* ASUS A8N-SLI experiences/results/issues

[uenoparker]

Originally posted by: uenoparker
Thought I'd comment on my experience with A8N-SLI Deluxe and ATI X800 XT. They don't play well together. I tried the Catalyst 4.12 and 4.11 drivers for the X800, but get a black screen when the Windows desktop should display. DVI connector doesn't produce any signal. ATI Tech Support said that my problem seems similar to their support comment 4273, which refers to same symptom with AGP cards, and is fixed with an upgrade to the chipset. I've installed the latest Nvidia chipset software, but no dice. Seems like I'm out of luck until either Nvidia or Asus or ATI come out with new software.

Update: I was able to resolve this by disabling in BIOS (1003-002) all PEG and SLI options, and reinstalling the Catalyst 4.12 drivers.

------------------------------------
ASUS A8N-SLI DELUXE
Athlon 64 3500 (90nm)
512 mb x 4 Corsair Value Select VS512MB400R
WD Raptor 10K 74Gb
Maxtor SATA 7200 300 Gb 16Mb cache
NEC ND-3500A dual-layer DVD writer x 2, black
Sapphire Radeon X800 XT
SB Audigy 2 ZS
Antec Neopower 480W
Coolermaster Praetorian Mid-Tower, Black
Zalman 7000B-AlCu
WinXP Pro SP2
ViewSonic VP201b

 

[user1234]

glorfy, lowering the resolution takes out the gpu as a limiting factor for the frame rates in the test, but it's still is an effective test for the operation of all the other components in the system - not just the cpu. There are many factors - cpu to memory access speed and transfer rates, i/o bus speeds and latencies, and the sound subsystem. All these factors affect the real world performance, and the same results will be shown even for higher resolutions, just less pronounced because at higher resolutions the gpu is starting to become a limiting factor.
I believe that the onboard audio of the a8n-sli is a bottleneck which ruins performance, and if you check you'll see that pc-perspective used a separate sound card, so maybe tha't why their results show the performance inline with the competition. Of course, you could avoid this problem by getting a good gaming soundcard (=audigy). Also I heard that the msi nforce4 boards will have a sb-live audio onboard, so they might not have this problem.

 

[user1234]

Peoples, a new roundup review of 939 mobos has been just published at Tom's Hardware.

 

[SkyBum]

Originally posted by: uenoparker
Thought I'd comment on my experience with A8N-SLI Deluxe and ATI X800 XT. They don't play well together. I tried the Catalyst 4.12 and 4.11 drivers for the X800, but get a black screen when the Windows desktop should display. DVI connector doesn't produce any signal. ATI Tech Support said that my problem seems similar to their support comment 4273, which refers to same symptom with AGP cards, and is fixed with an upgrade to the chipset. I've installed the latest Nvidia chipset software, but no dice. Seems like I'm out of luck until either Nvidia or Asus or ATI come out with new software.

Update: I was able to resolve this by disabling in BIOS (1003-002) all PEG and SLI options, and reinstalling the Catalyst 4.12 drivers.
[/quote]


Having this same issue, thanks for the heads up.

 

[user1234]

Originally posted by: user1234
Peoples, a new roundup review of 939 mobos has been just published at Tom's Hardware.

The review includes nforce3 boards, nforce4 (incl asus, msi, gigabyte) and even a K8T890 board ! It looks good for a8n-sli.


Anouncement: This service has been brought to you courtesy of user1234, aka "Da User".

 

[bap4201]

Originally posted by: user1234

Originally posted by: user1234
Peoples, a new roundup review of 939 mobos has been just published at Tom's Hardware.

The review includes nforce3 boards, nforce4 (incl asus, msi, gigabyte) and even a K8T890 board ! It looks good for a8n-sli.


Anouncement: This service has been brought to you courtesy of user1234, aka "Da User".

Hey... GREAT FIND user1234! Thanks for posting that, I'm going to give it a full read right now!!
you really aren't a bad guy after all! (just kiddin) thanks!

 

[Arcuivie]

Originally posted by: bap4201

Originally posted by: Arcuivie
Do any of your boards run a bit hot too? Mine is running at about 37C, 40-41C load; this seems a bit high.

Also, does Asus Probe read the CPU Socket temp or the die?

if your using air, that't not bad at all! If you're using water, then that seems high. What are you using to determine temps?

My mobo is being cooled by air, CPU by water, but the temps I enquired about are my motherboard temps, not my CPU.

 

[spearsd]

I run about the same MB temps as you and Ive been fine. One strange thing I find is during idle times, my CPU temperature is sometimes LOWER than my MB temperature!

Asus Probe Screen Shot

-spearsd

 

[Arcuivie]

Same here, my idle temps are:

CPU - 27C
Mobo - 37-38C

I gotta slap some watercooling on it, hope it fits.

 

[glorfy]

I'm folding while I type and my temps are CPU 37 (water cooled), MB 35. Temps seem to have gone up since `003.005. User1234 - I don't believe in on board sound! I have audigy 2ZS, so wouldn't notice the problems either. While I understand what you are saying about memory and other factors, I would rather see them tested by other benvhmarks designed to test them - not low res 3D benches

 

[bap4201]

Hey guys....you GOT to check out this EXTREME Overclock of the A8N-SLI...check it out! LINK

 

[F4810]

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy
F4810

Sounds like you are trying all the right moves. It doesn,t sound like a problem with your ram.
Maybe CPU overheating? What are your temps? What type of heatsink/thermal paste?

I have a buddy who had a similar problem several months ago, and it turned out the heat sink wasn't properly seated, and he used too much thermal paste. On thermal paste like most instructions that I have read say, one dot 3/4 the size of a BB is the right amount. Most people have a hard time believing this is enough, and adopt the philosophy that more is better. (not in the case of thermal paste).

And about that drink? If you send me a R/T ticket from DFW intl to where you live, I might have to take you up on that! LOL

I am using the stock heatsink. I read that you could still overclock on these as the winchesters run cooler. In Asus probe it says my mobo runs at 41 and CPU 37 idle. At load mobo 41 CPU 45. This is at 1.4v vcore. When my vcore was 1.52 it was 46 and 47.

 

[Arcuivie]

Sometimes Probe can be misleading, since (at least on my old A7N8X Deluxe board) it reads from the CPU Sockett. I was reading 36, but when I went into Motherboard Monitor with my settings for my board, it read 56C Diode (Die), 36 Sockett.

Still not sure about the A8N board though.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Those temps look fine! Must not be the problem.

It seems strange to me, that you can't overclock your CPU or RAM independently. Its highly unlikely that you got a bunk CPU and RAM.

Have you disabled Cool n Quite in the bios?
Also what does ASUSprobe or other utilities show the voltage at on you 12v,5v,3.3v rails?

Although the Neopower is a great PSU, it could be undervolting

 

[BigHurt]

Originally posted by: Kovie

Originally posted by: BigHurt

Now is it worth the extra money to get the antec true550 with the 24pin connector, or just stay with the 20 pin adapter?
ZZF 24-pin $113
ZZF 20-pin $99

Thanks.

If you already have a 20 pin, then Id just keep it. If you are purchasing one anyways, get a 24 pin as you will probably need it if you ever want to run SLI.

Just a quick question that i think got skipped over, and you guys seem like the people who would know:

Are future boards going to be supporting the 24pin power suppplies or just these sli mobos?
Is 24pin going to be the new standard?

 

[jlambvo]

Originally posted by: Arcuivie
Same here, my idle temps are:

CPU - 27C
Mobo - 37-38C

I gotta slap some watercooling on it, hope it fits.

Zah? What on earth is wrong with those temps that you would need water cooling?? Mine is like 10C hotter than that, should I be freaking out? My Athlon XP system ran almost twice that for 3 years.

Or is it just bragging rights

 

[F4810]

Cool and quiet disabled.

Neopower 11.712, 4.95, 3.248.

I am thinking that it may be the mobo. I have an older PSU but its only 360 volts. I may try that to be sure. How would you know if the mobo was faulty? I suppose I would need another mobo to check my ram and CPU which I dont have to hand.

 

[F4810]

One stange thing. At stock Auto settings my mobo runs at HTT x4 and CPU at 2010Mhz. Even if I set FSB manually to 200 it still says 201 in windows. Is that normal?

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Those voltages are a bit low especially on the 12v rail(2.5% below 12). My Antec 550 true control reports as 11.968, 4.972, 3.312. I'm guessing this may be limiting your ability to O/C. Although I am no expert on power requirements.

I wonder what the other guys running this board with a Neopower are getting for readings? Jlambvo what does yours show for voltage reaidings?

 

[user1234]

you know, at some point it's time to finalize your overcloking efforts and just enjoy the system and use its capabilites. Overclocking is a means to maximize performance, not a goal in itself.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Originally posted by: F4810
One stange thing. At stock Auto settings my mobo runs at HTT x4 and CPU at 2010Mhz. Even if I set FSB manually to 200 it still says 201 in windows. Is that normal?

I have just read a report that claims some of the A8N's shipped with A02 silicon chipsets and not the new A03. The A02 limits HTT to 4x. You can tell which you have by clicking on the "mainboard" tab in CPU-Z
under "Rev." it will show A2 or A3. Mine is the A3

If yours is the A2, you may have to drop your HTT multi to 3x to acheive a better O/C

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Originally posted by: user1234
you know, at some point it's time to finalize your overcloking efforts and just enjoy the system and use its capabilites. Overclocking is a means to maximize performance, not a goal in itself.

ROFL!

I sure hope you get an nforce4 board soon!

p.s. Thanks for the link to Tom Hardware review, nice read!

 

[F4810]

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy

Originally posted by: F4810
One stange thing. At stock Auto settings my mobo runs at HTT x4 and CPU at 2010Mhz. Even if I set FSB manually to 200 it still says 201 in windows. Is that normal?

I have just read a report that claims some of the A8N's shipped with A02 silicon chipsets and not the new A03. The A02 limits HTT to 4x. You can tell which you have by clicking on the "mainboard" tab in CPU-Z
under "Rev." it will show A2 or A3. Mine is the A3

If yours is the A2, you may have to drop your HTT multi to 3x to acheive a better O/C

Mine is A3 too and HTT is at x3. Had some more info to give you but just had another look in my case and noticed that the SLI card is installed as Dual. It came out the box like this. I saw someone else posted this but said it didnt make a difference. I am gonna switch it to single and try to o/c just to be sure.

 

[glorfy]

My 12v on Neopower 480 was 11.58!

 

[user1234]

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy

Originally posted by: user1234
you know, at some point it's time to finalize your overcloking efforts and just enjoy the system and use its capabilites. Overclocking is a means to maximize performance, not a goal in itself.

ROFL!

I sure hope you get an nforce4 board soon!

p.s. Thanks for the link to Tom Hardware review, nice read!

I just ordered the a8n-sli from ZZF, hopefully I'll get it before the weekend (already have everything else - Antec Sonata w/380W PSU, eVGA 6600GT pci-e, 2x512MB PC3200 Kingston HyperX, A64 3000+ Winchester, 250GB Maxtor 7200 Ultra). btw, this will be the most expensive component in the system, but I reckon this board is not going to go below $150 anytime soon, so $200 for it now is not too bad).