[QuietIce]

Several people, even OC veterans, are having problems locating the OC settings in BIOS for the ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe. If you don't know where to look or what [Auto] setting to change to [Manual] you can explore a long time and still not find what you need. There are also a couple of quirks in the labeling as almost all motherboards have.


Main/IDE Configuration (RAID Setup)
Advanced tab (CnQ, OnBoard Devices, PCIPnP, USB)
Advanced/JumperFree Settings (clock, CPU multiplier, voltages)
Advanced/CPU Configuration (RAM timings)
Advanced/Chipset (HT multiplier and other bus settings)




This is not a definitive guide for over-clocking this board - there are many, many good over-clocking threads already. Finding the settings is half the battle, the rest is trial and error. If you need help OC'ing I recommend infinitevalence's Sticky, Easy as 1, 2, 3, Overclocking the A64 - as a first time over-clocker it worked great for me. Deeppow also has a great web page, Motherboard, Memory, & CPU - Overclocking Guide , which has good explanations of how things really work inside the case. Most importantly, take things one step at a time and write your settings down, whether they work or not. Several OC "gurus" recommend a burn-in period for the CPU and RAM using the stock settings. To add to that Arctic Silver notes their thermal pastes take time to cure for maximum conductivity (see their "Important Reminder" at the bottom of the Ceramique or AS5 page) so if you're looking for the best over-clock possible it seems you'll need at least a couple of days break-in before starting, more if you're using AS5 and/or water.

Also, this thread does not address all set-up issues since the manual does a fairly good job of that. If you don't have one you can download it here from the ASUS website. You might even want to check out their forums for the latest updates and issues.


Edit: I've seen a few complaints about the fitment of snap-on type CPU heatsinks with this board. The chipset heatpipes pass very close to the bottom of the CPU mount and can get in the way with some snap-ons. Cam lock and screw-on type sinks have no problems at all.
Also note that sinks with horizontal mount fans may not work as well due to the proximity of the chipset radiator to the CPU. I managed 2760 @ 1.52v with my Opty before hitting a heat wall with the stock Opty cooler so it's not bad just not as good as on other boards w/NB fans. Sinks with vertical mount fans seem to work normally.


THIS IS BASED ON THE 1205 BIOS UPDATE. Past or future updates may change the way the system reacts to the BIOS settings.
Edit: A discussion of new BIOS's for the A8N32-SLI: BIOS Thread


I'm sure I've missed plenty so if you have any comments, noticed any errors in my posts, or have some personal experience you'd like to share on these topics please feel free to post - this is all about helping each other learn a new board. SLI information and experience are especially welcome ...

[QuietIce]

Main/IDE Configuration (RAID Setup)



Note: Even if you are NOT setting up RAID you still need to [Enable] the appropriate SATA drive for Windows to recognize it.

To use the nVidia RAID feature you first need to [Enable] the nVidia RAID Function, then [Enable] the appropriate SATA drives. Unfortunately (as far as I can tell) this can only be done in pairs - SATA 1&2 and SATA 3&4, even though it looks like they can be done individually. From my own experience I couldn't [Enable] SATA 2-4 for a RAID 5 configuration without putting SATA1 under RAID too. Even though I didn't [Enable] RAID on SATA1 that drive could not be read by WindowsXP Pro without a RAID driver disk.


There were some installation issues, which turned out to be problems with the 1205 BIOS and the SiliconImage RAID controller so SATA 1&2 ended up RAID [Enabled] and they are now running in RAID1 configuration. SATA 3&4 are [Disabled] and they operate as "normal" non-RAID drives - Windows setup can see them.

[QuietIce]

Advanced: This is where all the goodies are for over-clocking.



AMD Cool 'N Quiet Configuration (CnQ): While testing your system for over-clocking you should [Disable] CnQ.
CnQ adjusts your vCore and CPU multiplier depending on what CnQ sees as CPU demand. CnQ does NOT change your bus settings so when it sees a big demand you will be running at your full, over-clocked speed. I've been using this day to day with no ill effects but I do have the vCore boost turned on since you can't adjust vCore by itself when using CnQ. It took an extra 5 minutes for a SuperPi 32M run under CnQ - if speed is needed you'll want to [Disable] this.

JumperFree Configuration: see below

CPU Configuration: see below

Chipset: see below

Onboard Devices: I like to [Disable] all the Onboard Devices not being used.

USB Configuration: There have been some issues with the Legacy USB setting so it might be prudent to go into USB Configuration and [Disable] Legacy USB.

[QuietIce]

Advanced/JumperFree Settings (Legal Notice: Use of some of these settings may void your hardware warranties and could cause physical damage to your hardware. Use at your own discretion!)
Edit: Some people have reported a warm-boot failure issue when over-clocking. When attempting to warm-boot the machine simply fails to boot up and shut-down is required. No known reason or fix for this issue has been verified.



AI Overclocking: When set to [Manual] the CPU FSB Frequency (front side bus) setting becomes available. CPU-Z shows this as HTT and it is sometimes called the reference clock or "clock".* The default clock is [200] MHz and can be adjusted upward by 1 MHz increments using the "+" and "-" keys or by typing it in. Since this is the reference clock it's setting will effect everything else in the system except the PCI frequency.
*Edit: Newer versions of CPU-Z now show this as "Bus speed".

SB to NB OverClock: Even though we really don't want to change the stock settings some people have had problems using [Auto] with over-clocking. Change this to [Manual] but leave the SB to NB Frequency at [200] and the Adjust PCIE Frequency at [100].

PEG Link Mode: I haven't seen anybody gain any performance from this so it's [Disabled]. If you use it and see an increase in performance please let us know. I think maybe it's a relic from Intel boards.

Over-Voltage CPU Vcore: When [Enabled] this setting adds 0.200v to the vCore setting (see below). For some reason the vCore setting below won't let you go above ~1.425v even though it looks like it does. If you need more voltage than ~1.425v you will need to [Enable] Over-Voltage CPU.
Edit: Please note if you are under-volting below the "default" vCore of 1.4, enabling Overvolt may make the vCore unstable. Overvolt should only be used if you are running above 1.4vCore.

Over-Voltage NB, SB, and HT Vcore: I haven't seen anyone needing to use any of these. Usually the CPU will reach it's limit long before the buses.
Edit: Some people overclocking above a 300 MHz FSB have reported better stabilty with Over-voltage NB Vcore [Enable].
(Thank you, redduc900)

DDR VCORE: This is your RAM voltage. I believe stock is [2.75V] for the Corsair 3500LL Pro but yours may differ. If you're having problems with the RAM this might solve it - [2.80V] is high enough for me.

FID/VID Change: When set to [Manual] the Processor Frequency Multiplier and Processor Voltage (VID) settings become available.

The Processor Frequency Multiplier can be set in x0.5 increments but beware the half multipliers, they can effect RAM clock speeds!

The [Auto] setting for the Processor Voltage looks to be ~1.42v for this board (probably because of the NOS "feature", which can boost the clock up to 10% automatically). Processor Voltage settings look like you can go above 1.425v but in my experience that's just an illusion. I set it to 1.500v but CPU-Z was still reading 1.425v, which doesn't happen if I [Enable] Over-Voltage and set the VID to 1.3v. If you need more voltage than ~1.425v you'll need to [Enable] Over-Voltage CPU Vcore (above) and remember to set Processor Voltage 0.2v lower than you want.

Edit: Newer boards run anywhere from 1.42 - 1.49 vCore. If you have a newer version of CPU-Z (1.4x). chances are it is probably reading correctly.

Note: Both of these settings are disabled when using CnQ BUT CnQ appears to use them for it's maximum setting.

AI Clock Skew for Channel A (and B): These are the RAM clock skew settings. Sometimes you can coax a couple more MHz out of your RAM while keeping a lower latency setting. These settings are VERY RAM dependent but worth playing with once you have your best CPU OC - especially if you're just over a clock setting where you had to loosen your RAM timings.

[QuietIce]

Advanced/CPU Configuration

This page has one important setting, the (1T/2T) memory setting, but also leads to another page with RAM clock ratio and timings. Set (1T/2T) memory setting to [1T]* then drop down one line to Memory Settings and press enter to go to this page:
*Edit: Most people using four RAM sticks will need to leave the (1T/2T) memory setting at [2T].




Memclock Mode: Set this to [Limit] to make the Memclock Value setting available. Memclock Value is the RAM ratio setting and is (sort of) based on a 200 MHz clock speed. Available options are 100, 133, 166, 183, 200, 216, 233, and 250 MHz. Below is a list showing the corresponding ratios but keep in mind the AMD64 RAM clock is actually based off the CPU speed NOT the HTT/FSB/reference clock. For a great explanation of AMD64 RAM ratios and their effects see deeppow's Motherboard, Memory, & CPU - Overclocking Guide (look under Results - Initial Overclocks/nForce4 Motherboard)

100 = 1:2
133 = 2:3
166 = 5:6
183 = 11:12
200 = 1:1
216 = 13:12
233 = 7:6
250 = 5:4

MCT Timing Mode: When set to [Manual] allows the RAM timings to be adjusted. The default settings here are taken off your RAMchips and vary wildly. The only thing to note here is the order of the RAM timings. Many of us are used to seeing the RAM timing order written as CAS/tRCD/tRP/tRAS (i.e., 2-3-2-6 for the Corsair 3500LL). ASUS puts the CAS first as it should be but then reverses the order of the last three, making it CAS/tRAS/tRP/tRCD, so don't get too confused here! It confused me so much I ended up writing down my initial timings in ASUS order just so I could keep it straight.
(Edit: It might be a good idea to manually set the RAM timings even if you don't want to change them - you never know what timings the BIOS will pick out for you if you don't.)

The other timings (tRRD, tRC, etc.) can be tweaked if you wish and the MCT Extra Timing Mode can also be set to [Manual] for more timing options but be prepared to reset the BIOS if you get the wrong settings.

[QuietIce]

Advanced/Chipset



K8 to NB Frequency: This is commonly known as the HT multiplier. Stock setting is [5X] and is usually adjusted downward to allow for a faster clock speed. The HT bus* is advertised to run at 1000 MHz (200 x5) but most of the time it'll go 1100+ MHz. Finding the top speed of the HT bus is one of the goals when testing your system. Mine went to 1130 MHz before becoming unstable so with a 233 clock speed I need a [4X] setting since 233x5 is 1166 MHz (>1130). Generally it's a good idea to keep the HT bus at 1000 MHz or less unless you've extensively tested yours and know it can run faster.
*Edit: Newer versions of CPU-Z show this as "HT Link".

K8 to NB LinkWidth: Should be set to 16v16^ as shown. (Edited, Thanks Zx2Slow)

SB to NB Frequency: Leave this at 5X to avoid problems.
Edit: Some people have gotten higher FSBs setting this to 4X but only for extreme (300+ MHz FSB) overclocks.
(Thank you, redduc900)

SB to NB LinkWidth: Should be set to 16v16^ as shown. (Edited, Thanks Zx2Slow)

Primary Graphics Adaptor: Should be set so your primary video card slot is listed first. I only have one card and it's in the bottom slot - the top PCIe slot is PciE1. This setting does make a difference - I had stability problems when it was set at default with PciE1 first.
Edit: For those of you installing a dual GPU card (i.e., the nVidia 7950) you need to put it in the LOWER (black) slot to get dual x16 graphics.

[Zx2Slow]

I run 16v16^ with SLi with no ill effects. I thought the extra bandwith in SLi was the main selling point with this board. I cant run stable if I use a memory divider to push past 266, but my memory will do 175 at 1:1 just fine.

[zzgocartman]

what would you recomend setting the multiplier to if i wanted to achieve maximum cpu clock speed for a 3200+ single core
thanks

[QuietIce]

Originally Posted by Zx2Slow

I run 16v16^ with SLi with no ill effects. I thought the extra bandwith in SLi was the main selling point with this board.

Is that 16 up/down on both the NB and the SB?

Originally Posted by Zx2Slow

I cant run stable if I use a memory divider to push past 266, but my memory will do 175 at 1:1 just fine.

Those numbers don't look right - I assume you mean you can run 275 MHz at 1:1? A lot of people have noticed that AMD64's are kinda' partial to the 1:1 Ram ratio. Did you check with CPU-Z to see if you were really running 266 MHz with the divider?

[QuietIce]

Originally Posted by zzgocartman

what would you recomend setting the multiplier to if i wanted to achieve maximum cpu clock speed for a 3200+ single core
thanks

As noted above I'm not an OC wizard. There are some links in post #1 that can help you ...

[Zx2Slow]

Originally Posted by QuietIce

Is that 16 up/down on both the NB and the SB?

Yes.

Originally Posted by QuietIce

Those numbers don't look right - I assume you mean you can run 275 MHz at 1:1? A lot of people have noticed that AMD64's are kinda' partial to the 1:1 Ram ratio. Did you check with CPU-Z to see if you were really running 266 MHz with the divider?

Yeah, I can run 1:1 at 178 before I BSOD in windows, but @ 175 stable. If I booger with the divider I cant get a HTT higher than ~266. My opty 146 should do 3ghz but i'm a a64 nOOb (Held on to my T-bird way way too long, SocketA4Life)

[cmanser]

Originally Posted by QuietIce

Advanced/JumperFree Settings (Legal Notice: Use of some of these settings may void your hardware warranties and could cause physical damage to your hardware. Use at your own discretion!)



AI Overclocking: When set to [Manual] the CPU FSB Frequency (front side bus) setting becomes available. CPU-Z shows this as HTT and it is sometimes called the reference clock or "clock". The default clock is [200] MHz and can be adjusted upward by 1 MHz increments using the "+" and "-" keys or by typing it in. Since this is the reference clock it's setting will effect everything else in the system except the PCI frequency.

SB to NB OverClock: Even though we really don't want to change the stock settings some people have had problems using [Auto] with over-clocking. Change this to [Manual] but leave the SB to NB Frequency at [200] and the Adjust PCIE Frequency at [100].

PEG Link Mode: I haven't seen anybody gain any performance from this so it's [Disabled]. If you use it and see an increase in performance please let us know. I think maybe it's a relic from Intel boards.

Over-Voltage CPU Vcore: When [Enabled] this setting adds 0.200v to the vCore setting (see below). For some reason the vCore setting below won't let you go above 1.425v even though it looks like it does. If you need more voltage than 1.425v you will need to [Enable] Over-Voltage CPU.

Over-Voltage NB, SB, and HT Vcore: I haven't seen anyone needing to use any of these. Usually the CPU will reach it's limit long before the buses.

DDR VCORE: This is your RAM voltage. I believe stock is [2.70V]. If you're having problems with the RAM this might solve it - [2.80V] is high enough for me.

FID/VID Change: When set to [Manual] the Processor Frequency Multiplier and Processor Voltage (VID) settings become available.

The Processor Frequency Multiplier can be set in x0.5 increments but beware the half multipliers, they can effect RAM clock speeds!

The [Auto] setting for the Processor Voltage looks to be ~1.42v for this board (probably because of the NOS "feature", which can boost the clock up to 10% automatically). Processor Voltage settings look like you can go above 1.425v but in my experience that's just an illusion. I set it to 1.500v but CPU-Z was still reading 1.425v, which doesn't happen if I [Enable] Over-Voltage and set the VID to 1.3v. If you need more voltage than 1.425v you'll need to [Enable] Over-Voltage CPU Vcore (above) and remember to set Processor Voltage 0.2v lower than you want.

Note: Both of these settings are disabled when using CnQ BUT CnQ appears to use them for it's maximum setting.

AI Clock Skew for Channel A (and B): These are the RAM clock skew settings. Sometimes you can coax a couple more MHz out of your RAM while keeping a lower latency setting. These settings are VERY RAM dependent but worth playing with once you have your best CPU OC - especially if you're just over a clock setting where you had to loosen your RAM timings.

Right now I have my "CPU FSB Frequency" and the "SB to NB Frequency" both set to 295 - is it better to leave the SB setting at 200?

[QuietIce]

Originally Posted by cmanser

Right now I have my "CPU FSB Frequency" and the "SB to NB Frequency" both set to 295 - is it better to leave the SB setting at 200?

That's the way I've heard it. Some people have reported lock-ups and/or data corruption when changing it to anything other than 200 so I've left it alone.

If your machine is running good with that setting do some tests at 200 and your current setting and let us know how they turned out ...

[cmanser]

Originally Posted by QuietIce

That's the way I've heard it. Some people have reported lock-ups and/or data corruption when changing it to anything other than 200 so I've left it alone.

If your machine is running good with that setting do some tests at 200 and your current setting and let us know how they turned out ...

How do I test for data loss/corruption? No Windows lock-ups as of yet.....knock on wood!

The machine is Prime stable (3 instances running) for over 24 hours and I did multiple 32M Super Pi runs at same time with no issues.

By the way - thanks for the GREAT post on overclocking the AMD processors - all the info I was looking for in one place.

[QuietIce]

Originally Posted by cmanser

How do I test for data loss/corruption? No Windows lock-ups as of yet.....knock on wood!

Personally I like running SiSandra with all the tests (except network stuff) turned on - just start it running and let it go for a day. But there are other programs out there that will test your HDDs.




EDIT: I did a little checking and found this article over at PC Pitstop: http://pcpitstop.invisionzone.com/in...owtopic=112621

He seems to be running the same settings as you without problems - I think it's time for a few benchmark runs ...


EDIT2: No problem running the NB->SB speed the same as the K8->NB speed (clock) but also no improvement in HDD access times per SiSandra. I am having a small issue with the DVD burner so it's back to the 200x5 setting.

[cmanser]

Originally Posted by QuietIce

Personally I like running SiSandra with all the tests (except network stuff) turned on - just start it running and let it go for a day. But there are other programs out there that will test your HDDs.




EDIT: I did a little checking and found this article over at PC Pitstop: http://pcpitstop.invisionzone.com/in...owtopic=112621

He seems to be running the same settings as you without problems - I think it's time for a few benchmark runs ...


EDIT2: No problem running the NB->SB speed the same as the K8->NB speed (clock) but also no improvement in HDD access times per SiSandra. I am having a small issue with the DVD burner so it's back to the 200x5 setting.

looks like will be runing more and mrore tests to see real worlk measurements. All this testing can take it out of a guy - and for WHAT? So he can be King of the Hill for a day or 2 or sometimes 10 minutes......but I say BRING IT ON!!!! I love it and I know many others love it too. I will trow an FX60 in there and see how far I can PUSH that babie before it glows orange.

Any idesa for me prople who have modded the FX0-60 and found things they liked??? Please share - and I will do the same when my results come in looking GOOD!!

[QuietIce]

Originally Posted by cmanser

looks like will be runing more and mrore tests to see real worlk measurements. All this testing can take it out of a guy - and for WHAT? So he can be King of the Hill for a day or 2 or sometimes 10 minutes......but I say BRING IT ON!!!! I love it and I know many others love it too. I will trow an FX60 in there and see how far I can PUSH that babie before it glows orange.

Any idesa for me prople who have modded the FX0-60 and found things they liked??? Please share - and I will do the same when my results come in looking GOOD!!

Man, I wish I had looked closer at the FX-60 before buying my Opty. I didn't realize they had made the FX a dual-core - I probably would have bought one ...

[Precision]

WOW, I will be getting this board on my doorstep in a few hours. This is ALOT!!! more confusing than ANY board I have ever had the chance to look at. THANK YOU FOR THE PICS!!! I am sure i will be using this guide today

[QuietIce]

Your sig says A8N-SLI - are you getting an A8N32-SLI ...?

[Precision]

Yes i just got it in. I had the A8N-SLI Premium. I just got A8N32-SLI. I'll do some playing around here. Reinstall a game get a 1/2 way decent OC on it and see what happens with it. Thought i wouldn't have to format but I did. Figured they were pretty close of a board to one another but apparently not. This thing has ALOT like 10X more settings in it and its a good thing you had pics I just so happily run accross the day before it gets here I probably would have spent all day on the net trying to figure out what was what with this. But your little tut here helps me ALOT With pictures even XD. GREAT JOB! This is a very different board then I have seen would have been VERY complicated if i had not found this thread.

STICKY! STICKY!