EPoX "EP-9NPA+Ultra" NVIDIA nForce4 ULTRA Chipset Motherboard

[tw1164]

Originally posted by: gate1975mlm
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-123-236&depa=1

I wonder how this board is?

What's the blue thing in the picture? Is that a bluetooth adapter?

 

[Avrojet]

I've been reading these forums for a while now and I've got a question of my own so I figured I'd register

I installed the newest BIOS for the 9NPA+ Ultra 9npa5804.bin

The only problem I have at the moment is that the Nvidia Ntune Monitoring Program (NVMonitor.exe) does not work anymore. It says "Your system does not have BIOS support to launch NVMonitor.exe". This is odd because it worked fine with the 6/29 BIOS.

Can anyone else with the 8/04 BIOS test the ntune monitor and see if the same problem occurs?
Here's a link to the download if you don't have it already: http://www.nvidia.com/object/ntune_2.05.09.html

Thanks

 

[rajs]

I am having the same issue ... with the 8/4/05 BIOS.

 

[Avrojet]

Strange that the support for nTune dissapeared...

Anyway, I was just testing and noticed something odd. If I set the RAM timing to 1T instead of 2T then the RAM clock is set to 166mhz instead of staying at 200mhz. I am running 2x 512mb of OCZ Platinum Rev2. I don't see why it does that because my ram should easily be able to handle it and I only have 2 modules installed. This happened with both the 6/29 and 8/4 BIOS versions. I've set it manually to 200 for now.

Anyone else have something similar?

 

[mdubrow]

I had that issue as well with the 6/29 BIOS and 2X 1GB of OCZ Platinum. I don't recall if I set the RAM manually to 200 mhz, but it no longer matters for me because I now have all 4 DIMMS occupied.

 

[MadScientist]

I was a little premature in praising this latest bios version. It turned nTune into nTune Lite. Like Avrojet when I set the ram timing to 1T it booted up but dropped the ram clock to 166mhz from 200mhz and changed timings from 2-3-3-8-11 to 2-3-3-7-10. I'm using 2 x 512mb of old Kingston HyperX PC3500. Wierd. I flashed back to the 3-22-05 version 05.03.22. Staying here and starting to overclock.

 

[RobbyG]

I'm also using the 03/22/05 Bios and my system has been rock solid. Sounds like the issues that you guys have been experiencing crept in with the first X2 Bios.

Have any of you guys emailed global Tech Support (support@epox.com.tw) to let them know about these problems?

 

[Jawo]

Anyone have trouble getting the USB drivers to work? I installed XP pro sp2 then did the routine that is specified, next the audio, and nforce drivers. Did I do something wrong? Windows device manager recognizes the usb ports now, but when I try to plug a device in, the device does not work.

 

[mdubrow]

Mine worked from the get-go (I have a USB keyboard), but I couldn't use my USB hub and USB floppy drive until I did a Windows Update and grabbed the non-critical software and hardware updates. I'm guessing I needed a few drivers that were part of those updates. I think the updates also got me USB 2.0 speeds, but I'm not 100% positive on that.

 

[NodeSpyder]

I have a question for everyone. I just recently bought the EP-9NPA+SLI version of this board and I can't get the Chassis and Power fans to spin down/up. They stay at a constant RPM. I'm trying to get the system board to spin them down via AMD's Cool'n'Quiet feature. But so far nothing. I've even tried the utility SpeedFan and it can't change these two fans RPMs. I know Cool'n'Quiet is working because the CPU fan spins down slightly and my CPU gets underclocked to 994Mhz (running a Athlon 64 3000+ Venice). Is anyone having similar problems on thier EP-9NPA+Ultra boards? Does anyone know what might be my problem or have any suggestions? According to the special features of both the +Ultra and the +SLI boards, from EpoX's website, they both "Support CPU, Chassis and Power FAN speed control."

I'm currently running the latest BIOS for the 9NPA+SLI board, have the K8 Cool'N'Quiet feature in the BIOS turned on, Windows XP Pro /SP1, latest nForce drivers, latest AMD Cool'n'Quiet drivers, and set Windows XP power settings to "Minial Power Management."

Thanks for any help you can provide.

 

[mdubrow]

Originally posted by: NodeSpyder

I have a question for everyone. I just recently bought the EP-9NPA+SLI version of this board and I can't get the Chassis and Power fans to spin down/up. They stay at a constant RPM. I'm trying to get the system board to spin them down via AMD's Cool'n'Quiet feature. But so far nothing. I've even tried the utility SpeedFan and it can't change these two fans RPMs. I know Cool'n'Quiet is working because the CPU fan spins down slightly and my CPU gets underclocked to 994Mhz (running a Athlon 64 3000+ Venice). Is anyone having similar problems on thier EP-9NPA+Ultra boards? Does anyone know what might be my problem or have any suggestions? According to the special features of both the +Ultra and the +SLI boards, from EpoX's website, they both "Support CPU, Chassis and Power FAN speed control."

I'm currently running the latest BIOS for the 9NPA+SLI board, have the K8 Cool'N'Quiet feature in the BIOS turned on, Windows XP Pro /SP1, latest nForce drivers, latest AMD Cool'n'Quiet drivers, and set Windows XP power settings to "Minial Power Management."

Thanks for any help you can provide.

First, to clear up a common misconception: AMD's Cool'n'Quiet feature means that when the CPU isn't flexing its muscles, the voltage automatically drops. It does NOT control the CPU fan or anything else (but the idea is lower voltage = lower temperature, which would allow you to turn down the fan speed).

There is a BIOS setting on the PC Health Status page to enable smart fan temperature (disabled by default). I have mine disabled, so I have no idea what this will do, but if you're brave would you mind enabling it and reporting the results?

 

[Jawo]

Originally posted by: mdubrow
Mine worked from the get-go (I have a USB keyboard), but I couldn't use my USB hub and USB floppy drive until I did a Windows Update and grabbed the non-critical software and hardware updates. I'm guessing I needed a few drivers that were part of those updates. I think the updates also got me USB 2.0 speeds, but I'm not 100% positive on that.

It looks like they have changed windows update. You can not select the updates you want, just selects the critical ones for you. I have the "Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller" and the "Standard OpenHCD USB Host Controller." I think that is usb 1.1, but am not sure. any suggestions on what I could do?

 

[imported_Husky55]

NodeSpyder, mdubrow

Smartfan is one of the great utilities of the Epox BIOS, it is under PC Health.

You first have to find out what your CPU temp at idle is. You can use Speedfan, I use Lavalys Everest 2.01 which under Sensors will show CPU temp and Fan speed if the fans are connected to the MB headers.

Let assume your CPU temp is 40 degree C, then you would set your Smartfan at 45C. What it does is to slow down the CPU fan, when under load your CPU temp will be higher than 45C, the fan will speed up to cool the CPU better. You get the idea. Smartfan also slows down or speeds up the chassis fan if it is connected to the MB. Essentially, the voltages are variable from 7-12V.


I am using the latest BIOS 5804.

 

[NodeSpyder]

I really appreciate the help. I?ve learned more reading the above two responses than I have from 3 days worth of e-mails from EpoX?s tech support.

Mdubrow:
Thanks for clearing up exactly how AMD?s Cool?n?Quiet works. As far as I can tell, Cool?n?Quiet is working correctly. My CPU does throttle down when it?s idle.

Husky55:
I believe your referring to the Smartfan feature in the BIOS. SpeedFan is a software utility that you install under your OS. It will allow you to manually control the RPM of the fans connected directly to the system board. I tried using this utility to see if I could change the speed of my fans, but it only worked for my CPU fan. It wouldn?t touch the Chassis and Power fans.

So, I tried playing with the different settings that Smartfan provides in the BIOS. After I booted back up into Windows, I did confirm that the CPU fan did spin down by about 50%. This would tell me that the Smartfan feature does work for the CPU fan header on the system board. Unfortunately, my other two fans, Chassis and Power, still did not spin down. These fans are connected to their respective fan headers on the system board as well. It seems that the Smartfan BIOS feature only affects the CPU fan header. Why is that? Is there another option in BIOS to tell Smartfan to affect all fans? In all the spec sheets I?ve read for the EpoX 9NPA+Ultra and the 9NPA+SLI (my board) they all state they both "Support CPU, Chassis and Power FAN speed control." Am I missing something here?

I did some more troubleshooting after playing with the BIOS unsuccessfully, and found out that EpoX recently released a utility called ThunderProbe. Nice little utility, seems like it does more than their USDM utility. According to the demo on their website, one of its features is regulating the fan speed smartly. The possible ways you can control them are by full speed, by temperature, by duty cycle, loading setting from BIOS, etc. After I installed and launched the utility, I went straight to the Fan Control tab. This opens a side window that shows your fans and their current RPM. Under this information, there should be a button labeled ?Smart Fan.? Mine is missing, of course. If it was there, you would be able to setup how you want your fans controlled via the options I mentioned above. Since this button was missing on my system, I?m starting to think that EpoX lied about the fan speed control features, there is an option I haven?t found and turned on yet, or my system board is bad. What does everyone else think? Anyone out there able to get fan speed control working on either their +Ultra or +Sli boards?

I hope that I?m not hijacking this thread by bringing up a problem for the 9NPA+Sli board. I figured since this board is so close to the +Ultra and there is no other dedicated, official thread for the +Sli board, someone might be able to help me here. If this should be in a separate thread, please let me know and I?ll create it. Again, thanks for anyone who has any ideas that might be able to help me. This is the last hurdle I have and I would really like to clear it. Thanks!

 

[mdubrow]

NodeSpyder,

I have to confess I'm not shocked by your findings. I have three fans connected to my Ultra's motherboard headers: the CPU fan, the power supply fan (information only, not drawing power from the mobo), and a side case fan (let's leave this fan out of the discussion because it's attached to the mobo via a Zalman Fanmate2, which may be interfering with the readings).

When I go into SpeedFan or Everest, the only fan that's spinning is the CPU fan. (I know the PSU fan is spinning because I can feel air moving. Plus I had the PSU in another system for a couple of months.) According to the software, all other fans are at 0 RPMs. Clearly, if the mobo can't even see the fans spinning, it's not going to be able to adjust their speeds.

Now, I'm not overly concerned about this because the loudest fan in my system is on the Northbridge, and the motherboard isn't varying its speed anyway, so making the other fans even quieter is not a priority for me at this point.

Sorry to be a wet blanket.

 

[SPQQKY]

I'm back to the md9n5525 beta BIOS as the 9npa5804 was preventing me from shutting down the system within windows. No matter how many times I clicked shut down, it wouldn't, even through task manager. Now it was running very well and this was the only quirk I had with it, but it is enough to make me switch back to a BIOS that has worked flawlessly for me in the past.

 

[ShazK]

Wait, so I'm not the only one whose RAM went to 166MHZ when they set it to 1T.. bah, should I flash back?

 

[MadMax]

Poll: Which NForce Platform drivers are you using?

I paired this board with an X2 CPU and 1GB of OCZ PC3200 Gold, 2-2-2-5 and I have had lots of issues with this board.

I'm currently using the 9npa5629 BIOS and the 6.37 platform drivers (came on the bundled CD).
At first I tried the 6.66 platform drivers, but they were flaky. Should I "upgrade" to the 6.39 or 6.53 drivers from Nvidia's website?

The most annoying issue right now is that the system hangs when I try to Switch Users within Windows XP-Pro (32bit)

MadMax

 

[Jawo]

Ok, the usb ports are being recognized in the device manager, but not devices are being recognized when plugged in. I then installed a usb 2.0 /firewire pci card, and the card works fine, without having to install drivers.

What is happening here? I selected load optimal defaults in the bios.

 

[MadMax]

Jawo,

I haven't had any trouble with my USB ports, and I just checked my settings. My Device Manager lists these devices under USB Controllers:

"Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller", driver version is 5.1.2600.0 by Microsoft
"Standard OpenHCD USB Host Controller", version 5.1.2600.2180
and also lists "USB Root Hub" twice, both are driver version 5.1.2600.2180

If I select the first USB Root Hub, then the "Power" tab, I can see the devices connected to it (HP Photosmart 7350, and XFX Game Controller).
Can you see your connected devices here?

I hope this helps you out.

MadMax

 

[Jawo]

Originally posted by: MadMax
Jawo,

I haven't had any trouble with my USB ports, and I just checked my settings. My Device Manager lists these devices under USB Controllers:

"Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller", driver version is 5.1.2600.0 by Microsoft
"Standard OpenHCD USB Host Controller", version 5.1.2600.2180
and also lists "USB Root Hub" twice, both are driver version 5.1.2600.2180

If I select the first USB Root Hub, then the "Power" tab, I can see the devices connected to it (HP Photosmart 7350, and XFX Game Controller).
Can you see your connected devices here?

I hope this helps you out.

MadMax

Thanks...checked out eveything that you have listed and it is identical....I can see the items I have plugged into my pci card, but can not see what devices I have plugged into the ports on the motherboard.

I have never seen this before....should I consider an RMA?

 

[MadMax]

Possibly. Do you know if you're getting power to your USB ports? Maybe if you have a lighted USB flash drive, you can plug it in just to see if you're getting the +5volts. Double check your BIOS to make sure they are enabled (you probably have already, but you never know...) And check Device Manager as well, to make sure they are not disabled.

It still seems like Windows is the culprit to me, though. Anyone know if Knoppix could see the ports?

MadMax

 

[Jawo]

Have already check to make sure that usb 2.0 is enabled in the bios. I have been using a flash drive as my primary test device, because it lights up when it gets power. The usb ports on the Mobo do not recognize anything! I have tried flash drives, external HDD's, mice, a fan....all work when plugged into the pci card, but not when directly plugged into the mobo.

Windows could be the culprit....wouldnt suprise me in the least.....but if I need to reformat...I need to know soon before I install vs.net 2k3......(very long install)

 

[WildViper]

I just got ordered the Ultra board with a AMD X2 3800+ chip. Will the latest bios upgrade be all I need to do for the X2??

Not overclocking at all.

 

[SPQQKY]

Originally posted by: Jawo
Have already check to make sure that usb 2.0 is enabled in the bios. I have been using a flash drive as my primary test device, because it lights up when it gets power. The usb ports on the Mobo do not recognize anything! I have tried flash drives, external HDD's, mice, a fan....all work when plugged into the pci card, but not when directly plugged into the mobo.

Windows could be the culprit....wouldnt suprise me in the least.....but if I need to reformat...I need to know soon before I install vs.net 2k3......(very long install)

I remember I had a similar situation. There was nothing wrong with the USB ports, but a glitch with winblows. I don't remember if I did a repair or fresh install, but it fixed the problem.

Originally posted by: WildViper
I just got ordered the Ultra board with a AMD X2 3800+ chip. Will the latest bios upgrade be all I need to do for the X2??

Not overclocking at all.

Use the 9npa5629 BIOS, or the latest (though I had problems with shut down with the latest). Other than that, you should be okay. The stock BIOS should be fine for your chip, though.