MHz CPU, a FSB of 280 is not bad at all. Do not worry if the ram is not at its top speed; you are not missing much. I also have 667 ram and run it below its maximum (e4500 cpu).

However, for testing you should check the memory setting with CPU-Z (google to find). Take a look at the SPD tab and then set your memory for the same numbers in the bios, and try 266MHz ram and a FSB also of 266. The PCIe and PCI should be 100 and 33.33 at this point. If everything is OK, try to raise the FSB up to 280 again.

@Razgrizo:
Wierd. If PC autostarts, check the power settings in bios for which things can turn the pc on and disable them. In general, your first order of business is to use only your boot drive and no other drives or PCI cards and add one at a time. As you add them back one by one, check both boot logs and Event Viewer in Windows to see if any of the HW is producing system errors or bad driver loads (might very well be the SCSI drive). And BTW, if you want to use a legacy game controller, you might consider a usb to gameport adapter (google) instead of adding that second sound card (for a total of 3 sound devices in your system, woah). BTW, I'd stick with only onboard sound; the ALC888 on this board isn't bad and prolly equal to or better than the Blaster 5.1.

 

[tomekk600]

You have to say "Dzien Dobry"
I obviously use CPU-Z.
I can't exact ratio 1:1 on fsb 266 and 266mhz ram mode. I set timings on 4:4:4:12 but no effect
If I set cpu ratio x9 (no x10) and fsb at 340, my mobo reduce it to 255 obviously and then through setfsb increase fsb up to 295 I get 2,65ghz at cpu and 290mhz at ram. But I can't save it

P.S. Wat's is better?? oc cpu from 2,0 to 2,65 and reduce ram freq. to 290 or oc cpu only to 2,10 and ram to 350?? Better for games of course

 

[cpmee]

Originally posted by: Razgrizo
Ok, I have another problem. So probably it might be the PSU or maybe I just have to many hardwares running the poor 600w unit. Everytime I boot up, there is nothing on the screen or no video display. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. Also, upon Windows XP, sometimes the computer gets lock-up/freeze. What do you guys think?

Look to see what Computer Mangement > Event Viewer in XP says after a shutdown, it can give you a lot of good info.

 

[imported_rebel]

i just did a 3DMARK06 test and got 11k not sure if that is good or bad for my hardware anyone care to comment i thought it was impressive for a 4coredual? heres the result

http://img80.imageshack.us/my....e=3dmark06scoresf7.jpg

 

[cpmee]

Originally posted by: tomekk600
You have to say "Dzien Dobry"
I obviously use CPU-Z.
I can't exact ratio 1:1 on fsb 266 and 266mhz ram mode. I set timings on 4:4:4:12 but no effect
If I set cpu ratio x9 (no x10) and fsb at 340, my mobo reduce it to 255 obviously and then through setfsb increase fsb up to 295 I get 2,65ghz at cpu and 290mhz at ram. But I can't save it

P.S. Wat's is better?? oc cpu from 2,0 to 2,65 and reduce ram freq. to 290 or oc cpu only to 2,10 and ram to 350?? Better for games of course

Look through the posts on this thread way back to Dec or Jan, I had posted good bios settings for the 2180 at 2800 mhz (280 X 10).

Its better (to get more memory bandwidth) to run 1:1 266(ddr2 533) with the lowest timings than at using a split ratio.

P.S.

CPU: e2180
Bios ver. 2,5
which version is the best for oc??

Bios 2.5 ????? There is no such thing yet AFAIK.

 

[imported_rebel]

Originally posted by: Razgrizo
Hey guys,

I also bought this motherboard last week. Installed it along with the E4500 and everything is working fine. The BIOS keeps on freezing occasionaly but after I flashed the BIOS to the latest (I think 2.1 or 2.2), there is less lock-up in BIOS but I get it at random times (not like it used to be) but I still figured that's still a problem. Everything boots fine into Windows XP SP2 but for some odd reason, about 25-30minutes later, the computer shuts down on it's own and sometimes after 5 minutes, it turns back on it's on.

I'm using SpeedFan and I don't really see any overheating except maybe for the hard drive (need to buy a cooler for it).

CPU is running 35-40'C and same with the motherboard the last time I checked in BIOS.

1st HDD (Primary) - 46-50'c
2nd HDD - 38-42'c
3rd HDD - 40-48'c

As for the PSU, it's practically brand new (Thermaltake 600w).


Spec:
Intel Duo 2 Core E4500 2.2ghz
Asrock 4CoreDual-SATA2
1.5gb DDR1 PC3200
ATI Radeon X1950 Pro
Advancsys SCSI Controller
Pinnacle Systems DV500
Sound Blaster 5.1 Live
Sound Blaster PCI 128 (don't ask, it's the only sound card that still has a gameport)
Maxtor 30gb SCSI
Western Digital 250gb SATA
Maxtor 120gb IDE

I can't see to find the solution anywhere.

600W is fine IMO im runing a 600W but i think maybe your cooling is way hot ive never seen harddrives runing at 48c my hard drive runs at 32c and thats a 500gb sata id throw some case fans in, and do cable management! also i recomend putting that ram on ebay, and gett a 2GB ddr2 stick will set u back $40 but worth it

 

[tomekk600]

P.S.

CPU: e2180
Bios ver. 2,5
which version is the best for oc??

Bios 2.5 ????? There is no such thing yet AFAIK.

MY BIOS
http://www.fotosik.pl/pokaz_ob.../8a8afac55dbec9fc.html



whats bios ver. is the best??

Originally posted by: KDK Warhead
I just built my 4CoreDual-SATA2 computer.
Original Bios 1.50: OK
Flashed to 1.80A (dos): Posted but XP hang during boot
Flashed to 1.80 (dos); OK
1.80A is a hacked version with speedsteep support (http://www.pc-treiber.net/download_kategorie_143.html).

Do 1.80A work for anyone?
(I used default settings before and after flashing)

Anyone test this mod-version??

May i flash bios for example for 1.5 to 2.10??

 

[Hlafordlaes]

Originally posted by: tomekk600
You have to say "Dzien Dobry"
I obviously use CPU-Z.
I can't exact ratio 1:1 on fsb 266 and 266mhz ram mode. I set timings on 4:4:4:12 but no effect
If I set cpu ratio x9 (no x10) and fsb at 340, my mobo reduce it to 255 obviously and then through setfsb increase fsb up to 295 I get 2,65ghz at cpu and 290mhz at ram. But I can't save it

P.S. Wat's is better?? oc cpu from 2,0 to 2,65 and reduce ram freq. to 290 or oc cpu only to 2,10 and ram to 350?? Better for games of course

Well, now I know how to spell it (only words I learned on my visits to Warsaw; nice people).

First of all, these PT880 chipset motherboards do not generally overclock well beyond 290~300 GHz without voltage mods on the motherboard. When using SetFSB or bios to OC, remember to test for stability with a tool like OCCT or Prime95. If not, it looks like your PC is OK but suddenly you get blue screen of death if OC is too high.

To answer your question, OC the CPU to 266 or above and use a lower ram freq is much better than OC ram.

Dzien Dobry!

Edit: I also use the pctreiber.net bioses as do many users of these boards. Since mine is a 4CoreDual-VSTA, I can't comment on your bios, but in gral pctreiber does excellent work.

 

[tomekk600]

Look through the posts on this thread way back to Dec or Jan, I had posted good bios settings for the 2180 at 2800 mhz (280 X 10).

Are you talking about this??

Originally posted by: cpmee

Originally posted by: Alex0915
Ok, I searched high and low and still cant find that pcie setting for turning off downstream pipeline. From what I understand, this is absolutely necessary to stop artifacting with the 8800GTS and the 3870 cards. I went into advanced and chipset config but it just isnt there. Can anyone point out where it is in the list? I have everything set to auto, including the pcie clock...maybe thats the problem?

Its right there, right after IDE Drive Strength and right before OnBoard LAN.


Chipset Configuration <<<===============

DRAM Frequency [266MHz (DDRII533) ]
Flexibility Option [Disabled]
DRAM CAS# Latency [3]
DRAM Bank Interleave [4-Way]
Precharge to Active (Trp) [3T]
Active to Precharge (Tras) [9T]
Active to CMD (Trcd) [3T]
REF to ACT/REF to REF (Trfc) [21T]
ACT (0) to ACT (1) (Trrd) [2T]
Read to Precharge (Trtp) [Auto]
Write to Read CMD (Twtr) [2T]
Write Recovery Time (Twr) [3T]
DRAM Bus Selection [Auto]
DRAM Command Rate [2T Command]

Advanced Memory Configuration [Untouched]

Advanced Host Configuration [Untouched]

DRAM Voltage [Low]
AGP Voltage [Auto]

Primary Graphics Adaptor [AGP]
AGP Mode [8x]
AGP Fast Write [Enabled]
AGP Aperture Size [128MB]
AGP Staggered Delay [Auto]
AGP GADSTB Output Delay [Auto]
AGP 3.0 Calibration [Auto]
AGP 3.0 DBI Function [Auto]
DBI Output for AGP Trans. [Auto]
DBI Output for FRAME Trans. [Auto]

V-Link Speed [Normal]
V-link disable [Enabled]
PCI Delay Transaction [Enabled]
IDE Drive Strength [Normal]
PCIE Downstream Pipeline [Auto] <<<================
OnBoard LAN [Disabled]
OnBoard HD Audio [Enabled]
Front Panel [Disabled]
CD-In [Disabled]
Bus No. [Enabled]
Echo TPR Disable [Auto]


Edited for my timings. By putting in the other timings instead of Auto, I got a couple hundred more mb/s in memory bandwidth. I used Everest to figure out what the other timings for my ram were. I still dont know where I can find my Trtp though.

 

[Hlafordlaes]

@tomekk600,

Here's a link to the best volt mod for these boards.

I actually bought a cheap Asrock 775i65G (different chipset but can use same excellent volt mod) so I can try first on that before ruining my trusty 4Core. If it works, my e4500 goes into th 775i65G and a nice e7200 (using pctreiber bios mod) and 4GB ram will go into the 4Core.

 

[tomekk600]

Edit: I also use the pctreiber.net bioses as do many users of these boards. Since mine is a 4CoreDual-VSTA, I can't comment on your bios, but in gral pctreiber does excellent work.

May I flash my mobo this bios??

http://www.pctreiber.net/filebase.php?fileid=2546&lim=0

Look through the posts on this thread way back to Dec or Jan, I had posted good bios settings for the 2180 at 2800 mhz (280 X 10).

I can't find it

 

[Hlafordlaes]

Originally posted by: tomekk600

Edit: I also use the pctreiber.net bioses as do many users of these boards. Since mine is a 4CoreDual-VSTA, I can't comment on your bios, but in gral pctreiber does excellent work.

May I flash my mobo this bios??

http://www.pctreiber.net/filebase.php?fileid=2546&lim=0

As long as you have the ASRock 4CoreDual-SATA 2.0 board, of course!

 

[tomekk600]

I'm flashed bios up to 2.10 no 2.00A because I have problem with floppy and make it by windows
I still can't exact ratio 1:1 on fsb 266 and 266mhz ram mode. Mabye my seetings are no correctly.. I don't know. I cat't find your post Hlafordlaes :\

P.S. go sleep.. "Dobranoc" (= good night) local time 11:06pm)

 

[imported_rebel]

just to let people no when i have pipeline downstream ENABLED or disabled i get no artifacts in games at all and i have a 3870 so i leave it ENABLED..

Hlafordlaes - can you give me bios settings mem timings that you recommend for my rig? thanks.. ram says its 5-5-5-18 but i have everything set to AUTO

 

[Razgrizo]

Ok, I took most of the hardware out. I was able to boot into Windows XP. I don't really see anything abnormal in the event viewer. There was a faulty wire for one of the fans but that's about it. I don't know what happened to that wire but I hope it didn't blow anything up. I took the SCSI hard drive out and it reduce both sata and ide HDD to 29-30'C. CPU went down to 29-30'C as well. that's good progress.

For some reason, now I'm having problems with the video card booting up on first start. When I first power on, I sometimes don't get any display from the monitor so I hope it's not the power supply, if it is, my god I have to put in another $100 when I already did for this one.

Also, since I bought an open box mobo from NewEggs, I don't think they'll take back faulty mobos and start charging me on repairing the mobo itself.

No clue what to do from here.

Note: I had the same problem with another computer long ago, I replaced the PSUs but the problem was actually the motherboard.

I'm going to live it on overnight to see if it reboots, shut down, turn back on itself again. Is it possible to downgrade the BIOS? I'm assuming the latest BIOS is the stable one?

 

[doubleOseven]

Does anyone know if the latest pctreiber custom bios, version 2.10a (see: http://www.pctreiber.net/fileb...php?fileid=2805&lim=20 )
supports the 4850 video card? I'm assuming it does, as version 2.02a did.... but in the new 2.10a file description, it don't mention it... (and since I don't speak German, it's all confusing to me!)

Thanks!

 

[imported_rebel]

i was going to get the 4850 but because of the 4x pcie i think it would be bottlenecking it to much i would go for the 8800gtx or the 3870 IMO.. as there is only 10% bottleneck with them and pretty much reachs it max 3850 on the other hand wont be affected by 4x pcie so i ahve been told..

 

[JonW]

Originally posted by: rebel
i was going to get the 4850 but because of the 4x pcie i think it would be bottlenecking it to much i would go for the 8800gtx or the 3870 IMO.. as there is only 10% bottleneck with them and pretty much reachs it max 3850 on the other hand wont be affected by 4x pcie so i ahve been told..

All pci-e gfx card you plug into this mb will run at 4x. It doesn't matter which brand or manufacturer you use.

 

[cpmee]

Originally posted by: rebel
i was going to get the 4850 but because of the 4x pcie i think it would be bottlenecking it to much i would go for the 8800gtx or the 3870 IMO.. as there is only 10% bottleneck with them and pretty much reachs it max 3850 on the other hand wont be affected by 4x pcie so i ahve been told..

I wouldnt let that make your decision. Even with the bottlenecks, the 4850 will still get the higher scores.

 

[Hlafordlaes]

Originally posted by: rebel
Hlafordlaes - can you give me bios settings mem timings that you recommend for my rig? thanks.. ram says its 5-5-5-18 but i have everything set to AUTO

Here are my current settings:
CPU Configuration
CPU: e4500 (800Mhz, or 200MHz FSB default)
Overclock Mode [CPU,PCIE Sync.]
CPU Frequency (MHz) [266]
PCIE Frequency (MHz) [100]
PCI Frequency [33.33MHz]
Spread Spectrum [Disabled]
Boot Failure Guard [Enabled]
Ratio [10]
Max CPUID Value Limit [Disabled]
No-Execute Memory Protection [Disabled]

Chipset Configuration
DRAM Frequency [266MHz (DDRII533) ]
Flexibility Option [Disabled]
DRAM CAS# Latency [3] - manually set to match my particular RAM
DRAM Bank Interleave [Auto]
Precharge to Active (Trp) [Auto]
Active to Precharge (Tras) [8] - manually set below SPD values
Active to CMD (Trcd) [Auto]
REF to ACT/REF to REF (Trfc) [Auto]
ACT (0) to ACT (1) (Trrd) [Auto]
Read to Precharge (Trtp) [Auto]
Write to Read CMD (Twtr) [Auto]
Write Recovery Time (Twr) [Auto]
DRAM Bus Selection [Dual Channel]
DRAM Command Rate [2T]

? Advanced Memory Configuration

[Untouched] - Really trying hard to find guidelines from VIA or Asrock on these, as I am sure that the 2nd DDR2 slot holds things back a bit and these settings AFAIK set timing offsets per channel, so in theory some tweaking would do some good.

? Advanced Host Configuration
Pipeline DRQCTL [Enabled]
GTL Control [Auto]

DRAM Voltage [Low]
AGP Voltage [High]

Primary Graphics Adaptor [AGP]
AGP Mode [8x]
AGP Fast Write [Enabled]
AGP Aperture Size [256MB]
AGP Staggered Delay [None]
AGP GADSTB Output Delay [None]
AGP 3.0 Calibration [Auto]
AGP 3.0 DBI Function [Auto]
DBI Output for AGP Trans. [Auto]
DBI Output for FRAME Trans. [Auto]

V-Link Speed [Normal]

PCI Delay Transaction [Disabled]
IDE Drive Strength [Normal]
PCIE Downstream Pipeline [Disabled]
OnBoard LAN [Disabled]
OnBoard HD Audio [Enabled]
Front Panel [Enabled]
CD-In [Enabled]
Bus No. [80] - Note: a 02 setting will make audio impossible to install in Vista
Echo TPR Disable [Auto]

There are a couple of settings not listed from my modded pctreiber bios, but they are on Auto and are not too important AFAIK.

In gral, mem settings should all be auto except DRAM frequency. However, the bios does not detect the optimal CAS setting of my RAM, as listed in CPU-Z (SPD tab), so I lower it manually. I also experimented with Tras and found it stable at 8 (12 default).

Each case is different depending on the sticks, of course. I can't say why some users are not getting a 1:1 ratio when DRAM and CPU frequency are equal, as that should be the result.

 

[Razgrizo]

Alright, problem solved. I guess it was the motherboard after all. Sent out an RMA and got it replaced.

Now I have another question. My CPU was running at 29-30'C when I first setup everything.

After everything is done, the CPU is running 38-42'C, same thing with the motherboard. I filled up the case with fans, installed a Zalman 9500 on the CPU and another Zalman cooler on the Radeon X1950 Pro.

Any advice?

 

[Hlafordlaes]

@Razgrizo
No advice, actually, as your temps sound spot on. The earlier, lower temps are the ones that seem incorrect, praps from that bad mobo. Happy tweaking!

 

[jimmor]

Originally posted by: tcsenter

Originally posted by: Mike45450
Also i've heard of some problems with this mobo and the Q6600 - will I need to flash the BIOS or anything before it recognises the Q6600?

Just keep in mind that quad core processors will be underclocked a tad on this board, due to a chipset limitation. ASRock says it roughly equates to 5% underclock.

Not entirely true. I have a 4coredual-sata2 rev1 which runs just fine at 2.4GHz default with a G0 version q6600 !

Currently in use overclocked at 2.6Ghz ---> vCore regulator of 4coredual mobo not particularly good, so limiting my overclock in order to minimise vdroop problems?

Mind you, i am using latest modded bios ver 2.10a ---> so maybe the Asrock mentioned 5% underclock problem for a q6600 is/was corrected as being a Bios issue ?