ASUS A8N-SLI :: Work Arounds:Expensive Bugs:Tweaking:Info

[OC-Master]

Hi, I'm new to this overclocking mayhem but it great fun very addictive.

This is great thread OC-Master and other contributors, I’ve read it three times now gathering useful information and have managed a reasonable overclock on my rig

I have a question though with regards to the rather annoying HTT 3x reverting bug...... How the hell do you reset it? I was happily running at 230x11 HTT x4 before deciding to try and increase my OC to 235x11. When I booted into windows the bug had got me, x4 in bios, x3 in nTune.

I have read that HTT has no real affect on performance! Is this true as in a previous post you stated that your 3Dmark result were affected!

Any help would be much appreciated!

Going from 3X HTT to 4X HTT yields a slight increase in performance in bandwidth extensive applications. Going to 5X HTT while overclocking gains no notriceable performance improvement.

If you wish to use the 4X and 5X HTT multi's and your board is stuck at 3X then you need to reflash the bios most likely with the clear cmoschksum checkbox checked. This should reset the HTT back to 5X.


OC-Master

 

[MethanolMan]

Never mind I got it ... Its just different then my a8n deluxe mobo. what a noob i am.

Sorry it took me so long to tell you guys.

It alway says ide 3 and 4 for my two raptors is all and on my old board once you set up raid it would not be there on the a8n deluxe mobo.

So that through me for a curv.

 

[rfisher983]

<i>Gain More Voltage From Your A8N/E/SLI/DELUXE/PREMIUM:
SCREENSHOT
I've performed a vcore mod the other night and it was a success! Like I was hoping for, my vcore went from 1.58v with the beta bios 1012 and 1010 to 1.68v after the vmod was performed. I would like to thank the people over at VR-Zone for sharing their ideas with us. You can find out how to perform the vcore mod by clicking HERE . Dont forget to ground all your 4 pins properly and use a meter gauge while performing this operation. I used the fan header nearby for ground.

Vdimm Mod:
The Vdimm mod from here actually works well. I gained a bit more stability with my memory from the mod but unfortunatly due to OVP (Over voltage protection) my ram will only allow up to 3.08v to go into it making the 3.3v not very effective. However, I know many of you out there do have ram without OVP that would love to juice up their memory. </i>

Wish the pictures worked for that link, I really want to raise my voltage.

 

[BenZini]

Going from 3X HTT to 4X HTT yields a slight increase in performance in bandwidth extensive applications. Going to 5X HTT while overclocking gains no notriceable performance improvement.

If you wish to use the 4X and 5X HTT multi's and your board is stuck at 3X then you need to reflash the bios most likely with the clear cmoschksum checkbox checked. This should reset the HTT back to 5X.


OC-Master

 

[BenZini]

Thanks OC-Master! I've cleared the bug with a re-flash.
I wish they would sort our these problems with a new bios!!

Cheers again for this great thread

 

[Drew@PSU]

A8N-SLI Vanilla NB Fan Replacement?

Hi all,
Ok, so I have an A8N-SLI Vanilla version, and my NorthBridge fan is slowly dying ( as I type this ). I would just slap a heatsink on it and call it even, but my 7800gt sticks out right over it. So I have a few options:

1. Replace the fan with the same one from Asus ( Anyone know the number/site? )
2. Use a NV Cooler and heatsink trick that OCMaster used ( link? )
3. Get a smaller vid card and the big heatsink
4. Melt my northbridge.

Any help would be, well, helpful.
Thanks
---------------------
Specs ( just in case ):
Venice 3200+, A8n-Sli Vanilla, 2gigs Corsair Valueselect, eVGA 7800GT, WD caviar 200gig, Viewsonic VX922

 

[bobkn]

Replacement fans are inexpensive:

http://estore.asus.com/shop/item.asp?itemid=231&catid=134

($3 for the US and Canada; the shipping may cost more than the fan.) Also, you may be able to get one from Asus Support for free.

As an alternative, consider the passive cooler from the A8N-SLI Premium:

http://estore.asus.com/shop/item.asp?itemid=2535&catid=136

$15. (The shipping for me was $5.) It fits the vanilla A8N-SLI perfectly, and it does not interfere with long graphics cards. (I have one on an A8N-SLI, with an eVGA 7800GTX card.)

 

[///M3]

... As an alternative, consider the passive cooler from the A8N-SLI Premium:

http://estore.asus.com/shop/item.asp?itemid=2535&catid=136

$15. (The shipping for me was $5.) It fits the vanilla A8N-SLI perfectly, and it does not interfere with long graphics cards. (I have one on an A8N-SLI, with an eVGA 7800GTX card.)

I've been using the passive Premium cooler for several months and it works great without interferring with my SLi vid setup. This is a nice, quiet, solution.

 

[fritzman]

Hiya guys. Great thread (must confess to skipping a few pages in the middle, but...) I whipped my Ultra-D out a couple of days ago and am trying an A8N-SLI-SE with a 148 just for a bit of a challenge.

BIOS was (and is still) the one that came with the board (cpuz tells me it's 0301 dated 11/09/2005)

There seem to be two parts to the BIOS that matter as far as overclocking is concerned, and I am used to being able to lock both... the cpu/multi/HTT page and the Ram page. If I manually set fsb, HTT, etc, the ram page reverts to what I assume is default and when I set the ram page up, the cpu page reverts. More than a little frustrating.

So, having read most of the thread... I try out Ntune, and end up with the cpu sitting somewhere less than 2Ghz. Download and try Clockgen (from the cpuid site) and it doesn't seems to have enough settings (no multi/ram/vid) and then discover there's actually one specifically for the Nforce4 chipset, so download that... still no multi/ram/vid settings. Wierd.

Nonetheless, Clockgen does get me to 310x9 without any bothers and the memory (2 x 512Mb Teamgroup ddr600) is at 1:1 (310/3/5/5/10/10/19/16/2T top to bottom in cpuz) so I'm not totally unhappy.

Thoughts as to why the individual settings are not showing up in Clockgen? Should I be updating the BIOS?

Any help would be appreciated, because I know the cpu has more to offer...

 

[baberpervez]

At this time I would like to implore the avid overclockers on here to PLEASE describe to us in full detail, using pictures, and perhaps even good english in how to do a volt mod to the ASUS A8N SLI boards to increase Vcore from the max of 1.50 v to 1.68. My processor I know can do so much more given voltage and I'm anxious to know how. But again, just like everyone else out there, I dont want to fry anthing.

This is why we enthusiasts come on these sights, to learn and master the tricks of the trade. Now all we need is a few good teachers.

 

[baberpervez]

I too found that Clockgen doesn't give voltage levels and am in wonder if NTune would really help get it faster than what mine already is? Should I try it? I can only give it 1.50 v for now

 

[mavkam]

I'm blind from reading posts. I need to go higher than 1.5v on the a8n-sli vanilla. The VR-zone volt mod doesnt seem to show pics anymore. I have bios 1014. Can I go back to 1010? is it possible to use a deluxe version bios?

 

[Ascii2]

is it possible to use a deluxe version bios?

Probably. I can confirm that flashing A8N-SLI Premium BIOS on A8N-SLI should be sucessful (should also be tru for A8N-SLI Deluxe BIOS on A8N-SLI (not confirmed)).

 

[ProfNuke]

I bought the Asus A8N SLI "SECOND EDITION"!!! i thought it is better than the A8N-E because of the second edition. the problem is, that there are not that much OC-bios settings. e.g. the cpu vcore is only up to 1.5v

my questions:

1. is there a modbios available?
2. will there ever be a modbios available?
3. Are there other bios versions compatible with my board? maybe the bios for the a8n sli deluxe???
4. which parameters do i have to use to flash such bios versions? (awdflash biosfile.dat /???)

please help me and please don`t say i bought some sh*t

 

[swindelljd]

Has anyone tried the Premium BIOS on a Deluxe board? The biggest issue as I recall was a 1:1 issue with the RAM. People (even in this thread I believe) guessed that it was a "BIOS fixable issue". I sort of "solved" it for myself by moving from a 3000+ (9x cpu multi) to a X2 4400+ (11x cpu multi) and some new ram with better timings. Right now to hit 2.6Ghz I don't seem to need more volts on my cpu or ram(unless I want to push >3V). However maybe the Premium BIOS will help get a bit more out of my rig.

So I'm wondering. Has the Premium BIOS solved the 1:1 issue or anything else the Deluxe BIOS lacked?

thanks,
John

 

[baberpervez]

I bought the Asus A8N SLI "SECOND EDITION"!!! i thought it is better than the A8N-E because of the second edition. the problem is, that there are not that much OC-bios settings. e.g. the cpu vcore is only up to 1.5v

my questions:

1. is there a modbios available?
2. will there ever be a modbios available?
3. Are there other bios versions compatible with my board? maybe the bios for the a8n sli deluxe???
4. which parameters do i have to use to flash such bios versions? (awdflash biosfile.dat /???)

please help me and please don`t say i bought some sh*t

Okay I had posted on this issue a while back, and around 3 months later.. no response from anyone! Though these forums have been a wonderful resource for practically anything, it's unfortunate that no one has information to help!

The Vcore mod is terrible! Doesn't give detail instructions in the how to's and talks in advanced computer jargon. We need something more descriptive, simple to understand, and do-able! (Something for noobs!)

And if not, could someone PLEASE find an updated bios that can give more than 1.5v to the core?

This core of mine has already hit 3.07 Ghz stable and is dying for more juice to go further!

HELP PLEASE!

 

[///M3]

You're not likely to get much help. I'm afraid interest in the A8N-SLI Deluxe/Premium is waning as other, newer toys come to market.

 

[KillrBuckeye]

You might want to try these forums as they are dedicated to Asus boards, and there are some knowledgeable moderators:

http://asustech.15.forumer.com/index.php?http://asustech.15.forumer.com/

 

[doom0]

Okay I had posted on this issue a while back, and around 3 months later.. no response from anyone! Though these forums have been a wonderful resource for practically anything, it's unfortunate that no one has information to help!

The Vcore mod is terrible! Doesn't give detail instructions in the how to's and talks in advanced computer jargon. We need something more descriptive, simple to understand, and do-able! (Something for noobs!)

And if not, could someone PLEASE find an updated bios that can give more than 1.5v to the core?

This core of mine has already hit 3.07 Ghz stable and is dying for more juice to go further!

HELP PLEASE!

I've done the vcore mod...and I was very disappointed. before the mod @1.5vcore i was able to get to 2.6ghz stable. after the mod @1.68 i was only able to get to 2.7ghz stable. i was hoping to get much higher. but all rigs are different so u might get lucky. i could write up a guide and provide pics if u or anyone is still interested.

 

[swindelljd]

I've done the vcore mod...and I was very disappointed. before the mod @1.5vcore i was able to get to 2.6ghz stable. after the mod @1.68 i was only able to get to 2.7ghz stable. i was hoping to get much higher. but all rigs are different so u might get lucky. i could write up a guide and provide pics if u or anyone is still interested.

I'd appreciate it if you could post a guide. I read the ones that have been previously posted (pictures and all) and honestly couldn't make sense of them.

Now maybe they were well written and I'm just not cut out to do vmods but it would sure be fun to try if I could get my hands on a really detailed write-up.

tia,
John