EVGA NF4 SLI (NF41-AX) report

[headless]

hey guys. I have this board running a Venice 3200+ @ 2.7ghz currently, RAM is running @ 183mhz 2-2-2-5-1T (Corsair XMS 3200LL - 2225-1T @ 200/2.6v) while i figure out what the cause of instability @ 2.75ghz is. I actually had it prime stable 18+ hours @ 2763 with RAM @ 229mhz 2-3-2-2T... This board isn't bad considering the freebie with a great video card. Voltage options are excellent (3.25vdimm!)...can o/c northbridge to 1.7v, LDT goes to 1.3v if i recall correctly.

I also had issues with the stock holdown for the CPU heatsink and uses some nuts/bolts on it. It seemed to seat at the same height as the previous holdown. I'm using an XP-120 on my setup; the heatpipes coming out of the heatsink touch the DIMM in slot3. It would be impossible to fit a DIMM in slot4 w/ the 120.

The fellows on the eVGA forums discovered that the Jetway temp/voltage monitor appears to work for this board -- you can get it @ http://www.jetway.com.tw/evisn/download/driver/index-4.htm -- "nf4_myguard.zip"

It reports my temps @ 46c idle, 66c under load on my 3200+ so i'd be very interested to get some temp reports from other people to see if these are accurate (if so i'm gonna be re-applying my heatsink tonight!)

FYI, i have an issue with my board not saving it's multiplier setting and voltage setting across reboots... there's a BIOS up on jetway's site from 07/17 that lists that exact issue as a fix but i haven't got the balls to try and flash my board to it...

 

[acroig]

Headless, MichaelD and myself seem to have been spreading the news everywhere! LOL! We're at the Hard Forum, EVGA Forum and here as well.

 

[Pabster]

What did you expect for a "free" motherboard. LOL

And people thought ECS was garbage

 

[headless]

Actually, for a free motherboard, i'm quite impressed. It's running 275FSB stable where my A8V which cost me 135$ could not go above 145. My XP120 fits without a problem, even though there are some massive heatsinks on the power mosfets on this thing... One bios update that fixed losing multiplier/voltage settings on reboot would put me at the 'very happy' status If that update also allowed me to permanently disable the logo...hey i'd be ecstatic. I spend 0$ on it, and i got a board that is running all my games at very nice speeds. I'm not so sure my 3200+ would get much above the 2.75ghz i've got it to anyway, even on another board... And i really like the LCD for diagnosing boot issues. Having built 3 or 4 boxes on ECS boards i'd say this is well above what i had come to expect from ECS

 

[acroig]

Originally posted by: headless
Actually, for a free motherboard, i'm quite impressed. It's running 275FSB stable where my A8V which cost me 135$ could not go above 145. My XP120 fits without a problem, even though there are some massive heatsinks on the power mosfets on this thing... One bios update that fixed losing multiplier/voltage settings on reboot would put me at the 'very happy' status If that update also allowed me to permanently disable the logo...hey i'd be ecstatic. I spend 0$ on it, and i got a board that is running all my games at very nice speeds. I'm not so sure my 3200+ would get much above the 2.75ghz i've got it to anyway, even on another board... And i really like the LCD for diagnosing boot issues. Having built 3 or 4 boxes on ECS boards i'd say this is well above what i had come to expect from ECS

Agreed on all points. Great value for the money ($0.00)

 

[MichaelD]

@Headless

THANK YOU for posting the link to the Jetway monitoring program!! I'll try that as soon as I get home tonight.

It should work...NF4 is NF4 and Jetway makes the EVGA board anyway!

I'm not sure if it's my board only, or if there's a bios issue AFA memory compatibility goes. It's running great with 2x512MB Patriot LLK and I have 2x1GB sticks of Corsair CAS3.0 PC3200 on the way.

/crossing fingers the Corsair sticks work.

***!!!***
BTW, has anyone noticed any network issues? I.E. really slow response when accessing the web?
I have four PCs on a KVM. On the other 3 PCs, all web pages open quickly (snaps fingers) but on the EVGA board, it takes a few seconds...sometimes longer. I've checked my settings and it's using the Autonegotiation. I even tried a different LAN cable. No change.

I'm running the latest NVidia unified driver (6.66). What drivers are you guys using?

Also BTW: This board is not garbage. It's actually pretty nice. Great layout and the performance so far is pretty good; I've not tried overclocking yet. The board DOES need a bios update, IMO, to fix a few niggles. BUT with the voltage options/overclocking options that are available on it, it's obviously a good enthusiast's board...it just needs a bios update.

 

[acroig]

Originally posted by: MichaelD
@Headless

THANK YOU for posting the link to the Jetway monitoring program!! I'll try that as soon as I get home tonight.

It should work...NF4 is NF4 and Jetway makes the EVGA board anyway!

I'm not sure if it's my board only, or if there's a bios issue AFA memory compatibility goes. It's running great with 2x512MB Patriot LLK and I have 2x1GB sticks of Corsair CAS3.0 PC3200 on the way.

/crossing fingers the Corsair sticks work.

***!!!***
BTW, has anyone noticed any network issues? I.E. really slow response when accessing the web?
I have four PCs on a KVM. On the other 3 PCs, all web pages open quickly (snaps fingers) but on the EVGA board, it takes a few seconds...sometimes longer. I've checked my settings and it's using the Autonegotiation. I even tried a different LAN cable. No change.

I'm running the latest NVidia unified driver (6.66). What drivers are you guys using?

Also BTW: This board is not garbage. It's actually pretty nice. Great layout and the performance so far is pretty good; I've not tried overclocking yet. The board DOES need a bios update, IMO, to fix a few niggles. BUT with the voltage options/overclocking options that are available on it, it's obviously a good enthusiast's board...it just needs a bios update.

No pbroblem with network access here. However, I chose to install the evga 6.66 drivers. Doubt it would make a difference.

 

[headless]

2nd'd -- no issues with network speeds here, but i too installed the evga drivers from the CD..

 

[MichaelD]

Interesting. This is my first NF4 board; but I've worked with tens of NF2 boards and have always just used whatever the latest Unified driver NVIDIA had out there on the web.

Maybe I should uninstall NVidia's and try the ones on the CD? I'm having NO other driver-related issues. Everything works.

BTW, I found that the Nvidia firewall and Symantec Firewall do not play well together. I uninstalled the Nvidia one.

 

[headless]

Symantecs firewall doesnt play well with anything. Trash IMHO I would've gone with nvidia's first hehe

 

[MichaelD]

Well, I've had no probs w/it, aside from the inital configuration headaches; which can be solved by exporting the configuration once you've got it the way you like it. That helps w/subsequent builds.

Also, I run a domain at home and have an AV/Firewall server managing all the clients. Much easier that way. Everything updates automagically.

 

[MichaelD]

The MYGUARD monitoring software works like a champ!!! Full-featured too...I've already found that you can customize the message that scrolls across the bottom of the display. Go into the configuration settings and towards the bottom you will see Message1=MyGuard. Change the text.

 

[John]

One thing that Michael and I have discussed is the image tearing & flashing screen on the 2nd boot screen. It appears to happen at random intervals and is only cosmetic. However it is very annoying.

One thing I've also noticed is that with certain USB devices connected the boot time was extended. It literally added 1 min from the time you powered up the system to get to the Windows splash screen. Once I went into the bios and changed the USB devices > Shadow setting to the other option (use 512k or something to that effect....) it solved the boot issue.

 

[zeppelinfr34k]

Has anyone tried flashing this motherboard with the Jetway bios, since they seem to be identical? I've been looking at getting a 7800gt and I would need a PCIe motherboard, but if this one isn't worth it I'd rather just buy the non-SLI MSI k8-neo.

Also, although I can't find this offer on any vendor websites, it is still available on the eVGA website (it will add the motherboard to your cart if you add a GT or GTX).

 

[ncasebee]

If this is the same board that Anandtech just got done reviewing.....the JetWay 939GT4...I see no reason to NOT get this board. The board is near the top...if not at it...and overclocks very very well. I don't see any reason to not get this board. I think it would serve me well, especially with the great bargain going on right now.

 

[MichaelD]

This exact question was asked in the EVGA forums and the Admin there specifically said not to do it.

Link!

EVGA realized they have a monster on their hands (in a good way ) and they seem to be working on things. I don't think they realized that the board was going to take off in the way it has/about to.

 

[zeppelinfr34k]

I saw that after I posted here, but I was thinking that it could just be because eVGA only wants people to use their BIOS, since it would make them look pretty bad if everyone preferred the BIOS of a company that's relatively small compared to them. I was just hoping someone else would try it so I wouldn't have to .

 

[ncasebee]

It would be awesome if someone tried it. Anyone know if it's been done?

The EVGA board doesn't have two bios banks does it? I would attempt it on the second bank in a heart beat. I'm almost thinking of trying it, when I get the board. There is little reason why it shouldn't work. People are most certain it's just a rebranded Jetway 939. Is this the same board as the Jetway 939? Thx

 

[acroig]

Originally posted by: MichaelD
The MYGUARD monitoring software works like a champ!!! Full-featured too...I've already found that you can customize the message that scrolls across the bottom of the display. Go into the configuration settings and towards the bottom you will see Message1=MyGuard. Change the text.

Michael:

I can't find where in MyGuard I can change the text, can you tell me where the configuration screen is? Thanks!

 

[silentvois]

Anyone try this board with an X2 yet?

 

[woodscomp]

Originally posted by: MichaelD
I purchased the EVGA NF4/7800GTX combo from Newegg. I also purchased 2GB (4x512MB) sticks (2 x 1GB kits) of Patriot PC3200 XBLK...the "good stuff."

The board wouldn't boot with all four sticks in. So I took two out, leaving just two slots (dual channel) filled.

Wouldn't boot. Cleared CMOS. Would't boot. Took one stick out, leaving one. It boots. I go in and set everything to defaults and reboot. Wouldn't boot. Tried again and it booted. Shut it down, put in second stick for dual channel and it wouldn't boot.

I tried ALL combinations of different sticks (all four are identical) and only 1 out of 10 times would it boot with one stick.

So, I grab my 2 x 512MB sticks of Patriot LLK PC3200 (the cheaper stuff). It boots dual channel, single channel, sticks swapped to any memory slots. :roll:

This board does NOT like memory w/tight SPD timings.

I'm installing WinXP now. What sucks is that now I have to take it in the shorts w/a 15% restocking fee at Newegg. They will say "It's not our fault that you chose the wrong memory." I guess they are right.

I have no idea how to set this board up. The manual is a POS. The driver CD that comes with it has all the BIOS post codes (boards' got the LED post code dispaly ala Epox) which is neat. The CD also has a "BIOS Settings" PDF which kinda explains things...I'll have to read the whole thing.

I guess I'll just get Windows loaded and see what happens from there.

One thing I really DON'T like about the MB is that you cannot diable the "EVGA" splash screen at boot; it hides the info about the CPU/memory. I don't even know at this point if both cores of this X2 CPU are functioning, nor at what speed!

I only have the 24-pin and square 4-pin connectors in. The 12v Molex by the PCI-E slots is labeled "SLI 12v connector." The manual says nothing about it. The three PCI-E slots are clearly labeled "SLI" "SINGLE" "SLI" I'm using the single blue slot in the middle instead of the two yellow connectors to either side. Seems to be running fine.

BBL.

Your problem is not in the motherboard but you have some bad memory.

 

[ncasebee]

Ordered mine today in the EVGA bundle. I will report when it gets to me. I'm very excited.

 

[acroig]

Originally posted by: ncasebee
Ordered mine today in the EVGA bundle. I will report when it gets to me. I'm very excited.

FYI you may also want to see this thread at HardOCP. New (unofficial) BIOS linked to.

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1028159505#post1028159505

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: acroig

Originally posted by: MichaelD
The MYGUARD monitoring software works like a champ!!! Full-featured too...I've already found that you can customize the message that scrolls across the bottom of the display. Go into the configuration settings and towards the bottom you will see Message1=MyGuard. Change the text.

Michael:

I can't find where in MyGuard I can change the text, can you tell me where the configuration screen is? Thanks!

Sorry it took so long to get back to you. Here's a screenie. Note the path. Scroll down towards the end and you'll see the "Message1" .txt file.

Text

 

[MichaelD]

BTW, I'm now running stably w/2GB of memory.

I purchased two, 1GB sticks of this Crucial memory. and it works great! Booted up the first time and I've had no issues with Benchmarking or Gaming...or both at once. (I :heart: U, X2!)