I have done the l12 wire mod... can I still use the new Merlin BIOS?

Hi,

I understand that the newer modded BIOS releases have a soft l12 mod worked into them. I have done the "wire trick" to fool my NF7-S into thinking my XP-Mobile 2600+ defaults to 166FSB. Does anyone know whether I'll now have to remove the wire in order to use the latest Merlin BIOS?

Thanks,
Jonathan

Welcome to the Forum

Yes, You can use the merlin BIOS without removing the wire...

glock19owner said:

Welcome to the Forum

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Thanks. And thanks for the speedy reply.

Yes, You can use the merlin BIOS without removing the wire...

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I figured I could. I think I just wanted to hear someone else say it. Flashing BIOS is a real nail biting experience in my book, and I don't want to do the wrong thing. Yet, I don't want to futz around with pulling that wire out either.

Glad you asked first...even though it is safe to do this...better to ask first then find out the hard way later...especially if you dont have a extra BIOS chip around...found that out the hard way myself ...

glock19owner said:

especially if you dont have a extra BIOS chip around....

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That's just it. I don't. I just bought this board and, after reading on several sites that the BIOS corruption problems had been dealt with, decided not to buy an extra ROM chip. Wish I had, really... sure would be easier on the fingernails. Next time I have a few bucks to blow online, I think I'll have to get one. I always break out in a bit of a sweat when I see the "DO NOT TURN OFF SYSTEM POWER WHILE CMOS..." message. And that's just adjusting the FSB. Bet I'll have a full blown panic attack in the time between flashing ROM and the next boot.

And yes... I know not to flash while overclocked.

I have been doing this for 20+ yrs...and its still just as nerve wrecking as the first time I ever flashed a BIOS...so dont fret...most of us all still feel like this everytime ...

Good Luck with your OC and new hardware, you shouldnt be disappointed in the NF7...but will say...it will show you how well your memory and CPU actually is...also...keep a eye on your PSU voltage rails...the NF7 tends to be a real power hog when getting up with high OC's...

glock19owner said:

so dont fret...most of us all still feel like this everytime

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Heh... there are two rules in case of fire.

Rule #1. Don't panic.

Rule #2. WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!

Good Luck with your OC and new hardware, you shouldnt be disappointed in the NF7...but will say...it will show you how well your memory and CPU actually is...also...keep a eye on your PSU voltage rails...the NF7 tends to be a real power hog when getting up with high OC's...

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Yeah... I've noticed. I had it running as high as 2400MHz at 200FSBx10 and, according to Sandra's estimation, the CPU at load was drawing over 100W! I didn't note any drop in the voltage though, using MBM5. Getting stable at that speed will be another matter.

Anyhow, thanks for the encouragement. I'm running at 200x11 for 2200MHz now. It's the first time I've ever had any kind of successful overclock. Here's hoping Merlin can help me work the magic I need to get the FSB up for 2400MHz and maybe more.

Ciao,
Jonathan

What cooling are you running...the cooling will be a major role in your OC

glock19owner said:

What cooling are you running...the cooling will be a major role in your OC

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Case fans aren't real great... one intake at bottom front, and exhaust at uppper rear... just generic 80mm fans. I have a Vantec Aeroflow on the CPU, an Iceberq on the norhtbridge (heard about the stock NB fan's short life expectancy, and just ordered an Iceberq as a matter of course) and put one of the copper sinks that came with the Iceberq on the southbridge.

It did the Prime95 "In place large FFT test" (the one that generates the most heat), with max temp at 32C/47C (Case/CPU). Room temperature was about 23C. I suppose the cooling could be better. I always figured anything below 60 should be good though, no? (I do want to get some better airflow going on in the case, still.)

EDIT: That prime95 test was at 200x11 BTW.

rule of thumb is to try to keep the CPU under 55c...then heat starts to become a issue when OCed...under normal operating settings 60c is fine and wont cause any stability issues...or it shouldnt...but when the CPU is OCed and already under stress...this lowers the CPU's max heat stability threshold...

A few cheap things you can do is...reaplce those case fans with some more CFM fans...like around 38+ each...and it probably wouldnt be a bad idea to mod a few side mounted fans...one directly over the CPU and the other directly over the AGP slot...this will in turn blow cooler outside air directly on both the CPU and GPU aiding in the cooling...and if you notice your PSU starting to run hot...you can always mod a top blowhole...this will help release the top hot air so the PSU will not be trying to cool itself with the hot system air...

Also...try more then Prime95...also run 3d mark 01 and PCmark 04...just because it is stable in Prime does not mean it will be stable in dx or open gl programs...

01 is a good all around hardware stability test while 04 is a good all around hardware stress test

glock19owner said:

rule of thumb is to try to keep the CPU under 55c...then heat starts to become a issue when OCed...under normal operating settings 60c is fine and wont cause any stability issues...or it shouldnt...but when the CPU is OCed and already under stress...this lowers the CPU's max heat stability threshold...

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Hmm... makes sense. I'll keep that in mind.

<snip lots of good suggestions for cooling>

Also...try more then Prime95...also run 3d mark 01 and PCmark 04...just because it is stable in Prime does not mean it will be stable in dx or open gl programs...

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Oh, but I do. 3dmark 01 and 03, Aquamark, Codecreatures, Pcmark, Sandra's "burn in wizard..." I've been using prime95 to test for outright CPU errors, and then the others to attempt to confirm that nothing "flaky" was missed by the prime95 tests. So far, so good.

01 is a good all around hardware stability test while 04 is a good all around hardware stress test

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Now that I think of it, my PCmark is the 2002 version. I'll have to go get the '04 version.

personally I like using 02 since it gives you seperate scores...and if you know your scores and system well enough you can look at the scores and tell right away what the issue is...but I mentioned 04 because that is what most people tend to run...

jpilotus said:

<snip lots of good suggestions for cooling>

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Just becareful are you will end up with a vacuum cleaner ...

My cooling sytem:

1x 92mm Tornado
6x Thermaltake smartfan 2's (4 turn all the way up 2 running about 60%)
(2x front, 2x side intake over GPU, CPU, 1x back exhaust, 1x top blowhole)...

I also have two of my 5 1/4" bay covers off so it helps with the exhaust...with the bay covers off the flow is still slightly to the positive side...

Which is the best way...better to have about 50CFM or so more intake then exhaust...

Almost forgot...have 2x60mm YS tech fans for the 9800 Pro cooling fans...these are 40CFM each...and very high pitched...this is where the vaccum cleaner pitch comes from