Official DO's and DON'T for ASUS A8N-SLI (PREMIUM)

[schriss]

Personally I think this Motherboard is NOT load defaults, install windows and that's it type of motherboard. Some already mentioned that, it's made for enthusiasts. If you prefer auto settings in BIOS then better go for MSI. Also people rush so much to start windows up without proper verification of their CPU and memory configuration with Mwmtest, then Prime.

A8N-SLI Premium rocks. I have setup my BIOS manually wherever I had an option to do so. No auto settings. Result is impressive, my Athlon64 3000+ (1800MHz) which was running at 2250MHz with 1.75v on MSI K8N Neo2 Platinium, now boots at 2500MHz, the only problem is low voltage. With 1.55v it runs rock stable at 2300MHz which already is better than my old MSI.
I also run 4 sticks of DDR500 RAM which is not on the qualified RAM list, it runs in Dualchannel with CL2-2-2-5 which is also impressive.
So what can I say, I love this board.
Of course I don't use nvidia firewall. No features are disabled in my BIOS, I use both network cards, Marvel is working great despite of what some say.
Installed drivers are nForce4 AMD found on nVidia website.
Too bad this motherboard does not support some old 5v PCI cards.
I will take screens of my BIOS and will post them somewhere with a list of my hardware and software installed, maybe it will help someone.
I also see very impressive overclocking results on this mobo on some hardcore overclockers forums on the net, goos hardware for those that like to mess with BIOS and do some voltage mods. Variable resistor is already on my desk... I'm going for 1.6v of Vcore.

 

[Reckie]

Does ASUS have a updated list of compatible memory for this motherboard.

I want upgrade to 2x1024MB but the list in the manual on list PC3200 modules. Please tell me this enthusiast board is compatible with some PC4000 modules?

 

[schriss]

I run 4 sticks of 512MB Kingmax Hardcore DDR500 memory modules, which are PC4000.

 

[RideFree]

Originally posted by: Reckie
Does ASUS have a updated list of compatible memory for this motherboard.

I want upgrade to 2x1024MB but the list in the manual on list PC3200 modules. Please tell me this enthusiast board is compatible with some PC4000 modules?

I'm guessing that it'll run anything you can afford to throw at it.

 

[FirenzeL]

Originally posted by: schriss
Personally I think this Motherboard is NOT load defaults, install windows and that's it type of motherboard. Some already mentioned that, it's made for enthusiasts. If you prefer auto settings in BIOS then better go for MSI. Also people rush so much to start windows up without proper verification of their CPU and memory configuration with Mwmtest, then Prime.

A8N-SLI Premium rocks. I have setup my BIOS manually wherever I had an option to do so. No auto settings. Result is impressive, my Athlon64 3000+ (1800MHz) which was running at 2250MHz with 1.75v on MSI K8N Neo2 Platinium, now boots at 2500MHz, the only problem is low voltage. With 1.55v it runs rock stable at 2300MHz which already is better than my old MSI.
I also run 4 sticks of DDR500 RAM which is not on the qualified RAM list, it runs in Dualchannel with CL2-2-2-5 which is also impressive.
So what can I say, I love this board.
Of course I don't use nvidia firewall. No features are disabled in my BIOS, I use both network cards, Marvel is working great despite of what some say.
Installed drivers are nForce4 AMD found on nVidia website.
Too bad this motherboard does not support some old 5v PCI cards.
I will take screens of my BIOS and will post them somewhere with a list of my hardware and software installed, maybe it will help someone.
I also see very impressive overclocking results on this mobo on some hardcore overclockers forums on the net, goos hardware for those that like to mess with BIOS and do some voltage mods. Variable resistor is already on my desk... I'm going for 1.6v of Vcore.

I really have to agree as much as anything, This board is absolutely Awesome... there is no other word, with a few little bugs (perfection would be silly, how would they ever sell anything else they make) it is truely amazing. HOWEVER i agree also fully that it is an enthusiast's board, this is really going to be a great learning experience methinks... BTW, THANKS SOOOOO MUCH TO EVERYONE SO FAR IN ANY OF THE A8N SLI PREMIUM THREADS! I have already learnt so much about my board, and wil know just how to get the best from it, thanks to all of you!!

 

[Fazzi]

Just saying hi to every one. I just finished building my new system as follows.

Asus A8N-SLI Premium
Opteron 175
2 GB OCZ Dual Channel Platinum OCZ4002048ELDCPE-K
OCZ PowerStream-SLI 520W Power Supply
Antec SLK3000B w/extra fron 120mm fan
Antec hard drive coolers for each disk
eVGA 6600 LE
WD 10,000 Raptor 150GB
WD 10,000 Raptor 36Gb (Photoshop scratch drive)
2xMaxtor 120GB SATA (raid 1) archival drive
120GB EIDE
250GB EIDE
160GB EIDE (external back up)

Yes, 6 drives in the box. Just rolled back to bios 1009 (from the beta). No nVidia IDE drivers. Currently on the Silicon image Raid (contemplating to switch to Nvidia?). Everything is fine now. Great board....Should I update the chipset to Nvidia Nforce or leave it at Asus' latest Nforce?

I have enjoyed to read this forum. Great advice. I am new to OC. I am probably running this station as a graphics/Video station but it looks too sexy not to push it. Jjust experimented with a 10% auto OC....mmmm I want to get down in tweaking this rig more. I am open to learn.

Thanks,
Fazzi

 

[RideFree]

Fazzi,
Holy smokes, the big iron!
IMHo, the latest nVidia (6.7) drivers go well with the 1011-001 BIOS.
I have a few of the same pieces as you (OK, M/B & 165 OEM) and raid on the Sil.
All nVidia drivers installed, using nVidia Firewall, all M$ updates installed - Rock solid!

 

[Fazzi]

Originally posted by: RideFree
Fazzi,
Holy smokes, the big iron!
IMHo, the latest nVidia (6.7) drivers go well with the 1011-001 BIOS.
I have a few of the same pieces as you (OK, M/B & 165 OEM) and raid on the Sil.
All nVidia drivers installed, using nVidia Firewall, all M$ updates installed - Rock solid!

RideFree - I have now updated to 6.7. Not using the Firewall or the Storage(IDE) drivers.
I have to learn now how to set up the manual settings for RAM etc. I must mention that I have experienced a couple of v. short freezes and then everything's been fine so far. I am starting to actually use the system this week.

 

[RideFree]

I think that the advise was to update to the nVidia driver version above 6.5 in order to use the 1011-001 BIOS.
I was trying to communicate this in my previous post. Hopefully, "a couple of v. short freezes" are a thing of the past.
Just trying to let you know that my setup appears faultless with the 6.7 & 1011-001.

 

[Jorakal]

Ridefree you have configured the Nvidia firewall and using it fine? No problems with downloads? If so I'll think about installing my firewall on my A8N-E. I am also using 6.7 with my BIOS v1010 and it works great.

 

[RideFree]

Originally posted by: Jorakal
Ridefree you have configured the Nvidia firewall and using it fine? No problems with downloads?

nVidia Firewall is working great. Gigabit LAN works spectacularly well with the NAS

 

[Fazzi]

OK...A couple of lock-up and restarts...hmmm did I mention before that I use a dual monitor setup? Well I got two monitors running on the eVGA 6600 LE using nVidia multiview...and guess what ...that was causing the problem. I had intermittent problems in my monitor where mouse clicks, menus could cause a system error and a restart. I have not fixed the problem by switching my primary and secondary monitors around. Primary monitor is where alot of action goes on. The 2nd monitor is my preview screen for video editing, or a place to put my photoshop tools.

I am running good for over a day now! there must be a conflict in either the 6600LE or the nVidia nView all running in an A8N-SLI premium (nForce4 chipset)????

 

[RideFree]

Originally posted by: Fazzi
I am running good for over a day now! there must be a conflict in either the 6600LE or the nVidia nView all running in an A8N-SLI premium (nForce4 chipset)????

Oh, great! Now nVidia does't work right with nVidia!
I always figured someday we'd see the old, "Windows ain't right 'till Lotus is broke" routine between nVidia chipsets & ATI.

 

[FirenzeL]

so is would it be better to download the 67 chipset stuff from Nvidia to run with the 1011 bios? its just that i would have thought that ASUS would have picked up on the newer chipset drivers and would be incorporating them themselves... I'm still yearning to get home and re-build my PC... poor thing had troubles with a bios update using my RAM on stock settings and stuff... and now (thanks to this forum) have learnt exactly how to unlock the extra pipelines on my graphics card, which i also really really wanna try... arg, the pure torture of waiting... plus there is never anything wrong with the Beta BIOS's are there? i mean there isn't the chance that something is going to go horribly wrong with my mobo if i use a Beta BIOS... i'm a little shaken after my last A8N SLI Premium went dead during a BIOS update.... (i used the windows update tool, don't think I'll be doing that again!)

 

[RideFree]

First,
BIOS upgrades aren't for the faint of heart. I'm not necessarily recommending that it be done.

Second,
If upgrading to the 1011 BIOS, it is my understanding that you will need the 6.7 nVidia driver set installed before the BIOS update.
(Greater than 6.5, anyway.)

Third,
This combo is working flawlessly on my rig so there is no hesitation on my part in recommending These two upgrades in concert.

 

[FirenzeL]

oki doki then. thanks for the advice!

 

[Superoo]

Apologies if this has been mentioned already in this thread (I did search but it is a big thread...) but have any of you guys had issues with the placement of the 12V ATX connector on the motherboard and its close proximity to the PCI-E connector?

I find the 4 pin 12V power cable ends up running up against the heatsink on my video card. This could be made worse in my situation by the fact that the PSU in the P180 case is mounted at the bottom. Just wondering if anyone has found similar. Should I be concerned about the effect of heat on the cable?

 

[RideFree]

The insulating coating on the wiring is probably Neoprene, and has a temperature range from -40?F to 250?F.
Do you think you'll be exceeding either of these extremes in the case or next to the video card heat-sink?

 

[Superoo]

Originally posted by: RideFree
The insulating coating on the wiring is probably Neoprene, and has a temperature range from -40?F to 250?F.
Do you think you'll be exceeding either of these extremes in the case or next to the video card heat-sink?

"Probably" Neoprene? I have looked but can't seem to confirm that. How sure are you about these temp ranges? Is this actually documented somewhere specifically about my PSU?

And no, I hadn't considered cryogenic cooling to achieve -40F or overclocking the GPU to the point where I could fry eggs on it. I am, however, happy to be told that I have nothing to worry about. There's precious little I can do about it anyway I suppose.

Thanks.

 

[Megatomic]

I just installed my new to me (used) ASUS A8N-SLI Premium in the following configuration:

Mobo: ASUS A8N-SLI Premium BIOS = 1009 Official
CPU: AMD Athlon64 3700+ San Diego
HSF: ThermalTake SilentBoost K8
Memory: 2x512MB Patriot PDC1G3200LLK PC3200 in DIMM slots A1/B1
Case: Antec SLK3700BQE
PSU: Antec True380 II
Hard drives: 2 Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 ATA133 on IDE1
Optical drives: TDK CD-R/W and Lite-On DVD-R/W on IDE2
Video card: EVGA GeForce 6800GT in the top PCI-e slot
Sound card: SB Audigy 2ZS in bottom PCI slot
Keyboard/mouse: Logitech MX3000 Laser
Monitor: Samsung 930B on DVI
Speakers: Logitech X-230

I have only one problem with the above system at this point: I have to run my memory at DDR400 with both sticks installed. If I try to run at 240HTT with the memory set to run on the 5:4 divider, the system won't POST. I get one long beep and two short beeps. If I pull the stick in A1 I can POST no problem. Things I have tried to fix this so far:

1. Increased Vdimm to max (3.0V)
2. Increased chipset voltage to 1.6V
3. Increased HT voltage to 1.25V
4. Tried both 1T and 2T
5. Lowered timings to below rated (all of them)

I've tried just about combination of the above list with no dice. I know my memory is capable of running in dual channel at 1T with a 5:4 divider when HTT is 240MHz as I did it for nearly 6 months with my EVGA NF4 SLI mobo. So does anyone have any ideas as to what might be the problem? How I might fix this? Does the ASUS board just not like my Patriot RAM sticks?

If I need to post more info to help troubleshoot this any further just let me know what you need. For the record, if I run at 1:1 DCDDR400 1T the system is completely stable with stock voltages. Memtest86+ 1.65 and Prime95 blended torture test both run without errors (not together obviously ). Thanks for any help you guys can give me.

ps - if you can think of any tweaks for me implement I'd love to hear them, too. :thumbsup:

 

[wanderer27]

5:4 Divider ?

Do you mean the 333 Divider, or one the Dividers labeled > DDR400 (DDR400-DDR600) ?

I'm hoping it's the 333 as this should give you about 200MHz on your Memory.

How are you setting your Memory timings, Manual or Auto ?
I don't think Auto does a good job on Memory, so I'd set them Manually.

Since you're trying to OC, have you turned off all the "Auto" OC options ?
There's about five or six of them you'll need to change.

Are the CPU and HT multipliers changed ?

You may want to run this MB through Zebo's (?) OC tests just to make sure you're not hitting a limit on one of the other parameters if all the above look okay.

 

[Megatomic]

Thanks for the reply. I'll answer your questions one by one:

Yes, the Memclock setting. I set it to 333MHz so that at 240HTT I'll get 200MHz on the RAM.

All the timings are in manual, I don't use auto. I have questions about some of the settings, they weren't available to me on my EVGA board. I'll post them later, I'm at work right now.

Yes, I turned off the auto overclocking functions.

Yes, I adjusted the CPU and HTT mults. CPU was set to 10x and HTT was set to 4x.

I'll look up Zebo's thread, but I don't think it's a CPU overclocking issue. I can overclock while just one DIMM slot is populated. It really seems like a memory issue to me.

 

[wanderer27]

Have you OC'd on both sticks (individually), just thinking one stick may not be as robust.

I do seem to recall seeing some people having trouble with the Patriots, but I'm thinking they eventually got them working.

Only other thing that comes to mind right now would be to loosen the Memory settings a little to see if that makes a difference.

 

[RideFree]

nForce4 AMD/Intel X16 - Windows XP/2000 (v6.85)
http://www.nvidia.com/object/nforce_nf4_winxp32_x16_6.85

nForce4 AMD/Intel X16 - Windows XP Professional x64 Edition (v6.83)
http://www.nvidia.com/object/nforce_nf4_winxp64_x16_6.83
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New NVIDIA nForce4 Drivers For Windows XP and Windows XP Professional x64

 

[Megatomic]

I have good news - I was able to overclock in a way superior to what I was trying to do. I can overclock to 225MHz 1:1 1T with both sticks of memory installed. I ran a few sets of Memtest86+ v. 1.65 and it passed with no errors! Here are the major settings I used:

Vcore = 1.5V (will try to lower if possible)
Vdimm = 2.85V
Vht = 1.25V
Vdd = 1.6V

2.5-3-3-8-1T

HTT = 220MHz
CPU Mult. = 11x
CPU : DRAM = 1:1

Initially I tried 250MHz but the system wouldn't POST. I'm very happy with this, it should keep me going until I get my 4400+.