** Official EPoX 9NDA3+ Thread ** S939

[pantner]

Hey guys,

Looking at buying this board...looks VERY good, i currently have a Gigabyte K8NSNXP-939, which is away on RA...for the second time...so im just gonna sell it and get a new one..

i was originally going to get the DFI NF3 Ultra-D, however while i sit and wait for it to be released, my A64 3800 and 6800GT are also sitting waiting, all the time they're loosing value, so i decided to get something that was available now, and somewhat established...

just have a few questions...anyone running the "2005/02/02" BIOS???

for the description is has "** Hidden over 1.75v options for CPU Voltage item. ", does that mean it unlocks higher Vcore settings???

Are the SATA ports locked???
i run 2x200GB SATA in a RAID-0 Config...some boards do not have locks on their SATA ports, or only on specific ports, which does the same thing as an un-locked AGP bus does when you overclock...

Hmm, i think thats everything i want to know about it...

Thanks!

BTW arswihart, NVIDIA have a Unified Driver download for their Chipsets the same as their GFX Drivers. You download the NForce Drivers which support both NF2, NF3 and NF4 (i assume NF1 too), the same way the GFX Drivers support a 5200, 5950 and 6800 all at the same time...good way to do it...just makes for a big download after a while

 

[arswihart]

pantner - i'm aware of that, but many people did not think the 6.39 should be installed on nforce3 systems, just because nvidia labelled them as nforce4 drivers, I was just making it clear that they work fine

SATA ports 1&2 under the AGP slot are locked, the other 2 are not and are useless, hence, if you don't need firewire, save $30 and get the 9nda3j with 2 locked SATA ports and no extra useless ones. The only other difference is that they use different gigabit ethernet chips. If you get a 9nda3+, you will almost def. get a rev2.1 with no lan issues at all. I've heard about lan issues with the 9nda3j but not sure if they are resolved or if they existed in the first place, you may want to read up on it before you buy a 9nda3j.

I'm running the latest BIOS. It hides the higher voltages so you cannot select them. No worries though, you will overclock to your heart's content with the settings that are available, they are unnecessarily high and unsafe so its just as well that they aren't available IMO.

 

[pantner]

ah, thanks for the quick reply (only posted like 2 hours ago or something)

i currently only have 2 SATA drives, but am looking at getting a 300GB SATA NCQ to replace my aging 80GB IDE drive...so i do want the 4 ports...

Hmm, sounds good...

i e-mailed one of my suppliers today asking about pricing and avalibility on it (will be getting the 9nda3+...i get it wholesale anyway, so prolly would be even smaller difference in price ) and should hear back tomorrow sometime (hopefully) then take ROUGHLY a week to get it in...

and then i'll finally have a running computer....which has been collecting dust since before christmas!!!!!!!!!

THANKS!

 

[AndyBogard]

I just ordered this board and its on its way to me, I will have it tomorrow, and then have my computer running in 3 weeks. Unfortunately the motherboard along with the rest of my nice components will have to wait to be put together.

I have a few questions for those of you that have this board.

1. Because of the slightly low default Vcore, are you having problems running Prime 95 at default voltage when using a Winchester core CPU?

2. What is the PCI/AGP lock on this board?

I can't wait to get my system all here and put together. I was debating between the 9NDA3+ and the K8N Neo2 for some time. I decided though that the 9NDA3+ would be the better board, both about equal for overclocking, and both have similar performance, but I see less people RMA'ing the 9NDA3+.

 

[Bonesdad]

Originally posted by: arswihart
The only rev 2.2 boards i see on a quick google search are the 8rda+ and 8kda3+/j boards. As far as I know, the 9nda3+ is still at rev 2.1, and it better have good capacitors. I've just recently had to RMA an 8rda+ for bad cap's.

Me too...it took a month to get a replacement board back from them. I liked the 8RDA+, but I won't get another EPoX for a while.

 

[pantner]

ah, remembered something else...in the anandtech review, they stated that the board would lock up during posting if you reboot it from windows, did they fix that problem with a BIOS flash???

@AndyBogard

1. Does this board have a slightly low vore???? where did you see that????

2. What do you mean??? do you mean does it have one??? or do you mean what clocks it locks at???

i was also concidering the MSI K8N Neo2

 

[AndyBogard]

Originally posted by: pantner
ah, remembered something else...in the anandtech review, they stated that the board would lock up during posting if you reboot it from windows, did they fix that problem with a BIOS flash???

@AndyBogard

1. Does this board have a slightly low vore???? where did you see that????

2. What do you mean??? do you mean does it have one??? or do you mean what clocks it locks at???

i was also concidering the MSI K8N Neo2

Well I noticed a few posts on the Anandtech forums about the board having a slightly low Vcore voltage on Winchester CPUs. The posts I've read indicate this board and its little brother the 9NDA3J.

Also I'm betting the 9NDA3+ has an AGP/PCI lock. I was just wondering at what frequency does it lock. Like how the Neo2 locks AGP/PCI at 67mhz (I think thats correct).

 

[arswihart]

In my own experience, as I just said above, it does have a slightly low vcore by default, but it is inconsequential since you can raise it higher in the BIOS to where it should be. It surely is nothing to sway you to go with MSI IMO.

Yes, it locks the AGP/PCI and SATA ports 1&2

 

[pantner]

ok, have ordered one...should have it around 10:30 tomorrow morning...then should have my comp up and running shortly after...

wish me luck!!!

 

[pantner]

well, i have it up and running now...

only realy scare i had was i was getting ALOT of artifacts on my 6800GT...turned out my PSU was undervolting, and just had to connect the manual control up and raise it a little...

now its great...

haven't done any overclocking or anything yet...

 

[pantner]

Hmm, been having random BSODs...i think it was the board undervolting the CPU...increased the vcore a little (0.05V), seems to have fixed the problem...

also, is there a way to flash the BIOS in Windows except for the "Magic BIOS" program???
whenever i try to update it, it says the BIOS it downloads is corrupted, and i'd rather not flash the BIOS in DOS if i can help it.

would the @BIOS program that came with my Gigabyte work???
same chipset...

 

[arswihart]

I had the same experience with low CPU voltage, upping it has solved all those crashes completely. Download the latest MagicBios from Epox:

MagicBIOS

Try that and see if it helps, I had no problems downloading the latest BIOS and flashing it in Windows. I wouldn't even think about using Gigabyte's program unless you want to risk trashing your BIOS chip. Good luck.

 

[hondAS2ooo170]

if i get an epox im gonna wait for this mobo

http://www.epox.com.tw/eng/products_content.php?ps=346
or
http://www.epox.com/USA/product.asp?id=EP-9NPAplusULTRA

 

[pantner]

thanks arswihart, i actually just noticed there is a program called "WINFLASH" that is in the Magic BIOS Directory, i assume it uses that to flash the BIOS after it is downloaded, i'll use that...

BTW. updating the version didn't help, still corrupted.

 

[alexandreBR]

Originally posted by: arswihart
CPU voltage seems kind of low by default, however; I had to increase it to +0.1v to get it stable at this speed. The CPU is spec'ed at 1.4, but this mobo seems to put out only like 1.35-1.38 when the bios settings are at default. Simply increasing this value fixes everything. I may be able to drop it to +0.075 or something, but haven't tried yet.

Thanks

Originally posted by: arswihart
In my own experience, as I just said above, it does have a slightly low vcore by default, but it is inconsequential since you can raise it higher in the BIOS to where it should be. It surely is nothing to sway you to go with MSI IMO

Originally posted by: pantner
Hmm, been having random BSODs...i think it was the board undervolting the CPU...increased the vcore a little (0.05V), seems to have fixed the problem...

Originally posted by: arswihart
I had the same experience with low CPU voltage, upping it has solved all those crashes completely

hi, guys!!!

At first, I'd like you to excuse me for my bad english. Well, I've bought an EPoX 9NDA3+, which is mentioned on the box as being Rev 2.X and I have been having some doubts towards Vcore. I have an AMD A64 3000+, which I know must work with 1.4V. However, USDM keeps telling me that Vcore is between 1.328 and 1.360... My BIOS settings are the Fail-Safe Defaults.. I haven't changed anything apart from IDE UDMA SUPPORT, which I've set to AUTO instead of Disabled. My bios version is from 11/10/2004. Unfortunalely, as I don't have a no-break yet, I haven't flashed the bios. USDM I've installed came with the motherboard CD. I've tried to install the one I've found in the Epox Global site but it keeps all the time telling me, during installation, that Setup can't be found. Checking my voltages in the Bios, I've noticed that Vcore, right there, isn´t really at 1.4v, but is a bit higher than USDM shows me... around 1.35-1.360.. Cool'N Quiet isn't enabled. Trying to solve this, I've gone to the Power Bios Features, and there, for my surprise, I've seen that CPU Voltage has options totally different from the ones I see in the User's Guide... in the manual I see entire voltages which I can apply for the Vcore, such as 1.55, 1.6..... on the other hand, in my bios I can see OFF (default for Fail-Safe settings), +0.025, +0.05, +0.075... +0.30, +0.035, +0.35... This way, I've tried to increase Vcore a bit... I've set it to +0.05 and, when I went back to the CMOS Vcore was between 1.39 and 1.42. In Windows, keeping Vcore +0.05, USDM showed me Vcore between 1.380 and 1.415.

I've tested stability with OCCT (what program do you use to test stability?) for three times... vcore was OFF (default setting) in the BIOS, that is to say, voltage was from 1.328 to 1.360... it has passed the test with no problems

So, could you tell me if I can let the default setting, which is OFF, and this way processor will work well with low voltage, as I've described, or should I choose any increment from those I've listed (0.025, +0.05, +0.075... +0.30, +0.035, +0.35), such as +0.05, which kept Vcore really nearer 1.4v?

As well, I intend to buy a DDR PC3200 KINGSTON 1GB ULTRA LL KIT ... what do you think of it? Will that memo work fine in my mobo?

Thanks!!!

 

[pantner]

well, i use Prime95 and Memtest89 3.1+ to test stability...

If the CPU runs ok with the default (or 'OFF') setting on the VCore, then leave it, as there is no reason to increase it. The Winchester Core A64s generally can get to higher clocks on lower voltages....unlike my Newcastle!


About your RAM, i think someone had a problem with Kingston RAM...but that could've been 'User' error

im getting some OCZ 2x512 PC3200 EL REV2 in a few weeks

 

[alexandreBR]

Originally posted by: pantner
well, i use Prime95 and Memtest89 3.1+ to test stability...

If the CPU runs ok with the default (or 'OFF') setting on the VCore, then leave it, as there is no reason to increase it. The Winchester Core A64s generally can get to higher clocks on lower voltages....unlike my Newcastle!


About your RAM, i think someone had a problem with Kingston RAM...but that could've been 'User' error

im getting some OCZ 2x512 PC3200 EL REV2 in a few weeks

well.. I have increased the Vcore... +0.05.. now it's between 1.376 and 1.408... I've tested again with OCCT and no problems.. really don't know if I leave it OFF or +0.05... LOL...

 

[arswihart]

alexandreBR - Welcome to Anandtech, and good choice on getting the 9nda3+, it's a great mobo. I use nothing to test stability other than whether or not Windows crashes or reboots on me. As pantner said, you don't need to increase the voltage if everything runs stable when its set to "off." But, if you have a BSOD or reboot at some point, keep in mind its probably going to be due to low voltage to the cpu. If I were you I'd just bump it to +0.05v just in case, since really you need to do that for it to read as 1.4v in USDM anyway. Also, your needs for voltage will likely increase if you do any significant OC'ing of that 3000+, which I would recommend. As for memory, I've heard any TCCD memory works great on this mobo, and be sure to use slots 3/4 for best stability apparently. I think I've seen this stuff recommended before. If you need help OC'ing as far as BIOS settings go and stuff, just let us know, we can help you.

 

[pantner]

i've heard ALOT of goof things about GSkill, PQI and OCZ RAM....i really want PQI (thats wat i have now), but i live in australia, and no-one imports it...same with Gskill...but i have a friend to gets OCZ, so i'll be getting it from him....

that patriot stuff is supposed to be good too...

 

[Zebo]

I have the "J" version..


It's basically the 9NDA3+ at $40 less money

But:
Missing FW
Missing rounded cables.
Missing Firewire headers
Missing Screwdriver
Only 2 sata NV RAID vs. 2 sata NV RAID and 2 marvel


Other than that it's exactly the same board. Same box, similar bios options, same layout.

Problems so far or to be aware of:

-mem slots 1 and 2 don't work even at stock speeds has memtest problems tried 4 brands ALWAYS use slots 3 and 4 if you have issue.
-NO 3.3 or 12V monitoring. If you see it, the numbers will be crazy as hell.
- Board undervolts by .05..no biggie really

Good things?
-more Vcore options up to +.35 in .05 increments
-Posts no problem at 325HTT and works well at 315.
-Works up to 280 with 4HT!!!

Hope this helps... Killer board for $90.

 

[pantner]

ok, yes...similar board, but there are some people that need those extras...i run 2x200Gb SATA and am looking at getting a 300GB SATA...so, i NEED 4 ports...

at the moment i am running in slots 1&2 (i think, ones closest to the CPU), have had small problems with stability...will try in 3&4...

no 3.3v or 12v monitoring either...

the screwdriver is cool, the heatsinks too...and i like the idea of having firewire if i need it down the track...


so far i have been up to 10*250, but i can't get into windows...think my RAM is the problem...its only cheapo OEM

 

[alexandreBR]

well, I've set Vcore back to OFF.. system is pretty rock solid..

I really thank you all guys for having helped me so fast... never thought I'd have answers for my doubts in a so short period of time.. I really appreciate your attention and I'm too glad for joining Anandtech.

But, could you explain me just one thing? BSOD .. what's that? Unfortunately my poor english and lack of usage of technical terms don't let me guess what that is.

Towards overclock, I'll really do it. But I want to buy the memory kit first because maybe I can make it work in syncronous mode with CPU. I've searched PQI kit in the store I frequently buy... they are a bit more expensive than KHX:

DDR PC3200 PQI 1GB DUAL CAS2 ULTRA (2-2-2-5): US$ 299.00
DDR PC3200 KINGSTON 1GB ULTRA LL KIT: US$ 264.00

These prices are from a store which sends products form Miami to Brazil... unfortunately I've got to accept them... in Brazil these kits would cost almost twice.

Concerning the slots 1&2 issue, I think the bios that came in my mobo rev has corrected it. A friend of mine has the same mobo and PQI memory and has never had a problem in any slot.

Again, I thank you all for helping me so much.. any experiences when I overclock the system here I'll post to let you know how things are.

 

[arswihart]

alexandreBR - syncronous mode doesn't increased performance on nforce3, just get RAM with good timings. Did you check out the RAM I linked to in my last post?

BSOD - Blue Screen of Death - what you see when Windows crashes sometimes

pantner - You are aware that the other two SATA ports aren't locked and are basically unusable if you are OC'ing, right?

Zebo - did you ever update your BIOS to see if that helps you use RAM slots 1/2?

 

[Wags1974]

Originally posted by: pantner
ok, yes...similar board, but there are some people that need those extras...i run 2x200Gb SATA and am looking at getting a 300GB SATA...so, i NEED 4 ports...

at the moment i am running in slots 1&2 (i think, ones closest to the CPU), have had small problems with stability...will try in 3&4...

no 3.3v or 12v monitoring either...

the screwdriver is cool, the heatsinks too...and i like the idea of having firewire if i need it down the track...


so far i have been up to 10*250, but i can't get into windows...think my RAM is the problem...its only cheapo OEM

Just to make sure you know ports 3 and 4 arent locked.

 

[alexandreBR]

Originally posted by: arswihart
alexandreBR - syncronous mode doesn't increased performance on nforce3, just get RAM with good timings. Did you check out the RAM I linked to in my last post?

Yeah, I've checked those sticks... but unfortunately Newegg doens't deliver in Brazil... I think my only 2 options are Kyngston Hyper X or PQI Ultra. I've gotta choose one of them