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

[RideFree]

Mega,
What with skimping on everything in the system, it's no wonder it is slow and erratic...
Like instead of that AMD Athlon64 X2 4800+, you should have built up something around an Intel, like maybe a Pentium OverDrive processor.

This is the system I've been waiting a long time for.

I completely agree. I'm even thinking about no longer trolling the Hot Deals section :roll:

 

[Megatomic]

Ok, so I've got a problem to figure out. I think two of them actually. The first and most serious is my power supply (Antec TruePower II 380W) is too weak to do the job now. My +12V rail is dropping to 11.7xV at times and I actually saw it affect my video card for while running RTHDRIBL. I also think that the low rail is messing with my CPU/mobo. This is a new, sealed X2 chip and I am running it at stock settings. When I run 2 instances of Prime95 blended test both cores fail simultaneously in about 4 minutes. I've heard of one core being weak, but I've not seen cases where both fail simultaneously especially at stock settings. But the small FFT test is fine. I'm thinking that this has to be related to the power supply. I'm probably going to order this power supply:

LINKY

It seems like the world loves this unit, and I can afford it. What do you all think?

My second issue is that since I installed the X2 I'm getting some weird behavior from my system. Like when I open Thunderbird, I get an immediate error saying my connection has timed out. But then I can hit send/receive and everything is fine. And when I open ASUS PC Probe II I get some kind of error about and illegal floating point operation, then the program opens right up. I also got some bluescreens while playing Quake4. Could this be due to needing to do a clean install of windows? I've installed the AMD X2 driver and the MS dual core hotfix so that shouldn't be the problem.

Any tips you guys can offer would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Megatomic]

Well, I may have fixed the problem. I set CAS to 2.5 and Prime95 stopped failing in the same 4 minute timeframe. It's been going for 3 times that now.

So why does my high dollar CAS2 RAM not want to run at CAS2? Do I need to overvolt it to get it to be stable at CAS2? Ideas?

 

[Megatomic]

The latest on my system: I have bumped HTT up to 250MHz and lowered the multiplier to 10x. I also set the RAM to run on the DDR333 divider for a final speed of 208MHz. I did this to get back any lost memory performance. Vcore is at stock and Vdimm is at 2.85V. Prime ran on both cores for 30 minutes with no problems, I just ended it so I could mess around some more.

No comments?

 

[wanderer27]

Only thoughts I have on this is that 2 GB is stressing your Memory Controller at CAS 2, especially if you're running an OC on the Bus.

If I had to overvolt anything, it would be the CPU to maybe juice up the Memory Controller, but I'm not sure that would really help.

I would prefer to see a beefier PSU, but you seem to be doing okay with different settings . . . .

 

[Megatomic]

I am trying to get a new power supply right now. If I can't get the one I want from FS/FT I'll go directly to Sundial Micro to get one.

So even with just 2 sticks of memory I can be overstressing the memory controller eh? This is the first time I've heard of this. 4 sticks yes, 2 sticks no. Especially when I was running it at stock speed.

 

[wanderer27]

Yes, but with a lower CAS you're getting a decent OC, right ?

And like I said, I may be off on that, but I just seem to recall issues at the 2GB mark. It's more prevalent at 4x512MB, but I have seen a couple at 2x1GB. I do think yours is the first Corsair 2GB I've seen to have a problem though.

How high & tight (timings) can you run each stick individually ? Maybe one is weak and that's where your problem is.

 

[Megatomic]

To be honest, I haven't tried running each stick individually yet. What I'm going to do is see how I can overclock while running 1:1. If I can get 225MHz 1:1 then I'll stop complaining about not being able to run at CAS2.

 

[H20Cool]

OK here goes...

I just got my new system installed and I'm having a bit of a problem.

First of all, here's a rundown of my hardware:

Athlon X2 4400+
ASUS A8N-SLI Premium rev. 1.02
2 x 1GB OCZ Platinum EB PC4000 (DDR500)
2 x XFX Geforce 7800GTs in SLI
WD Raptor 37G (boot drive)
Maxtor DM10 250GB SATA
Maxtor DM10 200GB SATA
WD 1200JB 120GB IDE
Plextor P-708A DVD burner
Enermax Noisetaker SLI 600W
Lian-Li V2000 case

First of all, let me start of by saying that according to the bios, the CPU and Mobo temps are fine (around 30C & 32C respectively). I haven't attempted to OC anything yet. Pretty much everything is running AUTO. All hardware is initializing just fine. At the bios level, everything seems to be running quite lovely.... That is until I attempt to install Windows XP Pro. I get a file error just as it says "starting windows XP" after the drivers, etc. get installed from the cd. I can't for the life of me get past this point. The only thing that is obvious that concerns me is the fact that the chipset temp is scorching. I'm not sure what the temp is for sure (mobo only displays CPU and Mobo) but it's hot enough to burn my finger after a few seconds. I've heard some people having problems using this board (with the heatpipe) in inverted cases like the one I'm using (v2000). However, I'm not getting any blue screens or spontaneous reboots, just that bloody error and always at the same point in the OS installation (Just before you select the partition in which to install windows on).

My first question is, would a hot chipset cause program errors but not Stop errors? and either way, is that too hot for the chipset to be running at? I'm going to try a few things and with a little trial and error, I hope to find the problem.

Here's what I'm going to try...

1. temporarily install a heatsink on top of the "asus fanless design" over the chipset and point a fan at it to cool it down
2. try increasing my vdimm to 2.8v which is what the OCZ modules are rated at. (auto is 2.6 I beleive)
3. update the bios to the latest revision
4. swap out the ram for OCZ 2x512MB sticks
5. switch up the SATA drives/unhook some

Any other suggestions would be much appreciated. In the mean time, I'm going to try the five things I listed above and see if I get anywhere with it.

TIA

 

[RideFree]

H20Cool
The V2000 installs with your M/B's heat-pipe facing down instead of up!

You should know that Heat-Pipes only work with the assist of gravity.
The liquid in them does a phase-change and the vapors rise to "cool down" in the "radiator". Subsequently, the liquid (being heavier than the vapor) drops back down to the heatsink.

 

[wanderer27]

#5 looks like a good starting point.

I'd unhook all the HDs except the one you're going to Boot off of. Install your OS and Drivers on this and get things running, then you can hook the remaining Drives up and should be fine.

The usual problem in installing XP is when you have a SATA and an IDE hooked up at the same time. XP seems to prefer IDE Drives and tends to get "confused" when installing on a SATA when an IDE is also available.

Chipset temp has been a problem with inverted mount Cases, so I'm not sure what to tell you to do about that.

 

[Megatomic]

Unfortunately it looks like I'm stuck at CAS2.5. I got a new power supply (Antec SmartPower II 500W) and even with a strong 12V rail (12.03V right now, dips to 11.91 with 2x Prime95 and RTHDRIBL running) I can't keep Prime95 from failing when CAS is set to 2.

My compromise is:

HTT=250MHz
CPU Mult.=10x
Memclock Index=DDR333
HTT=4x
All voltages at stock except Vdimm which is at 2.9V (for now)

This gives me a 100MHz o/c on the CPU and an 8MHz o/c on the RAM which makes up for the small loss of memory bandwidth I get from running CAS2.5 rather than CAS2. A big plus for me here is that the new power supply is quieter than my old one and my entire system is cooler now. Tcpu and Tmb are idling at 35C whereas they used to idle at 46C and 39C respectively. After 30 minutes of two instances of Prime95 the temps. are 51C and 38C which are very good IMHO. The cpu fan never winds up to a speed which would be noisy.

I guess I'll be happy with this. I'm still confused as to why CAS2 is an unreality with 2 different sets of CAS2 RAM, but overall the system is exactly what I wanted. :thumbsup:

 

[H20Cool]

Thanks for the info guys. I'm aware that, depending on the type of heatpipe, it's not nearly as effective upside down. But I've heard conflicting stories about the one on this board, like whether or not it has a "wick" inside the pipe or not. I've heard some people say it makes very little difference being upside down (the wicked type heatpipe), but then on the other hand others have said the heatpipe is virtually useless in that position. I'm beginning to think the later opinion is correct in the case of this motheboard.

Good news though, I did get windows xp pro installed with all my programs, drivers, etc. and everything seems stable so far (crossing fingers) although I haven't done any stress testing yet, not to mention OCing! The vid cards are running in SLI mode with no problems. Needless to say I'm still not too comfortable with the chipset running at such a high temp so I ended up installing an 80mm fan that I directed at the chipset to help cool it down until I consider ordering a chipset cooler on monday (possibly a zalman fanless? Any suggestions on what will fit between two XFX 7800GTs?).

I checked out the board temps in the bios and with speedfan and everything seems fine. Right now as I type this speedfan is reporting -CPU: 35'C -Temp2: 40'C -Temp3: 29'C HD0: 33'C HD1: 30'C HD2: 32'C and ambient room temp is 22'C. Not exactly sure what Temp 2 & 3 are but I assumed they would be the chipset and system temps respectively. Anyone know better? If they are, that would mean that the chipset temp is fine and I have nothing to worry about. But I'm not putting my faith in that until I know for sure that one of those temps (more likely 'temp2') is in fact the chipset temp. My finger tells me that it's more like 50'C, though my finger is rather unscientific

Any info on the above few questions is much appreciated.

TIA

 

[pfile]

thank the gods for this thread. i read so much bad stuff about this board on newegg, and i guess it all boils down to RAM compatibility, which seems to be a solvable problem. thanks wanderer27 for all your posts.

i've had an athlon XP 3000+ on an abit nf7s running flawlessly for about 1.5 years in my home theater PC. recently i got the idea that i really needed a faster processor, and that i should get a dual-core one.

in the best of all worlds, i'd get a core duo (mainly because the power consumption is so low) but i cant find any mobos for it yet.

the 4200+ X2 on the ASUS mobo seems to be the next best thing. i dont plan to overclock at all, but after reading this thread i've still got a few questions.

- my HTPC is in a silverstone case, which is of course has the mobo mounted horizontally. is the heatpipe going to be ineffective in this configuration?

- anyone have experience running linux on this motherboard? at least when i was bringing up the athlon XP 3000+ system, FC2 had problems with the motherboard SATA and i had to disable the onboard SATA controller completely.

- it seems like there are a lot of driver problems under windows XP. how about win2k?

- does the latest official BIOS clear up the auto memory timing problems, or does that continue to be an issue?

- is the antec sonata 380W truepower PS definitely too wimpy or just maybe? how about the silverstone fanless 400W supply?


thanks!

 

[wanderer27]

Originally posted by: pfile
thank the gods for this thread. i read so much bad stuff about this board on newegg, and i guess it all boils down to RAM compatibility, which seems to be a solvable problem. thanks wanderer27 for all your posts.

i've had an athlon XP 3000+ on an abit nf7s running flawlessly for about 1.5 years in my home theater PC. recently i got the idea that i really needed a faster processor, and that i should get a dual-core one.

in the best of all worlds, i'd get a core duo (mainly because the power consumption is so low) but i cant find any mobos for it yet.

the 4200+ X2 on the ASUS mobo seems to be the next best thing. i dont plan to overclock at all, but after reading this thread i've still got a few questions.

- my HTPC is in a silverstone case, which is of course has the mobo mounted horizontally. is the heatpipe going to be ineffective in this configuration?

- anyone have experience running linux on this motherboard? at least when i was bringing up the athlon XP 3000+ system, FC2 had problems with the motherboard SATA and i had to disable the onboard SATA controller completely.

- it seems like there are a lot of driver problems under windows XP. how about win2k?

- does the latest official BIOS clear up the auto memory timing problems, or does that continue to be an issue?

- is the antec sonata 380W truepower PS definitely too wimpy or just maybe? how about the silverstone fanless 400W supply?


thanks!

Intuitively I'd think a horizontal MB would be better than an inverted MB, but not as good as the intended mounting. I don't know first hand, and I can't say I've even seen anyone mention that they have a horizontally mounted MB - so I'm totally guessing here.

The thing with the SATAs I believe you're encountering are actually the RAID functionality.
The NVRAID is obvious that it controlls RAID function on those ports. The Silicon Controller however is not, but it is actually for RAID on the Silicon ports. Poorly labeled/documented, but that's what it is. Actual SATA port control (non RAID) I believe is under the individual or IDE control menu - don't remember exactly right now, but it's a sub-sub menu you have to dig a little to get to.

I would think Linux or W2K should work fine as long as you can find the Drivers you need. For the Microsoft stuff, just make sure not to install the IDE or Fireware from the Chipset Driver package (NF4).

I'm running 1007 BIOS, and have no ideal what the newer versions are supposed to fix. Since I'm not and haven't had any issues I haven't really worried about the updates.

I can't remember exactly, but I think the 380w Truepower may be a bit low on the 12v side of things. With a Dual Core, and depending on you Video Card, I'd look for something a little beefier - especially if you're considering doing SLI.

Oh, and thanks for the Kudos

Glad we could all help on here.

 

[Megatomic]

pfile, I'd definitely recommend a stonger power supply than the TruePower 380. Even the TruePower II 380 proved to be insufficient for my system. I got myself a SmartPower II 500 and it works much better.

 

[pfile]

thanks for the replies. i dont even plan on doing SLI or using a beefed up video card - i'm going to use one that doesnt even need a fan. the only reason i need this board (or the deluxe i think) is because i want optical audio out and ieee1394. i want the fast cpu(s) for doing video transcoding and that's it. as it stands now i think the barton that i've got burns like 72W at full power, vs. 89W for the manchester i'm looking at. so i thought maybe i could squeak by with the sonata supply while i'm building the system. i'm pretty sure my silverstone supply is 400W, but i have to check.

megatomic, what kind of video card do you have? and are you overclocking?

 

[Megatomic]

I'm using a single Geforce 6800GT running at Ultra speeds (BIOS flash o/c). And I do have a slight overclock going now, just 100MHz. But even at stock speed the 12V rail on my 380 was dipping down to 11.71V. That's why I recommend a beefier power supply.

 

[Megatomic]

You guys aren't going to believe this. I fixed my last remaining problem with a suggestion I found in the Software forums. I switched the slots that my RAM sticks were installed in. That's it.

I bumped my memory back up to 2-3-3-8-1T at 2.8V and both instances of Prime95 are still running strong almost 40 minutes later. The longest it would run before like this 19 minutes.

So, my RAM is now in slots 2 and 4 away from the CPU socket (though CPU-Z sees this as slots 3 and 4). The rest of the settings:

RAM timings: 2-3-3-8-1T @ 2.8V
CPU mult: 12x
HTT: 200MHz
HTT mult: 5x
Memclock index: DDR400
All other voltages at stock

If this runs for an hour I'll be convinced that I got it fixed. Now, does anyone have any idea why slots 1 and 3 are less stable than 2 and 4 are for me?

 

[RideFree]

I don't care

whether or not it has a "wick"

or not!
The laws of physics don't change just because of capillary action.

 

[RideFree]

Intuitively I'd think a horizontal MB would be better than an inverted MB, but not as good as the intended mounting. I don't know first hand, and I can't say I've even seen anyone mention that they have a horizontally mounted MB - so I'm totally guessing here.

Actually, this will work in the horizontal position (or flat) as that is what the wick will do. i.e.make this work in the horizontal plane.

 

[Megatomic]

Well, I guess I proclaimed victory too soon. A few minutes after placing the side cover back on my case Prime95 failed. At the time that the failure occured Tcpu was just 49C and Tmb was 37C. Before I put the cover on Tcpu was 43C and Tmb was 29C. I don't think the temp. is excessive yet the memory seems to be sensitive to even moderate rises in case temp. Is this indicative of bad memory sticks?

Please help me out, I may need to RMA these guys back to Corsair.

 

[pfile]

gaaaak!! the silverstone PSU is only 250W i think, so that's never going to cut it. maybe i'll just build this thing as a transcode server and not have it online all the time.

i'm a hardware designer myself (mostly FPGAs these days) and compared to the boards we make (12-14 layers, impedance controlled), i'm perpetually shocked that these PC motherboards work at all, given how few layers they have. DDR pin timing is not all that forgiving, so to have a bunch of poorly controlled traces, probably running too close to one another, its a small miracle that it ever works at all. it seems likely to me that some brands of SDRAM just will not play nice with certain chipsets no matter what you try (short of lowering the memory clock speed drastically...)

 

[pfile]

well, after all the horror stories, i cant believe how easy it was. i bought the crappy "patriot" fry's special memory (2x512M PC3200), put the mobo in the sonata case, put the processor on the mobo, and the mofo booted right up with no bios tweaking. so it looks like whatever was in the SPD of these dimms, the bios liked it. this thing flys for my target application. i'm running memtest86 now just to make sure its stable, but certainly worked fine for several hours last night.

i dont have lm_sensors working yet, so i dont know what the DC voltages are, but my AC power analyzer says: 130W at idle, 140W with one cpu pegged, and 150W with both cpus pegged. we'll see if 12V is sagging when i get the sensor stuff working.

 

[Megatomic]

Awesome, glad to hear it pfile. Just to be clear, my system worked with BIOS defaults, too. I was just tweaking for the best performance and that's where I ran into my difficulties. I'm just a geek is all.

So, my system is stable now, too. I'm at 2.64GHz with HTT at 220MHz and the memory running at 1:1 with timings of 2.5-3-3-8-1T. Vcore is 1.375V and Vdimm is 2.80V. I'm pretty happy with this, my computer flies even with 2 instances of Prime95 running in the background.