Originally posted by: pantner
ok, the Nvidia SATA thing i know nothing about...im using 2x200GB on the Silicon 3512 controller (very good!)
I have never tried running all four dimms before...thats why i said apparently in my post, (thats just wat i have heard)
i haven't had ANY problems at all with EasyTune4...i used it quite alot about a month ago (when i was trying to overclock, and didn't have much luck), and while it did hang once or twice, it never came up with those erros...
For the temp and asking for you to change your HSF, in my opinion is a good idea....if it does change then its sorta like a calibration error, and the board can be fixed with a BIOS flash.....if it doesn't change, then the temp probe is faulty....
I'm running the following for IDE devices:
Two 72GB WD Raptor HD's off of the nVidia PHY SATA Controller
Two 120GB WD Special Edition HD's off of the SilImage controller, using two PATA to SATA adapters. Set up as RAID1 (mirror)
One Lite-on DVD-ROM off of the Primary PATA IDE controller
One Plextor 8X DVD writer off of the Secondary PATA IDE controller
You should have seen me pull my hair out when I couldn't figure out why I could see activity off of my RAID mirror and DVD drives, but not off of the nvidia SATA controller. An e-mail from Gigabyte, and a post from another K8NSNXP-939 owner confirmed that it wasn't a broken board on my part.
What version of EasyTune4 are you running (go to C:\Program Files\Gigabyte\Gigabyte Windows Utility Manager\ET4, and then look at the file properties to find it)? I even tried the latest version downloadable from their site. Both of them give me errors. Do me a favor. Open up EasyTune4 and try to open the voltage/temp monitor (it's the uppermost red circle on the left of the "LCD" readout of the CPU speed). Using the version that came with my 7NNXP, I can go in and play with the HT speed, but I can't bring up the voltage or temp display. The one I downloaded is version B04.072101. The one I currently have installed is v1.0.0.1. I don't think the version numbers are correct though...
I don't beleive that replacing my waterblock for a HSF is a valid proposition for them to suggest. To me, it sounds like a "feel good" tactic that some of us in IT like to have end-users do (which for the record, I NEVER do to the users I help). To me, that answer signifies that they KNOW there's an issue, but they don't want to tell me what they think the problem is. This way, they stall for time while they fix the problem. Stuff like that goes up my butt. Palm, Inc is currently on my "crap" list for doing this to me this week with an Outlook 2k3 sync problem.
Here's a cut n' paste of the e-mail I sent to Gigabyte (along with their reply):
Answer - 95826
Answer : Hi,
1) hdd led is only for ide hdd and will not work for sata hdd
2) ET4 isn't supported by this motherboard.
3) please try a retail HSF and see if the temp. reads at the same temperature.
Thank you
*********************************
Question - 95826
From : xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent : 2004/8/17 03:55
Question : Three questions really.
1) Whenever there is IDE activity on the nForce3 intergrated SATA controller, the IDE activity LED does not light. If I access the hard drives on the intergrated Silicon Image controller, the LED will light up. Is this normal? Is there a way to make the IDE LED show activity on the nVidia SATA controller?
2) EasyTune 4 will not operate correctly. I upgraded from a 7NNXP (which EasyTune 4 worked fine on). When I uninstalled the old version of EasyTune, and then installed the version of EasyTune for the K8NSNXP-939 that came on the support CD, the program shows error as it is starting up about not being able to read certain functions of the motherboard. The program will eventually start, but I cannot check the CPU temperature. Is there a way to correct this?
3) I noticed that the CPU temperature is incorrect by a large margin. Under 100% CPU utilization, in the thermal monitor in the BIOS, my CPU temperature shows as being about 57F / 14C. Although I am watercooling my PC, my room temperature is nowhere near this low. My guess is that the BIOS is mis-reading the thermal diode on the CPU. Is there a way to correct this?
Thank you for your time,
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Model Name : K8NSNXP-939
--------------------------
M/B Rev : 1.0
BIOS Ver : F3
Serial No. :
Purchase Dealer :
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VGA Brand : ATi Model : 9800 Pro
CPU Brand : AMD Model : Athlon 64 Speed : 3800+
Operation System : Win XP SP : 2
Memory Brand : Corsair Type : DDR
Memory Size : 2GB Speed : DDR400
Power Supply : 550 W
Server grade PSU. Capable of outputting 36A on all power rails.
I'm starting to wonder if I have a beta version of the F3 BIOS on my system. I just might re-flash my BIOS's to see if it allows me to use all four DIMMs at DDR400, and if it corrects the EasyTune issue. By the way Panter, please accept my apology if I sound irate with you. I'm really not upset with YOU. I'm just really irked by all of this. After spending $220 on the board, $700 on the processor, $480 for two 1GB sticks of RAM, and $500 for two HD's, I feel like I got burnt by Gigabyte and AMD. I can go out right now and buy an LGA775 based system that will work with all four DIMM slots occupied at DDR400. Granted, the intergrated controller on the A64 still works plenty fast at DDR333, but it's the point that I paid top dollar for this performance, and it won't run at that speed because of some quirk that neither Gigabyte will fess up to, and AMD gives me a conflicting answer on. I posted this question on AMD's forums, and I was told that it's up to the motherboard manufacturer to adhere to AMD's specs for it to work. Who's right? Who's wrong? Tune in next time as the microprocessor turns! :brokenheart: :laugh:
Here's a cut n' paste about running four DIMMs in the board. I love the brush off I get in the end (reverse chronological order)
Answer - 97782
Answer : Hi,
For more information please contact AMD on the reason for more on the memory is downclock to 333 when there are 4 sticks are installed.
Thank you
*****************************
Question - 97782
From : xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent : 2004/8/21 07:01
Question : Hello,
I am aware that the memory controller is intergrated into the processor.
I have tried using two dimms only (both brands, and also mixing the brands). With only two, it will work in DDR400 mode. When all four DIMM slots are populated, the memory runs at DDR333.
As of this moment, I do not have four sticks of the same brand of memory. Tomorrow I was going to purchase two more sticks of Corsair memory, but I do not beleive that this will resolve the issue.
******************************
Answer - 97382
Answer : Hi,
Please note that the memory controller is integrated within the processor. With 2 sticks does it run properly, or it only applies to 4 sticks of memory?
Also have you tried using all 4 sticks of the same brand instead of 2 different manufacture.
Thank you
Question - 97382
From : xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent : 2004/8/20 11:03
Question : I have all four DIMM slots populated on my K8NSNXP-939. When populating either bank, the RAM will run at 200Mhz (DDR400). If I populate all four DIMM slots, the RAM will only run at 166Mhz (DDR333).
If I change the RAM Mhz limit in the BIOS from AUTO to 200Mhz, the motherboard will not POST.
My RAM consists of the following:
2 512MB Corsair TwinX1024 PC3200 DIMM modules.
2 512MB GEIL PC3200 DIMM modules.
It does not matter which DIMM banks the RAM modules are placed into, or if I manually set the timings for the RAM in the BIOS. I can mix one Corsair and one GEIL DIMM in the same bank, and the motherboard will work at DDR400 speed, as long as only TWO DIMMs are inserted into the DIMM sockets at any given time. Having all four DIMM modules populated forces the memory bus into 166Mhz operation.
Is this a bug/limitation in the BIOS, a limitation because I am not running RAM from the same manufacturer in all the DIMM slots, or is this by design?
Thank you,
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Model Name : K8NSNXP-939
--------------------------
M/B Rev : 1.0
BIOS Ver : F3
Serial No. :
Purchase Dealer :
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VGA Brand : ATi Model : 9800 Pro
CPU Brand : AMD Model : Athlon64 Speed : 3800+
Operation System : Win XP SP : 2
Memory Brand : Corsair Type : DDR
Memory Size : 2GB Speed : DDR400
Power Supply : 550 W
Unfortunately, I don't have an e-mail record of the conversation I had with an AMD tech support rep on the phone. Her name was Lisa, and she's the one who told me that it's SUPPOSED to run only at DDR333 with all four DIMMs populated.