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My New Rig: K8NXP-SLI is up and running!

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Skeetman

Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2003
Location
Portland, OR USA
My new rig:

AMD A64 3200+ Winchester @2.52 (252X10) 1.48V 4x HTT Prime 95 (12 hours)
Code: CBBHD 0444RPAW
Themalright XP90 with Panaflo 92mm, 56.8 CFM @ 2850 RPM, 35.0 dBA
Gigabyte GA-K8NXP-SLI nForce4 SLI
G.skill pc4400 1GB (2 x 512) @ 1:1 504 2.5-3-3-8 2.7V
2x eVGA e-GeForce 6600 GT PRO with 1.6ns ram @ 550/1.18
74gb Raptor
Plextor 12X DVD+/-RW Drive, Black, Model PX-712SA SATA connection
Antec Neopower 480
Antec slk3000-b with a 120mm Panaflo front intake and stock 120 exhaust
NEC/MITSUBISHI FE2111SB-BK 22" Monitor

I finally got everything put together and it is running very nice. The above settings are all 100% stable. I still hope do some tweaking from this point, especially the RAM.

One thing to note on the install: You need a special metal backing plate to use the XP 90 on this board. Gigabyte uses a proprietary plastic backing plate that will not work. The metal plate only costs 3 dollars, but make sure to get one ahead of time if you are planning on using any Thermalright HS with gigabyte boards. I have my xp90 set up so the overhang is towards I/O port. This allows free access to the RAM and provides a little more airflow over the power capacitors and MOSFETS. CPU runs @ 25C idle in a 64F room right now. Was running 33-35C while running prime 95.

I am very happy with the system, I just plugged things together and turned it on and it is running great. Set up was easy. Windows recognized my HD and loaded no problem. If you are using 1 HD like I am, remember to go into the raid set-up in bios and set up your single disk with a setting of “spanning” before you start loading windows.

SLI is running quite well. I realize the dual 6600s barely compete with the single 6800 GT/Ultra cards at very hi-res with AA/AF, but this set up is still pretty sweet. I did a benchmark run and got 14960 on 3Dmark 03 @ 2.6 (260*10) with RAM 1:1 and video at 552/1.18. Managed a 6336 on 3Dmark 05 @2.66 and video 554/1.18 Also, runs Battlefield Vietnam at 1920 x 1440 with all video max settings at 60-80 FPS. Pretty good for air cooling my CPU and the stock cooling on the video cards. My next project is to use AS on the GPUs, if it is possible. I haven’t looked into this yet. I might not use AS because I may want to use the eVGA step up program with these cards.

What do you guys think of my new system? Any questions or suggestions? I'm in need of OC info with the RAM. I want to run 1:1 for sure. Are there any improvements I could make to the above settings? This is my first AMD system and I want to maximize my new rig, it's quite different from my other system in my sig.

Skeetman
 
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Are you using the DPS board? The only thing stopping me from getting this over the Asus is the mobo firewire pinouts don't match my case plugs, and I like having front panel firewire.
 
Sounds great!

Had two quick question that I hope you can answer.

How are you liking the board? Performance and such? Would you suggest it?

And second, you mention needing a metal backplate to use the XP-90, yet I cant find this piece on any website. Where could I purchase one?

I hope I am not being too much of a bother but I'm very curious.
 
Philup_Bowls said:
:drool: how much did that system cost?? im planing on building pretty much the same system??

The system without the monitor was ~ $1700 US. It would be a little less now because the price of the MB and video cards have dropped. The monitor was $585 with shipping from Newegg.

$179 @ Monarch--AMD A64 3200+ Winchester @2.52 (252X10) 1.48V 4x HTT Prime 95 (12 hours)
Code: CBBHD 0444RPAW
$50-Themalright XP90 with Panaflo 92mm, 56.8 CFM @ 2850 RPM, 35.0 dBA
$299 @ ZZF-Gigabyte GA-K8NXP-SLI nForce4 SLI
$275 @ Newegg-G.skill pc4400 1GB (2 x 512) @ 1:1 504 2.5-3-3-8 2.7V
$440 @ ZZF-2x eVGA e-GeForce 6600 GT PRO with 1.6ns ram @ 550/1.18
$150 after MIR @ Newegg-74gb Raptor
$110 @ Newegg-Plextor 12X DVD+/-RW Drive, Black, Model PX-712SA SATA connection
$109 @ ZZF-Antec Neopower 480
$59 @ ZZF-Antec slk3000-b

@softfiz
I got the Metal backing plate for $3 from 3dcool.com. It is called "Thermalright K8 motherboard backplate".

The board is working perfectly for me. I have had no issues with it at all. Updated settings are in my sig. Those settings are 24 hour Prime Stable. Other boards may be faster, but I haven't really tried for max speed as these settings have been plenty fast and rock solid. If I go over 260 then I have to relax my memory timings to remain Prime stable, so I'm very happy with these settings. So far with this system i've scored 3Dmark 03-15011 and 3Dmark 05 ~6450.

@AuroraProject
I do use the DPS board, but I don't understand your question. The DPS is a slide in power card that helps provide the board with 6 phase power. It doesn't have anything to do with firewire. Also, I don't have any firewire devices, so I don't know if I can help with your question. But I will certainly try if I can.

Skeetman

*Edit* I would highly recommend TCCD based RAM if you get a Gigabyte NF4 because Vdimm is limited to +.2 volts.
Something to consider if you already have bh-5, but it wasn't an issue for me because I needed new ram for this rig.
 
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I know the DPS has nothing to do with the firewire, it was just an issue I have with this board. How much clearance do you have between the hsf and the DPS board?
 
Looks good, I built almost the same system last night.

Gigabyte K8NXP-SLI
FX-53
Gskill pc4400 LC 1GB
2 74 GB Raptors
2 6600 GT
PC Power&Cooling 510 SLI
SB Audigy2 ZS
Thermaltake Shark case
Stock heatsink 34deg cel ( can hardly believe that for stock heatsink)
80 GB maxtor

Did you have any problems loading any drivers?
 
HI Skeetman i got virtually the same set up as you except i got GeIL memory and an Aero 450 watt power supply. oh and an AC freezer 64 cpu cooler

my cpu code is ADA 3200 DIK4BI CBBID 0450 GPAW

now ive done ALT F1 to get the extra bios setting but i can't get even 210 out of it without freezing up im pretty sure im missing a setting to change could you please explain the bios changes you've made please

many thanks
 
bigAL99 said:
HI Skeetman i got virtually the same set up as you except i got GeIL memory and an Aero 450 watt power supply. oh and an AC freezer 64 cpu cooler

my cpu code is ADA 3200 DIK4BI CBBID 0450 GPAW

now ive done ALT F1 to get the extra bios setting but i can't get even 210 out of it without freezing up im pretty sure im missing a setting to change could you please explain the bios changes you've made please

many thanks

A couple of things I would recommend in the BIOS settings: Set your PCI express to 101. This locks this setting so it is not overclocked as you raise HTT. Before I did this, Clockgen was showing my PCI-e being overclocked to 109. The other setting is LDT (I believe it is called the HTT multiplier in the BIOS. I think it is the top setting in the advanced chipset BIOS screen-Ctrl F1). Set it to 4x for HTT between 200-250 and 3x if you go over 250. You could try increasing vDimm to the memory, but that shouldn't be an issue at only 210 HTT.

Let me know if these tips help. I don't think I have any special bios settings, but I will try to help as much as I can. When I set up my rig, I installed Windows and all drivers at stock speed. When I started to OC, I started with an HTT of 201--booted fine. Rebooted and increased to 240 HTT and LDT to 4x--booted fine. Rebooted and set HTT to 250. So it was running 250 within 15 minutes. It ran fine there for a few days until I started to push it to current settings. I didn't have any problems, so hopefully the LDT setting will help you.

I'm a newbie at AMD overclocking and everything I have learned came from this board. Read through the CPU section about overclocking AMD and you will probably find all the info you need. But like I said, I will help out all I can

Skeetman
 
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OldOne said:
Looks good, I built almost the same system last night.

Gigabyte K8NXP-SLI
FX-53
Gskill pc4400 LC 1GB
2 74 GB Raptors
2 6600 GT
PC Power&Cooling 510 SLI
SB Audigy2 ZS
Thermaltake Shark case
Stock heatsink 34deg cel ( can hardly believe that for stock heatsink)
80 GB maxtor

Did you have any problems loading any drivers?

First of all
Welcome to the forum...

The only driver issue I had was with the onboard sound drivers, but that should not be a problem for you. Are you having specific problems? I would love to help if I can. How's the OC going?

Skeetman
 
Skeetman said:
First of all
Welcome to the forum...

The only driver issue I had was with the onboard sound drivers, but that should not be a problem for you. Are you having specific problems? I would love to help if I can. How's the OC going?

Skeetman


Thanks. I havent had a chance to oc yet.To much to do not enough time to do it in. The only problem is a mem dump and system reboots. The page flashes so fast that I cant read but a few lines at a time.I am just going through all the settings now.

Now trying to run bf 1942 in sli mode and it is locking up. I thought that was one of the games that would run in sli?

down loaded nividia bata drivers, running smooth as silk at max settings in
DC final.
 
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Skeetman said:
A couple of things I would recommend in the BIOS settings: Set your PCI express to 101. This locks this setting so it is not overclocked as you raise HTT. Before I did this, Clockgen was showing my PCI-e being overclocked to 109. The other setting is LDT (I believe it is called the HTT multiplier in the BIOS. I think it is the top setting in the advanced chipset BIOS screen-Ctrl F1). Set it to 4x for HTT between 200-250 and 3x if you go over 250. You could try increasing vDimm to the memory, but that shouldn't be an issue at only 210 HTT.

Let me know if these tips help. I don't think I have any special bios settings, but I will try to help as much as I can. When I set up my rig, I installed Windows and all drivers at stock speed. When I started to OC, I started with an HTT of 201--booted fine. Rebooted and increased to 240 HTT and LDT to 4x--booted fine. Rebooted and set HTT to 250. So it was running 250 within 15 minutes. It ran fine there for a few days until I started to push it to current settings. I didn't have any problems, so hopefully the LDT setting will help you.

I'm a newbie at AMD overclocking and everything I have learned came from this board. Read through the CPU section about overclocking AMD and you will probably find all the info you need. But like I said, I will help out all I can

Skeetman

thanks skeetman im thinking the problam im having is with the additional hardrives ive got, i got 2 maxtor 9 sata drives and this is where the pc hangs.
reading round the place a few ppl are also having this problem, hopefully a bios update will be released soon to sort this problem and il be able to get down to overclocking i did manage to get it to 230 but it was very hit n miss and only booted twice ouit of aslot of goes where it hung just before searching for ides or durring search.
once again thanks for your reply.
 
bigAL99 said:
thanks skeetman im thinking the problam im having is with the additional hardrives ive got, i got 2 maxtor 9 sata drives and this is where the pc hangs.
reading round the place a few ppl are also having this problem, hopefully a bios update will be released soon to sort this problem and il be able to get down to overclocking i did manage to get it to 230 but it was very hit n miss and only booted twice ouit of aslot of goes where it hung just before searching for ides or durring search.
once again thanks for your reply.

Hi
Have those maxtor drives been proven to work in another system? It kind of sounds like PSU issues or possibly RAM? Is your PSU 24 pin. This MB draws alot of power. What are your 12V rails like? How many amps on the 12V line does your PSU supply? I think current tech is starting to push current PSU outputs, and a quality PSU cannot be overlooked.

Also, after you get your HD issue resolved you can play with your RAM settings. What are your RAM specs and settings? You mentioned Geil, but what speeds are they rated for? You could use a divider to lower the speed of your RAM and then increase your HTT. Your chip should hit 250X10 no problem, even with stock cooling. How is your case cooling?

Here are some things I thought of after reading your post. No pressure, but it can be fun when you get free time. Let me know if you have any questions?

Skeetman
 
Skeetman said:
Hi
Have those maxtor drives been proven to work in another system? It kind of sounds like PSU issues or possibly RAM? Is your PSU 24 pin. This MB draws alot of power. What are your 12V rails like? How many amps on the 12V line does your PSU supply? I think current tech is starting to push current PSU outputs, and a quality PSU cannot be overlooked.

Also, after you get your HD issue resolved you can play with your RAM settings. What are your RAM specs and settings? You mentioned Geil, but what speeds are they rated for? You could use a divider to lower the speed of your RAM and then increase your HTT. Your chip should hit 250X10 no problem, even with stock cooling. How is your case cooling?

Here are some things I thought of after reading your post. No pressure, but it can be fun when you get free time. Let me know if you have any questions?

Skeetman

i did wonder about my psu ive tried to now an aero 450watt and now an enermax 465 watt and only 20 pin im thinking maybe this could be a problem im saving now for a new one.
the ram i got is pc4400 the same as yours i believe.

the 2 maxtors were from another system and both ran fine. im thinking maybe it is psu problem as you say. although another issue ive found is that the system doesn't re-boot propperly i have to turn the pc off and then switch it on otherwise it hangs.
 
I'm waiting for the GA-K8NXP-9, and am wondering about the Dual Channel RAM setup, did you have to manually OC the RAM to get Dual-Channel above DDR333?

Gigabyte told me that any DDR400 modules over 256MB would default to DDR333 in Dual-Channel mode.
 
I have an Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe and there is a known issue with Maxtor Drives and this chipset.
 
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