*** Official MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum (nForce4 Ultra chipset) Thread ***

[chrisralston]

Despite some earlier problems that I posted here (all of which were my mistakes!), I have been enjoying this mobo. I bought it with a 3700+ San Diego and it recognized it right away. It was shipped with BIOS v1.3. I would think that your Venice would register fine. Keep in mind though I am not OCing, and I think most problems were from people doing this.

 

[Diode20]

The motherboard I beleive is fine as long as it works. Mine for example died after 2 days. An RMA I started on the 4th of May has yet to come through. If I get luck, it may ship this week.

 

[Diode20]

Received motherboard from MSI. It's working now.

-JP

 

[electronbee]

 

[electronbee]

DVD Burning Solution:

Upgraded to latest BIOS from MSI and latest drivers from nvidia. No problems anymore.

 

[sinensis]

I am using an MSI Neo4/Platinum and the (San Diego) Athlon64 3700+
It came with Bios 1.3, recognized the processor. But I cannot run any memory in dual channel mode without it crashing randomly. I have upgraded to Bios 1.4 but the problem persisted. I've tried paired 3-3-3-8 Kingstons and Mushkins and a 2-3-3-8 OCZ VX PC4000 memory.

It all seems to run fine in single channel mode. But for the OCZs I have to set my voltage to 2.7-2.75 and manually set the timings or else it tends to crash earlier in dual channel mode. I have tried this ram in pairs on another computer (Athlon64 3000+, Chaintech NF4 motherboard) and it runs in dual channel mode without a problem. For the time being, I'm just running in single channel mode until I get a reply from MSI's tech support.
I think I have narrowed bad memory out of the equasion. Is it that the board is very picky on what it can use to dual channel? When it does crash, I get either bluescreen reset PFN_LIST Corrupt, or I get a standard memory error crash.

 

[imported_lando]

Originally posted by: VigoCarpathian
Hi all,

I was about to purchase a MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum and a AMD Athlon64 939 3000 Venice yesterday before I stumbled upon this forum and thread. I have read nothing but excellent reviews on multiple well respected sites until now.

I am totally clueless on what I should do. Whats the latest on these instabilty problems and should i risk it?

Second on the official site it only mentions support for the 64 3000 winchestor and not the venice. Is the 3000 Venice supported?


Thankyou for any advice you guys could give me.

Hey vigo--

The venice is supported....this was my first build and i had no trouble whatsoever...this board booted first try and i even updated the bios (for no reason cause the original bios was running fine) to the latest ones via msi liveupdate...the thing runs like a dream and my system temp tops out on doom3 and BF2(demo) at 40c. The thing is ice cold. Running a Thermaltake Soprano w/ 3 case fans. I've read more problems with the winnie than the venice and this board... Again its tough to come on forums cause many ppl come on here to get help with problems not proclaim their love....as far as the northbridge fan being loud -- i dont find it the case for my board. I dont mean to sound overly positive but you can get a $15 rebate now too i think. Cheers and good luck!

 

[pcfountain]

Originally posted by: chrisralston
What USB 2.0 drivers are you using? where did you get them? If possible give me a link or file name. I just updated my BIOS to 1.4 last night and updated all of the nVidia drivers to the most recent versions. I still don't have USB 2.0 capabiltities on any of the ports. VERY frustrating.

I was having this problem too, under WinXP SP2. The Driver CD that came with the motherboard was useless, the MSI LiveUpdate was useless. Here's what I did to fix it:

1. Go to Control Panel -> System -> Hardware -> Device Manager
2. In my device manager, there was a "USB Controller" listed under other devices that was not working. I double-clicked it to bring up properties.
3. It claimed the driver was not installed properly. Clicked on Reinstall Driver.
4. Some stupid M$ question about "would you like to check windows hardware updates blah blah blah" I chose "Yes, this time only."
5. After a few minutes of searching, Windows found the driver and installed everything. Didn't even have to reboot, I was up to USB 2.0 speed. Copying files to my USB flash drive was much faster.

My System:
MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum (non-SLI)
Athlon64 3000+ @ 2025 Mhz
1 GB Corsair XMS PC3200
X800XL 256MB
Some drives 'n stuff

 

[imported_mrhyde]

First of all thanks for all the great information about the motherboard and other issues that you guys have been having - and I'm sure you've answered my question, but I can't seem to find the answer i'm looking for. It's been a while since I've built a machine so I just want to make sure I'm getting the best parts.

I'm in the process of building a monster using the MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum (SLI) and I'm looking to end up with the best RAM (2GB) for the system. I've been reading and reading about different DDR and other settings. Money is not really an issue here as I've allocated for the best recommendation. I'm looking for raw speed and have kind of narrowed it down between OCZ and Muskin Redline (speed to cost ratio).

Any recommendations? I know it says PC3200 - DDR400 on the motherboard writeups but I see some of the other test systems are using PC3700 - my only requirement is I want 2GB.... any help is welcome.

Thanks again for all the information guys...

/K

 

[pcfountain]

Originally posted by: mrhyde
First of all thanks for all the great information about the motherboard and other issues that you guys have been having - and I'm sure you've answered my question, but I can't seem to find the answer i'm looking for. It's been a while since I've built a machine so I just want to make sure I'm getting the best parts.

I'm in the process of building a monster using the MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum (SLI) and I'm looking to end up with the best RAM (2GB) for the system. I've been reading and reading about different DDR and other settings. Money is not really an issue here as I've allocated for the best recommendation. I'm looking for raw speed and have kind of narrowed it down between OCZ and Muskin Redline (speed to cost ratio).

Any recommendations? I know it says PC3200 - DDR400 on the motherboard writeups but I see some of the other test systems are using PC3700 - my only requirement is I want 2GB.... any help is welcome.

Thanks again for all the information guys...

/K

If you're going for 2GB, my only recommendation is to get 2x1GB dual channel. If you fill all 4 slots with memory, it won't run at 1T timing, which is the biggest factor for memory performance. Unfortunately the stuff costs $$$$$$BLING and there is not much selection, but you said money was no object. Honestly if you want the top perfomance and to run at tight timings like 1T-2-2-2-5, you might consider 1GB. All depends on what you want to do with the box ... very few games/apps nowadays can actually make benefit out of 2GB memory.

Regarding memory speed, if you're planning to overclock, you might look into PC3700 or PC4000, since the speed of the memory could directly affect how much you can squeeze out of your CPU. But if you're buying a 4000+ or FX, and running it at stock, just get PC3200 at the best possible timings.

 

[shud]

Ok, I just installed my K8N and have some questions. First of all, I can't get anything to OC! No matter what values I change, the computer either a) doesn't post or b) boots fine with no change in CPU speed.

Cool n Quiet is off. CPU spreader is off. Did I forget to do anything else?

I've messed with FSB, HTT, multiplier, even tried that dynamic overclocking to no avail.

 

[NoSpeed]

Can anyone tell me if this board requires a BIOS update to work properly with the AMD Athlon? 64 X2 dual core processor or the NVIDIA Geforce 7800 GTX GPU?

 

[SixtyFo]

Just a quick question.

I've got a neo4 non-plat. with a 3000+ and a zalman 7700 cooler. More importantly i've also got an x800xl with an ati silencer 5.

The problem I have is that the plastic shroud of the silencer is only 1-2mm off the nb fan and it seems to be blocking any airflow to it. The fan is spinning at 7800rpm and the cooler is still hot to the touch.

Does anyone know of a alternate solution (preferably passive) that would fit underneath the silencer?

hlam

 

[SixtyFo]

Just a quick question.

I've got a neo4 non-plat. with a 3000+ and a zalman 7700 cooler. More importantly i've also got an x800xl with an ati silencer 5.

The problem I have is that the plastic shroud of the silencer is only 1-2mm off the nb fan and it seems to be blocking any airflow to it. The fan is spinning at 7800rpm and the cooler is still hot to the touch.

Does anyone know of a alternate solution (preferably passive) that would fit underneath the silencer?

hlam

Edit: sorry for the double post. I've gone spastic on my powerbook touchpad

 

[wickedbuddha]

NO VIDEO on my MSI + ATI AIW ....I need help!

I just order the following parts for a new build:
MSI K8N Neo4-F
ATI AIW X600 Pro 256 PCI-E
Liteone DVD
WD 160 HD
1 GIG of Ram

I got everything together and the computer comes on. but I have no video signal to my monitor. I hooked up a pc speaker and according to the beeps it had a problem with the video card initializing. Should I assume the vid card is bad and exchange it or could the mother board be bad also?

 

[VigoCarpathian]

Hello again,

Thankyou for your help on my previous query but I am in need once again

Following much consideration I went ahead and bought the neo4 platinum and amd 3000+ venice. Much to my dismay the heatsink wont fit the motherboard. Is this a fault with the heatsink or has anyone else had this problem?

 

[mudboy]

I just got my K8N Neo4 Platinum up and running, seems to be a really nice board so far. I flashed the BIOS to 1.5.

I'm running a Venice 3200+, a Thermalright XP-90 with a Zalman 92mm fan, a 6600GT, and (2) 1GB sticks of Corsair value memory. I'd like to get up to 3500+ or even 3800+ performance with my 3200+, where should I start? Just bump the FSB? What effect does the HT bus speed have on performance?

Thanks

Pete

 

[NoSpeed]

There was no reply to my previous query, so let me rephrase the question. I was wondering if any of you have taken the Neo4 Platinum from its original BIOS state to the latest MSI BIOS available while only using an X2 CPU? The latest BIOS published on the MSI web site is 1.5, however Tech Support sent me BIOS version 1.71 Beta, which does support the X2. I am considering a purchase decision of the MSI Neo4 Platinum motherboard using an AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ CPU. My concern is regarding upgrading the BIOS of the motherboard to work properly with the dual-core CPU. I read the following extract from a recent Anand Tech article: This brings up the nagging question that is always asked when BIOS upgrades are required for certain CPUs. What do you do if you have a board that needs a BIOS upgrade for dual-core and you only have a
dual-core chip? We asked AMD this question and was given the following reply:
"If the BIOS you are working with (original BIOS in the board) supports a rev E single core, it will allow you to flash the BIOS to a BIOS that supports rev E dual core. In my experience, a DC processor with single core rev E support will run fine, but only as a single core. If the BIOS doesn't support rev E (In other words, you may have a good board, but the BIOS is pretty old), you will likely need to install a pre-rev E (AKA-130nm) AMD processor to flash the BIOS." This would be my case as I do not own an earlier generation AMD processor with which I could bring the motherboard up from its original BIOS. According to MSI's web site, BIOS version 1.4 was the first version to support revision E single core CPUs. If any of you have brought the BIOS of this board up from version 1.0 to 1.5, using any revision E CPU, that would also provide a valuable clue toward answering my question. Thanks.

 

[Tlkki]

Since the "reboot bug" on neo4 bioses after v1.2 is fairly common by now on Win xp at least(I think). Would it be shocking to hear that my comp reboots fine when I do it on safe mode?

 

[QSnexus]

 

[TommyVercetti]

I am putting the MSI K8N into a Antec Sonata. Where on the motherboard are the PWR SW, and RESET SW? I just can't find them.

EDIT: Nevermind, found it. I just wasn't looking far enough in the manual.

 

[case]

:disgust: I have had lots of problems with the MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum and i wholeheartedly suggest you go elsewhere. my biggest problem is random reboots about every 4 days for reasons that have eluded me for more than 3 months. all the parts listed in my sig below are new and i have updated the drivers to everything and the bios to the latest 1.5 version, and still no go. when it restarts it no longer can 'see' the ide drives (CD-RW, DVDR, PATA hard drive), and will only come back to life if i hard reboot. my working theory here is that something blows up, causes the reboot, and upon reboot the bios doesn't reload into RAM as the bios sees the corrupted one that's there and thinks it doesn't need to reload. another symptom is that occasionally i'll hear a click from the box (like a small solenoid), and the machine freezes for a few seconds and then works fine. it has only crashed twice in my presense, so i have an annoying lack of data on the problem, but from all the work i've done i can tell you it just shouldn't be happening. my other 3 machines all work great and are stable.

problem two is that it restarts itself after i power it down... i don't get this one at all.

the MSI 6600gt i have (which i bought from the same mfg as my mobo to hopefully insure compatiblity) ships with drivers that if combined with directX 9.0c and the game XIII (which is bundeled with the card) actually crashes to the desktop if you try to play it... this one blew me away... the software that the firm ships with its own card crashes. nice testing there i'd say. these are my three major issues.

problems that i've read of but not experienced: is that the nvidia ethernet port is reported to be quite buggy as if that isn't enough the the nvidia firewall is full of system bugs as well. consequently i have the nvidia enet port disabled in the bios and use the marvell enet port.

i have overclocked nothing and run everything at its stock speeds and specs. i have no interest in oc'ing. i place too high a premium on reliability.

in short, i hate this mobo, and my sence is that it's a bios or nvidia chipset driver problem, but i don't have a firm answer as to what's wrong. all i know is i went to a lot of trouble to buy higher end stuff to insure reliability, and all i've got is a headache.

 

[Justin343563611]

Anybody had any good results with Bios v1.5, I just flashed and don't want to go right into OC'ing. Also I've been meaning to update my nforce4 drivers but can someone point me to a link, because i'm not sure what to look for when updating, anything that gets fixed with newer NF4 drivers?

 

[gandalf85]

I just put together my computer and I can't even get it to start up. The LED will flicker on for a second whenever I turn the main power off. But nothing starts up, not even the fans or anything. I'm pretty sure the power supply is enough, but I'm not sure. What does the LED flickering on for a sec mean? Here are my specs:


MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
MSI NX6600GT-TD128E Geforce 6600GT 128MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3200BPBOX - Retail
pqi TURBO 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model PQI3200-1024DAH - Retail
SONY Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive Windows 98SE/ ME/ 2000/ XP - OEM
Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 ST380817AS 80GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
NEC Black IDE DVD Burner Model ND-3540A - OEM

 

[Biggs25]

Hey all, just build a new system.
AMD 64 X2 4200+
MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum SLI
7800 gtx SLI'ed together
2 gigs of corsair xms pc3200

I don't seem to really have any problems but I was wondering more if my scores were about normal. I've looked around the web but I think my marks should be a few thousand higher @ stock than what im getting.

05 is 10100
03 is 26000
01 is 25000

Any thoughts?