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

[MrBored]

Originally posted by: exdeath
Slap 'n' go for me, running an FX-55 @ 3.0 (15x200 @1.5125v)

Using stock cooling on that FX, or an XP-120 or so?

 

[BigHurt]

So what speed ddr is everyone using for their a8n sli deluxe?
I noticed in the usermanual that i downloaded(still waiting for my mobo to show up) that the board supports ddr500.

I just purchased 1gb of corsair twinx1024-3200xl (2-2-2-5) and i was wondering if ddr500 would outperform this memory significantly. Im going to be running an athlon64 3500+ and the bfg 6800gt and plan on overclocking the proc and vid as well as memory some.

I noticed that gobucks was one of the only people running ddr500 so i was curious as to the performance increase.

Thanks

 

[pudds]

Originally posted by: MrBored
I got my board from microdirect and I'm not having that problem with the 2 graphics cards. I have an Enermax 600W as well. Everything with regards to power is working ok. I did have wierd distortion in the graphics when running the cards in SLi, but they're going back cause they're the wrong cards anyway ( GTO instead of GT, scan changed the name of them now :/ )

thx for letting me know that, i bought mine from scan,just checked and your right there not gt cards , ill hae to send mine back after xmas

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Originally posted by: BigHurt
So what speed ddr is everyone using for their a8n sli deluxe?
I noticed in the usermanual that i downloaded(still waiting for my mobo to show up) that the board supports ddr500.

I just purchased 1gb of corsair twinx1024-3200xl (2-2-2-5) and i was wondering if ddr500 would outperform this memory significantly. Im going to be running an athlon64 3500+ and the bfg 6800gt and plan on overclocking the proc and vid as well as memory some.

I noticed that gobucks was one of the only people running ddr500 so i was curious as to the performance increase.

Thanks

A warning from my experiences! The ram settings on this board are confusing and not well explained in the manual.

So your thinking I've got DDR500 ram, I should set the memory clock to manual DDR500 right!
WRONG!!!!

What happens when you set the memory clock in the bios to "any" manual setting other than AUTO, it resets all the manual settings in the Jumper free section to AUTO. When you exit the bios your 3500+ with a setting of 500DDR attempts to boot up at 250 x 11 = 2750mhz with defualt voltage's Doh!! BSOD!

I've found there are two ways to overclock this board.

1. Use the AUTO setting for DDR(regardless of your rated ram speed), and adjust FSB and CPU voltage using either the bios or the AI booster utility in windows(nice, no reboots). This method seems to produce the best CPU overclock, but applies automatic memory dividers as you raise the FSB keeping it at less than 200mhz. With this option the capabilities of high speed ram are wasted, this is the setting to use if you have value level ram and don't want to o/c your memory.

2. Use the DDR400 setting for DDR(regardless of you rated ram speed) and make sure all of the settings in the Jumper free section are set to AUTO, then boot to windows with stock settings. Using the AI booster utility to adjust FSB and voltage. Using this method always keeps memory 1:1 with the FSB.

I'm using method 2 to take advantage of my OCZ plat. TCCD ram. I lose about 150-170mhz in CPU speed(using a 3200+) vs. option 1, but it scores best in all the benchmarks execpt CPU only bench's.

The lack of manual memory dividers is a handicap for folks with 3000+ or 3200+. In my case with the 3200+, I could get a higher CPU o/c and run my ram at nice speeds with a 5/6 divider. For people with 3500---FX55 this shouldn't be much of an issue, just use option2 and run 1:1.

 

[SRoode]

GD,

I just want to say thanks for all of your posts... I just got my stuff today and started my install, and I got the lock up problem you mentioned with ActiveArmor...

No problem, just reverted to a save point. You saved me hours.

Anyway, just got the system going with no overclocking and no watercooling yet, but I was able to get the basics going. I installed 3dMark05, and got an 8690! SLI is just great!

I have not had any other problems with this board except for what I mentioned above. I haven't even flashed the bios yet, or upgraded the video driver (I'm using the 66.93's that came with the BFG cards).

Thanks again!

 

[BigHurt]

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy

Originally posted by: BigHurt
So what speed ddr is everyone using for their a8n sli deluxe?
I noticed in the usermanual that i downloaded(still waiting for my mobo to show up) that the board supports ddr500.

I just purchased 1gb of corsair twinx1024-3200xl (2-2-2-5) and i was wondering if ddr500 would outperform this memory significantly. Im going to be running an athlon64 3500+ and the bfg 6800gt and plan on overclocking the proc and vid as well as memory some.

I noticed that gobucks was one of the only people running ddr500 so i was curious as to the performance increase.

Thanks

A warning from my experiences! The ram settings on this board are confusing and not well explained in the manual.

So your thinking I've got DDR500 ram, I should set the memory clock to manual DDR500 right!
WRONG!!!!

What happens when you set the memory clock in the bios to "any" manual setting other than AUTO, it resets all the manual settings in the Jumper free section to AUTO. When you exit the bios your 3500+ with a setting of 500DDR attempts to boot up at 250 x 11 = 2750mhz with defualt voltage's Doh!! BSOD!

I've found there are two ways to overclock this board.

1. Use the AUTO setting for DDR(regardless of your rated ram speed), and adjust FSB and CPU voltage using either the bios or the AI booster utility in windows(nice, no reboots). This method seems to produce the best CPU overclock, but applies automatic memory dividers as you raise the FSB keeping it at less than 200mhz. With this option the capabilities of high speed ram are wasted, this is the setting to use if you have value level ram and don't want to o/c your memory.

2. Use the DDR400 setting for DDR(regardless of you rated ram speed) and make sure all of the settings in the Jumper free section are set to AUTO, then boot to windows with stock settings. Using the AI booster utility to adjust FSB and voltage. Using this method always keeps memory 1:1 with the FSB.

I'm using method 2 to take advantage of my OCZ plat. TCCD ram. I lose about 150-170mhz in CPU speed(using a 3200+) vs. option 1, but it scores best in all the benchmarks execpt CPU only bench's.

The lack of manual memory dividers is a handicap for folks with 3000+ or 3200+. In my case with the 3200+, I could get a higher CPU o/c and run my ram at nice speeds with a 5/6 divider. For people with 3500---FX55 this shouldn't be much of an issue, just use option2 and run 1:1.

hehe, thats craziness... ok well since all i have to look at right now is the manual i downloaded until my mobo gets here, its hard for me to run any tests.
Are you saying then that the memory i bought would be the best choice? or should i look into ddr500?
i was planning on a64 3500 and im not fully understanding asus's logic behind their manual setting overrides... (your right, manual doesnt mention all this and as i said above, its impossible for me to test)
I actually enjoy messing with mobo settings and troubleshooting probs like this, buuuut i bought my memory first, and want to make sure its the best bet, before my return policy runs out (which very well could be before i get the motherboard etc)

Thanks.

 

[vlad4]

Has anyone looked at their CPU usage while running the Windows factory Beziers screensaver? The reason I ask is that this screensaver maxes out my CPU usage! None of the other screensavers seems to exhibit this behavior.

My 'puter specs: AMD Winchester 3500+, Windows XP w/ SP2, nVidia v6.32 Chipset from ASUS CD, Forceware 66.93, 1GB Mushkin 2-2-2 Specials RAM, (2) XFX 6800GTs, Creative Drivers for Audigy 2 ZS Platinum. I can't think of any other software/drivers I have installed that may be affecting this.

 

[Cow Fly]

Originally posted by: runestone
Finally got mine up and going-about the same as your's cowfly-almost the same rig, ram,cpu, etc.
Running stock for now, but on beta bios 4.
Still getting message on boot up that cpu fan has failed, guess because chassis fan 2 is not plugged in(?); also have delay while it looks for raid(silicon?) array wants to be loaded.
Post back later with more results- so far it's running great.
Thanks for all your input.

I plugged in my chasis 2 fan but not the chasis 1 fan.

 

[runestone]

Unfortunately, the lead to my rear fan on Lian-Li case will not reach that far; I'm wondering if that message is also because the panaflo that I have on xp 120 does not support rpm monitoring.

 

[pudds]

PCI LOCK NOW WORKING!
To be honest i dont know what ive done to achieve it but at least i know its possible. Ill do some more investigation later.
Im running a modest overclock now which should be ok for everyday use.

a64 3200+ @ 2ghz running at 245 *10 2450ghz
using

1.6v (actually gives between 1.48 and 1.5)
memory 3-3-10-6 @ 2.85v (just set to lowest needs tweaking)
idle is 25c full load (prime95and sandra burn in for 5 hours) 32c
Pleased with my temps for air cooling

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Originally posted by: BigHurt


hehe, thats craziness... ok well since all i have to look at right now is the manual i downloaded until my mobo gets here, its hard for me to run any tests.
Are you saying then that the memory i bought would be the best choice? or should i look into ddr500?
i was planning on a64 3500 and im not fully understanding asus's logic behind their manual setting overrides... (your right, manual doesnt mention all this and as i said above, its impossible for me to test)
I actually enjoy messing with mobo settings and troubleshooting probs like this, buuuut i bought my memory first, and want to make sure its the best bet, before my return policy runs out (which very well could be before i get the motherboard etc)

Thanks.

I beleive the Crucial memory you have, is based on the same samsung TCCD as the OCZ platinum rev.2 that I have. They are both great memory with great speed, capable of running DDR500. That should work great with the 3500. Just use the second o/c method that I mentioned and run your ram 1:1 with FSB.

However, because of the lack of a manual memory divider. I recommend that anyone planning on using a 3000+ or even a 3200+, should consider using cheaper pc3200 ram and using the AUTO setting, or get some really fast DDR500-DDR600 rated ram if you want to run memory 1:1

 

[ShoNuff]

Hey Folks, awesome board and thanks to this thread not a single setup problem for me. Pretty much "Slap-N-Go".

I have a backup SATA drive hanging off of the SI controller and I can't see it in windows. When I enter the SI setup utility I can see it but again, it's a no go in Windows?

Anybody else using a backup drive off of the SI controller? If so how did you get windows to see it.


GuitarDaddy thanks for the OC'ng tips. I am new to the "Dark Side" (read formal Intel user) and wasn't exactly sure how to push my rig to the next level. Your posts above made that easier.

 

[bob661]

Sho,
Did you install the drivers for the SI controller?

 

[ShoNuff]

Originally posted by: bob661
Sho,
Did you install the drivers for the SI controller?

Yep, I installed the "RAID" drivers via the install CD. Are there others?

Thanks for jumpin' in there to help. :thumbsup:

EDIT: No conflicts or "question marks" in Device Mangaer either.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Originally posted by: ShoNuff

Originally posted by: bob661
Sho,
Did you install the drivers for the SI controller?

Yep, I installed the "RAID" drivers via the install CD. Are there others?

Thanks for jumpin' in there to help. :thumbsup:

EDIT: No conflicts or "question marks" in Device Mangaer either.

I don't think all of the bugs are worked out yet with the nforce4 raid or SI drivers, or maybe windows needs to provide an update for SP2?

I am running on a raid0 array with two sata raptors, And occasionally when rebooting I get a "boot disk failure" because Windows doesn't recognize the array. I pop in the windows CD and the raid drivers diskette, boot up hit F6 and reinstall both drivers "Nvraid driver" and "SATA controller driver" and I'm back in business. This seems to happen mostly right after I have installed new software or drivers and reboot. It has only happened a couple of times since I updated to the 1003.04, this might be because I'm not installing as much software and updating drivers as much as I was at first.

I think the window installation wizard is stepping on (corrupting) these driver files

*edit* I got so long winded there, I forgot to make my point!

Try reinstalling the SI drivers!

 

[ShoNuff]

Thanks GD! I read about that issue on another forum. No RAID probs for me thogh. Just can't see my back up HD that connected to the SI controller?

I'm going to install the latest beta bios and see how that goes.

 

[bob661]

Thanks for jumpin' in there to help.

No problem. See if SI has newer drivers on their site.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Originally posted by: ShoNuff
Thanks GD! I read about that issue on another forum. No RAID probs for me thogh. Just can't see my back up HD that connected to the SI controller?

I'm going to install the latest beta bios and see how that goes.

I'm not sure if the Silicon controller has the same problem, as I haven't used it.

But with the nforce4 controller, even people with 1 sata drive are having the same problem. So evidently not only the "Nvraid driver" is getting corrupted, but also the "SATA controller driver" is also getting corrupted. The same sort of thing maybe happening with the Silicon controller, or they may both use the "SATA controller driver"?

If a bios update doesn't help, reinstall the "SATA controller driver" from the raid drivers diskette

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Sorry, double post

 

[vlad4]

I have three Raptor drives configured in RAID 0 and booting off of the SIL RAID, no issues so far. I used the SIL drivers from ASUS website.

 

[ShoNuff]

Originally posted by: vlad4
I have three Raptor drives configured in RAID 0 and booting off of the SIL RAID, no issues so far. I used the SIL drivers from ASUS website.

I can successfully use the drives in a RAID config on the SI controller. The problem is using ONE drive on the controller. It doesn't like single drives. Just got a new pair of Raptors and I hooked my 74G up to the Nvidia controller and my old 36G up to the SI controller and no problemo. As soon as I attempt to use a single drive on the SI controller it has a fit.

FYI...using the 1003.004 bios as well.

 

[vlad4]

OK, I remember reading somewhere that the SIL controller was configured for RAID by default and you needed to change that config for single drives. This setup is opposite for the nVidia controller, it's set for single drives by default and you have to change it for a RAID config.

I have not dug far enough to tell where to switch these configs yet.

 

[bap4201]

Just to jump in here... just got my 2 bfg 6800gt oc 's!! DAMN...This system is SWEET!!! Played Far cry no problems and it is DEFINITELY faster compared when I was playing w/ 1 6800gt, I mean it is MUCH IMPROVED!! YEEE HA!!! Just got a 3dmark03....20983!! WOOT!!!

 

[MrTed]

I would be curious to know if anyone out there is using one of these boards with only one GPU. My question would be 'does the SLI activation option come up in your driver
setup?' - or does it magically come alive when you set the SLI linking on the mobo?

I ask this 'cause I have this mobo set up for SLI but there is NO SLI activation tab in my driver and I've driver updated to 6.6.9.7. The GPUs are Gainward 6600GTs and I've checked/re-checked the mobo links to the point the mobo bores me to look at (and that's sad).

I've forced the bios to SLI but how can you tell if its using SLI anyway? The SLI activation tab doesn't show up in either setup - but the hardware is seen by XP and other
hardware profiling software (for what it's worth) Anyone seen software that can actually confirm SLI operation (other than in the missing driver tab) ?

Once I've sorted this out all I gotta do is work out how to get this beast to run my games slow enuff for me to play

 

[exdeath]

I have two raptor WD740GD drives in RAID0 on the first 2 NV sata ports and the silicon image controller disabled (the NV sata is integrated into the northbridge directly on the HT bus instead of on the PCI bus)

No problems at all.