EPoX "EP-9NPA+Ultra" NVIDIA nForce4 ULTRA Chipset Motherboard

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Fallengod

Diamond Member
Jul 2, 2001
5,908
19
81
Does anyone use a different northbridge cooling solution?

I am looking into THIS Supposedly its pretty good. Im not sure if its compatible though. Anyone know? I would assume it would be, but their list on the page is small.
 

boeki

Junior Member
Feb 16, 2006
19
0
0
got used to it after awhile. :)

anyway, the tuner is always on anyway and the noise from the hsf is deadened by a big ceiling exhaust on top of the rig anyway.
 
Dec 23, 2005
137
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AMD 3000+ venice
Arctic Cooler 64 Heatsink
OCZ plantinum Rev. 2- 1 gb
Cooler Master Centurion Case
Maxtor ATA ULTRA 120GB
NEC dvd-rw 3500A

Ok, I know this topic is MAD old but I just got my board and my rig is somewhat "up" (EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra)

I'm still having problems. I'm currently running Windows 2000 Professional till I get the XP upgrade.

For certain applications, the computer just decides to reboot. I've re-wired the whole system two times now and still the problems keeps coming back. The main applications are: Firefox, IE, and AIM. Almost as soon as I launch it, the goes to a blue screen with numbers on it, and then half a second later the system crashes/reboots. BUT, when I play CS, I can play for as long as I want and nothing happens...
Also, some USB slots don't work (almost half of them)

This is my first build so cut me some slack :/

I need some help ASAP!

thx,
sportzforlife3
 

Libel

Junior Member
Feb 2, 2006
16
0
0
Originally posted by: modempower
Does anyone use a different northbridge cooling solution?

Evercool vc-re

Very silent fan with a decent airflow. Google it, people who use it are really pleased with it. I'm sure it should work on the Epox. Already tested on an DFI Ultra D.

 

Libel

Junior Member
Feb 2, 2006
16
0
0
Originally posted by: Mem
mine's showing 1.4v at the "off" vcore setting so is the mobo overvolting my x2-4400 or it's giving the correct vcore of 1.35v and reading is off by 0.05v?

Epox boards tend to give bit more voltage for cpu and ram to improve general stability etc,this has been posted before,you can manually lower CPU and ram voltage rather then leave it on auto ,that is what I did for cpu voltage.

Boeki is right. I also borrowed a DFI Ultra D to make sure my overclocking results were accurate.

Epox doesn't overvolt, it reports incorrect vcore. If it was about overvolting, I could achieve the same overclocking on either Epox, DFI or another motherboard. The bottom line is I can't. With the same vcore and fsb on both DFI and Epox, I can't reach my 2.6ghz overclock on the Epox. I need to add between +0.08 and +0.1v (approximately) on the Epox to get the same overclock. I don't call that overvolting, I call that misreading.

Opteron 165 (vcore from 1.3 to 1.35 - from AMD website)
reported Epox vcore : 1.41 on "off"
reported DFI vcore : 1.32 on "off"

Bottom line: not a big issue but Epox needs to correct that :)
 

Mem

Lifer
Apr 23, 2000
21,476
13
81
Boeki is right. I also borrowed a DFI Ultra D to make sure my overclocking results were accurate.

Epox doesn't overvolt, it reports incorrect vcore. If it was about overvolting, I could achieve the same overclocking on either Epox, DFI or another motherboard

Wrong you can't compare or expect overclocking results to be the same even when using same voltages on two different brands.
 

Libel

Junior Member
Feb 2, 2006
16
0
0
I won't argue about this but when a mobo doesn't even report the stock vcore accurately, I still think there's something wrong.
 

Mem

Lifer
Apr 23, 2000
21,476
13
81
Libel: I have owned several Epox boards before and they always overvolt a bit on auto setting compared to other brands,besides this is not an issue since it does not effect stability in anyway.
 

boeki

Junior Member
Feb 16, 2006
19
0
0
@ mem

so, it overvolts, meaning, on "off" vcore setting, the mobo is really giving 1.4v on an x2's 1.35v.

please confirm if this is right.

it's a bit of an issue for me as i need to know exactly how far i can up the vcore without doing any instant damage to the proc. i want to test how far the proc will go at 1.45v but the problem is is the 1.45v as the bios reads it the real 1.45v (overvolting) or it just reads 1.45v but in reality it's just 1.4v?
 

Mem

Lifer
Apr 23, 2000
21,476
13
81
Boeki:Just adjust it manually,for example my athlon 64 3800+ dual core gives 1.41v on auto setting in BIOS,default value AMD recommend is 1.30 to 1.35 v for my CPU.I just go into BIOS and select minus value for - 0.0125v to lower cpu voltage,reads 1.39 to 1.40v with speedfan and BIOS now,bit over recommended but working great(I could lower it more if I wish).


Link to AMD CPU voltages. .

Also ram voltage is higher on auto,personally never had to lower this.

I'm still pretty sure the Epox is giving bit more voltage then recommended default voltage settings by AMD.

 
Dec 23, 2005
137
0
0
Originally posted by: sportzforlife3
AMD 3000+ venice
Arctic Cooler 64 Heatsink
OCZ plantinum Rev. 2- 1 gb
Cooler Master Centurion Case
Maxtor ATA ULTRA 120GB
NEC dvd-rw 3500A

Ok, I know this topic is MAD old but I just got my board and my rig is somewhat "up" (EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra)

I'm still having problems. I'm currently running Windows 2000 Professional till I get the XP upgrade.

For certain applications, the computer just decides to reboot. I've re-wired the whole system two times now and still the problems keeps coming back. The main applications are: Firefox, IE, and AIM. Almost as soon as I launch it, the goes to a blue screen with numbers on it, and then half a second later the system crashes/reboots. BUT, when I play CS, I can play for as long as I want and nothing happens...
Also, some USB slots don't work (almost half of them)

This is my first build so cut me some slack :/

I need some help ASAP!

thx,
sportzforlife3



Nobody can help me problem?? :(
 

5t3v0

Senior member
Dec 22, 2005
508
0
0
Originally posted by: MBrown
^ I didnt realize that the J signified a lower level. It was the only EPoX on NewEgg that had SLI so I figured it was the latest and greatest.



Its not a "lower level" than the 9npa+, its exactly the same except for the firewire and the extra sata raid controller. If you dont need either of these then get the 9npaj. I dont have any complaints with mine except the same old voltage issues.
 

techfuzz

Diamond Member
Feb 11, 2001
3,107
0
76
Originally posted by: sportzforlife3
Originally posted by: sportzforlife3
AMD 3000+ venice
Arctic Cooler 64 Heatsink
OCZ plantinum Rev. 2- 1 gb
Cooler Master Centurion Case
Maxtor ATA ULTRA 120GB
NEC dvd-rw 3500A

Ok, I know this topic is MAD old but I just got my board and my rig is somewhat "up" (EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra)

I'm still having problems. I'm currently running Windows 2000 Professional till I get the XP upgrade.

For certain applications, the computer just decides to reboot. I've re-wired the whole system two times now and still the problems keeps coming back. The main applications are: Firefox, IE, and AIM. Almost as soon as I launch it, the goes to a blue screen with numbers on it, and then half a second later the system crashes/reboots. BUT, when I play CS, I can play for as long as I want and nothing happens...
Also, some USB slots don't work (almost half of them)

This is my first build so cut me some slack :/

I need some help ASAP!

thx,
sportzforlife3



Nobody can help me problem?? :(

Copy down the two alphanumeric codes following the word STOP on the blue screen and Google them or look them up at support.microsoft.com for a description of what they mean. You could have defective memory or a hard drive going bad.

techfuzz
 

wrangler

Senior member
Nov 13, 1999
539
0
71
I am also of the school that it just reports high voltage and doesn't really overvolt.

I also believe that it reports temps that are WAY out of the norm. + 15-20C
I have remounted the stock heatsink 3 times with AS5. Each time, I had a perfect pattern showing excellent contact. I have rotated the stock heatsink and fan each time to see if the orientation of the pipes would have an effect or not. (it doesn't) I also went and bought the biggest loudest highest cfm 40mm fan I could find and strapped that into the backplate.

Want a good stress test with 100% cpu utilization and generating the kind of heat your graphics cards also put out with your psu really grunting? Start up 1 instance of Prime small fft's and then launch rthdrbl with your case closed. lol This board will scare the ****** out of you. Showing load temps of 65C and higher. High enough that AMD says the chip should be toast.
BUT
I open the case. Put my box fan up next to it. CPU reading 65C. 7800GTX's reading 69C. Can't touch the outer edge of the 7800GTX heatsink for more than 1 second before it really burns. Reach further in and put my finger right where the pipe starts curving up out of the block on the cpu stock heatsink and it;s barely warmer than my body temperature (approx 32C). I'm guessing 40-45C. Very subjective I know. But you can't beat just gettin a good old feel of it.

Good news is, it will do this stress test @ 2.45 for as long as I want to leave it. With the side on or off. Box fan on or off. If the temps are right, I should be RMA'ing my cpu by now.

Also. When the room is cold. I can boot it up and just let it idle and it will read 35-36C. I can even surf the web and other stuff and it never moves very much. BUT, if I give it the old stress test it shoots up to 65C. I stop the stress test and it stays @ 65C for like 30 seconds and then SLOWLY drops down to 44C. After that, no matter how long I let it idle with the box fan shooting massive amounts of air into it, it won't go below 44C idle temp. I shut it off and leave it for a minute. Boot up and wallah. 36C..............
Every once in a while I can give it the same sress test and it will only go to 55C.
wtf

It runs rock solid though. And it is without a doubt the best looking motherboard you can put in a windowed case with all the blinky lights and stuff. Very cool.

Does anybody know if the little extra temp probe thingy is accurate? Gonna go read up on that and see what it says.
 

boeki

Junior Member
Feb 16, 2006
19
0
0
now i'm confused again! lol!

mem says the voltages are correct and if i want to get 1.35v for my proc, i should lower the vcore from the "off" position (1.4v) down to -0.05.

wrangler says the voltages are correct (1.35v at "off") and that the readings of 1.4v ("off") are incorrect.

(both assumptions above are inferences to what they are stating, of course, and not what they actually said.)

anyone care to second any of them? :)

i also did the tests done by wrangler but instead of p95 small ftt's and rthdrbl, i did p95 large ftt's (max heat) on one core and cpu-burnin on the other. speedfan and thunderprobe both showed 60c (stock fan on big typhoon) but when touching the base of the typhoon, it's was just a bit warm to the touch and i could touch it indefinitely. for comparison, i touched the chipset heatsink and while speedfan showed 40c, it was a lot warmer to the touch and in fact i couldn't even hold on to it long.

otoh, someone said it must be the way i applied as5. lol!

........but the temp thingy was before i found out about temp offset and before i put in my 130cfm fan on the big typhoon.

now temps are 34c idle and 42c on dual p95 large ftt's (room temp is 28c).
 

wrangler

Senior member
Nov 13, 1999
539
0
71
OK
Just hooked up the probe. If you are looking at a 939 socket. If the handle is on the right, then the top is where it has a wider section of plastic. I used the heat resistant tape and managed to get it to stick with the probe touching the side of the IHS without interferring with heatsink installation.

Fire it up and all the way to 36C they stayed neck and neck. Left it in bios looking at the health screen with just the bios load on the chip and it went to 42C on the cpu temp and 38C on the probe. Then I let it run a round of memtest (my brand new 150 Raptor took a ****** after one week so it's all I can do to heat it up). Hit escape and it reboots and while it's booting up and I'm pressing delete I see on the boot screen 59C. Go into bios health screen and probe shows 46C. 13C difference.

I am going to get some of the stuff you use to attach ramsinks and attach that thing directly to the side.
 

Orcishhuman

Member
Nov 30, 2005
48
0
0
lol, I'm suspecting that mine actually reports temperatures LOWER than the real ones, In the Prime95 stress test, SpeedFan gives me 45°C with a 3500+ O/Ced to 2500mhz with 1.475v, stock cooler (with the thermal pad EXTREMELY messily put on)...?: (
 

techfuzz

Diamond Member
Feb 11, 2001
3,107
0
76
I recently bought 2GB (2x1GB) of Corsair TwinX 3200C2 memory to play around with overclocking again (it's been about 3 years). I used the guide here in the forums to find the max HTT and max CPU, but when I tried to find the max of the memory no matter what I change the FSB to above 200 the board won't post. I probably am just missing a simple setting or two in the BIOS. Could someone post some quick instructions for me about what I need to change to get started on finding the max memory speed?

TIA,
techfuzz
 

5t3v0

Senior member
Dec 22, 2005
508
0
0
Assuming you have reduced your HT multiplier so that the LDT is <= 1000MHz, have you checked all your memory timings are set manually rather than left on "Auto"? I had some issues with SPD changing on my previous (GeIL) memory, when not on default frequency. I set all timings to be the same as the auto values at 200MHz & went from there. It fixed my problem. Have you also checked the forums for the best operating vdimm for these modules? On my current G.SKills, "Auto" gave them 2.75v but I found they were much more stable at lower voltages than this. Yours might work better with more or less than your current setting.
 

sgtdic

Member
Jul 17, 2005
139
0
0
sportzforlife3, the first thing that came to my mind: you should try disabling/uninstalling the nvidia activearmor and the nv firewall. they are very bad if you dont have them set up right.

techfuzz, have you lowered your cas and ras timings{higher number ex. 4-4-4-9}? their default ratings are set for the 200 mhz speed, so they have to be lowered to get a higher frequency.
 

techfuzz

Diamond Member
Feb 11, 2001
3,107
0
76
5t3v0 - Can you fill me in on the HT multiplier? Old Athlon's didn't have that feature in the BIOS (that I'm aware of) and I'm still a little confused about some of these new BIOS options. I believe it has 1x-5x and AUTO. I have always just left it on AUTO. Do I need to fiddle with it when playing with the memory too?

I believe the the default for this ram is 2.7v and from reading the Corsair forums up to 2.9v-3.0v is safe according to their forum support staff. I was bumping mine up to 2.9v and was going to leave it there until I found the max speeds and then would drop it down bit by bit to see if was stable at lower voltages. I'll keep that in mind what you said about lower = more stable in your case.

5t3v0, sgtdic - The memory is rated at 2-3-3-6 (1T), so yes I lowered them when I set those to 2.5-4-3-7 (1T) like it said in the guide. I did not however touch any of the other numbers, I left them all at AUTO. Do you think maybe I should manually assign those to whatever their AUTO values are reporting at stock?

Thanks for the help so far guys. Any more advice to get me back up to speed with OC'ing is most appreciated!

techfuzz
 

5t3v0

Senior member
Dec 22, 2005
508
0
0
There's your problem tf. The hypertransport bus (aka LDT) shouldn't exceed 1000MHz (also quoted as 2000MHz because it is a bi-directional bus like the DDR memory bus). The Auto seting sets it to x5 so when you raise above 200MHz the LDT goes above 1000MHz and your system becomes unstable. Set the HT multi to x4 until you pass 250MHz HTT, & then lower it to x3.

As for all the other memory timings, set them manually to their Auto settings at 200MHz (DDR400) just in case they change when using a memory divider. My GeILs did & this caused me issues until I set everything explicitly.