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

[AWACS]

Hi all,

first of all I would like to ongratulate with all of you for this topic. It's surely the best on the net about A8N-SLI. I got this mobo with a new processor, videocard and memories. Following some benchs:

3DMARK01 20177
3DMARK03 9203
PCMARK05 4020
RAID0 Transfer rate 89 Mb/s
Super PI 1 Mb 39 sec

The system IS NOT O/C except the videocard (579/1160 vs 500/1000). Drivers 71.24. Any comments about these scores? any advices?

 

[ryoanji]

davidos

If you have a PCI vid card try putting that in and getting to bios and setting the Init Display First to PCIE (not PCI)

Are you saying that by default video signal is sent to PCI card? I am trying to build with my old PCI card, but could not get it to work. Power up, fans start spinning, I can hear audio prompts but no video. I thought that by default video signal is sent to PCX

Any suggestions?

Many thanks

 

[infekted]

Wow! resseting CMOS actually did the trick!

Cheers! Big manly hugs all round!

 

[davidos]

the bios default is "Init PCI display device first" however if it is set to PCIE you should be able to have a PCI vid card work and see graphics... sounds like a different problem.... power supply? SLI connector should also be set to single (comes set to dual).

 

[ryoanji]

SLI connector is set to single, but I tried both ways (actually it came in single). I tried two PSUs: Fortron 350W and Enermax 600W. So it gotta be something else...

 

[davidos]

what bios are you using? try the resetting the CMOS as described a few posts up...

 

[ryoanji]

davidos

I have no video, how can I see what version it is? There is a sticker on the chip with '1002', but since I have not seen anything on the monitor - ??? I will try to clear CMOS. A bit sceptical about it since the mobo came straight from the retail box... I recall, there was also somebody how could not get the video to work with PCI card.

Thanks a lot

 

[squonk]

Originally posted by: iscsidude
Well, I just plugged in my eVGA 6800 Ultra and the heatsink on the rear of the card covers about 3/8 X 1/4 inch of the NF4 Whistler fan. This card is huge.

http://img.photobucket.com/alb.../sanhacker/topview.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/alb...sanhacker/sideview.jpg

The only way I'm going to get the Zalman heatsink to work with this card is to mill off the above dimensions (reducing its effectiveness) or see if the NV Silencer 4 is smaller than the stock 6800 HSF combo. Hmm.

Also, the 6800 will be exhausting its hot air right over the chipset, rather than out the back of the case. This card takes two slot mounting brackets, so it's not like there wasn't room. Great design. :frown:

Just install a Gigabyte Rocket 3d Pro

 

[imported_Neuro]

I'm installing the Zalman passive heatsink (NB-47J) and am having trouble getting the push-pins out. Anyone have a clue as to how I would do that? I've removed the mobo from the case, I just can't get those stupid things out. You're supposed to pinch the little things together and slide it through, but that hasn't worked for me. Do I have to go as far as to cut them?

 

[hwan]

Neuro, apply some pressure on the other end of the push-pin, it'd be easier to get them out.

 

[evilmrroboto]

Originally posted by: Neuro
I'm installing the Zalman passive heatsink (NB-47J) and am having trouble getting the push-pins out. Anyone have a clue as to how I would do that? I've removed the mobo from the case, I just can't get those stupid things out. You're supposed to pinch the little things together and slide it through, but that hasn't worked for me. Do I have to go as far as to cut them?

What I did when I took the fan off to look at it was push the push-pin down with my finger, then use pliers to squeeze the back side together and then let it go into the hole. It didn't slide all the way through easily so I just pushed it through with the needlenose pliers and it came off that way.

 

[ImJacksAmygdala]

Originally posted by: Neuro
I'm installing the Zalman passive heatsink (NB-47J) and am having trouble getting the push-pins out. Anyone have a clue as to how I would do that? I've removed the mobo from the case, I just can't get those stupid things out. You're supposed to pinch the little things together and slide it through, but that hasn't worked for me. Do I have to go as far as to cut them?

Read this thread on how to remove the crappy chipset cooler and install a Zalman NB-47J. You might also want to think about using a Zalman FB123 to mount a quiet fan to blow air on the the chipset cooler if you are using SLI or overclocking. Its tight between two video cards in SLI. You could still use the Zalman fanless NB47 and then cool it with a quiet Zalman FB123. The motherboard probably needs more airflow between the video cards and the chipset cooler anyway.

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...234&messageid=17199134

http://www.abxzone.com/forums/...Zalman+NB47#post975626

http://www.abxzone.com/forums/...Zalman+NB47#post975606

http://www.zalmanusa.com/usa/p...ew.asp?idx=15&code=016

 

[Shaga]

Wohoo! Got Kingston HyperX PC3500 512x2 (CL2.5)-sticks, I had cl2.5 values before. Check last page in this forum for my previous scores. Excellent improvements..

SiSoftware Sandra

Benchmark Results
RAM Bandwidth Int Buff'd iSSE2 : 7621 MB/s
RAM Bandwidth Float Buff'd iSSE2 : 7522 MB/s

Int Buff'd iSSE2 (Integer STREAM) Results Breakdown
Assignment : 7679MB/s
Scaling : 7679MB/s
Addition : 7572MB/s
Triad : 7556MB/s
Data Item Size : 16 byte(s)
Buffering Used : Yes
Offset Displacement Used : Yes
Bandwidth Efficiency : 49% (estimated)

Float Buff'd iSSE2 (Float STREAM) Results Breakdown
Assignment : 7668MB/s
Scaling : 7697MB/s
Addition : 7396MB/s
Triad : 7329MB/s
Data Item Size : 16 byte(s)
Buffering Used : Yes
Offset Displacement Used : Yes
Bandwidth Efficiency : 49% (estimated)

Performance Test Status
Run ID : MAKE on 27. tammikuuta 2005 at 0:40:12
Memory Used by Test : 512MB
NUMA Support : No
SMP Test : No
Total Test Threads : 1
SMT Test : No
Dynamic MP/MT Load Balance : No
Processor Affinity : P0
Page Size : 4kB
Use Large Memory Pages : No

Chipset 1
Model : Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Athlon 64 / Opteron HyperTransport Technology Configuration
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 2420MHz (4840MHz data rate)
In/Out Width : 16-bit / 16-bit
Maximum Bus Bandwidth : 19360MB/s (estimated)

Logical/Chipset 1 Memory Banks
Bank 0 : 512MB DDR-SDRAM 2.0-3-2-2CL 2CMD
Bank 1 : 512MB DDR-SDRAM 2.0-3-2-2CL 2CMD
Channels : 1
Bank Interleave : 2-way
Speed : 2x 484MHz (968MHz data rate)
Width : 128-bit
Maximum Memory Bus Bandwidth : 15488MB/s (estimated)

Features
(W)MMX Technology : Yes
SSE Technology : Yes
SSE2 Technology : Yes
SSE3 Technology : No
EMMX - Extended MMX Technology : Yes
HTT - Hyper-Threading Technology : No

-----------------------------------------------------EDIT--------------------------------

Strange, that was with Cool'n'quiet locked to 1100mhz(because of winXP64 problem with unknown driver). Now scores without C'n'Q.

SiSoftware Sandra

Benchmark Results
RAM Bandwidth Int Buff'd iSSE2 : 6510 MB/s
RAM Bandwidth Float Buff'd iSSE2 : 6452 MB/s

Int Buff'd iSSE2 (Integer STREAM) Results Breakdown
Assignment : 6620MB/s
Scaling : 6619MB/s
Addition : 6399MB/s
Triad : 6403MB/s
Data Item Size : 16 byte(s)
Buffering Used : Yes
Offset Displacement Used : Yes
Bandwidth Efficiency : 92% (estimated)

Float Buff'd iSSE2 (Float STREAM) Results Breakdown
Assignment : 6633MB/s
Scaling : 6639MB/s
Addition : 6298MB/s
Triad : 6240MB/s
Data Item Size : 16 byte(s)
Buffering Used : Yes
Offset Displacement Used : Yes
Bandwidth Efficiency : 92% (estimated)

Performance Test Status
Run ID : MAKE on 27. tammikuuta 2005 at 0:55:15
Memory Used by Test : 512MB
NUMA Support : No
SMP Test : No
Total Test Threads : 1
SMT Test : No
Dynamic MP/MT Load Balance : No
Processor Affinity : P0
Page Size : 4kB
Use Large Memory Pages : No

Chipset 1
Model : Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Athlon 64 / Opteron HyperTransport Technology Configuration
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 1100MHz (2200MHz data rate)
In/Out Width : 16-bit / 16-bit
Maximum Bus Bandwidth : 8800MB/s (estimated)

Logical/Chipset 1 Memory Banks
Bank 0 : 512MB DDR-SDRAM 2.0-3-2-2CL 2CMD
Bank 1 : 512MB DDR-SDRAM 2.0-3-2-2CL 2CMD
Channels : 1
Bank Interleave : 2-way
Speed : 2x 220MHz (440MHz data rate)
Width : 128-bit
Maximum Memory Bus Bandwidth : 7040MB/s (estimated)

Features
(W)MMX Technology : Yes
SSE Technology : Yes
SSE2 Technology : Yes
SSE3 Technology : No
EMMX - Extended MMX Technology : Yes
HTT - Hyper-Threading Technology : No

Performance Tips
Notice 5008 : To change benchmarks, click Options.
Notice 5004 : Synthetic benchmark. May not tally with 'real-life' performance.
Notice 5006 : Only compare the results with ones obtained using the same version!
Warning 5010 : Cannot use Large Memory Pages due to lack of priviledges.
Tip 2 : Double-click tip or press Enter while a tip is selected for more information about the tip.

 

[Fent]

Seems everyones sandra scores are showing "Channels : 1 "

Speed changes mostly seem based on how much the ram is OC'd.

 

[byMaX]

We're eager for 1004 final now

 

[AnimalAsteroid]

Probably soon as the 1004 finals come out there will be a 1005 Beta.

I started a Asus trouble ticket today about Bios hanging on a cold reboot. They said they have never heard of this type of problem before!! I see posts all over the place about this exact same problem!

 

[Shaga]

Originally posted by: Fent
Seems everyones sandra scores are showing "Channels : 1 "

Speed changes mostly seem based on how much the ram is OC'd.

Yeah, does that really mean my rams are on single channel mode?

Sandra says as well 2CMD for memory, and I'm sure I use 1T-mode from the bios...

Anyone have channels: 2 in sandra?

 

[SpeedDemonAaron]

I'm beyond pissed about this as well. It's not just dual displays..... you can't run SLI if you want to output to a digital display at all. When I connect my Sony 34" XBR HDTV up to my computer via DVI it doesn't work at all. When I try to enable SLI with the HDTV connected it says:

Your displays, which are attached to your secondary graphics card, will appear blank when SLI is enabled.

This is because your secondary graphics card will accelerate your primary card.

Connect your display to the primary graphics card when your system restarts.

Although, I already have the DVI connection running through my top 6600 GT. The second that I click OK to the message above though and hit apply the check box automatically unchecks itself. It actually let me check it when I had the computer connected via component video, but once I restart the computer it runs, but barely... extremely slow with garbled sounds. The only way I got it to work was with an analog 17" LCD that I dug up and connected to it temporarily.

If NVIDIA is only supporting analog displays that is just BULLSH1T!!! I just purchased the $2000 HDTV and the $600 MSI 6600 GT SLI + ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe setup and it doesn't work. I'm so sick of advertised features not working. I wonder if NVIDIA wants to buy back my $2600 setup that I bought having so much faith in them. I have been a long time supporter of NVIDIA all the way back to my second 3D card which was my nVidia RIVA 128. I even bought a good chunk of their stock the day it opened for trading. It's a sad day when they have let me down this much. The only way I'm going to be happy at this point though is if NVIDIA can release at least a BETA driver that fixes this problem within the next couple weeks.

I consider it unacceptable for me to have to run just one of the 6600GT's in my system right now because the drivers won't support me running them in SLI with my display.

Please help NVIDIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[imported_sirshambling]

Originally posted by: NetCop
Since 1003 Final BIOS (and all 1003 betas) didn't resolve my problem with dissapearing Maxtor NCQ HDD, i'm still with 1002 final.
Did anyone with the same problem try 1004-001 ? What changes are made in this BIOS ?

Yes I've tried 1004-01 and it found my Maxtor HDD on SATA 1 but not the other Maxtor on SATA 2 - very strange.

I'm sticking with 1002 which finds them both.

John.

 

[iscsidude]

Originally posted by: squonk

Originally posted by: iscsidude
Well, I just plugged in my eVGA 6800 Ultra and the heatsink on the rear of the card covers about 3/8 X 1/4 inch of the NF4 Whistler fan. This card is huge.

http://img.photobucket.com/alb.../sanhacker/topview.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/alb...sanhacker/sideview.jpg

The only way I'm going to get the Zalman heatsink to work with this card is to mill off the above dimensions (reducing its effectiveness) or see if the NV Silencer 4 is smaller than the stock 6800 HSF combo. Hmm.

Also, the 6800 will be exhausting its hot air right over the chipset, rather than out the back of the case. This card takes two slot mounting brackets, so it's not like there wasn't room. Great design. :frown:

Just install a Gigabyte Rocket 3d Pro

I don't understand. If the existing fan is tight with the 6800 Ultra, How on earth could I install a 3D Pro?
If you look at the sideview picture, I have about 1/8 inch between fan and card.
I think I'm going to try and mill off the affected area.

More to follow...

 

[aldvraa]

Originally posted by: NetCop
Since 1003 Final BIOS (and all 1003 betas) didn't resolve my problem with dissapearing Maxtor NCQ HDD, i'm still with 1002 final.
Did anyone with the same problem try 1004-001 ? What changes are made in this BIOS ?

I Tried 1004-1 last night. 200G Diamond max 10 showed up fine in bios but I got a corrupted HD after about an hour. Attempts to reinstall XP with that bios, (after formatting) also failed. It would load the drivers, I'd get the bluish background with the mouse pointer showing up for 10sec, then reboot.

Went back to 1002, no problems....with the HD at least.

 

[aldvraa]

Hi, I'm running into a strange problem installing my Sapphire Radeon x850XT into my system.
I set the EZ selector to Single (edge labeled single inserted into slot), Installed the card into PCI-x slot 1 (blue) and I got the 'system failed VGA test'. The fan on the x850 did not slow down.

I did put in the pci express power connector. I also verified from other posts in this thread that my PCI-x power cable was ok & had the 2 grounds.
I also tried the PCI-x cable from my Neopower which had all 6 pins wired.

Pulled card, put in mach64 PCI, boots fine.

Put the card in PCI-x slot 2 (black) system boots, fan slows down, windows boots & recognizes card.
I put in the drivers from the sapphire CD & I was able to change the resolution. I didn't try any games at this point.

Powered off tried blue slot again, VGA error on post.

Then I flipped the EZ selector to DUAL and Slot 1(blue) now works.

Bios 1004-1 complained about the EZ plug power connector missing so I put it in.

At this point the 1004-1 bios corrupted my HD so I had to reinstall & reflash.

Bios 1002 didn't ask for the EZ plug power. Reinstall of XP went clean. Put in latest WHQL from ATI.

Doom 3 loaded up fine & I played for 5min but it was 3am so I quit at that point.


--Anyone else with a x850XT not have their card detected in slot 1 (blue) in SINGLE mode?

--Is there anyway to tell if my video card is in 16x or 8x PCI-x mode?

I don't care if the selector is set wrong, I just want to make sure its in 16x mode.

I set Normal(Single) mode instead of Auto for SLI in the Bios, not sure if that matters.

Reading through this thread helped me quite a bit with my setup.

Thanks for all your help & sorry if I'm being too verbose here

 

[133bpm]

Originally posted by: atom519
Ok, thinking about flashing to 1004 bios and was wondering the consensus on it. Anyone tested it? I'm still getting the wierd post problems after completely powering down with the 1003-007 version.

It is my first post to this thread in this forum, but i figure that i should drop my 2cents in on this one as i have had the same problem... The 1003-005b bios has a problem whenever you cut power to the system. That is, if you remove power to the MB, it will corrupt the *saved* bios settings or something, and you will have the instability while trying to boot as you are experiencing. If you should happen to leave the computer off for a long while, your first boot should be stable, but from that point on all boots would be stable. The only way to resolve it is to clear the CMOS via the jumper. Then you will boot just fine until the power is removed again. I flashed to 1003-008 and dont have the problem anymore. There is another thread dedicated to this alone.

Here is the link:
<http://forums.anandtech.com/me...3386&enterthread=y>

I should also point out that many people are likely to immediatly call out the PSU as your problem. While there may be some people who have purchased PSUs that are problematic, i believe that the PSU is not as big a problem as some people have let on. I had a Ultra X-Connect 500W and swapped it out with a OCZ Modstream 520. Obviously, the new PSU did not resolve the problem. After flashing to the new bios, i found that the old PSU worked fine for my comp. With the loadout specified in my sig. Hope this helps.

peace.
one33_bpm

 

[mofrack]

133bpm, this may be offtopic, but that Modstream IS a far superior PSU compared to the Xconnect, even if it didnt solve any problems. Just my 2 cents...

 

[vrmuds]

Has anyone tested if this board supports dual monitor in a sli setup?

Also, has anyone tested the Raid functionality? In particular raid 1 and raid 5?

Does this tax the system, or does this primarily use the raid chip?