MSI P6N SLI-FI / Platinum (650i) Thread

Ok, it sounds like you're actually asking about this memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227089 ...so far, I don't recall anyone reporting that specific memory as working (or not, for that matter), so unless someone happens along, the best I can do is give an educated guess...

Aside from some odd-ball cases, the biggest issue with memory not working in the 600-series chipset boards (both 680i and 650i) seems to be related to high (default) voltages listed in the SPD. The default/standard voltage is 1.8v. I see that that memory is 'rated' at 4-5-4-15 timings @ 2.1v, but it may have other speeds, timings and voltages listed in the SPD to allow it to boot easily on most systems.

If it doesn't work right off the bat, there's also a work-around to try... what you do is install 1 module, then boot into the BIOS and bump the voltage up to where it needs to be (2.1v in this case), save that, shut the computer down, physically un-plug it from the wall (any time you insert or remove memory), install the second module and boot back up.

This work-around can be a pain in the ass if you're constantly having to clear CMOS (setting up your overclock and/or failing at it), but the settings are good until/unless you clear the CMOS again and it does (usually) get you running until you can get some memory that does work.

So far, memory compatibility on the MSI 650i-based boards has been very good (so that work-around is likely not needed), but people don't always list the Model # of the memory they use, so my list in the first post of this thread is incomplete.
 
Just for reference, the only memory I've seen mentioned in forums as not working was:

G.Skill F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231098 (great price, so everyone's buying it)

And a report (earlier on in this thread, I think) from mpdonovan:

"Memory that didnt work in this board for me:
- Apacer 512B UNB PC2-4300 CL4 (as a single stick)
- CORSAIR XMS2 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 675 (PC2 5400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory ( http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...E168201455 39 )"

...I'm a little surprised at the CORSAIR not working, but that might have been an isolated case.

Edge (and another fellow) was also having some trouble with the OCZ Platinum Rev. 2 memory we were just talking about, but that turned out to be a bad mb and he reports the memory working fine in the replacement board.

I may have mised some other reports, but you also have to keep in mind that some reports are sketchy on details, some are due to just bad memory and some are may be due to operator error/skill/knowledge.
 
Actually, when I was looking up that other memory, I think I saw the number you listed as the "single stick" (instead of 2x1GB "kit") model number.
 
Yep, here's the model number I should have reported: OCZ2P800R22GK

I'll edit my previous post - sorry bro!
 
What are you guys getting for your OC on this board?

I simply can't find a stable enough setting beyond 2.8Ghz (1400FSB) despite upgrading case, power supply and cpu cooler (Zalman CNPS9500). Quite frustrating.

I've tried:
1500 FSB with DDR2 reduced to 667, relaxed timings
1500 FSB with unlinked default memory timings
Anything above, such as 1600 FSB wont boot. All this with +0.05v cpu, 1.3 NB and 2.15 mem. Spread spectrum is off, C1E and EIST are off. Current idle temps is 29c-32c depending on ambient room temps.

One thing that keeps popping up in event viewer, when the system freezes at higher OCs, is the i8042prt driver thats not loading. Any ideas?
 
 
ScourggeFX said:
What are you guys getting for your OC on this board?

I simply can't find a stable enough setting beyond 2.8Ghz (1400FSB) despite upgrading case, power supply and cpu cooler (Zalman CNPS9500). Quite frustrating.

I've tried:
1500 FSB with DDR2 reduced to 667, relaxed timings
1500 FSB with unlinked default memory timings
Anything above, such as 1600 FSB wont boot. All this with +0.05v cpu, 1.3 NB and 2.15 mem. Spread spectrum is off, C1E and EIST are off. Current idle temps is 29c-32c depending on ambient room temps.

One thing that keeps popping up in event viewer, when the system freezes at higher OCs, is the i8042prt driver thats not loading. Any ideas?
Click to expand...

I think this is the major 'hole' for E6400 owners ( 8x multiplier ). I haven't done extensive testing, because I'm still running the stock HSF, but I was able to at least boot into Windows (don't recall if it was stable or not) at 370 FSB (1480 QDR, 2.96GHz).

I also could not boot at 400 FSB (1600 QDR) when I tried, but without better cooling, I wasn't willing to try 1640-1680 (or anything higher) which might get over the hole. I've seen lots of folks getting 450+ (even 500+) FSB speeds on this board, so I'm pretty sure it can get there, but I hadn't seen a lot of E6400 oc results yet. There was a couple guys kinda at the same spot in the MSI forums (I think), but I hadn't seen any updates from them if they got higher or not.

If you look around, there's a 1.21 beta BIOS (for the Platinum) and a 2.12 beta BIOS for the SLI-FI that might give you better results (or might let you reduce the multiplier to try higher FSB tests).
 
Roaddog03 said:
I have been doing alot of research on good memory for the P6N SLI-FI aslo as I had to RMA the cheap Gskill's I got from new egg before I done my research.This ram http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820178134 look like it works well with this board.
Thinking of one of the following:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820150054
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820220144
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820161030
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820231065
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820609026
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820145590
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820231114
Click to expand...

The only memory I have specific, personal, hands-on experience with on this board is:

OCZ S.O.E. 2x1GB DDR2 667 4-4-4-12 1.9v OCZ2SOE6672GK (ProMOS chips)

...and so I can tell you for a fact that I had no problems at all running it at 4-5-5-12-24-2T timings at the default 1.9v overclocked to DDR2-800 speeds on this board. It also runs perfectly well at it's default DDR2-667 speed with the stated 4-4-4-12 timings @1.9v (it may run at higher speeds or tighter timings, but I hadn't bothered trying).

You can find reviews of it here:

http://www.ocia.net/reviews/soe5400/page1.shtml

and

http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=561

...I wouldn't count on the rebate, but it's still a good price without it.

I see that one user comment from a P6N owner on Newegg for that PNY memory, so that might be worth a try - I'm just a bit leary when they don't bother to list the voltage or timings. Did you see any other end-user reports on this memory?
 
Good advice on the BIOS Spanki. But since they are Beta? Usually hesitant on those. Anyway, I bumped up the vcore to 1.352, [email protected] and [email protected]. FSB@1500. Ran 3dMark06 twice, and passed. Its a quick and dirty stability test, but it didn't freeze, whereas previous attempts froze at the CPU test. What gets me is the performance of the Zalman. Idle@ 28c/ core tmeps @39c.

Maybe I was a bit too lenient in the voltage dept., as I almost destroyed my cpu by giving it maximum voltage by mistake. temps soared to 60c idle heh.
 
Is that the temperature values you are getting from the Core Temp program?

I wonder if the fan on my Intel heat-sink is spinning... my idle temps (at 1333) are 46-48c. I get up in the high 50's pretty fast when it's clocked up to the 3GHz range.
 
somethin weird happened with mine....lol i switched to my new lian li case and my system temp jumped from its usual 30C up to 36C even though i got fans all over the place in there. maybe thats the real temp? i dunno. i just don't see how changing cases screwed it up...unless some fans aren't workin. but if that was the case, my overclock wouldn't work at all right now. weird....:confused:
 
Spanki said:
Is that the temperature values you are getting from the Core Temp program?

I wonder if the fan on my Intel heat-sink is spinning... my idle temps (at 1333) are 46-48c. I get up in the high 50's pretty fast when it's clocked up to the 3GHz range.
Click to expand...


Yeah. Using the CoreTemp app. I must admit, I try to keep the room cool, but not cold. On a warm day, core temps idle at 42-44c. I actually got down to 35c core temp/23c cpu temp last night, although this was the limit of ambient room temp comfort for me.

Markt435, I discovered that using a side panel fan actually increased the system temps in my previous case, probably because it interrupted smooth airflow through the case, but maybe it was just the case. In the current case heat does ot linger around at all.
 
ScourggeFX said:
Yeah. Using the CoreTemp app. I must admit, I try to keep the room cool, but not cold. On a warm day, core temps idle at 42-44c. I actually got down to 35c core temp/23c cpu temp last night, although this was the limit of ambient room temp comfort for me.

Markt435, I discovered that using a side panel fan actually increased the system temps in my previous case, probably because it interrupted smooth airflow through the case, but maybe it was just the case. In the current case heat does ot linger around at all.
Click to expand...

really? since the air is going in one straight line from intake to exhaust i don't see how it would make the temp any higher...its just weird. as long as its stable i'm ok with it. i think the ram needs the extra air more than the mobo does anyway.

it could have just been an anomaly though. i'm looking at speedfan now and the temp is back down to 28C. so i dunno.
 
markt435 said:
really? since the air is going in one straight line from intake to exhaust i don't see how it would make the temp any higher...its just weird. as long as its stable i'm ok with it. i think the ram needs the extra air more than the mobo does anyway.

it could have just been an anomaly though. i'm looking at speedfan now and the temp is back down to 28C. so i dunno.
Click to expand...

Could be that the moving of components from one case to the other did just enough flexing and jostling that your thermal paste needed to "re-settle" in order to be working at full efficiency.
 
ScourggeFX said:
Good advice on the BIOS Spanki. But since they are Beta? Usually hesitant on those. Anyway, I bumped up the vcore to 1.352, [email protected] and [email protected]. FSB@1500. Ran 3dMark06 twice, and passed. Its a quick and dirty stability test, but it didn't freeze, whereas previous attempts froze at the CPU test...
Click to expand...

Thanks for the oc update, btw. So, 1500 is 3GHz for the E6400 (at least the math is easy with an 8x multiplier :) ) - nice! Now we just need to figure out how to get to the 3.4-3.6 range :). Of course I need to get some better cooling before I try any of that.
 
A working bios wouldn't hurt any, I'm tired of being stuck at 1600 FSB with my E4300. I want to drop the multi and see just how high this board will really go..........:D
 
Bio-Hazard said:
A working bios wouldn't hurt any, I'm tired of being stuck at 1600 FSB with my E4300. I want to drop the multi and see just how high this board will really go..........:D
Click to expand...

From what I hear, if you're the adventurous type, the beta BIOS will let you drop the multi.
 
With the 2 and 2.12 bios I can up to a point with my E4300 CPU. From what I've been hearing, it's pretty much hit and miss depending on which CPU and multi you are using. As long as I want to stay under 1400FSB the multi drop wrks fine, much over that, it defauts back to the default CPU multi on my board.
 
normalicy said:
I've got this ram on my FI version board & am satisfied so far. Need to make sure that you're using the right voltage in the BIOS though. I suggest 1.95v. I haven't tried to do 800mhz with it, but the reviewers say it will. Maybe some day when I'm brave enough.
Click to expand...

Thanks normalicy - I've updated the front page.
 
Should have read this thread before I ordered.

First, thanks to all the posters for the great info here, this is the first time I've come to this forum, and this thread alone was reason enough to register and post.

Unfortunately, it sounds like I'm going to be having some issues.
Arriving today from the egg is my new p6n Platinum board, and 4 1GB of the g.skill ddr2 800 BNQ. So I have to dodge both the possibility that this ram isn't compatible, and the 4gb slowdown.

This is my gaming/photoshop box. It'll be running xp pro (I'll hold off on vista as long as possible)

It's my first SLI build (I picked up a second bfg 7950 gt oc 512 to go with the one I already have.)

Can I keep you guy posted on my trials and tribulations with this build here, or should I start a new thread?

I intend to attempt my first overclock as well, so I intend to reference the great info I've seen here. Still, I'm sure I'll have a noob question or three.
 
CarbonBased said:
Should have read this thread before I ordered.

First, thanks to all the posters for the great info here, this is the first time I've come to this forum, and this thread alone was reason enough to register and post.
Click to expand...

Welcome aboard! :).

CarbonBased said:
Unfortunately, it sounds like I'm going to be having some issues.
Arriving today from the egg is my new p6n Platinum board, and 4 1GB of the g.skill ddr2 800 BNQ. So I have to dodge both the possibility that this ram isn't compatible, and the 4gb slowdown.

This is my gaming/photoshop box. It'll be running xp pro (I'll hold off on vista as long as possible)
Click to expand...

Eeek. Ok, here's a little positive outlook for you...

1. At least one reviewer on Newegg said this memory works, so there's hope. It could be that the other people were having some other problem at the time, or a problem with the particular sticks of memory they got.

2. On the 4GB issue... I don't think XP supports 4GB anyway (? I hadn't researched this, but saw it mentioned). On the general question of support by the board, the current best guess is that it's a BIOS issue - other boards that had similar issues have been fixed with an update.

...because of the uncertainty of this memory and the 4gb issue, I'd probably start off with 2 sticks installed and just try to get the machine to boot up. If that works, use that setup to finish setting your system up and worry about trying the 4gb later. If it doesn't boot, try just one stick, in the #1 slot (closest to cpu). If you still have problems, you can try the other stick, and/or in different slots.

Also, whenever you are inserting or removing memory from the board, make sure that it has been unplugged from the power source (wall or UPS).

CarbonBased said:
It's my first SLI build (I picked up a second bfg 7950 gt oc 512 to go with the one I already have.)

Can I keep you guy posted on my trials and tribulations with this build here, or should I start a new thread?

I intend to attempt my first overclock as well, so I intend to reference the great info I've seen here. Still, I'm sure I'll have a noob question or three.
Click to expand...

This thread was started in order to have a good reference for current and future owners of the boards, so yes, please do report your experience here.

Which cpu did you go with?
 
Alright,

MSI P6N SLI Platinum LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel e6300 C2D
2X G.SKILL 2GB F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ (4GB total)
2X BFG Tech BFGR7950512GTOCE GeForce 7950GT 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 OC
WDC WD3200KS SATA drive 300GB SATA drive 16 MB cache
Soundblaster X-Fi
Windows XP Pro

I originally picked up the processor from "Intel Retail Edge" when I worked for a computer store. It came bundled with a basic non-sli intel board and windows vista. With the new job, I was able to put aside some cash and got the new mobo, ram, and second video card.

I installed the mobo into my case (a god-awful ugly AeroCool T3), and just for grins, put all 4 sticks in. It booted right up! The only issue I'm seeing right now is that Windows is only reporting 3GB of RAM (BIOS see's all 4)

I've restarted a few times for mobo drivers and whatnot, but knock on wood, so far it looks stable.

Anyone know a fix for the 3GB instead of 4GB thing?
 
Excellent! As I mentioned earlier, I think 3GB is all XP is going to give you - I don't think there is a fix for that.

Just out of curiousity, do you have CPU-Z ? I'd be interested in the (various) SPD settings of that memory. Also, which BIOS version came in that new Platinum board? 1.1 ?
 
CarbonBased said:
Alright,

MSI P6N SLI Platinum LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel e6300 C2D
2X G.SKILL 2GB F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ (4GB total)
2X BFG Tech BFGR7950512GTOCE GeForce 7950GT 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 OC
WDC WD3200KS SATA drive 300GB SATA drive 16 MB cache
Soundblaster X-Fi
Windows XP Pro

I originally picked up the processor from "Intel Retail Edge" when I worked for a computer store. It came bundled with a basic non-sli intel board and windows vista. With the new job, I was able to put aside some cash and got the new mobo, ram, and second video card.

I installed the mobo into my case (a god-awful ugly AeroCool T3), and just for grins, put all 4 sticks in. It booted right up! The only issue I'm seeing right now is that Windows is only reporting 3GB of RAM (BIOS see's all 4)

I've restarted a few times for mobo drivers and whatnot, but knock on wood, so far it looks stable.

Anyone know a fix for the 3GB instead of 4GB thing?
Click to expand...

There's a switch you can add to the boot.ini file that helps XP handle large memory. I think you can activate it from msconfig in the advanced section of the boot.ini options. If not, there are articles about it in the MS knowledgebase.
 
OK, I'm willing to sound like a total noob, cause, well, I am one. I know BIOS flashing should be done with the greatest of care. I am using the 1.0 BIOS but imagine I would want to flash to a newer version if it supports higher OCing. Latest official BIOS on Platinum is 1.1.

That said, is anyone willing to explain the step-by-step methods for flashing BIOS? I've done it for my DVD drive, but a mobo is a bit more complex:p . I saw some references at MSI's forum, but it still looked a bit confusing.
 
Spanki said:
Excellent! As I mentioned earlier, I think 3GB is all XP is going to give you - I don't think there is a fix for that.

Just out of curiousity, do you have CPU-Z ? I'd be interested in the (various) SPD settings of that memory. Also, which BIOS version came in that new Platinum board? 1.1 ?
Click to expand...

I downloaded CPU-Z for this.

Processor(s)
Number of processors 1
Number of cores 2 per processor
Number of threads 2 (max 2) per processor
Name Intel Core 2 Duo E6300
Code Name Conroe
Specification Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6300 @ 1.86GHz
Package Socket 775 LGA
Family/Model/Stepping 6.F.6
Extended Family/Model 6.F
Core Stepping B2
Technology 65 nm
Core Speed 1599.9 MHz
Multiplier x Bus speed 6.0 x 266.7 MHz
Rated Bus speed 1066.6 MHz
Stock frequency 1866 MHz
Instruction sets MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, EM64T
L1 Data cache 2 x 32 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L1 Instruction cache 2 x 32 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L2 cache 2048 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
Chipset & Memory
Northbridge NVIDIA 650i SLI SPP rev. A2
Southbridge NVIDIA 650i SLI MCP rev. A3
Graphic Interface PCI-Express
PCI-E Link Width x8
PCI-E Max Link Width x16
Memory Type DDR2
Memory Size 4096 MBytes
Memory Frequency 400.0 MHz (2:3)
CAS# Latency (tCL) 5.0 clocks
RAS# to CAS# (tRDC) 5 clocks
RAS# Precharge (tRP) 5 clocks
Cycle Time (tRAS) 15 clocks
Bank Cycle Time (tRC) 20 clocks
Command Rate 2T
System
System Manufacturer MSI
System Name MS-7350
System S/N To Be Filled By O.E.M.
Mainboard Vendor MSI
Mainboard Model MS-7350
BIOS Vendor American Megatrends Inc.
BIOS Version V1.0
BIOS Date 02/01/2007
Memory SPD
Module 1 DDR2, PC2-6400 (400 MHz), 1024 MBytes, G.Skill
Module 2 DDR2, PC2-6400 (400 MHz), 1024 MBytes, G.Skill
Module 3 DDR2, PC2-6400 (400 MHz), 1024 MBytes, G.Skill
Module 4 DDR2, PC2-6400 (400 MHz), 1024 MBytes, G.Skill
Software
Windows Version Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 (Build 2600)
DirectX Version 9.0c

Looks like Bios version 1?
 
Edge said:
OK, I'm willing to sound like a total noob, cause, well, I am one. I know BIOS flashing should be done with the greatest of care. I am using the 1.0 BIOS but imagine I would want to flash to a newer version if it supports higher OCing. Latest official BIOS on Platinum is 1.1.

That said, is anyone willing to explain the step-by-step methods for flashing BIOS? I've done it for my DVD drive, but a mobo is a bit more complex:p . I saw some references at MSI's forum, but it still looked a bit confusing.
Click to expand...

Heh.. I'm not a noob, but it's been years since I was actively flashing BIOSes and such and even then, I've always been overly-cautious when going about it (actually, I'm not sure that you can be overly-cautious :) ).

I'll leave out actual instructions, but here's my thoughts on it...

First off, as general disclaimer (CYA time), don't flash your BIOS if everything's working fine.

Assuming you plan to anyway, first, you need to gather some items:

* You're going to need something to boot into DOS mode with - some form of FAT (or FAT16) formatted boot-device. This can be a floppy disk, a bootable flash drive or a bootable CD.

* You're going to need the new BIOS, as well as the flash program. Fortunately, MSI includes the flash program in the same archive as the BIOS file (it may include one to run from Windows and one from DOS ("Afud408.exe") - you want the DOS one).

* Since the Platinum came with a 1.0 BIOS and it's not available for download, you can extract it from the rom, but you'll need somewhere to store it. Have a separate blank/formatted floppy, or room left on your flash drive to store the old BIOS.

Now for my tips:

* Have a fall-back plan. Actually, all of my tips will be related to this in some form or another...

* Make sure you have a fall-back plan (ok, I'l stop repeating this :) )... my fall-back plan consists of having multiple means of performing a flash - I have BOTH a floppy disk and a bootable flash drive. Both of them have the new BIOS, and the flash program on them. This way, if the flash fails for some reason, I can try again using the other device (if you don't have a flash-drive, or you just want triple-redundancy, make a second bootable floppy and maybe have a second blank/formatted floppy to hold the old BIOS).

* Before flashing, boot into the BIOS setup and write down any custom settings you're using - these are going away, so you'll have to st things up again after flashing. Once you have the settings written down somewhere, select the "Load Optimized Defaults", save and exit.

* After resetting your BIOS to the defaults, but before flashing, boot up off of the floppy or flash drive into DOS mode and make sure you're comfortable with your new DOS booting environment... make sure you can boot with the floppy... make sure you can boot with the flash-drive (if used)... make sure you know what device letter you're booting to and can get directory listings of that device, as well as your fall-back-plan device (you're not going to be able to access your NTFS formatted HDs).

* Now that you're comfortable with the environment, the next thing to do is extract the old BIOS from the rom. If you run the flash program with no arguments, it'll display options. One of which ( /O ? ) is to extract the old BIOS file, without flashing the new one. Extract the old file and save/copy it to your spare blank floppy and/or your flash drive.

* At this point, you should have 2 different ways to flash your BIOS, with access to both the old and new BIOS file, as well as the flashing program, using either method. So there's just one more note before flashing... MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT LOSE POWER ONCE YOU'VE STARTED THE FLASH. Presumably, you're computer is connected to a Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS), but if not (shame on you!), it might be a good time to go shut off your AC/Heat-pump or any other large appliance in the house that might cause a spike.

* Go ahead and flash the new BIOS (the flash program is set up to be run with no options, just give it the new bios filename). Again, don't turn off the computer once the flash program has started. If it fails for some reason, try again with the new or old BIOS file, or try your fall-back-plan flashing device.

Once the flash is done, you'll have to boot back up into the BIOS setup and verify/reset all your custom settings.

Good luck!
 
CarbonBased said:
...
Specification Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6300 @ 1.86GHz
...
Core Speed 1599.9 MHz
Multiplier x Bus speed 6.0 x 266.7 MHz
...
Looks like Bios version 1?
Click to expand...

Yeah, looks like they're still shipping the Platinum with 1.0 BIOS - thanks. Something odd is that it seems to be using a 6x multiplier for your E6300, which should be using a 7x multiplier, but that's probably EIST/C1E or D.O.T. going on at idle.

If you plan to do any overclocking, the first thing you'd want to do is disable all of those, along with all Spread Spectrum settings.
 
Spanki said:
Heh.. I'm not a noob, but it's been years since I was actively flashing BIOSes and such and even then, I've always been overly-cautious when going about it (actually, I'm not sure that you can be overly-cautious :) ).

I'll leave out actual instructions, but here's my thoughts on it...etc etc
Click to expand...

Spanki - I thank you greatly for that post. I know that took time. I've got a link here from MSI that may help also: http://forum.msi.com.tw/index.php?topic=107208.0

Different mobo, but may be helpful.

I'm now convinced I shouldn't flash yet, but I may want to down the road and your input will help a lot in that regard:) .
 
Spanki said:
Yeah, looks like they're still shipping the Platinum with 1.0 BIOS - thanks. Something odd is that it seems to be using a 6x multiplier for your E6300, which should be using a 7x multiplier, but that's probably EIST/C1E or D.O.T. going on at idle.

If you plan to do any overclocking, the first thing you'd want to do is disable all of those, along with all Spread Spectrum settings.
Click to expand...

Good catch, I just went in a disabled all of those.
 
i just realized, we aren't able to undervolt on these boards are we? grrr that kinda sucks
 
Spanki said:
Ahh, cool - thanks CS.
Click to expand...

Here's a link to one of the more relevant KB entries:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/291988

Apparently, the two switches you need to add are /3GB and /PAE. It would appear that this can cause some stability/compatibility problems, though, so be aware. Might only need the /3GB switch, so might want to try that first. Without these switches, Windows is using the upper 1 GB or so of the 4 GB address space for mapping hardware devices and such, so it won't let the RAM use those addresses. YMMV, hope it helps.

The switches are added to the line of the boot.ini file that has /noexecute and some of the other common switches on it.
 
More "help a noob" stuff - sorry!
BIOS settings - what to disable?

Specifically, what should be done with these various features:
- Boot sector virus protection (currently enabled and sounds like I want that)
- Full screen logo display (does it really matter what this is set to)
- Quick booting - (currently disabled)
- IOAPIC Function (???)
Under "CPU Feature"
- Execute Bit support (currently enabled)
- Set limit CPUID Max Val to 3
(I already did the F4 thing where I disable C1E)
Under "Chipset feature"
- HPET (???)

Cell Menu - where all the OCing takes place, or so I'm told
- System clock mode (Auto, Linked, Manual?) - currently Auto

Advanced DRAM Config
- memory timing (Auto, Manual)
running Manual, 4-4-4-15 right now with all other settings auto including Command per clock at 2T

Spread spectrum - just disable all of these???

My goal is essentially to get to 2.8gHz (400 FSB)

Thanks!
 
Edge said:
More "help a noob" stuff - sorry!
BIOS settings - what to disable?

Specifically, what should be done with these various features:
- Boot sector virus protection (currently enabled and sounds like I want that)
- Full screen logo display (does it really matter what this is set to)
- Quick booting - (currently disabled)
- IOAPIC Function (???)
Under "CPU Feature"
- Execute Bit support (currently enabled)
- Set limit CPUID Max Val to 3
(I already did the F4 thing where I disable C1E)
Under "Chipset feature"
- HPET (???)

Cell Menu - where all the OCing takes place, or so I'm told
- System clock mode (Auto, Linked, Manual?) - currently Auto

Advanced DRAM Config
- memory timing (Auto, Manual)
running Manual, 4-4-4-15 right now with all other settings auto including Command per clock at 2T

Spread spectrum - just disable all of these???

My goal is essentially to get to 2.8gHz (400 FSB)

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Here is what I disabled:

EIST
DOT
C1E
All Spread Spectrum

I run my mem unlinked (Manual) at stock speeds: 800, 4-4-4-12-2T

What CPU are you using?
 
Excellent, thanks Scourrgefx. I updated my sig to reflect those details (doh!).

I've got an E6300. I've been reading different guides on OCing these Nvidia boards (mostly 680i) and it sems that they suggest linking the RAM and FSB. Basically what I get out of their guides are the following settings for the 6300:

266 FSB - 1.8gHz CPU - 533 RAM
333 FSB - 2.3gHz CPU - 667 RAM
400 FSB - 2.8gHz CPU - 800 RAM

Any thoughts on this approach?

I'm not exactly sure how to accomplish this with this board, but am ready to try.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top