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who here volt mods?

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scooter787b

Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2004
Location
Sylva, NC
Scooter's Learning how to voltmod guide.

Heres a list of the voltage modifications that can be to the NF7-S:

Vdimm Mods
:
http://s6.invisionfree.com/underclock/index.php?showtopic=57
http://www.motherboardfaqs.com/content.php?content.14

Increasing the vdimm can shorten the life span of the memory, also heatspreaders are recommended. A small fan blowing over them can help aswell.

Vbt/Vtt Mods(Very useful in gaining stability when using a higher voltage on vdimm):
http://s6.invisionfree.com/underclock/index.php?showtopic=100

These mods are used to make the memory more stable. This is refered to as the secondary voltage to the vdimm. This setting should be exactly 1/2 of the vdimm. IE. vdimm=3.3 vtt=1.65 , is what you want.

Vdd Mods:
http://s6.invisionfree.com/underclock/index.php?showtopic=32
http://www.motherboardfaqs.com/content.php?content.13
http://www.motherboardfaqs.com/content.php?content.12 (NOT RECCOMENDED)

If you do any Vdd mods, meaning increasing voltage to the northbridge it is imperative that you have a better cooler on it. Some NF7-S' dont like high vdd voltage. My previous board wouldnt even boot with a 1.7vdd set in bios. So I did not even bother with it. Yours may differ tho.

Cooling:
Cooling several of the mosfets on the Abit NF7-S is a good idea aswell. Sinking the mosfets shown here, can help in stability and keep them from burning out. IF DOING THE VTT MOD PUT A HEATSINK ON THE CHIP LOCATED BELOW AS IT WLL GET VERY HOT.

nf7_sink.jpg


Voltage Checkpoints:
WHEN DOING ANY KIND OF VOLTAGE CHECKING DO NOT USE A ANALOG VOLT/MULTI METER, THEY CAN KILL YOUR BOARD. USE ONLY A DIGITAL VOLT/MULTI METER.

It has to do with the analog meters resistance being so low that it shorts out the circuit its testing, which is what happened to me. :( The digital meters have a much higher resistance not totally shorting out the circuit.

v_vdd.jpg

v_vdimm.jpg

attachment.php
 

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scooter787b said:
who here volt mods?

I do!

well im sorry that i dont have picks but, i did the dirty punk mod, and the Vtt mod(be carful, and make SURE to put a sink on the Vtt mosfet, because it will burn out if you dont)

i am running 3.35 vdimm, and 1.67Vtt. befor the mod, the highest i could get was 2.91vimm, and 1.41vtt.

befor the mod(s) w/ mushkin bh-6, i could only run 210-218ish @ 2-2-2-11. after the mod i can run 240ish w/ 2-2-2-11.

EDIT: ****If you are reading this thread, and are intersted in Vmoding you NF7, please take causion, it is very easy to kill a mobo, due to an improper Vmod. DoNot attemnt any of these mods unless you feel that you are able to do it, and are very formiliar w/ them. especailly the Vtt mod, which involes a trace cut. also the Dirt punk Vdimm mod, can be very dangerous, because it is plumbing the 3.3vrail strait into the Vdimm pins. and if it is done improperly, it could send 3.3v to something else, causeing dead board/other hardware. and aswell all other mods have there involved dangers, and one shouldnt attempt them w/ out reading over guides for them, and haveing the ablility to buy a new board if something goes wronge....****

*Hope for the best and prepare for the worst....*
 
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I'm about to do the VTT mod. I'll post the results. The picture here circles where the vtt mosfet is. I'm not sure exactly which chip it is though. I think it is the small chip with 4 pins on each side. Maybe jess can clear up the confusion.

Jess, what method did you use for the vtt mod? The cut trace with VR, or the connecting the 2 pins coming from a RAM slot (vtt=vref) method?
 
ZachM said:
I'm about to do the VTT mod. I'll post the results. The picture here circles where the vtt mosfet is. I'm not sure exactly which chip it is though. I think it is the small chip with 4 pins on each side. Maybe jess can clear up the confusion.

Jess, what method did you use for the vtt mod? The cut trace with VR, or the connecting the 2 pins coming from a RAM slot (vtt=vref) method?

Thanks for this link bro... I've considered doing some of these since I did a few on my old asus board (piece of junk)
 
how much is the "vdd booster" in dirtypunks mod boosted?? gettin my soldering iron (kit) and vantec heatsinks soon(nb,sb, yadda yadda)
 
ZachM said:
. Jess, what method did you use for the vtt mod? The cut trace with VR, or the connecting the 2 pins coming from a RAM slot (vtt=vref) method?

i used trace cut+Vr. i was gonna use Vtt=Vref, but my Vref, was really unsable so i decided to use Vr, it works Quiet nicely. just becareful cutting trace, and remember to set Vr to Zero ohms, and not Max

dont use the connecting pin from the ram slot......may dead boards from that......

Ps Vtt=Vref might and should work fine for some:)

scooter787b said:
how much is the "vdd booster" in dirtypunks mod boosted?? gettin my soldering iron (kit) and vantec heatsinks soon(nb,sb, yadda yadda)

well i think about 0.1v. like if set to 1.7 you get 1.8v. but im not sure, can any one conferm?
 
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if i set 1.7 with no mods it wont boot, just beeps then starts beepin strangely liike mad, so i gotta reset cmos :( means im left at 1.6 no mods
 
humm, sounds like it just dont like more Vdd than that, do you get more FSB oc w/ 1.6 than you do w/ 1.5?
 
hmm dunno 1.6 was the default, so i just left it at that and could get in windows and do stuff at 230fsb and it was mabe 50% stable, 225 is full stable 227 is a bit iffy tho
 
you should try 1.5:), i know that it sounds crazy, but some NF7's that dont like 1.7, will go higher on 1.5 or even 1.4.........wow....its worth a try. but if your sig. is correct, you have BH-6 ram, and you wont get much farther than that w/ Bh-6 w/o vmods :cool:
 
hehe, total it was like almost $10 cuz of shippin and insurance, but hey thats still better than 15 bucks in a store, plus i get colored tape too!!!!

:p
 
60 watts is way too much for voltage mods. 15 or 20 is really all you need. By using more wattage than necessary you risk burning up what you are soldering to by getting it too hot. It is also a good idea to use a grounded soldering iron. A grounded iron uses the 3rd (ground) pin on the AC wall plug. That will prevent static discharge from the soldering iron. Be sure to practice on a piece of old/dead electronics. Find a chip or trace similar to what you will be soldering to on the motherboard. Practice soldering wires on and off the piece. When it comes time to do the real mod, mask the area with tape (I use electrical). That way if you drop a bit of liquid solder, or some flows the wrong direction the solder will stick to the tape instead of your motherboard. ;) Good Luck.

*Edit, Unecessary question that I asked when I was brain dead. Do not be confused, alarmed, concerned by it.*
Ok Jess, more questions for you. Do you know which side of the trace is positive and which is negative? At least could you make a little diagram showing which leg of the VR you attached to each side of the trace? If you do that, also tell me which way you turn the VR to get zero Ohms. If I don't know which way around to solder the VR I could easily have the VR give full resistance instead of zero. :eek: Thanks. :)
 
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hmm well im definately practicing then, i knew that from the start, i get the iron tomorrow too, i found a good nasa site with videos on soldering :p
 
ZachM said:
Ok Jess, more questions for you. Do you know which side of the trace is positive and which is negative? At least could you make a little diagram showing which leg of the VR you attached to each side of the trace? If you do that, also tell me which way you turn the VR to get zero Ohms. If I don't know which way around to solder the VR I could easily have the VR give full resistance instead of zero. :eek: Thanks. :)


well really any VR could be Different from another, and most are the same but this is how my VR's were, and,how i did it. you need to test w/ a voltmeter yourself to be sure, which you need a Voltmeter for this mod anyway, because the Nf7 doesnt have a way of testing Vtt w/ out a Vmeter. most Vr's come w/ three legs, you must either cut the front leg, or the back one. (pin 1=front, pin 2=midd, pin 3=back) the resistance between pin 1 and pin 3 is always the max reistance of the pot(in our case 1k) the resistance betweed pin 1 and 2 is variable between 0 and 1k, and the resistance between pins 2 and 3 is variable between 0 and 1k. but w/ pins 1 and 2 the resistance is lowered by turning the Vr to the right(clockwise) and raised by turing the pot to the left(counterclockwise). and w/ pins 2 and 3 risistance is lowered by turning to the left(counter clockwise) and raise by turning to the right(clockwise) so we want to use pins 2 and 3 so that when you turn you Vr to the left(which LOWERS reistance between pin 2 and 3) you will Lower Vtt(hints LEFT[counterclockwise] LOWER) and when you turn to the right(whch raises reistance between pin 2 and 3) you will raise Vtt.(hints RIGHT[clockwise] RAISES).

but as i stated above all VR's *could be* different, so i *would get a Voltmeater and acually measure to be sure, the pic shows how i did it, but please test your VR's to see if they act the same as mine, and make SURE that your Vr is set to 0 ohms befor attemping to power on, you need to test this w/ a Voltmeter

also the polarity(+ or - doesnt matter) :)
 

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Wait, I just thought about this. I think I figured out where I was confused. I was thinking, let's say for example on your pic, if you switched the position of the wires on the back 2 legs. Keep the wires on the back two legs, just switch the wires. I'm was thinking that the wires connected one way would be 0 and the other would be full OHMs with the VR screw bottomed out. But that's not the way it works eh? You can only change the direction of the pot adjustment by switching from the back 2 legs to the front 2 (or visa versa). Thanks for the help anyways. I just wasn't thinking straight earlier.
 
woo, i got solder iron today, im pumped, but i still need sinks for stuff :/

so i should or shouldnt do the vtt=vref from the dimm ?

whew just practiced soldering some legs on the back of an old s3 vid card, wow this thing hot, takin forever to cool down too :eek:
 
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