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

[user1234]

Originally posted by: ajmiles

So why don't you just run Sandra as your main app ? Seriously the real world difference is very very small, the reason is that the memory is rarely working at full bandwidth. And for the non-believers, here are some hard measurements, compare for yourself the performance at 12x200 to 9x266. Read it and weep.

There is no proof on those two links at all user1234.

The sandra memory tests show a sizeable increase is what you expect, however there is no application other than sandra that uses a lot of RAM to it's full potential. Quake 3, RtCW at 1024x768?? Where is Half Life 2 and Doom 3 at 1600x1200 with 4xFSAA and AF? That is where the advantage will be seen.

As for their being no difference with the SuperPI tests.... of course not, the memory that program uses will probably fit in the L2 cache anyway.

it's laughable that you think that cpu memory access pattern will change when you run a game with or without aa/af, which are graphical transformation algorithm performed solely by the graphics hardware and does not even entail additional communication with the CPU. Also for higher resolutions, the memory access patterns of the cpu will not change much.

 

[cajunlab]

New poster here.
Running A8N-SLI, two 6600's, 2 striped 250-mb SATA's on nforce in XP-SP2.

Problem:
Ntune reports:
"Warning: Your PCI clock is currently set to track the HT bus. If you adjust the clock for the HT bus, PCI bus clock will change as well. Please consult your motherboard manual to determine how to disable this behavior before proceeding."

I am using the "final" 1.03 bios (that was just removed from the asus tw ftp site).
Which setting in bios affects the Ntune message above?
TIA

 

[jdogg707]

Originally posted by: cajunlab
New poster here.
Running A8N-SLI, two 6600's, 2 striped 250-mb SATA's on nforce in XP-SP2.

Problem:
Ntune reports:
"Warning: Your PCI clock is currently set to track the HT bus. If you adjust the clock for the HT bus, PCI bus clock will change as well. Please consult your motherboard manual to determine how to disable this behavior before proceeding."

I am using the "final" 1.03 bios (that was just removed from the asus tw ftp site).
Which setting in bios affects the Ntune message above?
TIA

Go into the BIOS, go to Jumpre Free Config, select the PCI Bus to be locked at 33.33MHZ. I would also go and set your FSB at something like 205. This should correct the problem.

 

[cajunlab]

Neither option is available.
PCIExpress Clock options are from 100->145Mhz (set as default 100 now).
FSB is not a configurable parameter in bios but IS indicated on AIBooster windows app as being 800.
Any other ideas?

 

[atom519]

Newest beta-BIOS will have the pci-lock feature. I know I didn't have it with my default BIOS version. Watch out for your ncq drives if you plan on flashing tho

 

[cajunlab]

This is the newest bios...1.03 non-beta = 1.03.11?.
Do you mean a currently unavailable version?
I was thinking the message was bogus & caused by Ntune sftware not being updated for PCIExpress bus...
Anyone else seeing this starting Ntune?

 

[Fent]

Just wanted to let people here know. Swiching to a PCP&C 510 SLI fixed my "reset" issues it seems (none in 24hrs) and the 12V line is showing 11.8-11.9 vs 11.3-11.5 for the 480W "old" power supply. (18w 12v)

Also having two PSI-e and lots of SATA cleaned up the "web of adaptors" needed.

 

[byMaX]

Originally posted by: iscsidude

Originally posted by: byMaX
Yeah, but I didn't know back then if it's gonna fit on this board... Great cooler, though...!

I know what you mean. I waited until I found the A8N-SLI Deluxe on the Zalman web site before ordering.
http://www.zalmanusa.com/produ...-939-940MBlist_eng.htm

BTW, has anyone been successful in adding the Arctic Cooling NV Silencer 5 to a 6800 Ultra PCIe card? If so, does it keep you from using the SLI daughter card? Thx...

About SLI, well, I've tried X850 XT by HIS that has VGA silencer 5 (HIS buys it from Artic cooling), and when I looked, it seemed like another card should be able to go by. I looked because Gainward announced to ship us a sample for reviewing of Watercooling 6800 GT's for PCI-E that are SLI capable.

 

[iscsidude]

Thanks. I'm thinking about watercooling in the future.

I just can't take all this noise from my old machine. My PCP&C PSU and CPU fan are the culprits.

Near term, I'm going to remove the little 8K RPM NF4 Chipset fan and replace it with a Zalman NB47J Heatsink. I think I will have enough air flow in the case to keep the NF4 happy. I just ordered the NV Silencer 5, so I'll know on Wed if it will fit the 6800U SLI card. I'm also thinking I can modify the Silencer 5 to add some ducting over to the NF4 SLI and draw some heat from it. I can then take the air right out the back of the case via the Silencer fan. I won't be running SLI for a while, so I'll probably go ahead and use it. Even if it impedes the daughter card connector.

Then when I upgrade to SLI, maybe I'll take the plunge into the water.

I look forward to your review on the Gainward Water Cooled 6800's. (That is, if I can find it in English)

 

[gorman70]

Hi iscsidude, gorman from Italy... I wanted to ask you how the ZM-NB47J heatsink is performing on your mobo. I have the CNPS-7700Cu too, plus a VF-700AlCu for my X800 XT and I've installed acoustic panels inside the case, substituted all case fans with low/noise ones but... the chipset fan is making me mad. Constantly going at 8,000 rpm produces this high pitched whine...

Was it easy to install the NB47J? Is it working well?

Please, my ears need help!

 

[iscsidude]

Hello Gorman,
I won't know until Wednesday when everything arrives. Reading through this thread, I've seen a number of complaints about that tiny little fan. There is another thread here at Anandtech discussing this very subject.
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...ey=y&keyword1=ZM-NB47J

Based on what I've read, the amount of air you can push through the case can help quite a bit. I'll be using a fan in the front, top and back of my Praetorian case. (I'm replacing all three with quiet fans from Nexus)
http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/nexus80mm.html

I'm also thinking the NV Silencer 5 6800 Ultra cooler will allow me to do some mod's to pull air from the NB47J. After all, the ductwork will be almost directly above the NF4 chipset. This assumes I can get the Silencer 5 to fit the PCI version of the 6800.

Do you know of any software that would tell me the temp. of the NF4 SLI. I might do a before/after comparison if I can find something.

 

[olternat]

Can someone please review the process to flash the bios!! ??

The pdf. file told me to change the file name of the new bios file to "A8N-SLI.BIN" so I did.
Then i booted into the flash utility and typed the "file name to program" which I guessed was A8N-SLI.BIN .
Then I hit entered and nothing. No further messages or anything. Its just stuck. And the floppy drive just keeps spinning.

HELP!!!

 

[evilmrroboto]

While someone explains olternat's problem of how to flash the bios cause I haven't done it myself so I can't try it as I no longer have in my presence the A8N-SLI, I would like someone to tell me how to flash the bios when your computer won't post. I know user1234 told me to do that and I am still waiting on a responce for that one.

If Fry's has one on Tuesday, I'm getting a temporary board until Asus sends me mine back. Then I'll flash the bios and see how its done.

 

[olternat]

S.O.B. !!!!! :|

I updated to the new official 1003 bios and I still don't see a place in the bios that tracks the speed of the power supply fan.
Question: Am I supposed to be able to read the speed of the power supply fan? I mean, I plugged the 3 pin connector from my antec power supply into the "pwr_fan" connector on the left side of the motherboard just like it says in the manual.
But I don't see anyplace that reads the info. Is that normal? Do I really need the pwr fan connector to work?

What should I do? Its been so long waitin to get this machine together and I want to avoid another RMA if I can.

Help me please!! *sobs uncontrollably*

 

[iscsidude]

Originally posted by: olternat
Can someone please review the process to flash the bios!! ??

The pdf. file told me to change the file name of the new bios file to "A8N-SLI.BIN" so I did.
Then i booted into the flash utility and typed the "file name to program" which I guessed was A8N-SLI.BIN .
Then I hit entered and nothing. No further messages or anything. Its just stuck. And the floppy drive just keeps spinning.

HELP!!!

So your latest post indicates you were able to update to 1003.

How did you do it based on the above problems? Thx.

BTW, what power supply are you using? All you said was that it was an Antec.
See previous post from FENT (if memory serves) regarding Antec PSU on this Mobo.
I believe he/she upgraded to a PCP&C 510 SLI Power Supply and problems disappeared.
You may want to consider this option if you are in the RMA loop.

 

[olternat]

While somebody tells me how to solve my problems *concerning the mobo* I will go ahead and brief evilmrroboto on the bios update process.

I found out its pretty simple really. Just copy onto a floppy the new bios .bin file and make sure its the only file on the floppy.
You don't need a dos bas flash utility either. As you boot your machine simply hold down alt and f2 together and the pc will automatically go into a built in bios update utility. Then put the floppy into the drive and either hit enter or it should pick up the file as it reads it. As soon as it finds the .bin file it will automatically start the update sequence.
It then reboots. Simply take the disk out and boot up with the new bios.

 

[olternat]

@ iscsidude:

It was easy.....I read the manual. lol
It told me of the built in bios utility. And I didn't bother to rename the .bin file like the dumb .pdf manual said.
Go by the hard copy manual instead.

In the meantime can someone help me with the problems I stated about the pwr fan?

 

[iscsidude]

@ olternat
Thanks. I'll refer to the manual when upgrading BIOS when my board arrives on Wednesday.
I edited the above response to ask about your Power Supply.
Any Details....

 

[olternat]

Well I not sure if the power supply is the problem.

I have a brand new antec 550watt truepower eps12v 24 pin main power. It seems to work very well.
Why do you think that might be the problem? Maybe the power supply connector wire isn't working properly?
Even so, shouldn't the bios 1003 at least list the entry for power supply fan? If it doesn't work it would read 0. But in the bios or even in asus pc probe there isn't even a listing for power supply fan at all.

Is that normal for this board???

 

[iscsidude]

Not really sure.
Based on the previous 55 pages of this thread, this Mobo is really sucking power on the 12V rails.
I doubt the connector is the problem, but if you go back about 10 pages you'll find a discussion on the subject.

Ahhhhh. It was Fent.
I just looked up on this page his experience with going to the PCP&C 510 SLI Model

[I quote from Fent]
Just wanted to let people here know. Swiching to a PCP&C 510 SLI fixed my "reset" issues it seems (none in 24hrs) and the 12V line is showing 11.8-11.9 vs 11.3-11.5 for the 480W "old" power supply. (18w 12v)

Also having two PSI-e and lots of SATA cleaned up the "web of adaptors" needed.

[End Quote]

Again, if memory serves, Fent was using an Antec Supply. Not sure of the wattage or any specifics. I just know his machine was having serious reboot problems before his upgrade to the PCP&C supply.

Not sure what the Antec 550W supply provides on the +12V rail(s).

Also, I'll know more on Wed. with regard to fan speeds and a lot of other things.
I had been holding off on ordering this board until the ASUS official 1003 BIOS level.
This has done me well in the past and I hope the A8N-SLI is no different than my two previous ASUS boards with 1003 BIOS.

Just a thought.

 

[olternat]

Do you think that could be it? Not sure of that cause the truepower 550watt has two rails. Seems to be running pretty stable. Although the psu wasn't made for gaming but more for servers. In fact, I have to wait for pci express adapters to run my new video card.
But thats another issue.

As for the psu fan connector, I noticed that If I plugged it into a chassis connector then the bios reads it. Only because there is an actual listing for a chassis connector on the hardware monitor screen. If I can confirm that the motherboard is working fine and that its a bios issue then i keeping the mobo and psu with no more RMAing. I want to play hl2 dang it!

Can someone check the a8n-sli bios and see if there is a listing for a power supply fan reading??
Thanks.

 

[iscsidude]

New Power Supplies seem to have fixed a lot of peoples problems.
I'm not suggesting it will fix yours. I only bring it up as a suspect issue.
Regarding your fan issue, I wish I could find software allowing me to see NF4/A64/Video Card issues.


What video cards are you using?
If you are only using PCI and NOT PCIe cards on your system, then I doubt your power supply is an issue.


I'm going to be "trying" to use a 6800 Ultra on a Powerstream 600 from OCZ.
It also has two rails. OCZ claims SLI support. We'll See.

 

[olternat]

But dude.....go into your a8n-sli bios *I assume you own an a8n-sli deluxe* and go into hardware monitor and see if you have a listing for a power fan rpm speed.
Do you have the 1003 bios revision?

 

[Uglor]

alternat,

there is no listing for powersupply fan rpm in bios and with the supplied version of asusprobe. i downloaded an old version asusprobe, and it listed powersupply fan, but not the chipset fan.

 

[olternat]

Was the "power supply fan" of the old version of pc probe running near 8000 rpm? If so then it was picking up the chipset fan.

What bios version are you running now? If your running the latest version of the bios then you are saying you do not have a power supply listing in either your bios or current version pc probe....correct??