ASRock 4CoreDual-VSTA

[deconne]

Hi everyone,

I yesterday bought 2 x 2GB of Corsair 6400 XMS2 TWINX DDR2 RAM to upgrade my old 2 x 512 DDR1 RAM memory modules.

Guess what:
I put the 4GB of Corsair RAM in the DDR2 banks, boot the PC, and get ... nothing!
The monitor refuses to light up, no error beeps, no HD activity, nothing except the fans en the power/HD led.

So I started to look, and came to the conclusion that, as per the specs provided by AsRock, this mobo only supports a max of 2GB of 667 RAM memory. I looked further and read that some people managed to get their 4CoreDual-VSTA working with 4GB RAM.

I've tried several things and came to the following conclusion:
- PC boots with the first 2GB DDR2 module in memory bank A or B
- PC boots with the seconds 2GB DDR2 module in memory bank A or B
=> so both modules and memory banks are OK!

I've also flashed the BIOS to v2.30 but still I get the black screen as soon as I try to boot with 4GB of RAM memory ...

Please help me

 

[Hlafordlaes]

@deconne

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.)

 

[deconne]

Hey Hlafordlaes,

Thx a lot m8te!!!

I'm gonna try this BIOS this evening and let you know if it works!
I suppose that this unoficial BIOS can't do any harm at my PC? Has this BIOS been tested yet by anyone?

P.S. Hlafordlaes, thx again, you give me back hope!

 

[imported_rep]

Originally posted by: rep
other thing.
setfsb show 50 mhz on pci!!!I don't have set anything in bios!
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/4581/m2650mhzhv7.png

solved!
was a bug.
developer has sent me a updated version and now work.

I'm stable at 276 mhz LOL, what a crap!

 

[deconne]

Hi rep,

How did you manage to get the 4CoreDual-VSTA board working with 4GB ram?

Have you also got the unofficial 2.30a BIOS?

Thx for the info!

 

[Hlafordlaes]

Originally posted by: deconne
I suppose that this unoficial BIOS can't do any harm at my PC? Has this BIOS been tested yet by anyone?

I have been using the bioses from pctreiber.net for some time (they come up in this thread somewhere else, too), as the base mod restores proper cpu fan operation. I have not tried version 2.30A yet since I have no compelling reason at the moment, but would not hesitate to do so if need be.

Let us all know how it goes with the 4GB.

 

[imported_rep]

Originally posted by: deconne
Hi rep,

How did you manage to get the 4CoreDual-VSTA board working with 4GB ram?

Have you also got the unofficial 2.30a BIOS?

Thx for the info!

I have 2.30a from pctreiber.net
I use winxp sp3 and no problems with 2x2gb
windows xp recognizes 3,25GB dual channel. (cpu-z)

inthe bios all settings are on auto

 

[deconne]

Hi rep,

Did you also got the black screen without the 2.30a BIOS?

Thx for the info.

 

[imported_rep]

Originally posted by: deconne
Hi rep,

Did you also got the black screen without the 2.30a BIOS?

Thx for the info.

never try 4GB with original bios.
just arrived the mobo I've flashed it to 2.30a

If you flash use only once stick

 

[Budarow]

Originally posted by: rep

Originally posted by: deconne
Hi rep,

Did you also got the black screen without the 2.30a BIOS?

Thx for the info.

never try 4GB with original bios.
just arrived the mobo I've flashed it to 2.30a

If you flash use only once stick

By all means...please let us know how BIOS 2.30a is working for you. I'm thinking about upgrading the proc in my mobo but am waiting to hear if some of these newer proc (e.g., e7200) will actually work in this board. It's always nice to know what the options are before buying a new proc.

 

[imported_rep]

the system is rock solid.all works.no problem apart low overclock performances


bios 2.30d is already out for only E7200
look at pctreiber.net forum

 

[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!!!

 

[WillyWanker]

Ok, not to derail this mini topic, but I have another issue I need help with.

I want to hook up the headphone and mic jacks on the front of my case to the motherboard. Now I know where the pins are (between PCI slots 2 and 3), and I looked up the pinout in the manual. Problem is, most of the pinout labels in the manual don't even come close to the pin labels on the case connectors. I tried email the both the case manufacturer and ASRock, but so far no response. I was hoping maybe someone here here could figure it out.

According to the manual the pinouts for the front panel audio header on the mobo are:

GND PRESENCE# MIC_RET <no pin> OUT_RET
MIC2_L MIC2_R OUT2_R J_SENSE OUT2_L

The labels on the case connectors for the mic port are
MIC VCC
MIC GND
MIC IN

And the labels for the headphone jack are
GND
EAR L1
EAR L2
EAR R1
EAR R2

The astute will also notice the mobo header has 9 pins, while the case only has 8 -- I'm assuming that extra pin is for the detection of when the front jack is in use.

I know the chances are slim of frying anything by randomly trying to find the right match, but I don't want to take any chances. So if anyone has any idea how these might match up, please let me know.

Thanks.

 

[imported_rep]

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!!!

If you set agp aperture size to 128MB --->3,25GB
with aperture size at 256MB---> 3GB

but aperture size at 256 has no reason to exist.

enjoy your ram, LOL

 

[Budarow]

Originally posted by: rep

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!!!

If you set agp aperture size to 128MB --->3,25GB
with aperture size at 256MB---> 3GB

but aperture size at 256 has no reason to exist.

enjoy your ram, LOL

For some reason...I thought the AGP aperture size was supposed to be like 1/2 the amount of on-board video RAM (i.e., 256MB of video RAM=128MB AGP aperture size)? Also, if I'm using a PCI-E video card, guess it wouldn't make any difference what the AGP aperture size was set to...correct?

And thanks to all for being the beta BIOS testers for the rest of us fraidy cats.

Also...who's altering these beta BIOS'? What are the chances ASRocks will release final BIOS' based on these betas?

 

[Hlafordlaes]

Originally posted by: deconne
HAHAA!!!!

It works!!!

Gotta love that feelin'. 'sWhat I live for in tweaking.

 

[WillyWanker]

For some reason...I thought the AGP aperture size was supposed to be like 1/2 the amount of on-board video RAM (i.e., 256MB of video RAM=128MB AGP aperture size)? Also, if I'm using a PCI-E video card, guess it wouldn't make any difference what the AGP aperture size was set to...correct?

And thanks to all for being the beta BIOS testers for the rest of us fraidy cats.

Also...who's altering these beta BIOS'? What are the chances ASRocks will release final BIOS' based on these betas?

Actually, it's the other way around. AGP aperture should be from 1-2x the amount of VRAM on the card.

So with an AGP card with 128 MBs of VRAM your aperture should be as close to 2x that as possible.

And yes, if you're using PCI-e, you can set the aperture at the minimum. It has no effect.

 

[imported_stickboy]

Be careful with flashing your BIOS too many times... my 4coredual blue screened on me in the middle of my 6 or 7th BIOS flash. Those EPROMS can only be flashed too many times, i reckon.

 

[Budarow]

Originally posted by: WillyWanker

For some reason...I thought the AGP aperture size was supposed to be like 1/2 the amount of on-board video RAM (i.e., 256MB of video RAM=128MB AGP aperture size)? Also, if I'm using a PCI-E video card, guess it wouldn't make any difference what the AGP aperture size was set to...correct?

And thanks to all for being the beta BIOS testers for the rest of us fraidy cats.

Also...who's altering these beta BIOS'? What are the chances ASRocks will release final BIOS' based on these betas?

Actually, it's the other way around. AGP aperture should be from 1-2x the amount of VRAM on the card.

So with an AGP card with 128 MBs of VRAM your aperture should be as close to 2x that as possible.

And yes, if you're using PCI-e, you can set the aperture at the minimum. It has no effect.

Thanks for the correction.

 

[NeonGerbil]

Originally posted by: stickboy
Be careful with flashing your BIOS too many times... my 4coredual blue screened on me in the middle of my 6 or 7th BIOS flash. Those EPROMS can only be flashed too many times, i reckon.

Yeah, a few thousand times.

 

[tcsenter]

Originally posted by: WillyWanker
Actually, it's the other way around. AGP aperture should be from 1-2x the amount of VRAM on the card.

Sure, for 32MB, 64MB, and maybe 128MB cards. After 128MB, it becomes pointless to increase the aperture as onboard RAM increases. AGP aperture should remain constant or decrease when onboard RAM exceeds 128MB.

AGP aperture was conceived of when $500 would buy a graphics card with 32MB, and the graphics RAM contributed more to the final cost than the GPU. System memory, on the other hand, was far more affordable. Thus, it made sense to implement a feature that would use more affordable system memory for additional AGP texture storage when the benefits of doing so out-weigh the performance penalty of reading AGP texture information from system memory.

After a few years, the cost of graphics RAM decreased dramatically, allowing affordable boards with 64MB, 128MB and more. Over the same time, game developers for the most part grew texture storage demands at a reasonable rate, and developed approaches that sought to make more intelligent decisions about hardware resources rather than be insensitive to everyone who didn't have a $500 graphics card. One of these is to avoid non-local texture storage to the extent practical. If that is not practical, then use it the minimum extent practical.

With enough onboard RAM for texture storage, AGP aperture requirements only decrease:

128MB AGP card will do fine with 128MB ~ 256MB aperture

256MB AGP card will do fine with 64MB ~ 128MB aperture

512MB AGP card will do fine with 64MB aperture (the default for AGP)

 

[imported_stickboy]

Originally posted by: NeonGerbil

Originally posted by: stickboy
Be careful with flashing your BIOS too many times... my 4coredual blue screened on me in the middle of my 6 or 7th BIOS flash. Those EPROMS can only be flashed too many times, i reckon.

Yeah, a few thousand times.

or 5, in my case

 

[WillyWanker]

Originally posted by: WillyWanker
Ok, not to derail this mini topic, but I have another issue I need help with.

I want to hook up the headphone and mic jacks on the front of my case to the motherboard. Now I know where the pins are (between PCI slots 2 and 3), and I looked up the pinout in the manual. Problem is, most of the pinout labels in the manual don't even come close to the pin labels on the case connectors. I tried email the both the case manufacturer and ASRock, but so far no response. I was hoping maybe someone here here could figure it out.

According to the manual the pinouts for the front panel audio header on the mobo are:

GND PRESENCE# MIC_RET <no pin> OUT_RET
MIC2_L MIC2_R OUT2_R J_SENSE OUT2_L

The labels on the case connectors for the mic port are
MIC VCC
MIC GND
MIC IN

And the labels for the headphone jack are
GND
EAR L1
EAR L2
EAR R1
EAR R2

The astute will also notice the mobo header has 9 pins, while the case only has 8 -- I'm assuming that extra pin is for the detection of when the front jack is in use.

I know the chances are slim of frying anything by randomly trying to find the right match, but I don't want to take any chances. So if anyone has any idea how these might match up, please let me know.

Thanks.

Sorry to bump this, but it looks like it got lost in other topics. I still need some help with this. If anyone has any insight, I'm all ears.

Thanks!

 

[Hlafordlaes]

Originally posted by: WillyWanker

Originally posted by: WillyWanker
Ok, not to derail this mini topic, but I have another issue I need help with.

I want to hook up the headphone and mic jacks on the front of my case to the motherboard. Now I know where the pins are (between PCI slots 2 and 3), and I looked up the pinout in the manual. Problem is, most of the pinout labels in the manual don't even come close to the pin labels on the case connectors. I tried email the both the case manufacturer and ASRock, but so far no response. I was hoping maybe someone here here could figure it out.

According to the manual the pinouts for the front panel audio header on the mobo are:

GND PRESENCE# MIC_RET <no pin> OUT_RET
MIC2_L MIC2_R OUT2_R J_SENSE OUT2_L

The labels on the case connectors for the mic port are
MIC VCC
MIC GND
MIC IN

And the labels for the headphone jack are
GND
EAR L1
EAR L2
EAR R1
EAR R2

The astute will also notice the mobo header has 9 pins, while the case only has 8 -- I'm assuming that extra pin is for the detection of when the front jack is in use.

I know the chances are slim of frying anything by randomly trying to find the right match, but I don't want to take any chances. So if anyone has any idea how these might match up, please let me know.

Thanks.

Sorry to bump this, but it looks like it got lost in other topics. I still need some help with this. If anyone has any insight, I'm all ears.

Thanks!

Just a quick post of data I downloaded (Intel's in this case). Don't remember more, but I used it to figure out how to hook up the HD mobo to an AC'97-style case (as appears to be your situation.)

http://support.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/sb/CS-020642.htm#ac97

If you want connect an AC?97 front panel audio system to HD onboard headers, try these steps:

1. Connect Mic_IN (MIC) to MIC2_L.
2. Connect Audio_R (RIN) to OUT2_R
3. Connect Audio_L (LIN) to OUT2_L.
4. MIC_RET and OUT_RET are for HD audio only; you don't need to connect them for AC'97 audio.


Pin Signal Name Description
1 PORT 1L Analog Port 1 - left channel (Microphone)
2 GND Ground
3 PORT 1R Analog Port 1 - right channel (Microphone)
4 PRESENCE# Active low signal that signals BIOS that an Intel HD Audio dongle is connected to the analog header. PRESENCE# = 0 when an Intel HD Audio dongle is connected
5 PORT 2R Analog Port 2 - right channel (Headphone)
6 SENSE1_RETURN Jack detection return for front panel (JACK1)
7 SENSE_SEND Jack detection sense line from the Intel HD Audio CODEC jack detection resistor network
8 KEY Connector Key
9 PORT 2L Analog Port 2 - left channel (Headphone)
10 SENSE2_RETURN Jack detection return for front panel (JACK2)

Note that to use earphones on the case connection without jack sensing and without disconnecting the speakers from the back, you need to check "Disable front panel jack detection" on the Audio I/O tab in the Realtek Audio Manager (icon in system tray). To find the option, click the little wrench icon to the right of "Analog Back Panel."

 

[WillyWanker]

Well it took some finagling, but I managed to get it working.

After you hook up the pins you need to go into the BIOS and set the front panel connectors from Auto to Enabled. Then in Windows you need to use the Realtek control panel and check "disable front jack detection". The headphone jack worked right away as soon as I set the BIOS to Enabled. I couldn't get the mic working until I checked "disable front jack detection".

Thanks for the help!