*** Official ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe (nForce4) Thread ***

[cyto]

Originally posted by: runestone
http://www.thermalright.com/a_...therboard_xp120_k8.htm
Shows xp 120 heatsink as compatible. It's tight though.

Cool. I checked their site a few times and it had not been tested. The tech support guy said he thought it should fit.

 

[GooN3r]

I have a few questions about the Asus A8N-Sli motherboard.

1. I have an Antec True Blue 480w PSU, will this be sufficient. I have read a lot of articles about the A8N needing a 24pin connection, is my PSU good enough?

2. I have also ordered 2x WD Raptors which I intend to setup in a RAID 0 array. Do I need a floppy drive to do this?

3. Which SATA controller is better, Silicon Image SATA controller or the nForce4 SLI?s built in SATA?

 

[imported_caero]

Lo and behold. There was a Asus A8N-Sli Deluxe motherboard under the christmas tree for me this evening!!

Thank you santa!

And a merry christmas to everyone on anandtech!

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Originally posted by: GooN3r
I have a few questions about the Asus A8N-Sli motherboard.

1. I have an Antec True Blue 480w PSU, will this be sufficient. I have read a lot of articles about the A8N needing a 24pin connection, is my PSU good enough?

2. I have also ordered 2x WD Raptors which I intend to setup in a RAID 0 array. Do I need a floppy drive to do this?

3. Which SATA controller is better, Silicon Image SATA controller or the nForce4 SLI?s built in SATA?

1. You can use a quality 20pin PS, they work perfectly on this board, you just leave the four pins nearest the graphics card open. They are redundant(extra) leads for the 3v,5v,12v rails and an extra ground.
I am running this board with a 20pin Antec true control 550 w/30a 12v rail, it has been rock solid so far. I have 2 optical drives, 1 250gb ATA drive, 2 SATA raptors (w/2 fans on each) RAID0, and 1 XFX 6600GT
My winchester 3200+ is clocked @ htt 267.4 x 9.5 = 2541.8mhz 4x multi @ 1067 fsb

2. Yes, you can boot the system to the mobo CD and create the diskette, but you do need a floppy to set up a raid array. Windows won't load the required drivers from CD. And there are two drivers created on the diskette, make sure to load both. You have to load the first one, hit S again and load the second one.

3. I'm using the nforce4, I think the performance will be better on the native nforce4 controller.
Unless you want to use the software RAID5 capabilities (only available on the Silicon chip).

 

[user1234]

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy

Yes set the RAM speed to auto!, it will automatically run your ram async once you push the FSB over 217.

If you set the RAM speed manually it will boot at DDR400(9x200) DDR466(9x233) DDR500(9x250), and will keep your RAM 1:1 as you raise the FSB. The ram your using will determine how high you can run 1:1 with FSB. And as you increase your ram over 200 you will have to increase your ram volts.

I've found that this board seems to lock the max CPU voltage @ 1.52 for winchesters. You can set it higher in bios, but when you boot up CPU-Z and AI booster both show 1.50-1.52. So it appears this board won't let you overvolt your winchester past this point. I have mine set at 1.55

I have a 3200+ and am currently running 268 x 9.5 = 2542mhz
RAM AUTO @ 170mhz 2-2-2-5
I can also run Prime95 stable @ 281 x 9 = 2528mhz
I can run everything all day long except Prime95(errors in 20-30min) @ 2601mhz

Your 3000+ may be able to do similar with the volts maxed. You should easily get 265 x 9 = 2385mhz

Why is your RAM runnig so slowly @170mhz ? This seems to be the result of a low divider (~3:2), possibly because your AUTO setting does not want to choose an overclocked setting, such as 5:6 which would make your ram run at ~220mhz (for HTT of 268mhz).

 

[vlad4]

Hi all! Getting ready to install my A8N-SLI w/ two XFX 6800GTs. I ran acreoos this thread while backing up my files.

Seeing the interest and questions on the Thermalright XP-120, I thought I'd snap a few fast pics for you all to review....

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I tried to get every angle, hopefully these will be informative. The heatsink will only really fit one way without blocking the RAM slots. The only concern that I have is that the base section that covers the actual area of the processor has a section that is not covered with the actual fins of the heatsink. It's rather difficult for me to put into words, so here are a few more photos...

Concern 1

Concern 2

 

[runestone]

Thanks Vlad, good pics. I was concerned about that overhang too. Guess I'll find out tomorrow if it makes any difference when I hopefully will have the board up and running. Hope you post some results back.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Originally posted by: user1234

Why is your RAM runnig so slowly @170mhz ? This seems to be the result of a low divider (~3:2), possibly because your AUTO setting does not want to choose an overclocked setting, such as 5:6 which would make your ram run at ~220mhz (for HTT of 268mhz).

You are correct! In the auto mode the board keeps appling lower dividers as you FSB goes up. Keeping your RAM @ 217mhz or lower. But when you manually set the RAM clock it will always run memory 1:1 and never apply a divider.

The lack of control over the memory dividers is the only thing I don't like about this board.

 

[user1234]

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy

Originally posted by: user1234

Why is your RAM runnig so slowly @170mhz ? This seems to be the result of a low divider (~3:2), possibly because your AUTO setting does not want to choose an overclocked setting, such as 5:6 which would make your ram run at ~220mhz (for HTT of 268mhz).

You are correct! In the auto mode the board keeps appling lower dividers as you FSB goes up. Keeping your RAM @ 217mhz or lower. But when you manually set the RAM clock it will always run memory 1:1 and never apply a divider.

The lack of control over the memory dividers is the only thing I don't like about this board.

that would be a major flaw to overclockers. we'll have to look for other sli mobos

 

[AlexBmur]

Originally posted by: milo29k
is this board be compatible with 2x512mb kingston hyperX pc3200? does anyone have it? how does it run? etc

It works great. I have 2 sticks of Kingston HyperX PC3200 ram in running at 2-3-2-6 and it is rock solid.

 

[user1234]

Originally posted by: AlexBmur

Originally posted by: milo29k
is this board be compatible with 2x512mb kingston hyperX pc3200? does anyone have it? how does it run? etc

It works great. I have 2 sticks of Kingston HyperX PC3200 ram in running at 2-3-2-6 and it is rock solid.

what speed is your ram, cpu, and fsb running at ?

 

[as530]

hello dudes

can i ask the UK person who has one where they bought it? I am in the UK, desperate for one of these as have all my other components - well, apart from case, but who needs that

Anyway, I am slightly worried about the NF4 chipset HS/fan on this thing. I read the detailed review of it over at PC Perspective's website, and it seems that it provides inadequate cooling, and apparently the chipset fan runs at 8,000 RPM.

If I only want ONE graphics card (which i do - not interested in SLi, but only buying it because it's coming out before NF4 ultra), then what decent heatsink / fan combo could i replace the Asus solution with, and how easy would it be?

am going to have an XP-90 on my 3000+ Winchester.

Interestingly, Winchester College is the name of my old school - the oldest continuously-running school in England, which has been running for over 600 years (founded in 1382: Link)

Where is the US neo-Winchester?

 

[pudds]

I have the xp-120 fitted but mine is the the other way with the pipes overhanging the ram slots, Doesn't block the slots though ive got ram in slots 1 and 3. What temperatures are people getting by the way? For me with a 3200+ winchester idle is 25c full load (prime 95 for 10 mins 30c). board temp is 28c.

Im from the uk and got mine from tekheads.co.uk although there out of stock now.

 

[AlexBmur]

Originally posted by: user1234

Originally posted by: AlexBmur

Originally posted by: milo29k
is this board be compatible with 2x512mb kingston hyperX pc3200? does anyone have it? how does it run? etc

It works great. I have 2 sticks of Kingston HyperX PC3200 ram in running at 2-3-2-6 and it is rock solid.

what speed is your ram, cpu, and fsb running at ?

My ram is PC3200 running at 400 Mhz. I have an Athlon 64 3500+ (90 nm) running at stock speed which is 200 Mhz FSB.

Here is a link to the ram I bought Link

 

[vlad4]

Originally posted by: pudds
I have the xp-120 fitted but mine is the the other way with the pipes overhanging the ram slots, Doesn't block the slots though ive got ram in slots 1 and 3. What temperatures are people getting by the way?

Hey, pudds!
What type of RAM are you running? Anyway that you can post a pic to show the RAM clearance? Does the heatsink base center up better on the processor than what I showed here? I only did some hasty measurements and it looked like it would hit my Corsair RAM with it mounted that way.

 

[tretneo]

Hey all got my board last night, XP120 fits fine in my Antec Super Lanboy Case. Works great. But a very Un-Merry Christmas to me. 1 of my eVGA 6800GT cards is Dead. No video, Nada. :-( How sad. I have had the 2 eVga cards since november and have been trying like hell to get this mobo and got it on xmas eve only to find out NO SLI for me until I can get the RMA replacement. Who knows how long that will take.

tret

 

[runestone]

Which way did you mount the xp 120 tret?
Also, are you folks using the motherboard chipset drivers that were on the cd?

 

[tretneo]

I mounted it with the pipes facing the back of the case, the other side hangs over the first two dimm slots.

tret

 

[vlad4]

Well, after pulling the XP-120 and checking it out with the pipes towards the RAM slots, it appears that my concerns with the base section with the heatsink fins will be the same, the fins still are not centered on the processor. And with either position, I had little to no issues getting the RAM installed, but I now have better access to the top center mounting screw. I think I'll leave it this way.

EDIT: As a side note, I don't think that there is anyway you can use Corsair's XMS Pro Series Ram with this particular heatsink motherboard combination.

 

[flexy]

chumbo has this board for $201 incl. FREE 2 day fedex

Some people who bought this for $300 and up: Dont you feel like fools ?

Still hesitating whether to get this..stil not sure whether it overclocks good (270FSB....) and whether it has a pci-lock...

 

[Tab]

Originally posted by: vlad4
Hi all! Getting ready to install my A8N-SLI w/ two XFX 6800GTs. I ran acreoos this thread while backing up my files.

Seeing the interest and questions on the Thermalright XP-120, I thought I'd snap a few fast pics for you all to review....

01

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09

10

11

12

I tried to get every angle, hopefully these will be informative. The heatsink will only really fit one way without blocking the RAM slots. The only concern that I have is that the base section that covers the actual area of the processor has a section that is not covered with the actual fins of the heatsink. It's rather difficult for me to put into words, so here are a few more photos...

Concern 1

Concern 2

Thanks for the photos, how much overlap is there? The heatsink over the motherboard that is...

 

[vlad4]

Out of curosity, which BIOS is everyone using? I've heard that one of the two beta BIOS may be needed for the SLI to function correctly.

 

[vlad4]

Originally posted by: Tabb
Thanks for the photos, how much overlap is there? The heatsink over the motherboard that is...

I'm not sure what you're asking. Are you referring to the top part of the heatsink or the base?

 

[Omizzle]

Originally posted by: vlad4
Out of curosity, which BIOS is everyone using? I've heard that one of the two beta BIOS may be needed for the SLI to function correctly.

I think they are using the bios that came w/ the board...

 

[DarkAngel]

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