Asrock 4CoreDual-SATA2 + ASRock 4CoreDual-VSTA + ASRock 775Dual-VSTA

[b1gt1m]

ROFL!!! I've just discovered that I've made an error with my BIOS settings - I left the Thermal Throttling function OFF in the BIOS - since I've turned it on and set the FSB to AUTO - Multiplier to x9 and memory to DDR400 with low voltage settings on all - it's as stable as a rock and runs fine... I AM A DOUGHNUT!!!! ROFL!!!! I'm still gonna try an OC it tho... Muwahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!! ;-)

[john3850]

Need to know if a 13 inch long viedo card will clear the sata mb connectors on a Extreme4.
I can use the the top slot for the 13" 5970.
Will a 5870 clear the mb sata connectors in the bottom slot.

[b1gt1m]

Probably if your case is big enough. ;-)

[ashofthephoenix]

can anyone tell how hd 4850 would perform on this mobo? i realized that there is a chance 6670 will underperform a lot, and decided to buy a Vertex3D HD 4850 GDDR5 256 bit.

is there a lot of performance loss? it performs similar to HD 4870.

id be satisfied too if someone of you could tell how games work for you guys, on hi-end cards like GTX460 or HD48xx/5xxx.

[Hlafordlaes]

I believe that last time I reviewed the issue it was about a 10% loss. I'd expect that to be greater with the latest cards, but not too much more of a hit on a 4xxx card (have seen several folks running a 6xxx on these boards). Real issue today tho is that any cpu these boards can handle is not enough for some of the latest games. That being said, I used to play Oblivion on a Pentium III system with lots of hardware, software and game tweaking. It was, I think, even more fun that way. As for now, my E7600/8800GTS setup is still fine for me, as I look at my CRT monitor from 2001 (EDID tweaked to give 1920x1080 res).

[ashofthephoenix]

thats great news, i expected it to perform like GDDR3 version, so i guess i dont have to buy new platform so early

single core processors are not a problem since you can buy a good C2D for like 20-30 euros, lol

edit:
will sata 3 hdd work on this chipset?

__
i just got mine hd4850, getting a new 2gb ram stick soon - gonna post a 3dmark score too

[Ozlander]

I've got a ASRock 4CoreDual SATA2 Rev 2.00 MainBoard, an Intel E7400. Bios is L2.20a.
I'd like to go to Windows 8, but Microsoft says I need PAE, SSE2 and NX turned on in bios. I can find no way to do that.
Is a bios update by the mfg needed?

[Hlafordlaes]

Turn on DEP in the BIOS in Advanced CPU settings. The 7xxx series supports SSE2, and iirc PAE is enabled automatically under x64. Anyway, with my E7600 on a 4CoreDual-VSTA, the Win8 upgrade advisor only flagged me for DEP, which I turned on and passed, all under Win7x64.

I know there is an option to enable PAE under x86, but I am too lazy and google is your friend. (BTW, games like Oblivion and Skyrim have patches to fix some mem problems, but you need PAE (or x64) and 4GB of mem to make it worthwhile.)

ETA: DEP is NX.

[Ozlander]

Thanks, I looked for it and didn't find it. I'll look again.
Got the 4GB.

[ashofthephoenix]

okay, i run a heaven benchmark (it was hard to find any good 3dmark score with that gpu and similiar pc) and got this score:
http://i.imgur.com/hfgDE.jpg

i found another benchmark result made by someone else on other mobo:
http://obrazki.elektroda.pl/2686085900_1325537414.jpg

so i guess its a 10 fps difference (though that quad core may or even should give a little bit more of fps) it was ran on vista though lol

anyway, i got another issue, related to memory this time - i bought a 667 mhz stick, but when i run it on this speed it gives me bsod randomly, and i gotta run it on 533 mhz now..
any ideas?



anyway, im playing skyrim on this config and it stutters in some locations on high settings.. maybe i need better cpu or something (running e7200 @ stock)

[Ozlander]

Originally Posted by Hlafordlaes

Turn on DEP in the BIOS in Advanced CPU settings. The 7xxx series supports SSE2, and iirc PAE is enabled automatically under x64. Anyway, with my E7600 on a 4CoreDual-VSTA, the Win8 upgrade advisor only flagged me for DEP, which I turned on and passed, all under Win7x64.

I know there is an option to enable PAE under x86, but I am too lazy and google is your friend. (BTW, games like Oblivion and Skyrim have patches to fix some mem problems, but you need PAE (or x64) and 4GB of mem to make it worthwhile.)

ETA: DEP is NX.

Email from AsRock says the mobo is not Win8 compatible. It hinted they were working on a BIOS revision.

[Hlafordlaes]

Originally Posted by Ozlander

Email from AsRock says the mobo is not Win8 compatible. It hinted they were working on a BIOS revision.

Which one(s)? All of the PT880 chipset boards?

Haven't tried installing Win8 yet, but as reported above I was able to get a pass from the upgrade advisor.

[Hlafordlaes]

Originally Posted by ashofthephoenix

anyway, i got another issue, related to memory this time - i bought a 667 mhz stick, but when i run it on this speed it gives me bsod randomly, and i gotta run it on 533 mhz now..
any ideas?

Search for the original Anandtech article on these boards. Bottom line, 533MHz is the better setting. Don't worry about it.

[tcsenter]

Originally Posted by Ozlander

Thanks, I looked for it and didn't find it. I'll look again.

Its named "No-Execute Memory Protection" in the BIOS under CPU Configuration.

[AZRoCker42]

Hi I`ve had this board now for almost two years never really had the time to do much with it I`m trying to get everything running right on it now and for the last month but it has really made me wonder why my DDR will not run at 1:1 right now I set the bios to defaults and DDR is at 2:1 100MHZ not right usually sometimes it runs 1:1 with FSB & 200 but not always I have bios L2.39 from PC Trieber since I bought the board I had to install it to get CPU to boot I am getting an older Pentium D 915 to mess with now and a Conroe865PE I have overclocked this somewhere around 3.3 GHZ was not really stable had to use set FSB is there a better way?I was thinking of getting some DDRII 1066 or faster but I don`t think it is worth the money plus getting 4GB to run at a fair speed on this board sounds like a hassle from all the things I have read lately!
My system specs are as follows:

CPU E5200
Asrock 4CoreDualVSTA bios L2.39
Memory Crucial DDR1 3200 2x1GB
Seagate Barracuda Sata II 1TB
Maxtor Diamondmax Sata II 500GB
Lite/On DVD RW
HIS HD4670 1GB Agp 8x
Antec EarthWatts 380W

[AZRoCker42]

I Just do not Understand this here are some CPUZ pics I have speedstep disabled and 10 multi for using SET FSB









Any Ideas on what I can do Please?

[Hlafordlaes]

I'd suggest reading through this thread to see which BIOS options you should be using. The key to overclocking is to first determine stable settings and work from there, so it seems you are jumping ahead a bit.

[AZRoCker42]

Originally Posted by Hlafordlaes

I'd suggest reading through this thread to see which BIOS options you should be using. The key to overclocking is to first determine stable settings and work from there, so it seems you are jumping ahead a bit.

I`m really not Jumping ahead! I`ve read this entiire post just about also everything on all the forums having to do with this board and evey other one like it from Pctrieber to tech power up overclockers forum vr-zone and anything else for the last couple years but lately I been spending hours per day reading and still have not found my exact answer most of what I read is people using DDR II on this board which I can not afford ATM because If I were to buy it I would get a new Mobo and PCI-E card the thing is I`ve been overclocking this on every setting in the bios and my divider changes even with the same FSB, DDR,CPU SYNC,auto,or ASYNC selection everything for no aparent reason trust me when I tell you I have readddd about ready to throw in the towel with this one! I have been a fanatic over this and I have also read alot of the problems you had On the conroe if I am not mistaken.the board which I just ordered to try so I can run my matching sets of DDR3200 1GBx4 so I can have 4GB in WIn 7 64 other than mem speed this board runs great

EDIT: Hlafordlaes maybe it wasn`t you with the Conroe I`m not sure been doing so much reading I do know I`ve seen your name in some of my reserch somwhere I use Copernic agent to search the web and found alot on this board and boards by ASROCK I`ve had a few of them ever since EPOX disappered I been using alot of ASROCK boards

[xdogma]

Hi guys,
I registered here to ask you a few questions.My motherboard is Asrock 4CoreDual-SATA2.I'am running Win 7(64-bit) on a Q8300 CPU.Graphic card is NVidia GeForce 9500.I bought 2 x2 GB of Kingston 800Mhz RAM,but i realized that without flashing BIOS I can boot with only with 2GB of RAM.I downloaded BIOS image from the german site,and burned it per instructions(on one CD).It boots as a Floppy.My current BIOS is 1.20.I never flashed BIOS before so I have to ask you some (stupid) questions.
1.Can I flash directly from 1.20 to 2.20a ?
2.What is your experience with 2.20a?Can it harm my system?
3.Is my hardware compatabile with 2.20a?

[Ozlander]

Originally Posted by Hlafordlaes

Which one(s)? All of the PT880 chipset boards?

Haven't tried installing Win8 yet, but as reported above I was able to get a pass from the upgrade advisor.

I only asked about the
Asrock 4CoreDual-SATA2 R2.0.

[Hlafordlaes]

Originally Posted by xdogma

Hi guys,
I registered here to ask you a few questions.My motherboard is Asrock 4CoreDual-SATA2.I'am running Win 7(64-bit) on a Q8300 CPU.Graphic card is NVidia GeForce 9500.I bought 2 x2 GB of Kingston 800Mhz RAM,but i realized that without flashing BIOS I can boot with only with 2GB of RAM.I downloaded BIOS image from the german site,and burned it per instructions(on one CD).It boots as a Floppy.My current BIOS is 1.20.I never flashed BIOS before so I have to ask you some (stupid) questions.
1.Can I flash directly from 1.20 to 2.20a ?
2.What is your experience with 2.20a?Can it harm my system?
3.Is my hardware compatabile with 2.20a?

Yes, you can flash any version of the BIOS that is designed for your specific motherboard. You can go down or up in version.

If this is your first time flashing, I strongly suggest you review all the command line switches for the flashing program. It is a good idea NOT to flash the boot blocks. You should:

-first dump a copy of your own BIOS (think you can do it with CPUz, if not then create a backup with the flash program).
-create a batch file that flashes the current working BIOS that you just dumped
-create a batch file that flashes the new version
-place each onto a separate floppy boot device (I prefer pen drives since you can boot and then work on them, such as run the flash program with -? to check the switches, dump the BIOS, etc.)
-make sure the boot device boots reliably, and that autoexec.bat will call the flash program that you placed on it
-flash the new bios by booting with the new bios
-if disaster strikes, boot again (CTRL-ALT-DEL)without turning off the machine, switch the boot device, and run the batch file that restores your old bios (you will be staring at a black screen for a while, don't panic)

gotta run...late

ETA: Up to you to make darn sure you are only using a BIOS designed for your motherboard. pc-treiber BIOSes are fine, if you select one for your machine.

ETA: Man, it's late but at each re-read I fear for you again. I believe the method I describe above really only works with an actual floppy, because you are only working with the boot blocks, which go direct to hardware to find their way. Hey, it's worth it; once saved me from a borked video card flash.

[Hlafordlaes]

Originally Posted by AZRoCker42

I`m really not Jumping ahead! I`ve read this entiire post just about also everything on all the forums having to do with this board and evey other one like it from Pctrieber to tech power up overclockers forum vr-zone and anything else for the last couple years but lately I been spending hours per day reading and still have not found my exact answer most of what I read is people using DDR II on this board which I can not afford ATM because If I were to buy it I would get a new Mobo and PCI-E card the thing is I`ve been overclocking this on every setting in the bios and my divider changes even with the same FSB, DDR,CPU SYNC,auto,or ASYNC selection everything for no aparent reason trust me when I tell you I have readddd about ready to throw in the towel with this one! I have been a fanatic over this and I have also read alot of the problems you had On the conroe if I am not mistaken.the board which I just ordered to try so I can run my matching sets of DDR3200 1GBx4 so I can have 4GB in WIn 7 64 other than mem speed this board runs great

EDIT: Hlafordlaes maybe it wasn`t you with the Conroe I`m not sure been doing so much reading I do know I`ve seen your name in some of my reserch somwhere I use Copernic agent to search the web and found alot on this board and boards by ASROCK I`ve had a few of them ever since EPOX disappered I been using alot of ASROCK boards

Bedtime. Post again if still having probs. Don't use SetFSB until everything is rock solid.

[Hlafordlaes]

@AZRoCker42,

Had a chance to stop and look at your issue. If you are using BIOS defaults, then RAM is set to Auto. These boards aren't the best at detecting optimal RAM settings. Make sure Compatibility is off, manually set the rated JEDEC settings for 200MHz (3-3-3-8), and leave the others on auto for now. I have entirely forgotten the voltage this board puts out for DDRI, but if still not working I'd play with the voltage a bit. Meanwhile, I'd set the CPU to auto, and turn off SpeedStep. Let's see what CPUz reports then.

As for overclocking, these boards aren't exactly champs. After a spell of using SetFSB, I settled for a carefully tested mild overclock using only the BIOS. When you use a tool like SetFSB, some things get a bit out of whack, such as the timer used by the OS. Not a deal breaker, but it's best to see what really works to boot reliably. Steps are to lower CPU multiplier, test RAM for highest stable FSB, then tighten RAM timings and test again. RAM is now performing at its max. Once OK, up the CPU multiplier in steps and see how far you can go.

On my board and using an E7600, I use FSB of 285 and a multiplier of 11. Nothing to write home about, but rock solid.

[xdogma]

Originally Posted by Hlafordlaes

Yes, you can flash any version of the BIOS that is designed for your specific motherboard. You can go down or up in version.

If this is your first time flashing, I strongly suggest you review all the command line switches for the flashing program. It is a good idea NOT to flash the boot blocks. You should:

-first dump a copy of your own BIOS (think you can do it with CPUz, if not then create a backup with the flash program).
-create a batch file that flashes the current working BIOS that you just dumped
-create a batch file that flashes the new version
-place each onto a separate floppy boot device (I prefer pen drives since you can boot and then work on them, such as run the flash program with -? to check the switches, dump the BIOS, etc.)
-make sure the boot device boots reliably, and that autoexec.bat will call the flash program that you placed on it
-flash the new bios by booting with the new bios
-if disaster strikes, boot again (CTRL-ALT-DEL)without turning off the machine, switch the boot device, and run the batch file that restores your old bios (you will be staring at a black screen for a while, don't panic)

gotta run...late

ETA: Up to you to make darn sure you are only using a BIOS designed for your motherboard. pc-treiber BIOSes are fine, if you select one for your machine.

ETA: Man, it's late but at each re-read I fear for you again. I believe the method I describe above really only works with an actual floppy, because you are only working with the boot blocks, which go direct to hardware to find their way. Hey, it's worth it; once saved me from a borked video card flash.

Thanks a lot...The BIOS update worked ok,without any errors.One more question...I loaded default settings in BIOS after updating it(i read this somewere).Do i need to change any settings now(I'am not looking for overclocking)?

[Hlafordlaes]

Originally Posted by xdogma

Thanks a lot...The BIOS update worked ok,without any errors.One more question...I loaded default settings in BIOS after updating it(i read this somewere).Do i need to change any settings now(I'am not looking for overclocking)?

Great! My problem is that it's been so long, I no longer remember all the BIOS settings offhand (not on my machine right now, either). Browse this thread; there are several posts with BIOS settings. Of those I remember:

Mem best not set to Compatibility mode
Hard drive driver set to lowest
There is an advanced mem setting that should be enabled, but for the life of me I can't remember the name. Check this thread.
Keep audio on device 80, not 02 (latter only works under XP)
Synch mode is more stable than Asynch for mild overclocks


oops... back to work