Gigabyte GA-K8NS Pro

[codemaster]

thanks for all the posts on here most of them have been very helpful since i bought this M/B a few months ago, i just cant see what the problem with getting the memory to run at 200Mhz is mine done it straight away (well with a little testing here and there) but only took me 10 mins to get it to stick. I can push the HTT to x5 but sisoft sandra reports it as being beyond the chipsets max.

I dont know if this is the best i can get out of the setup i havent really pushed it that far but i have run Prime95 for 3 days and all is very stable , CPU rarely goes over 50C. Any advice on improving my performance would be very helpful thanks again.

Oh i found this ages ago to help me choose the right mem for this board i hope it can shed some light for those of you thinking of getting this M/B http://compatible.corsairmemory.com/
HTT x 4 , 2 x804Mhz (1608Mhz data rate) , Multiplier x12 , CPU V1.52 , Mem V 2.60 , Mem timings - 2.5-3-3-3CL 1CMD.
-------------------
Athlon 64 3400+
GA-K8NS Pro F8
2X 512mb Corsair Twin X XMS
ATI 9600 XT 256mb
200GB SATA Maxtor
Thermaltake 6000a Cooled

 

[GhosT 64]

My 2 sticks of memory are in sockets 1 & 3, so if anyone who's DDR400 memory is running @ 166mhz and haven't tried that configuration yet it *might* make a difference.

Obviously if you've got 3 sticks of memory then thats not going to apply!

 

[Rukkian]

Once I found the advanced to set the ram at 200 max, I have never had a problem with the ram running at full speed. I had 1 system crash at stock voltage with fsb and ram running at 245, so I lowered it a bit.

 

[TaiJohn]

Something strange happened.
Running F2 ram at 201 timings 2.5 4 4 8 Voltage +0.1 worked fine, ET4 gives no temps.

Update to F8, ram at 158.1 timings 2.0 3 3 7 Voltage +0.1 ET4 fully functional.
Update to F9, ram at 157.9 timings 2.0 3 3 7 Voltage +0.1 ET4 fully functional.

I go back to F2, but what happened i'm not able to set the ram to 200.
Ram timings 158.1 2.0 3 3 7 and ET4 fully functional.

Reason I updated to F8 is because of minor start-up problems, these seems to be solved with F8.

But why i can't set ram to 200 anymore I don't know.

 

[imported_Quagmire]

I upgraded From F6.....BIOS f9 seems to work fine.... but I have a big problems guys .... ok

I was gaming the other night and my power supply began to die... so the CPU fan stopped and caused and overheat and shutdown.... so I replaced it and now that when I play games it overheats after like 5 mins ( even purchased a new Heatsink)

my computer never went above 60º before this happened but now it gets there quickly ... what can I do guys... I'm so worried that My cpu is damaged... does Bios f8 lower the temp any ???:disgust:

 

[TaiJohn]

So I got my memV an extra 0.1V and now

Update to F9, ram at 201.1 timings 2.5 4 4 8 Voltage +0.2 ET4 fully functional.

So for my all works fine!!

 

[excalibur313]

I'm currently on my third of this motherboard : http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...?catid=27&threadid=1525619&STARTPAGE=1 and I can't figure out what is going on. Can anyone help me out?
Thanks,
Stephen

 

[Rageheart]

Sorry guy, no Idea....

the only reason it took me so long to answer in my computer got fried by lightning and I've been struggling with it since.


BTW: Bios update f10
http://tw.giga-byte.com/Motherboard/Support/BIOS/BIOS_GA-K8NS%20Pro.htm

 

[htt]

Flashed to F10 Bios. Very unstable. Xp shuts down while copying a file for no reason. I think while they fixed the problem of Gigaraid connection on IDE3 & 4, the memory module is affected. Gigaraid Bios has been updated to ver 1.71.

(I had problem of connecting 4 hds to Gigaraid. Only one hd will be recognized under F9. Coonect the second one on either IDE 3 or 4, got error ntldr missing.)

 

[Netopia]

Originally posted by: TaiJohn
Something strange happened.
Running F2 ram at 201 timings 2.5 4 4 8 Voltage +0.1 worked fine, ET4 gives no temps.

Update to F8, ram at 158.1 timings 2.0 3 3 7 Voltage +0.1 ET4 fully functional.
Update to F9, ram at 157.9 timings 2.0 3 3 7 Voltage +0.1 ET4 fully functional.

I go back to F2, but what happened i'm not able to set the ram to 200.
Ram timings 158.1 2.0 3 3 7 and ET4 fully functional.

Reason I updated to F8 is because of minor start-up problems, these seems to be solved with F8.

But why i can't set ram to 200 anymore I don't know.

Where are you guys seeing all the timings and such for RAM? I just bought this mobo and I can't see anything for memory except for voltage +.1 or +.2

Where are the rest of the settings you guys are seeing?

Joe

 

[Savarak]

Do not, I repeat, Do Not install F10 bios.

 

[Netopia]

I already did....

Can you tell me more about what I should/shouldn't do with this board?

I believe that as soon as I installed the F10 that my overclockability went down, but that my SATA/IDE stuff worked right.... and I've got a SATA drive hooked up as the #5 device in the standard CMOS settings as my boot drive.

Joe

 

[Bullman]

Hello all!

I am new this forum and I am perplexed at all the problems people seem to be having with the K8NS Pro.

My specs are:

GA-K8NS Pro (F9)
AMD Athlon 64, 2000 MHz (10 x 200) 3000+ (Newcastle S754)
6600GT graphics card

I have not attempted any overclocking on either the CPU, mobo or gfx card.

I have had problems with my system stuttering/freezing/locking up in WinXP (eg. at desktop or browsing web pages) and in 3D games. Only way out is to turn off PC at power switch or reboot. I first had this problem when I had 2x512MB RAM installed. I recall changing the Maxmemclock from 200Mhz to AUTO and the problem disappeared...for a few weeks. Then the problem returned. I tried using just one 512MB stick and the problem disappeared...for a few weeks then returned.
Occassionaly on boot up, the motherboard would give one long "beep" as well.

I have put my old GF4 Ti-4200 card in and all these problems disappear. This obviously leads me to belive the video card was perhaps faulty. I am now waiting on a replacement card and hope this type of problem will disappear.

However, now I can't seem to get my 2 x 512MB RAM working on my mobo. The system doesn't even get to BIOS.

With the one stick of 512MB, Everest tells me that:

Memory Timings
@ 200 MHz 3.0-4-4-8 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS)
@ 166 MHz 2.5-3-3-7 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS)
@ 133 MHz 2.0-3-3-6 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS)

In BIOS I have Max Memclock set at AUTO, and DDR Timing setting by AUTO. Enable 2T timing is also AUTO.

Because I have it all on AUTO, I thought I should have the most stable settings.

Can someone a bit more knowledgeable than me please tell me how I should go about configuring my system to at least get the 2 x 512MB RAM working?

How do you configure the RAM settings to suit the brand/type of RAM you have? The RAM I have is PQI brand.

Also, whats the best way/program to tell you accurate CPU/mobo temps while in WinXP? Everest is currently telling me that my mobo is 21degC and my CPU is 6degC!! Seems a bit low!!

Thanks for you help

Bullman

 

[Netopia]

Bullman,

I found that my board would only run two sticks if the two sticks were NOT populating DIMM Slot 1 and 2. All other combinations (1&3, 2&3) work perfectly. Don't know if that's the same with your board, but I figured I'd at least give you a heads up.

Joe

 

[Bullman]

Netopia,

Thanks for your advice. However I have tried it and it does not work.

I have tried
Slots 1&2 at 200MHz and 166Mhz Maxmemclock
Slots 1&3 at 200Mhz and 166Mhz Maxmemclock
Slots 2&3 at 200Mhz Maxmemclock

The PC either halts after displaying the graphics card info, sometimes rebooting itself thereafter, or long "beeps" are made with basically a blank screen.

It is quite a ridiculous situation when you have this much trouble just adding an extra stick of RAM to your motherboard.

What the *$% is going on here?

Bullman

 

[Netopia]

Are they two sticks of the same brand? Have you tried any other sticks to compare... just to see if the mobo is having compatibility problems with those particular brand/series?

Joe

 

[Bullman]

Umm...on the surface they have different brands, but take away the labelling and they are basically look identical.

One is "PQI" brand RAM. The other is labelled as "PH".

They look like they are from the same supplier (hence same looking board/chips etc) but different labeling.

I once did have both sticks in and working.

Bullman

 

[rogelio]

My mobo finally kicked the bucket. I suspected it was the memory controller (or rather, the flow of power to the memory controller) from the beginning. Had to do a DDR voltage bump with 2 sticks, wouldn't work with 2 sticks (only 1) ... then had to bump the voltage up again... and now it doesn't work at all with any sticks of RAM (I've tested the RAM, and the sticks themselves are fine). I also have a brand new Thermaltake 420W PSU, so that pretty much narrowed down the problem.

I RMA'd my board yesterday... it really sucks that Gigabyte doesn't have an advance-replacement service, since I now have to wait 3-4 weeks to get a motherboard and re-setup my PC.

**sigh**

 

[rogelio]

Bullman...

I HAD EXACTLY THE SAME PROBLEM!

The PC either halts after displaying the graphics card info, sometimes rebooting itself thereafter, or long "beeps" are made with basically a blank screen.

I was the first to purchase the K8NS Pro... except now mine doesn't work with ANY memory at all anymore.

 

[Bullman]

An update on the situation: I have tried two modules of another brand of RAM and the same problem exists.

Conclusion: Definitely motherboard based.

Discussion continued Here.

rogelio, sounds like you can help but I am sorry, I don't completely understand what happened to your motherboard.

Are you saying you initially had the "exact same problem" and suspected the memory controller? What BIOS were you running?
You then upped the DDR voltage in an attempt to fix the problem which (probably) led to the motherboard totally malfunctioning?
What does RMA'd mean (sorry, a bit slow here)?

Cheers

Bullman

 

[rogelio]

I had suspected from the beginning that there was some defect in the memory controller because of stability... I had to keep upping the voltage to the RAM... eventually it got to the point where it could only function with one stick before giving a posting error and freezing up in the bios (repeated beeps). Finally, it wouldn't even work with a single stick and +0.2v. I suspect that there's a flaw in the stability of the output of power to the memory sticks that has become increasingly worse over time... (maybe this is why they offer a higher-end version of the board, the GA-K8NNXP, with the DSPK8 for better power stability).

I tried every bios to get my PC running (including the newest F10)... but it would not boot into windows... repeated beeping memory error.

I don't think upping the votage caused the motherboard not to work... i think upping the voltage made it stable enough so that the RAM received a more consistent and ample supply of power... I think it was just a matter of time before it became so unstable that not even upping the voltage would help.

RMA stands for Returned Materials (or Merchandise) Authorization. The board is under a 3-year Gigabyte warranty... so I had to pull it out (which entailed having to yank out all my cards, cables, connectors, heatsink, and CPU)... and FedEx it to Gigabyte so they could either fix it (i hope they don't do this)... or simply send me a new board.

 

[Bullman]

Thanks for the explanation.

Can I ask if you can remember whether you could run you motherboard with one stick of memory in either Slot1, 2 or 3? I can only get mine to work with memory installed in Slot 1. This also seems very strange and indicative of either a hardware problem or just poor motherbaord design.

I too now am thinking of getting another motherboard that can support 2 x 512 DDR400 RAM. Looks like I will have to demand my money back and get a motherboard that can support 2 x 512MB DDR400 RAM.

As a side note, I tried benchmarking my system with 1 x 512MB DDR400 (or PC3200) RAM set at 200MHz Max Memclock using 3DMark03, 3DMark05 and PCMark04.

I got better scores with that configuration than when I installed 2 x 512MB PC3200 RAM with the Max Memclock set at 166MHz (effectively making the RAM run like it is PC2700 ,Sandra reports is as PC2700).

From what I have read, including the Kingston website (MUST READ THIS!), this motherboard just lacks the basic feature to support 2 x 512MB DDR400 at full speed (or more generally, more than 3 ranks of DDR400 memory).

The GA-K8NS Pro just seems to be a motherboard with severe limitations on the RAM configurations. Why would anyone want a motherboard like this that has this kind of memory compatibility limitation?

Otherwise not a bad motherboard.

Bullman

 

[rogelio]

A single stick of RAM must always be in Slot 1 (placing it in Slot 2 or 3 will result in a memory-test error beep)... when you use a second stick, you may place it in Slot 2 or Slot 3.

I agree about the memory limitations at running at DDR400 speeds... Gigabyte just seems to disregard this big issue.

In hindsight... I probably should have gone with MSI on this board... Gigabyte is usually more reliable; however, I think Gigabyte was sooo quick to be the first on the market with the nForce3 250 boards (they were available about a week before MSI)... that they probably didn't do enough testing and problem-hunting.

 

[jfrog]

I am also having problems with my K8NS-Ultra 939 and any RAM I try to run at 1T command rate. System becomes unstable in Prime95 and even BSOD's.

I should have bought the MSI K8N Neo2 in the first place...

 

[Stirland]

Motherboard: K8N-S Pro
CPU: Athlon 64 3000+
RAM: Generic 1GB DDR400 PC3200 (1 stick)
Graphics: GeForce FX5700LE
Standard 17" CRT Monitor
400W PSU

I can't get the system to even POST! (only have the above attached in the system).
When turning the pc on all I get from the monitor is "no signal - check cables" error and the system speaker just gives me a long loud beep that keeps repeating after every 3/4 seconds.

Monitor is ok - hooked it up with my laptop and it worked great.
Graphics Card is ok - placed it in my brothers pc and the system worked fine (along with the monitor - his card (GeForce FX5600Ultra wont work in my system either).

I figured that the board had had it or something, so I sent it back to the place where I bought it (eclipsecomputers) - they tested the CPU and board and said it was all ok, they said the reason it wouldn't post was perhaps to do with the RAM/something else.
They tested the mobo with a GeForce 4 MX440 and 256mb PC3200 RAM (in slot 1) and it was all ok.

I REALLY don't know what to do...tried putting the RAM in each of the different slots but no change.
The thing is, I really need this thing working, was building it for my sister who's starting a business course, but I work shifts so have been stuck trying to fix this/waiting for eclipse to be open for like 3 weeks now

I'm thinking that the memory I'm using may not be compatible seeing as its 'generic' and is a 1gb stick...I've read some of what you guys have written about the board having comptibility issues with RAM...The problem is that I don't see how I can lower the RAM speed or anything without being able to go into the BIOS...which I can't do.

Can anyone suggest some RAM that I could buy that would work? Or if there's anything else on the board that might be causing this issue?

Man, this thing is really getting to me, haha...seemed to have wasted £15 with P&P for the mobo + CPU to get checked out, then was charged £10 more because they were 'ok'...then I had to get some new thermal paste and cleaning kit because eclipsecomputers didn't bother cleaning the CPU/heatsink when they sent them back...really isn't my month this...please advise!