ASRock 4CoreDual-VSTA

[Mr Vain]

Beta bios from asrock, which adds support for radeon hd 4850 and hd 4870 cards.

http://www.pctreiber.net/beitr...ht=4CoreDual+VSTA.html

Other features:
- Supports smart fan (better fan control)
- Supports speedstep
- Supports enhanced halt state
- Supports thermal trottling
- Supports up to 4 gb ram (trough chipset limitation you can only user around 3,3 GB)
- E7200 support

 

[imported_rebel]

Originally posted by: deconne
HAHAA!!!!

It works!!! BIOS 2.30a is idd registering 2 x 2gig RAM memory and even in DUAL CHANNEL.
The POST says it contains 3gig and Windows XP SP2 does the same, but that doesn't bother me. I've read througout the internet that Windows 32bit systems only detect something less then 4GB, e.g. 3 or 3,25 or 3,5 GB

The black screen that I had with BIOS 2.30 is all gone with BIOS 2.30a

For the record, my current system specs:
AsRock 4CoreDual-VSTA (BIOS 2.30a)
2 x 2Gb Corsair XMS2 6400 TWINX RAM
e4300 processor (currently at stock speed of 1.8 Ghz, but I'll try to do better. It used to run stable at 2.4 Ghz on this Mobo)
Nvidea N6800 TD 512 Graphics Card (Crappy performance, any suggestions for a new one?)


@Budarow:

Originally posted by: Hlafordlaes
Have you tried the 2.30A or 2.30D modded bioses from pctreiber.net? The 2.30A mentions compatibility with 4GB, while IIRC the one from Asrock does not. (The D version apparently adds E7200 support, which I am drooling over in misery, with a $0 IT budget for now.)

So, as far as I can tell for the E7200 processor you cannot use the 2.30a BIOS, but you should use the 2.30d BIOS version.



Now I'am gonna try and tweak the BIOS setup, to get the best performance.

Grtz, and thnx again!!!

omg i have the exact same ram but a 4coredual-SATA2 r2 and i cant even get it to work maybe i should try the modded VSTA bios will that work?

 

[Thanosk88]

Hi guys.......

I have installed a ATI HD 4850 and 2x1GB DDR2@667 Geil ram....

Bios 2.33c pipline deactivated and everything works fine...

Very very nice Card.....................

 

[Hlafordlaes]

Hi all,

My turn to have an issue (posting also in the 4CoreDual-SATA2 thread since it's more active and I need rather urgent advice). I am running: 4CoreDual-VSTA || Treiber 2.33c bios || E4500 @ 9x300 || 7600 GT AGP @705/825 || 1xWD640 SATA || 2xMaxtor 160GB || 1xDVD-RW || Ultra X-2 550W || XPSP3

My system has been running stable at the above settings for quite some time (months) with no hardware or bios changes. Two days ago, the system started to freeze up entirely some 10-15 min. after booting. After the first freeze, which happened while surfing the net (no big load), I was able to boot again and check for minidumps or logged errors in the Event Viewer. There were none. The system froze again. It took a few attempts, but I was able to boot again, same results.

I then got basically a dead machine. I would get a black screen, or only the VGA bios message, and sometimes part of the bios screen. On one occasion, I noticed a cyclical ticking sound from my speakers, almost like an electric motor, that only went away when I turned off the PSU (speakers remained on since on another AC source). The ticking stopped, and that issue has not been reproduced (yet).

After 12 hours with the PC off and PSU switched off and drained, I was able to boot normally. Then the machine froze on the desktop (CPU 99% idle) after the first 10 or so minutes. This was followed by the same situation of a non-booting machine, occasionally freezing halfway through the bios screen, and once in a blue moon making it into XP before freezing.

This sounds like a PSU problem to me, especially since the PSU is not a very good brand and has always suffered from a very low voltage on the 12v line (sometimes close to 11.17v). But before I go out and drop the cash (beyond warranty at this point, so no RMA), could this be the mobo itself starting to fritz? Is there something I should include in my due diligence I am overlooking?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[SJP0tato]

Originally posted by: Hlafordlaes
This sounds like a PSU problem to me, especially since the PSU is not a very good brand and has always suffered from a very low voltage on the 12v line (sometimes close to 11.17v). But before I go out and drop the cash (beyond warranty at this point, so no RMA), could this be the mobo itself starting to fritz? Is there something I should include in my due diligence I am overlooking?

Sounds like possible bad PSU to me too. Also: Check your cooling fans. Make sure they're not filled with dust, and spin freely (no bad bearings). Barring that a new PSU sounds like the next step to take.

 

[Hlafordlaes]

Originally posted by: Hlafordlaes
Hi all,

My turn to have an issue (posting also in the 4CoreDual-SATA2 thread since it's more active and I need rather urgent advice). I am running: 4CoreDual-VSTA || Treiber 2.33c bios || E4500 @ 9x300 || 7600 GT AGP @705/825 || 1xWD640 SATA || 2xMaxtor 160GB || 1xDVD-RW || Ultra X-2 550W || XPSP3

My system has been running stable at the above settings for quite some time (months) with no hardware or bios changes. Two days ago, the system started to freeze up entirely some 10-15 min. after booting...

GastlicCraeft* has been debugged and resurrected.

Literally, it was a BUG. I mean a nasty little flying critter that spilled its guts on my mobo in its own little private electrocution. One tweezer lift and a little cleaning was all that was needed.

Took me a week to get around to cracking the case open and taking a look. Meanwhile, I had enabled internet on my PIII-S Classic Gaming Machine, which promptly fried a questionable USB 2.0 add-on board the USB wifi dongle was connected to, which led to no OS boot, which led to a Win98SE re-install, which led to more hardware debugging...

No posthumous service was held for the bug.


*Gastlic = Old English for ghastly, ghostly = "Spiritual"
Craeft = Old English for craft, apparatus = "Machine"

 

[Thanosk88]

Hi guys...!!!

Has anyone tried instant boot??

 

[Thanosk88]

Instant boot is working fine for me...!!!

 

[GTI888]

Is that from 2.34a? Was it hard to do?

 

[Thanosk88]

No it was very easy.... 2.34a bios.....

 

[GTI888]

I flashed to 2.34a. Updated to 4 gig of Corsair XMS2 TWIN2X4096-6400C5 and XP is reporting 3,013,868 KB of memory available. Didn't bother with instant boot. I'm happy this board has served me so long. I'm thinking of updating my video card now. Currently I am running a ATI AIW 800XL AGP and since my update the TV Tuner is acting up. Is anyone running any better video cards with no issues? Nvidia 9800's? ATI 48XX?

My other specs are: E4300 @ 266 fsb, mem @ 333 Mhz 5-5-5-15 2T

It looks like a 2.34c version is out too, anyone gonna try it? http://www.pctreiber.net/filebase.php?lim=40&cat=108

 

[DeusEx]

I have bought 2 days ago an Gigabyte HD 3870 512MB card for my 4CoreDual-VSTA mb. After changed the old X800 Pro to the new one I get a black screen from start my PC.
I cannot see anything jus a black screen on my monitor. I tried the videocard at my freind's PC and it was run well. That means the videocard works.

I updated the Bios to 2.34a and still black screen showing.

Any idea what would be the problem and what is the solution?

 

[imported_stickboy]

What kind of PSU do you have and what is its 12V rating for each rail?

 

[dbk]

Originally posted by: DeusEx
I have bought 2 days ago an Gigabyte HD 3870 512MB card for my 4CoreDual-VSTA mb. After changed the old X800 Pro to the new one I get a black screen from start my PC.
I cannot see anything jus a black screen on my monitor. I tried the videocard at my freind's PC and it was run well. That means the videocard works.

I updated the Bios to 2.34a and still black screen showing.

Any idea what would be the problem and what is the solution?

did you try disabling pcie downstream?

 

[Racknar111]

I am running the 2.34c bios and was attempting to drop a Q6700 quad in to replace my 6300 dual. The processor will be detected correctly, but it won't get to the point in the boot process where windows begins to load and I am left with a flashing cursor. I am going to flash back to an official bios to see if that corrects the problem, but if anyone has any tips on what the issue might be I would appreciate it. I would hate to lose the ability to run 3 Gigs of ram. Thanks.

Mike

 

[Mr Vain]

AGP will rise again


ATI AGP HD 4650

In case you've grown attached to your old rig, you'll be happy to hear that Gigabyte is now offering an AGP Radeon HD 4650 card,

Whether you're upgrading, or just want to use an old PC as an HTPC, an AGP HD 4650 is a pretty good choice, as it's not nearly as power hungry as previous AGP cards. With a power consumption of just 48W, you probably won't have to upgrade your PSU to enjoy HD and a few more fps in games.


http://www.fudzilla.com/index....view&id=13730&Itemid=1

:thumbsup:

Fixed Link

 

[Eureka]

Haha, just as I'm getting rid of my 4CoreDual-VSTA rig. Got me a Gigabyte setup with a 4890 coming in.

 

[GTI888]

I have done some cheap upgrades recently. I have a Powercolor Radeon HD 4830 installed now and also upgraded the bios to 2.36a http://www.pctreiber.net/beitrag11759.html XP reports my usable ram increasing to 3,407,084 KB since I last posted.

Here's my specs: http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=569856

I haven't had time to tweak with the memory or OC the video yet.

 

[Hlafordlaes]

Curious to know if anyone has seen the latest BIOS from www.pctreiber.net:

ASRock 4CoreDual-VSTA Bios 2.38a
Datiert auf den 29.04.2009
4CoreDual-VSTA BIOS L2.38 REV:a

Changelog:

- Add support für HD 4350, HD 4550, HD 46x0 and HD 48X0
- Add support for E-0/R-0 Wolfdale CPU
- Support 4 GB DDR2 (~ 3,3 GB useable)
- Enhanced Speedfancontrol for PWM-Fans
- Support Enahnced Halt State, SpeedStep and Thermal Throttling


unknown: (Please test an post your findings! Thanks!)
- HD 4890 Support
- Instant Boot Support

Support for the E0 stepping (E8400-8500-8600)? Am I reading that right? I have been waiting to snatch up the latest R0 chip (new E7600) that has VT support (needed for XP emu under Win7), but now I see this.

Anyone tried this, or know if I am misreading? The E0 stepping as I read it is all 1333MHz; didn't think the PT880 could handle that(?!).

 

[Rafamf450]

Hi!

This is my first post here in anandtech

I own a 4coredual-vsta mob, and I recently bought a new graphic card (XFX hd4870 1gb gddr5). When I first played some games I noticed that there were some graphical glitches (solved, I was using an old BIOS..) Now I'm running BIOS 2.38a from pctreiber, it's all solved but I'm not completly satisfayed with my PC..

Those are my computer specs:

- Asrock 4coredual-vsta
-Intel C2D e6420 2.13GHz
-XFX hd4870 1gb gddr5
-2GB Kingston 333Mhz memory
-Nox 500watts

Does anyone have an ideia of what is slowing down my computer? I'm thinking on upgrading memory to 2x2GB Kingston (667Mhz). This is the best memory speed I can have in my mob, right?


Thanks

Best Regards

 

[AceRimmer77]

Hi all, I am trying to get a 2gb of crucial ballistix 800mhz ddr2 to work ok on a mates 4coredual vsta, We always get a blue screen as windows is loading up so it has me thinking that something in the bios is upsetting it, we have the newest offial bios, 2.3 I think, does anyone know what could be causing this. I am at work atm so cannot report what I have the bios set to.

 

[jimmor]

Originally posted by: Hlafordlaes
Curious to know if anyone has seen the latest BIOS from www.pctreiber.net:

ASRock 4CoreDual-VSTA Bios 2.38a
Datiert auf den 29.04.2009
4CoreDual-VSTA BIOS L2.38 REV:a

Changelog:

- Add support für HD 4350, HD 4550, HD 46x0 and HD 48X0
- Add support for E-0/R-0 Wolfdale CPU
- Support 4 GB DDR2 (~ 3,3 GB useable)
- Enhanced Speedfancontrol for PWM-Fans
- Support Enahnced Halt State, SpeedStep and Thermal Throttling


unknown: (Please test an post your findings! Thanks!)
- HD 4890 Support
- Instant Boot Support

Support for the E0 stepping (E8400-8500-8600)? Am I reading that right? I have been waiting to snatch up the latest R0 chip (new E7600) that has VT support (needed for XP emu under Win7), but now I see this.

Anyone tried this, or know if I am misreading? The E0 stepping as I read it is all 1333MHz; didn't think the PT880 could handle that(?!).

By reading the mobo manufacturers specs, people will see that the 4coredual series of mobos "should be good" for a CPU based on FSB's of up to 266MHz !

And if lucky, it's sometimes possible (may require minor hardware mods) to overclock the FSB to around 300Mhz ---> but 333Mhz (as required for normal default by E8400, E8500, E8600 types) is moving into fantasy land ?

Any bioses that allow "compatibility" with newer C2D types (based on anything higher than 266Mhz) will just enable the CPU to run at whatever max overclock your particular mobo can achieve ---> meaning if your new "333" based CPU has a Multiplier of 9x and you manage to overclock FSB to 300, then CPU will limit at 2.7Ghz rather than the default 3GHz it's supposed to run at?

So for "bios compat" 4coredual mobos, if you want to "Guarantee" a cpu overclock to 3GHz or above, with any of the newer "333" based cpus, then you should only choose a cpu having a multiplier of at least 11x ?

 

[WillyWanker]

Originally posted by: AceRimmer77
Hi all, I am trying to get a 2gb of crucial ballistix 800mhz ddr2 to work ok on a mates 4coredual vsta, We always get a blue screen as windows is loading up so it has me thinking that something in the bios is upsetting it, we have the newest offial bios, 2.3 I think, does anyone know what could be causing this. I am at work atm so cannot report what I have the bios set to.

Run memtest86 to make sure the RAM isn't faulty.

 

[surkhail]

hey so i was reading how every one was using 4gb of ram and i wanted in so i got my 4gb of ram 2gb X2 i popped it in had my mobo flashed to 2.38a and computer ran said 4gb 3.25 usable but after about 5 mins of gaming or any thing else intense my computer would crash now iv tried every thing like formating windows using one stick of ram at a time would be stable but when i would put 2 in it would always crash today my 2gb kingston in 1 slot and my old 1gb ocz ram in the other and so far it is stable not dual channel but stable so what can i do to get 4gb ram total should i change my ram? change the bios? any help would be nice

 

[WillyWanker]

Not to repeat myself, but run memtest86 to make sure the RAM isn't faulty.