Asrock 4CoreDual-SATA2

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Ton87

Junior Member
Dec 10, 2008
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I'm thinking of upgrading my RAM from 2GB@DDR2-667 to the 3.25GB limit and maximum speed the board can take, so that would take 2 × 2GB DDR2-800 unbuffered and without ECC, right? Are there any other important specifications to look after or could I just as well buy the most cheapest? That would be a set of two × Kingston 1GB, 800MHz, DDR2, Non-ECC, CL6, DIMM.
 

Nsaney

Junior Member
Aug 20, 2008
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I've seen that one but don't read Germanese and have no clue how to update the bios outside of the Windows updater thingy like ASRock's site has. :confused:
 

francisA

Member
Dec 2, 2008
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Hey Ileader36, since you've done 1.3625v and did some tests up to 290Mhz, would you say it's worth trying? You have more oc headroom due to a lower default vcore than my E5200. My setup is running stable at 1066Mhz (3.3GHz) with temps only maxing out to 54C loaded 100% and running for hours and hours playing COD.

My bios version right now is 2.0 and am not too keen on updating it to 2.1 as it's running stable. Not sure what 2.10 will give me though.

Maybe if I get bored I'll try 1.3625v vid mod and push it to at least 3.6Ghz. What ya think? :)
 

Ileader36

Member
Aug 2, 2004
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I just update the bios to have the latest, but unless the new bios version offers You some needed fixes, then maybe just leave it where it is.
My cpu doesn't run stable with 1.3625v (up to 1.38 in cpuz) at 3.6ghz, part of that may be because of temps hitting up to 67C in very heavy load, also because of
Aussie Summer temperatures. It intermittently boots over 3.6ghz, but at 3.53ghz was fine.
I have ordered a Xigmatek HD-SD964 cooler that should help things http://www.xigmatek.com/product/air-hdtsd964.php
But others have had to go well above 1.4v for stability over 3.6ghz, I will leave mine where it is now.
My HD3850 AGP card is maxed out by this cpu, even after I pencil volt modded the Video card for 1.41v which gets it to 864mhz core. haven't tried
more yet.
 

Ileader36

Member
Aug 2, 2004
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I managed to boot ok at 3584mhz, and with my volt modded hd3850 agp @ 891/990 managed 11765 in 3dmark06, which is as good as it is ever going to get.
 

brjoon1021

Junior Member
Jun 6, 2003
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I have an e2200 that I am trying to get the best OC out of that I can with stock cooling and no voltage mods. I did the BSEL mod and it posts at 266.

1. Is it possible to select a LOWER multiplier with this motherboard (i.e 10x seems to be about perfect because my board will go to 290 FSB with no fuss) ?

2. I have pretty decent RAM. Which RAM timings in this mobo's strangely worded BIOS for RAM would I be adjusting to try to tighten up the RAM timings? I want to try 4-4-4-12
then 3-3-3-? to see if my RAM will run that tight at a lower FSB. So, again, in this mobo what are those timings called and can I adjust them all ?

Thanks,
B
 

Ileader36

Member
Aug 2, 2004
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You can select multipliers down to 6.

To figure out what ram timings to use, cpuz will tell You what settings are what in the memory tab, just write them
down and then go to the bios and adjust the relevant ones only, leave the rest at auto.
 

francisA

Member
Dec 2, 2008
153
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Hi!

I'm back needing more advice.

So far, my system has been happily running at 266fsb without any hiccups at 1.3375v and my DDR400 ram running at 2.5-3-2-5, auto voltage. I can push it up to 280fsb and can run Orthos (Blend test) for 6hrs before it fails.

So in trying to find why it's failing at 280fsb, I re-ran Orthos but this time just CPU stress and it has run for more than 12hrs straight without any problems which led me to believe that it's my RAM holding me back. The OCZ Plats are spec'd to run 2-3-2-5 but at 2.75v and 2-2-2-5 at 2.85v. CPU-Z says that my RAM is doing 2.5-3-2-5 at 2.5v which is as high as it will go with the 4CoreDual.

Could this mean I have reached the max on my RAM chips? Is there something on the timings that I can change, maybe relax it a bit, that could possibly allow me to push the oc further, hopefully reaching 3.6GHZ? Was thinking of raising vCore to 1.3625v but based on what I found, I don't think it's really the CPU (????). I know it's a noob question, sorry, I'm really a noob at this. I don't know what to set the RAM timings to, to make it more "relaxed".

I would get a pair of low-voltage PC2 6400 if it's indeed the RAM that's causing the failure in Orthos (rounding error). But also, in the future, I might get the Gigabyte P45-U3DP for my E5200 so need a little of future-proofing as far as RAM is concerned.

Oh btw, I can play any of the games I play now for 2hrs straight without a hitch at 280fsb with the above RAM timings so I'm not overly concerned. Just wanting to push it a bit more as well as learn something new.

Thanks in advance.
 

llynx

Junior Member
Dec 19, 2008
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My Spec's

ASRock 4coredual-sata2 2.12a Bios
Q6600 B6@ 297.4 FSB 1:1 @1.2
PCI - 117.9mhz
4gb (2g x 2) DDR2 PC9600 @ 1.8v @ 297.4 3-4-4-8 (Can only see 3.36GB and highly limited by voltage and only single channel due to memory hole)
Seagate 1.5TB SATA @ Avg 110mb/s
HIS IceQ 3850 GDDR3 @ 827mhz core/1111mhz mem(2222effective)
Zalman Freezer 7 92mm (Custom Silent Fan)
All fans replaced, 120mm Fans now Enermax Enlobal Fans, 140mm Sythe
Antec 300 Mid-Tower Case
OCCT Stable 48Hours @ 38C

I need some help increasing the DRAM Voltage to 2.1v. Then I could run my ram @ 1:2 @ 594mhz, which it is perfectly capable of doing. I tried Old shitty kingston 1.8v standard DDR2 PC-9600 Ram, but I couldn't go past 553mhz.
It would be nice to increase the voltage on the CPU as well, Any thoughts on how to do that?

 

lowrider69

Senior member
Aug 26, 2004
422
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Well it's been fun, I swapped out my 4CoreDual-Sata2 for a Asrock P45TS-R. Did my old install the standard MS IDE/Sata drivers in Windows before I installed the board, installed the board booted right into Windows XP installed the new chipset drivers, rebooted, and away I went. Open a CMD prompt typed in ?set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1" without the quotes then ?devmgmt.msc? again without quotes and displayed hidden devices and uninstalled all traces of the VIA drivers, rebooted. Didn't even bother installing the Intel Storage manager, i'm not running RAID even though the SB supports it.


Goddamn heatsink on my e6420 is always a bitch, one clip always gives me issues. I always install it with the board outside of the case so I can support the back with my left hand with my fingers spread out because of this. I would never get it in with it installed in the case. I had to put a good deal of pressure on this one clip and I gave up because I heard the sounds of bending PCB(i've built many systems so it's back off time when I hear that). Took a pair of needle nose flipped the board over and helped(gently pulled) the white plastic piece through the hole, then I pushed the clip down and it finally snapped in. Checked the PCB over and everything looked o.k.. Not that I could return it if it got messed up, it would be on me.

I set the FSB DRAM limiter jumpers on the board to 1333.

Started her up and flashed the BIOS to the newest, went into the BIOS afterwards and pushed it up to 8x333 locked the memory at 333 so it's a 1:1 ratio(not neccesary with the P45 chipset, but I like 1:1 ratio), manually set my ram timings. Booted with Hiren's boot cd and ran memtest just to be cautious, everything passed. Booted into XP and checked everything under CPU-Z all was good. Started up Speed Fan and my temps were around 30c idle with the stock fan. Ran BurnInTest Pro 5.1 and maxed both cores and memory for about 45 minutes while I took a cigarette break outside. CPU temp hit 44c, not bad for the stock cooler, stock volts help too. And it's relatively warm in my house right now. I can probably push her up more but i'm happy with 2.6 Ghz...all I wanted.


I already noticed a large increase in FPS with a few games due to the jump in MHZ and the 16x PCIe 2.0. Anyway, nice little board, I really Asrock, they give you a lot for your money. The two SATA cables with locking clips they included were a nice touch. Hopefully they won't start upping the prices.
 

Ileader36

Member
Aug 2, 2004
113
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llynx, You need to read through this thread for memory mods on this mobo, same as vsta model

http://forums.vr-zone.com/showthread.php?t=93127

To increase voltage on the cpu You would have to do a vpin mod, You need to get Your default vid from coretemp to work that out
though, I did it on my e5200 for 1.3625v, up fron 1.1625v.

Is Your HD3850 AGP?, as I have freezing issues when I crank it around 824 and higher.
 

francisA

Member
Dec 2, 2008
153
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Originally posted by: Ileader36
........................ [snip]

Is Your HD3850 AGP?, as I have freezing issues when I crank it around 824 and higher.

Ileader36, I know you were asking about the 3850 but I too am having lockup issues while playing games if I run my x1950xt at 675 for a long time. If I keep it at 1 notch lower than what ATI says in Overdrive, it works fine, never locks up at all.
 

Ileader36

Member
Aug 2, 2004
113
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I've done a few more things lately to my setup since a few posts ago.

1. Fitted new Xigmatek HDT-SD964 Cooler and Backplate (which required removal of the Mobo)
2. Whilst motherboard was out shaded resistor R2471 to get a max Vagp (also northbridge) of 1.7v, up from 1.6v
3. Added a better heatsink to the Rialto chip (pci-express to agp converter) on the video card to help (hopefully) with
video card overclock stability.
4. updated bios to version 2.12a
5. manually updated the cpu to agp driver (in device manager) to the via one in the Hyperion drivers, for some reason
this does not happen when installing the driver normally
6. Added Arctic Silver 5 to the Via chipset northbridge (it's a pro, not an Ultra)

In my old mobo this video card would do 823/954 with AGP volts at 1.6v all day everyday, but I suspect that the E5200 being much more powerful than the Pentium M 740 @ 2.7ghz,
has maxed out the HD3850agp and consequently caused it to work harder than was possible before with a cpu bottleneck.
It is well known that the Rialto bridge chip gets very hot and a heatsink helps heaps, but there is also a possibility that the Via chipset
isn't as good as the trusty old Intel 865 chipset was
I have yet to do much testing to prove whether or not I have succeeded in helping with overclock stability.
The lockup, freeze issue I do not think has anything to do with the E5200 as I could run Prime95 for hours no problems, and temps got higher
with that than any game could manage.
I'll post some success or fail info later.
 

Ileader36

Member
Aug 2, 2004
113
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0
Well. after playing Grid and Crysis each for 1/2 hour (total 1 hour) with the video card at 891/990 and e5200 at 3066mhz 292x10.5,
I am going to tentatively call my stability testing a success.
There is no way I could have played with the video card at those settings before and not get a black screen, followed by reboot, or just
freeze up, with or without an image still on the screen.
I have yet to try with higher cpu speeds, but do not think the cpu was the culprit anyway. During Crysis the cpu core 1 never went above 56C
and core 0 never above 53C, GPU hit a max of 69C. The cpu temps are about 10C cooler than with the Zalman 7000cu on it.

BTW, the Qfan setting in the bios works off the cpu temp, not the individual core temps, so I set that to 39C (it is much cooler than the core temps under
load), and the fan nicely speeds up from 1000rpm to 2800rpm when the cpu temp hits about 41C, then slows down again when the temp hits 37C, I use
Everest to log all temps whilst testing, it measures all 3 cpu temps.

Will likely do some further testing tomorrow night, and have set HD3850 to 864/981 to be abit nicer to it.
 

imported_rebel

Junior Member
Oct 16, 2008
21
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Originally posted by: rebel
i fixed my usb hub problem and guess what i have another problem (dont you just love me :) ) when i turn anti aliasing on i get like tiny white lines like static this is for EVERY game i have please dont tell me this is a problem with the graphics card coz i cbf sending it back any help would be appreciated thanks guys.....

BUMP!
 

Ileader36

Member
Aug 2, 2004
113
0
0
Don't have any experience with that kind of fault, so a few ideas only

1. Power supply? how have You hooked the card up?
2. Set Vagp to high in bios, this is also Northbridge volts.
3. Try running the card at 2d levels in games to see if that helps.
4. See if You can borrow another card and see what happens
5. tried the 8.12 drivers ?
6. You may have to read through the whole thread for answers
7. Latest 2.12a bios from pctreiber?

No other ideas, so hopefully someone else with a pcie hd3870 can help.
 

llynx

Junior Member
Dec 19, 2008
2
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Originally posted by: Ileader36
llynx, You need to read through this thread for memory mods on this mobo, same as vsta model

http://forums.vr-zone.com/showthread.php?t=93127

To increase voltage on the cpu You would have to do a vpin mod, You need to get Your default vid from coretemp to work that out
though, I did it on my e5200 for 1.3625v, up fron 1.1625v.

Is Your HD3850 AGP?, as I have freezing issues when I crank it around 824 and higher.

Hey thanks... meh I guess there isn't anything I can do that is not physical that I can do to achieve this. But even then I wouldn't be able to set the speed to 533mhz dual channel :\ Meh I'll live with this for now... Crysis with Performance Mods @ 1600x1200 @ all ultra high @ 35~Fps is awesome..

I've got mh AGP HD3850 set on the max 1.4v Setting and I can push 850core/2400mem but i cant play for more than 2-2.5hours. I'm currently @ 1.3v and I did a video stability test and I passed @ 827/2222 for 9 hours. So that more than enough :D

and Im currently @ 14000 @ 3Dmark 06


Ileader 0.o? I bios modded my 3850, and the max setting I was allowed to put was 1.4v... i guess Powercolor is different. But my temps are really low... its like 45C load @ my overclock... I'd like to increase the voltage if possible.
 

Colloquor

Junior Member
Dec 26, 2008
1
0
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Hello to all on the forum . . . I have a very basic question which, hopefully, I will receive a simple answer. First of all, I'm not an overclocker, but one who's built PC's since the early '80s, and use them primarily for business use and making my living - thus, the PC needs to be absolutely stable and reliable. I've been using an old Intel D815EPEA2 PIII-based motherboard as my back-up business PC, and need to upgrade due to CPU and memory requirements (the D815EPEA2 has only a 1GHZ PIII and a paltry 512MB maximum limit).

Last week I purchased a 4CoreDual-SATA2 R2.0 board from Newegg for a cost-effective upgrade, especially since I can use some of my existing components. I'm using E2200 CPU with 2G's of DDR2-533 memory. Yes, I know this is certainly not a performance configuration!

Here's the question: I know what FSB means, and its relationship with the CPU speed and CPU multiplier. However, from reading most of the posts here, it appears the true FSB speed of this board is only 200MHz, as the multiplier for the E2200 is 11X. My old Intel D815EPEA2 motherboard has a FSB of 133MHz. Except for the obvious increased computational power of the E2200, and the additional memory, the 4CoreDual-SATA2 really doesn't seem to offer a significant FSB speed/bandwidth increase. Am I missing something here?

As to comparisons, are there other LGA775 boards from ASUS, Gigabyte, Intel, etc. priced in the $130 or less range that offer a higher FSB that I may use with the E2200, and hence with a lower CPU multiplier for improved performance? I almost returned the 4CoreDual-SATA2 to Newegg last week, but decided to give it a try. It's stable on all of the default settings, and works well, but I'm just a bit dismayed at the FSB speed as compared to the old Intel board. Any suggestions?

I apologize in advance for such a basic question. Thanks.
 

fritzfield

Senior member
Mar 4, 2003
389
2
81
My E6600 ran automatically at FSB 266 on this board. The Intel CPUs are multiplier locked. My board does a FSB of 305 when I OC, but the multi is locked.

An E2200 with a multi of 11 will be recognized by the board to have the stock FSB of whatever it is intel planned for it. IIRC, the board has a problem higher than 266.

You are exactly where you're supposed to be. Great board for the price and the chance to use older AGP video and DDR 1 RAM.
 

francisA

Member
Dec 2, 2008
153
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Colloquor:
The 4CoreDual-SATA2 can do either 800 or 1066Mhz (200/266fsb). I have my E5200 running at 280fsb right now at 3.5GHz. There was a point where I was messing with the bios and was able to change the multiplier.
 

fortunzfavor

Junior Member
Dec 30, 2008
4
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I noticed there are several e5200 users here, but all the oc results I found were after a bsel or volt mod. Anyone remember results from before they modded? What was the best stable OC you could get?

I'm considering this board combo as a way to hold on to my AGP card and delay buying new RAM while still getting a stellar clock boost. I don't really feel the need to get every ounce of juice out of it, but if I could get 2.9ghz, that would make me happy. Is that doable without mods?

Thanks.