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

[PoxMeister]

Originally posted by: chrisralston
The last couple of posts here are not giving much encouragement.

I just bought all my parts which include this mobo and a 3700+ San Diego. Anyone using this pair? I will also be using 1g (2x512) CorsairVS PC3200, Seagate SATA (80g), MSI 6600 VTD, Antec TruePower 2.0 (480W).

I'm hoping that all goes well with the setup, especially after reading some of the problems people have been having.

Anyone enjoying their Neo4 Platinums'?

I'm enjoying mine very much. No problems here, as I mentioned above. Well, one small one actually.

Sometimes when I shutdown (Start->Shutdown) and the PC has completely powered down, it will restart on it's own after about 10-20 seconds. I've unchecked the box in WinXP Pro to not automatically reboot on system failure under Startup and Recovery, and I have disabled anything I can see in BIOS that would be "wake-on" type of stuff, that I can tell anyway. It didn't help, PC still restarts on it's own.

A buddy of mine who knows alot about PCs is running XP Pro and also has this same thing happening, and he's running an Athlon XP on a totally different motherboard, so I can only guess it's Windows XP related.

Anyone else with the Neo4 Platinum had this problem, and was able to find what was causing the restart?

 

[rapamarques]

Do somebody know if the MSI RMA is fast?? I'm brazilian, and I think that i will use the RMA, because my motherboard get a problem!!! Thank You!!!

 

[ChakkaSol]

Hi folks, obviously I am new to the forum but I am over at the MSI forums under the same call sign. And I am asking for a little help.

I just wanted to let you know that MSI is now aware of the Winchester Core (and now Venice Core) AMD chip overclocking issues. We, (ChakkaSol and aicjofs on the MSI forums - please follow this thread) are on the MSI forums with a lead thread under the nVidia board section as follows:

http://forum.msi.com.tw/index.php?topic=80211.0

We are in the midst of contact with not only one of the senior editors of Anandtech, but also the folks over at Hardocp. They both have helped us greatly to get in contact with some of the senior folks over at MSI. Much of the problem may have stemmed from the fact that MSI and MSI admins were not truly aware of the unique winchester core problem on n4 mobos.

I think we are getting close with MSI & MSI forum admins to completely understand the issue and allowing us all to "get on the same page". We believe its a bios issue but we are not certified testers like Anandtech and Hardocp.

Just to make sure, this is not about "bashing" MSI and even though aicjofs and I get really frustrated to the edge sometimes, we simply want to resolve this issue and be part of the solution, and not part the problem. This is very delicate and we don't want to flame the thread.

Here is where we need your help too. For those of you who have experienced the 219 or 229 fsb bug, please email both Anandtech and Hardocp that you too have experienced the same problem. Again, we all really want to confirm to both Anandtech and Hardocp the excellent reviews of the SLI mobo and overclock like they did in the reviews so that we can all refer to the K8N Neo4 Platinum/Diamond SLI as the "SLI mobo of choice".

If you feel inclined and have the problem, please post on the thread. Thank you for your support.

 

[brshoemak]

Alright, I have a problem with my system. Here's the quick list:

AMD 3200+ Winchester
MSI Neo4 Platinum MB
1 GB Geil Memory (Dual Channel, 512MB x 2)
BFG 6800GT OC 128MB PCI Express
40GB Maxtor HD
Antec Truepower 430

So I put the system together, enable Cool N Quiet and all is well. I am running MSI's Core Center to monitor temps and fan speeds. After awhile the CPU fan speeds starts increasing even though the temp remains the same. I know CnQ is enabled but when I enter Core Center's Cool N Quiet settings (where you can select either "Cool N Quiet" or "Manual") and ensure CnQ is selected (which it always is) as soon as I hit 'Apply' the fans speeds drop to around 1800-2200rpm. This is much lower than the 3500-4500 that it usually idles at. It's odd that even though CnQ is selected, I have to click 'Apply' in Core Center to make it work properly.

I have a Zalman Fan Mate coming in the mail, but it's still concerning that it does this. Has anyone else had any experience like this with AMD's Cool N Quiet technology? It must be software based since the CPU temps seem correct and all I have to do to correct the issue is click a button in MSI's utility. It is the most updated version, hell, everything is updated on my machine (BIOS included). It's just frustrating. Thanks for any replies.

 

[Pr0d1gy]

I honestly don't use any of MSi's utilities since it is just more crap to distract me from I really need to be doing. Anyways, just disable Cool N Quiet because it interferes with many games & such anyways.

 

[rdtx2002]

Hi, I'm having problems with my Neo4 non-platinum but SLI-ready..

my setup includes 3000+ and 6600GT and a few HDDs..

the problem is that i cannot load windows, i get a MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION Stop: 0x000009C

I am wondering if it is my RAM.. i have HyperX HKX3200 2x512mb Dual Channel.. just wondering if there is compatibility problems?.. and if so.. what ram should i get?

TIA

 

[Pr0d1gy]

Do the usual troubleshooting steps such as trying to run with just one stick & try both of them this way. Also, you may want to give more info such as what you have done, whether it was working properly at some point, & your hardware specs.

 

[Diode20]

rapamarques:

MSI RMA is extremely slow. You first have to send them your motherboard. You pay shipping.

You then wait 10-14 working days for them to "process" it.

If you get lucky, you'll have it in a month. Good luck, I'm still waiting for mine. Calling them is futile. Email eventually gets you a response. A typical, "our turn around time is within 10~14 working days". I'm on my third week waiting right now.

 

[PoxMeister]

Ok, I resolved my problem with the auto-restart after shutdown thing.

I updated the firmware on both of my optical drives (one Samsung DVD+-RW and one Aopen CD+-RW), and also unchecked the box in Properties-->advanced Settings of the onboard LAN controller that says something about, "allow this device to bring the computer out of standby..." or something like. (going from memory, not at the PC right now).

After doing this, I have no more restarts after I shutdown I'm not sure if it was the firmware updates or the change in the LAN controller settings that did it since I did both of these things at once.

Just wanted to post this in case someone else should experience a restart problem, this was my fix.

 

[Diode20]

Good to know just in case.

 

[haze111]

Anyone know what the exact issues are that Anandtech described in their latest buying guide regarding this board and the San Diego and Venice cores? I've had zero issues with mine and I'm running a 3700+ San Diego. I'll have to check what Bios version I'm on, didn't notice if it shipped at 1.0 or not.

 

[FeteSmurf]

There seems to be problems with all 90nm chips (San Diego, Venice and Winchester) depending on BIOS version and/or exact date the CPU is manufactured. The first problem is only when overclocking. Check these links to see what it's all about:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/mainboards/display/chaintech-nforce4_6.html
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/mainboards/display/ecs-kn1-extreme_9.html

On the MSI Neo4 boards this problem can be overcome by setting a HT multiplier of 2x or even 1x.

Other than that some people seems to have cold boot problems regardless of overclocking and the core voltage settings doesn't work.

If anyone want more info I'd be happy to supply some links to other forums...

 

[haze111]

Thanks for the links. Reading them now.

 

[vinosuaf]

I just had a question about the neo4 boards. I have gathered from reading the earlier posts on the venice and san diego cores, but I didn't quite understand exactly what caused these issues. Does anyone know are the boreds stable if you're not overclocking? I'm looking at getting a venice, and was trying to pick a new board. For other reason I liked the msi boards over some of the others but was concerned about the stability issues.

 

[ModGirl]

Hi guys,

I have a question about ram installation.

I've got two sticks of Crucial 512 DDR for this motherboard.

in which slots do you have the memory installed. I've got it in slot 1 and 3 (the green slots).

Is this correct? My machine is working fine but I wonder if I am missing out on any performance by having the memory installed this way. Should one be in the green and one in the purple slot?

I'm not sure how to read the manual's memory table.

any insight on this greatly appreciated.

 

[PoxMeister]

Originally posted by: ModGirl
Hi guys,

I have a question about ram installation.

I've got two sticks of Crucial 512 DDR for this motherboard.

in which slots do you have the memory installed. I've got it in slot 1 and 3 (the green slots).

Is this correct? My machine is working fine but I wonder if I am missing out on any performance by having the memory installed this way. Should one be in the green and one in the purple slot?

I'm not sure how to read the manual's memory table.

any insight on this greatly appreciated.

Look again at the memory combination matrix in the manual closely. Memory installed in DIMM slots 1 & 3 as you have will work, but only run at DDR333 speeds. To achieve dual-channel DDR, install your two sticks of 512 RAM in the 1st two slots closest to the CPU, DIMM1 (green) & DIMM2 (purple).

 

[chrisralston]

Originally posted by: das Monkey
I'm looking to pick up one of these motherboards, but I'm confused over the different power supplies. While I won't be doing any overclocking, I will likely be using many drives, so I need to make sure I have plenty of power.

I'm confused between the Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 550W and Antec TruePower 2.0 TP2-550 EPS12V 550W

I've tried to read up on EPS12V, but it hasn't shed any light on which one of these is more appropriate for the K8N Neo4 Platinum.

I would very much appreciate any help anyone could provide.

Thanks,
das

I'm running the 480W version of the second power supply with no power related issues. However, I am not OCing.

 

[ChakkaSol]

Originally posted by: FeteSmurf
There seems to be problems with all 90nm chips (San Diego, Venice and Winchester) depending on BIOS version and/or exact date the CPU is manufactured. The first problem is only when overclocking. Check these links to see what it's all about:

Hey guys, yamawho over on both rebelshaven and msi has posted that Wesley Fink from Anandtech emailed him about his meeting with MSI in Taipai about the overclocking bug (known as the 219 bug) problem for 90nm chips and Neo4 mobos.

Heres the threads:

http://www.rhcf.com/sisubb/ultimatebb.php/topic/21/178/2.html
http://forum.msi.com.tw/index.php?topic=80211.160


Secondly, the new bioses (1.4 & 3.3) make things worse by introducing the 219 bug into 90nm chips that didnt have the problem before - see this one...

http://forum.msi.com.tw/index.php?topic=80906.0

 

[Inteless]

First of all, I haven't built a system in 4 1/2 years, so I was a little apprehensive what with all the new technology on these new boards. I almost felt like a newb. Anyway, the install/setup went without a hiccup. The only "problem" I had was, I had to install the USB 2.0 driver twice (seems like they didn't "take" the first time). Other than that, it was flawless. I installed Win2k, drivers, etc and took a quick run through the bios. No overclocking yet, everything running at stock speeds. So far the system is rock solid. Now, I don't want to jump to any conclusions, but so far I have to say that MSI did a first-rate job.

Cheers

MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum (non-sli)
Athlon 64 3200
Leadtek 6600GT
1GB Crucial (2x512) dual channel
Seagate 80GB Serial ATA
Thermaltake A1838 (cpu heatsink)
Enermax 535W

 

[chrisralston]

Originally posted by: Inteless


First of all, I haven't built a system in 4 1/2 years, so I was a little apprehensive what with all the new technology on these new boards. I almost felt like a newb. Anyway, the install/setup went without a hiccup. The only "problem" I had was, I had to install the USB 2.0 driver twice (seems like they didn't "take" the first time). Other than that, it was flawless. I installed Win2k, drivers, etc and took a quick run through the bios. No overclocking yet, everything running at stock speeds. So far the system is rock solid. Now, I don't want to jump to any conclusions, but so far I have to say that MSI did a first-rate job.

Cheers

MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum (non-sli)
Athlon 64 3200
Leadtek 6600GT
1GB Crucial (2x512) dual channel
Seagate 80GB Serial ATA
Thermaltake A1838 (cpu heatsink)
Enermax 535W

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.

 

[Inteless]

Actually I must confess. My son installed Win2k and the motherboard drivers. I think
he just opened device manager and found the USB device and told it to update the drivers. It found the inf file on my hard drive and updated. This is Windows 2000.

 

[chrisralston]

I'm running XP Pro, which I would think would have the drivers. Doesn't seem to be the case for me though.

 

[Inteless]

chrisralston,

Yes, you would think. Sorry to hear you are having trouble, but evidently you are not the only one having usb difficulties. Might want to read through some of the other posts, if you haven't already. Good luck.

 

[Inteless]

Service Pack 1 should fix it.

 

[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.