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GA-8KNXP Ultra..not real SCSI-320?

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DeviLduck

Member
Joined
May 4, 2002
Here's the deal..I just ordered a GA-8KNXP ULtra (Rev,2,0), mainly because I have an all SCSI system, & understood that this board would be the real 320 SCSI, equilivent to the 64 bit PCI-X bus. It appears I've been duped by the hype, because after searching high & low, I've never found real 320 SCSI specs, with 320 HDDs, in any review.

I also ordered DDR PC4400 Corsair XMS Dual, which I understand now, won't work in this board!

If I had read this thread BEFORE making the final order decision, then obviously, I'd do something different.

Currently, using GA-8IHXP rdram system, very stable, but wanted to get into 800 bus cpus & maybe Prescot. Of course, there is no such board, yet, using rdram. I believe in the 3Q SiS will finally release the R659 chipset (FX & TX versions) read this: http://www.anandtech.com/chipsets/showdoc.html?i=1960 which will be a rdram board. The rdram it's supposed to use is in question, meaning I may have to purchase new rdram for that board, if it actually comes. It was originally promised for end of 2003!

Sorry to be so long-winded, but what's your take on what to do?
Send back the DDR4400 & exchange for DDR3200? OR Change to the Asus P4C800-E Deluxe or ABIT IC7 MAX 3 ?

I already have a scsi-320 card, but actually use a scsi-160 card, because because it gives best performance & there is no bandwidth difference. If the 8KNXP is the same as using a scsi160 card, then I might as well go to a mobo that can use DDR4400 memory & be a better OCer.

If the 8KNXP Ultra does give enhanced SCSI 320 performance & you're running 320SCSI hdds, please respond. Surely, someone has run this board with SCSI 320 hdds. I don't understand how a company (Gigabyte) can ethically claim this is a true SCSI-320 performer. Up to now, I've liked my current Gigabyte board but they have NEVER responded to any email inquiry ever...period...no real tech support.

Thanks to all for this thread & to anyone who read this far.
 
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I have a GA-8KNXP Ultra Rev 2.0 just like you. I also have a Maxtor Atlas 10K IV which I wanted to use with the board. That's why I bought it in the first place. I tried using my HD with the on-board SCSI and with my Adaptec Ultra160 SCSI card, and I've noticed no difference. Granted, I didn't subject it to any severe data migration tests (can you recommend any?), but just from observing sustained and bursted file transfer times, the Gigabyte SCSI controller doesn't seem to offer any advantage over my Ultra160 card. I put two HDs on each channel to make maximum use of the bandwidth, but I don't think it made a difference. On top of all this, it sucks at OC'ing. Can't get any higher than 230FSB regardless of voltages.

I am currently trying to get rid of my 8KNXP Ultra and am going with an Abit IC7-MAX3. If I want Ultra320 SCSI performance, I've learned my lesson. I should just go buy the real thing. The on-board SCSI controller got me excited because I wanted to minimize my PCI slot usage and it seemed awesome to have on-board SCSI, but what's the use if I'm not getting what I paid for? And I can't even get it to work now because for some reason I can't find the correct 3rd party SCSI driver anymore. Plus, I can't take the SCSI controller with me should I decide to upgrade again in the future; and that would be a waste.

I'll post more info if I decide to do more testing.
 
GV2NIX,
Thanks for your reply. Can you run HDTach utility on your HDDs & report your values here? Use latest version, v.2.9.2.3

HDTach...http://www.simplisoftware.com/Public/index.php?request=HdTachBetaDownloadRegistration

Currently testing the GA-8KNXP Ultra-64 board (just released). This board has 2 pci-X slots, for use with a pci-X U320 Controller Card, but it's unclear if the "onboard" SCSI operates at 64 bit.

Will report back here later on further testing. Preliminary results show that the Ultra-64 board Onboard SCSI allows scsi mbps Burst Speed DOUBLE the 8KNXP Ultra rev.2 board Onboard SCSI, but the AVG 65 mbps mark remains the same. This (AVG mbps) is also confirmed by SiSoft sandra Utility. A RAID 2 X 0 setup showed avg 85 mbps on 8KNXP Ultra rev.2 & 110 mbps on Ultra-64, again, using Onboard scsi.

One dedicated scsi U320 drive Seagate ST373453LW (73GB)
Burst 8KNXP Ultra rev.2---130 mbps
Burst 8KNXP Ultra-64----235 mbps
Avg for both boards-----65 mbps
(same values for Seagate U320 36GB hdd)

RAID 2 X 0 setup (2 X 36 GB Seagate U320 hdds)
Burst/Avg 8KNXP Ultra rev.2-----129/85 mbps
Burst/Avg 8KBXP Ultra-64-----233/110 mbps

Using latest Adaptec drivers: U320, v.3.00.00 for AIC 7902B, dated 2/17/2004, for the Onboard scsi controllers.

This much I found out. The 8KNXP Ultra rev.2 Onboard SCSI operates at 32 bit, not 64 bit, as some thought. So, it's the same as connecting a pci-X U320 controller to a 32 bit pci slot or same as using U160 scsi controller on 32 bit pci slot.

When connecting a U320 pci-X SCSI Controller Card to the pci-X slot (8KNXP Ultra-64 board) & disabling the onboard scsi, the values for a dedicated scsi U320 hdd remained the same as onboard scsi. The drivers for U320 Controller card (dual channel) are from Adaptec Ultra 320 Famoly Manager Set, v.3.00.s4, dated 3/10/2004, non-Host RAID drivers.

It's clear that using a RAID setup gets closer to theoretical U320 scsi performance (Onboard scsi controllers), BUT I found that WinXP kernal errors started to appear randomly, with the RAID scsi setups. So, I won't be using RAID with scsi hdds any longer. SATA RAID setups don't seem to be plagued with the dreaded kernal errors. Kernal errors have ben reported with various RAID configurations.

Ended up using OCZ dual channel PC3700 Gold rev2 memory & returned the original PC4400 Corsair I mentioned previously.

Finally, a new report out explains that RDRAM boards based on the R659 chipset WILL NOT happen. Also, Rambus is in "litigation mode" with several memory companies as well.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/mainboards/display/20040502020933.html
 
Well, I'd like to run HDTach and give you some numbers, but like I said, I can't even get the on-board SCSI controller to work anymore. I've tried for an entire day, but I can't install the 3rd party drivers when installing windows, so basically the on-board SCSI is junk to me now. I could test my HDDs with my U160 SCSI card, but that won't really help you. If I get it to work again, I'll let you know, but I think I'm going to scrap this mobo and go with my Abit. The Gigabyte never really worked properly anyway. But, like I said, if I can get it working, I'll post some numbers. Good luck!
 
GV2NIX,
Hey, what is the problem on installing the scsi drivers? Are your scsi drives not being recognized?

After extracting non-host raid drivers (d/l from Gigabyte site, v.3.00.00) to a floppy, press F6 early in the WinXP install process (boot from WinXP CDROM), it will tell you when to put in floppy & copies those files for the WinXP install process. It will ask for the floppy one more time a little later during install process.

You're right, forget messing with the U160 Card. Also, the U160 Card drivers will not work with the Onboard U320 scsi controller of the 8KNXP Ultra v.2.
 
Yeah, I don't know what the problem is. I usually download the 3rd party SCSI drivers from the Gigabyte website onto a floppy. Then, I press F6 during the Windows setup screen to install them. It used to work, but now when I try, I get error messages saying that I have the wrong driver, or that there's an error with the driver. It's very frustrating. This on-board SCSI stuff, no matter how cool it is to have on-board SCSI, is a real pain in the neck! I'll keep trying to get it working, but it looks like either something got busted, or maybe I need to update bios. I'm running the latest bios, but maybe I'll flash it again just to make sure it's not corrupted or something...
 
GV2NIX,
Format the floppy in WinXP, before extraction of drivers, even if using pre-formatted floppy.

The non-RAIDHost U320 drivers can be d/l from Adaptec also.

Are you d/l non-RaidHost scsi drivers from Gigabyte usa or Taiwan?
 
DeviLduck said:
GV2NIX,
Format the floppy in WinXP, before extraction of drivers, even if using pre-formatted floppy.

The non-RAIDHost U320 drivers can be d/l from Adaptec also.

Are you d/l non-RaidHost scsi drivers from Gigabyte usa or Taiwan?


I did format the floppy in XP, no luck.

I couldn't find drivers from Adaptec, in fact, I couldn't even find the controller on Adapdec, do you havea link?

I already tried downloading the SCSI drivers both from Gigabyte USA and Taiwan (initially tried USA). No luck...
 
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