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

just a comparison between 2.0 and 2.2, i was getting random lockups and crashes and temps in the 50 - 65 range with my e4300 at 3.0ghz.. im in the 40-50 range with no crashes now with the 2.2. Maybe I had a setting wrong in the bios but it sure seems to have made an improvement
 
desrin said:
just a comparison between 2.0 and 2.2, i was getting random lockups and crashes and temps in the 50 - 65 range with my e4300 at 3.0ghz.. im in the 40-50 range with no crashes now with the 2.2. Maybe I had a setting wrong in the bios but it sure seems to have made an improvement
Click to expand...

That likely means you're now using a lower core voltage than you were prior to swapping BIOSes (lower temperatures now), but it sounds like it may be more stable now - so that's always good :).
 
Bio-Hazard said:
Old man contest...........:eek: 52 this month, someone want to buy me a Q6600 for my birthday................:p
Click to expand...

Always respect the elder statesmen!

Youngster of 40 here, started on my Dad's C-64, took a LOOONNGGG break til the past couple years. No Apple/Macs ever, which is kinda unfortunate.

Been gaming since Pong. Enjoying Colin McRae's DiRT right now - a bit of an improvement over Space Invaders:p .

Sorry - back to P6N talk...

That F11 thing where you can choose boot partitions....does it work with separate installs of Windows on separate hard drives? Right now I'm using Acronis Disk Director Suite 10, which has a boot manager. It detects any bootable partitions/cds/USB drives, etc and lets you choose which one you want to boot to on startup. I've got a separate XP install on its own hard drive just for resource-intensive games, and am considering one more dedicated install for video editing. My standard XP install/drive is for all other daily work/browsing.

Just curious if the mobo can do it, as getting into 3rd party boot managers can get a bit dicey at times (former Partition Magic/Boot Magic user here). Thoughts?
 
Edge said:
Always respect the elder statesmen!

That F11 thing where you can choose boot partitions....does it work with separate installs of Windows on separate hard drives? Right now I'm using Acronis Disk Director Suite 10, which has a boot manager. It detects any bootable partitions/cds/USB drives, etc and lets you choose which one you want to boot to on startup. I've got a separate XP install on its own hard drive just for resource-intensive games, and am considering one more dedicated install for video editing. My standard XP install/drive is for all other daily work/browsing.

Just curious if the mobo can do it, as getting into 3rd party boot managers can get a bit dicey at times (former Partition Magic/Boot Magic user here). Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I've tried the F11 key using 2 HD's (SATA DVD and flash drive booting to DOS) so far and each has their own fresh install of Windows XP (non dual boot) on them and it's been working great. I use the second drive (clean, no utilities) for doing evaluations and reviews of different hardware. In the past I always had to do the bios thing, now just a simple F11 and I'm set (I have to remember to turn it on with the key first though)................:D
 
Thanks Bio. Wow, too bad I missed that first time around:rolleyes: . I wonder if I should bother "undoing" Acronis now. Having the mobo handle it sounds ideal. I assume if you don't hit F-11 it will boot to whatever default you have in the 1st boot position?
 
So far with my system the default set in the bios always boots first unless you hit the F11 key. It's been working well so far without any issues............:cool:
 
Edge said:
Youngster of 40 here, started on my Dad's C-64, took a LOOONNGGG break til the past couple years. No Apple/Macs ever, which is kinda unfortunate.
Click to expand...

I was a huge commodore fan back in the day. Had a VIC20, C64, C128, and believe it or not I even have a Plus4 around here somewhere. :D I ran a BBS for a couple years on my C64 and a 1200baud modem. Good times, good times. :)

Edge said:
Sorry - back to P6N talk...

That F11 thing where you can choose boot partitions....does it work with separate installs of Windows on separate hard drives? Right now I'm using Acronis Disk Director Suite 10, which has a boot manager. It detects any bootable partitions/cds/USB drives, etc and lets you choose which one you want to boot to on startup. I've got a separate XP install on its own hard drive just for resource-intensive games, and am considering one more dedicated install for video editing. My standard XP install/drive is for all other daily work/browsing.

Just curious if the mobo can do it, as getting into 3rd party boot managers can get a bit dicey at times (former Partition Magic/Boot Magic user here). Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Absolutely, so long as it's seperate hard drives. (NOT seperate partitions on the same hard drive) :)
 
Blue Falcon said:
I was a huge commodore fan back in the day. Had a VIC20, C64, C128, and believe it or not I even have a Plus4 around here somewhere. :D I ran a BBS for a couple years on my C64 and a 1200baud modem. Good times, good times. :)
Click to expand...

Good times indeed, BF, even if I have no idea what you said just there:p .


Absolutely, so long as it's seperate hard drives. (NOT seperate partitions on the same hard drive) :)
Click to expand...

Excellent guys - I'm sold. Looking forward to playing with it this weekend. Yep, all the installs have their own HDD.
 
Spanki said:
Memory: I assume you're talking about this ram (2GBNQ), beacuse of the current pricing. I just wanted to point out that G.Skill makes 3-5 different models of DDR2 800 ram and that there have been at least two reports that I'm aware of of people having problems with this particular ram (as well as another person with problems on a 965-based board). I hadn't researched it thoroughly, so those are just ones I ran across in the MSI forums.
Click to expand...

I'm running this memory at 800 with 4-4-4-12 timings and no errors from MemTest (or crashes) on the Platinum board.
 
Blue Falcon said:
I was a huge commodore fan back in the day. Had a VIC20, C64, C128, and believe it or not I even have a Plus4 around here somewhere. :D I ran a BBS for a couple years on my C64 and a 1200baud modem. Good times, good times. :)
Click to expand...

46 here... I skipped over some of those (C128, Plus4, Plus16(?), Amiga 500, Amiga 1500, etc.). If anyone recalls the "Access!" terminal program for Amiga, that was me :). It's the program I taught myself C programming on.
 
blivit4 said:
I'm running this memory at 800 with 4-4-4-12 timings and no errors from MemTest (or crashes) on the Platinum board.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I've seen reports both ways... it possibly got cleared up in one of the BIOS updates.
 
CharlieZero said:
Hi all. I recently updated my BIOS after hunting around for an answer to my 4GB RAM issues. I'm now running BIOS 2.22 on my FI board. No luck. The only thing of note is that, while most accounts people report extremely SLOW systems when using 4GB, mine won't even boot into Windows. And during the RAM check on POST, it freezes before counting up the entire 4GB. Never at the same spot.
2GB or 3GB runs fine (2 scores faster than 3, however in Vista's user experience rating- this is also very strange).

What should I try?

P6N SLI-FI
4x1GB Crucial Ballistix 4-4-4-12
Geforce 8600GT
Ultra XVS 700w
500GB WD SATA
Thermaltake Armor case
Click to expand...

from doing alot of testing on this board it seems that it only likes 1.8v ram if you're using all 4 slots.... hence why i bought 4 of the 1.8v patriot ram sticks :D then added heatspreaders to them and its all fine and dandy.. no stability issues here.
 
nightwalker said:
from doing alot of testing on this board it seems that it only likes 1.8v ram if you're using all 4 slots.... hence why i bought 4 of the 1.8v patriot ram sticks :D then added heatspreaders to them and its all fine and dandy.. no stability issues here.
Click to expand...
:p I am running Patriot Memory in my rig and according to the BIOS setting mine are at 1.9V and can go up to 2.2V Max. The timing is the same 4-4-4-12 2T. What BIOS version are you currently running? I had to update mine to the Beta version 1.34 and I have been running smooth as silk. Still not on the net as to date because I still need to install some other software and do a few odds and ends. According to some others on the thread they have been in their words OCing the SHITTT out of the memory with great results.:p
 
TheFang1940 said:
:p I am running Patriot Memory in my rig and according to the BIOS setting mine are at 1.9V and can go up to 2.2V Max. The timing is the same 4-4-4-12 2T. What BIOS version are you currently running? I had to update mine to the Beta version 1.34 and I have been running smooth as silk. Still not on the net as to date because I still need to install some other software and do a few odds and ends. According to some others on the thread they have been in their words OCing the SHITTT out of the memory with great results.:p
Click to expand...

im using the one it came with... the second from newest one on MSI website. ive never had any problems or blue screens with it (unlike my DS3):p
 
hey guys i've got a p6n sli-fi and e4300 oc to 3ghz. cpuz says my fsb:dram ratio is 11:13. is that bad or does it just mean my memory is oc'd? here is exactly what cpuz says-



CPU-Z 1.40 report file

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 E4300
Code Name Conroe
Specification Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 4300 @ 1.80GHz
Package Socket 775 LGA
Family/Model/Stepping 6.F.2
Extended Family/Model 6.F
Core Stepping L2
Technology 65 nm
Core Speed 3003.7 MHz
Multiplier x Bus speed 9.0 x 333.7 MHz
Rated Bus speed 1335.0 MHz
Stock frequency 1800 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 2048 MBytes
Memory Frequency 394.4 MHz (11:13)
CAS# Latency (tCL) 4.0 clocks
RAS# to CAS# (tRDC) 4 clocks
RAS# Precharge (tRP) 4 clocks
Cycle Time (tRAS) 12 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 V2.2
BIOS Date 06/18/2007

Memory SPD

Module 1 DDR2, PC2-6400 (400 MHz), 1024 MBytes, G.Skill
Module 2 DDR2, PC2-6400 (400 MHz), 1024 MBytes, G.Skill

Software

Windows Version Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 (Build 2600)
DirectX Version 9.0c
 
It's not a bad thing, all it's saying is that your ram is slightly OC'd, Memory Frequency 394.4 MHz (11:13) instead of 333 which would be 1:1..............:D
 
second question- in my bios i have my memory set to 800mhz. how come if it is oc'd its not higher than 400mhz. i know u multiply that x2. but its only 394mhz?
 
It just clocks it as close to 800 (400) as it can without going over the setting you set it to. If you want it faster than the 800, you'll have to set it higher.
 
I've followed this thread now and then, as I haven't yet made up my mind between the SLI-Fi and the Platinum version. Besides better heatsinking and solid caps, what else is better?

Has anyone tried the first one and then went for the latter one and got better results?
 
carlmart said:
I've followed this thread now and then, as I haven't yet made up my mind between the SLI-Fi and the Platinum version. Besides better heatsinking and solid caps, what else is better?

Has anyone tried the first one and then went for the latter one and got better results?
Click to expand...

I've built systems out of both, no real differance in OC'ing between the 2. My personal pick is the Fi mainly because it's much easire and cheaper to upgrade the NB and SB cooling. I don't really care for the all in one heat pipe solutions..............:eek: You get much better quieter cooling from some of the after market solutions. If you intend on keeping the cooling stock, you might as well go with the heatpipe Platinum...............:D
 
Bio-Hazard said:
I've built systems out of both, no real differance in OC'ing between the 2. My personal pick is the Fi mainly because it's much easire and cheaper to upgrade the NB and SB cooling. I don't really care for the all in one heat pipe solutions..............:eek: You get much better quieter cooling from some of the after market solutions. If you intend on keeping the cooling stock, you might as well go with the heatpipe Platinum...............:D
Click to expand...

This sounds like very good advice for me. Thank you.

To start with the price gap between both MSI versions in my country is quite large. Second I don't plan on OCing, as it may raise problems in the video editing I intend to do with it.

Your suggestions to upgrade the chipset cooling later sounds very good. Are there temp sensors on both NB and SB chips?

My idea was not to upgrade on anything if I could, but I am not too sure the passive cooling pipes in the Platinum will really take care of the heat. The passive pipes did not seem to such a good work on the Asus P5W.
 
Bio-Hazard said:
I've built systems out of both, no real differance in OC'ing between the 2. My personal pick is the Fi mainly because it's much easire and cheaper to upgrade the NB and SB cooling. I don't really care for the all in one heat pipe solutions..............:eek: You get much better quieter cooling from some of the after market solutions. If you intend on keeping the cooling stock, you might as well go with the heatpipe Platinum...............:D
Click to expand...

I completely agree with Bio, but I do feel compelled to add that replacing the stock NB fan on the Platinum with this $4 solution makes all the difference in the world, at least from an auditory point of view: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185039&Tpk=scythe+mini+kaze

Its a nice solution that enables overclockers to use the NB fan without going insane :p . If not OCing, then no NB fan is needed to begin with, and either board stock should do, in which case the Fi seems to make the most financial sense. Unless you feel the need for eSATA.
 
carlmart said:
Second I don't plan on OCing, as it may raise problems in the video editing I intend to do with it.
Click to expand...

How so?

I would think OCing will only help the speed of rendering and so forth. Although already elevated temps from OCing could result in editing temps that push the limits. Still, I have my E6300 currently OCed to 2.8GHz and video rendering and so forth only maxes out around 50C. Using Scythe Ninja Plus Rev B for CPU cooling. What CPU/cooling combo are you considering, if I may?
 
Edge said:
How so?

I would think OCing will only help the speed of rendering and so forth. Although already elevated temps from OCing could result in editing temps that push the limits. Still, I have my E6300 currently OCed to 2.8GHz and video rendering and so forth only maxes out around 50C. Using Scythe Ninja Plus Rev B for CPU cooling. What CPU/cooling combo are you considering, if I may?
Click to expand...

Yes, you may. My CPU, already bought, is an E6420. As I wanted to take my time with the mobo choice and still go Intel, I got an ASRock board that takes my AGP video and my DDR memory. Not quite as fast but I can go slowly on the investment, one at the time.

This was lucky, because I has thought on going for the Asus P5W DH, but I think this MSI is a better choice, with more people feeling satisfied with it at Newegg.

My concern with OCing is with the programa I am using: Avid. But I may try and see what happens. For CPU cooling I may go Ninja too. Some passive cooling on the regulators may help the Fi type. The eSata is not a concern really, because I have an external adapter, from an old Giga mobo, that can accept two external SATA drives.
 
I also have a E-SATA adapter that I use from a older ASUS S939 board...........;)
But I ended up pulling it out and put the drive in a removeable 5.25 HD rack that can be turned on and off when needed. I really don't care for external solutions at all, just more stuff to get in the way.............:)

I've been thinking about putting some sinks on the regulators as well, but haven't gotten around to doing it, there's no rush I guess cause I don't have any heat related issues at all right now.
 
That's a nice processor, and very overclockable apparently.
http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?cid=2&id=2291

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core2duo-e6420_11.html

The 4MB cache should help nicely with video work. Wish I had one:D . I can't speak for the Asus boards, but IMHO this mobo's a winner. I've built 2 Platinum versions so far. You can always add a superior aftermarket NB cooler to the Fi (some good ones are mentioned in this thread) if you ever overclock. With that processor and your desire to do video work I would think overclocking would be a worthwhile move, even if only conservatively (keeping stock voltages, for example).

Good luck!
 
I may have missed it, but will the 650i chipset support the new penryn cpus when they come out?
 
Edge said:
That's a nice processor, and very overclockable apparently.
http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?cid=2&id=2291

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core2duo-e6420_11.html

The 4MB cache should help nicely with video work. Wish I had one:D . I can't speak for the Asus boards, but IMHO this mobo's a winner. I've built 2 Platinum versions so far. You can always add a superior aftermarket NB cooler to the Fi (some good ones are mentioned in this thread) if you ever overclock. With that processor and your desire to do video work I would think overclocking would be a worthwhile move, even if only conservatively (keeping stock voltages, for example).

Good luck!
Click to expand...

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core2duo-e6420_11.html

Anyone notice it says "E6400"?

cpu-3720.png


I hope it was a 6400, because that is the processor I have and that is an awesome overclock!

OH man! Nvm now I see 6420 below the name! DOH!
 
Well since its been pretty slow in here...

What are optimal, and/or best performance/stability settings for NB, SB, and Vcore for this Motherboard?

In other words, what is the highest I could increase these voltages in order to get the most overclock, yet still have stability, and still have somewhat long life for my cpu and mb.

Also my memory is rated at 1066 but when I run it @ 1066 I get crash dumps. When I set to 800 it works like a champ. Memory increased to 2.25v

I have vcore increased to 1.325v and SB is 1.6v and NB is 1.5v - 2.9GHz (362.5x8, 1450FSB)

Thank you! And hope to get some good feedback...
 
Your vcore is fine, nVisia recomends a max CPU Core: 1.58750v as per their published OC docs. Your SB and NB voltages seem a bit high to me for the clocks that you're running compared to what I need to run, but every board and CPU preform a bit differently. I'm running my SB at stock voltage, never had to increase it yet except for when I'm going above a 1600 FSB. And at a 1600FSB I only have my NB bumped up to 1.35, so IMHO you should be able to drop those voltages and that will increase the overall life of your system and make it run a lot cooler.

Here's the max recomemded voltages from nVidia:

CPU Core: 1.58750v
CPU FSB: 1.5v
Memory: 2.3v
nForce SPP: 1.50v
 
I currently have my system running at FSB 1280 (3.2), memory set 800Mhz with 3-3-3-9 2T timming. If I go up to FSB 1320 and bump my CPU Voltage one time 0.3875 and run TAT my temp go up to the high 70s and low 80s.
Question! Is that normal...?
Question! I had my memory timming set at 4-4-4-15, but seem to seems to runn a lot faster at the 3-3-3-9, 2T, is there a better timming setting that I should try...? Any assistance is appreciated...
Thank you!:D
 
Spanki said:
Yes.
Click to expand...

Spanki: I don't see any upcoming CPUs (Penryn, Yorkfield, Wolfdale) there. Am I missing something?

I also have question if P6N Platinum supports undervolting. Can anybody check options in bios? I read that on Gigabyte you can run E4300 at 0.9V stock speed.

Thanks!
 
lechuck1 said:
Spanki: I don't see any upcoming CPUs (Penryn, Yorkfield, Wolfdale) there. Am I missing something?

I also have question if P6N Platinum supports undervolting. Can anybody check options in bios? I read that on Gigabyte you can run E4300 at 0.9V stock speed.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

My bad - I read that too fast. I was thinking you were asking about the 1333FSB cpus. Both Tom's and Anand's are reporting that the 680i chipset will support the 45nm cpus with a BIOS update, so there's a good chance that 650i will as well (they use the same C55 NB chip).

As for undervolting, currently no. The BIOS only lets you add voltage to stock, not subtract any.
 
Thanks Spanki!

As for undervolting - that's huge dissapointment for me...
I guess Gigabyte it's the way to go. :(

Btw:
I'd like to build passive PC for everyday use. Are there any users who:
- don't overclock
- have passive VGA (7600GT, max. 8600GT)
- and can measure the used power

Or:
Is there any user that has a PC that uses less than 100W in idle with 650i MB?
 
According to my monitoring software (hooked up to my UPS), my system uses ~102W at idle. This is with a E6400 at stock voltages, but overclocked to 2.66Ghz, and 3 HDs, a 7900GS and 4 case fans.

EDIT: Sorry - brain-fart... make that ~202-210W... it jumps up to ~222W at Orthos load. But also keep in mind that I have all the C1E and other Speed Stepping features disabled.
EDIT: Oh... and that also includes the power used by my flat screen monitor and my router :).
 
There's a lot more to putting together a low power PC than just low voltage on the CPU. For instance, you want a cool running system to cut down on the number of case fans and how fast they run. Most systems can get by with a single 120mm case fan. Use a case fan like this Artic Cooling one that can have its speed controlled by the motherboard (use the same Smart Fan CMOS setting to control the CPU fan - make sure your cooling fan is a 4 lead PWM fan - the stock Intel coolers are) Use a single hard drive that uses low power and runs cool. Use a high efficency power supply. Don't use a very high wattage PS. High efficency power supplies are most efficent at 30 - 70% load. Don't use high performance memory that requires voltage higher than 1.8v. With the video cards listed a PS of 350 - 400 w is more than enough.

As far as setting low CPU voltage with the MSI board, just leave the C1E setting enabled. When CPU load drops below 15 - 20% it drops the clock multiplier by 1/3 and also drops the CPU voltage and the memory voltage. C1E will even do this if the system is overclocked and the CPU & memory voltages are set to higher than default values.
 
@blivit4: Thanks for reply. I know that. I'm trying to build silent PCs for years now (AMD based). I have no expirience in how efficient C1E setting is. I have Etasis fanless PSU, all fans can be turned on/off and voltage adjustable to 5V... Now I'm looking for low power CPU, MB and VGA. Finding right MB is hard, as there is not much data on power consumption.

I want that Vcore drops below 1V at idle or low load. Any data on how efficient the C1E setting is?
 
Hey gang,

RSN (Real Soon Now), Intel will be shipping some new C2D cpus with FSB1333 (the E6x50 series). These cpus are built on a new G0 stepping (lower power consumption, lower voltage requirements, higher allowable Tcase temp = kick-ass overclocker).

Along with the introduction of these new cpus and the price-drop coming next week (July 22nd), the Q6600 is also moving to this new G0 stepping (as the old supplies of the older B3 stepping trickle out of the market... if you want to be sure and get a G0 stepping, you might need to go through Tankguys or similar).

Here's the rub... the new G0 stepping Q6600 is not yet supported by the latest BIOS. We need a new microcode patch before the BIOS will recognize the new CPUID (06FB). So just be warned... hopefully we'll see another update soon.

I haven't been able to find the CPUIDs for the new FSB1333 C2Ds yet, so I can't tell if they are supported or not. If anyone knows those, I can check.
 
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