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

[Mem]

sgtdic:I get 12.65v with Speedfan,what are your voltages like in BIOS? .....If it is stable then I would probably think Speedfan is reporting the right voltage.

Btw you can always check with Thunderprobe,Epox's monitoring utility,it is on the Epox CD.

 

[Danaite]

i've seen (somewhere) that there isn't voltage probe for the 12v on this board

on my computer i have 10.05v and that run great

 

[cheerful]

dupe. deleted

 

[cheerful]

This is my first epox mobo. The chipset fan is really loud, even louder than the fan on the X800 video card. And the noise is even a bit irregular. Is it normal for the ultra board? Or do I have a defective hsf?

Thanks!

 

[Fallengod]

Probably defective. Mine is silent heh.

 

[RideFree]

Originally posted by: cheerful
This is my first epox mobo. The chipset fan is really loud, even louder than the fan on the X800 video card. And the noise is even a bit irregular. Is it normal for the ultra board? Or do I have a defective hsf?

Thanks!

Seems to me like there are an abundance of Q/C issues on these M/Bs. :disgust:
How can a bad fan get into the shipping line?
Might want to look around in 40mm fan section rather than to RMA.

 

[rsf5w]

Just a breif update to the ongoing USB 2.0 issue. I originally posted at the end of December at which time I was able to elliminate the random freezes with an add-in PCI USB 2.0 card and disabling USB 2.0 function in the BIOS (not actually disabling USB totally, just setting the speed to v1.1). Over a period of a month now, there has not been one lock up. I realize that that doesn't help anyone, so I decided to re-visit this issue with Epox. Through their online support (accessible via the Epox USA website - you have to register to be able to use this) it was suggested by some tech to make the following changes in the BIOS:

USB Park Mode - disabled
USB - base memory 640k (I'm not sure of the exact wording here, but this is the USB item that is normally set to 'shadow' by default)

I re-enabled USB 2.0 function and have been experimenting with USB 2.0 devices with the on-board controllers - thus far I have only tested two different USB 2.0 flash drives. Nonetheless, no freezes in almost 2 days now. Perhaps others with the freezing issue could try these BIOS settings to verify.

For those who have recently posted about the noisy northbridge fan, I use a Zalman passive heatsink (the blue one) and temps have never risen above 34 deg C., even in the Virginia summer. I personally was concerned about what would happen when that fan on the Epox stock HSF failed and all I was left with was that crappy wafer of metal over the northbridge. The Zalman works VERY well and is dead silent.

 

[sgtdic]

mem, my bios does not show my 12v reading. all other voltage readings are fine however and stable.

 

[Mem]

mem, my bios does not show my 12v reading.

sgtdic:I can't remember if Thunderprobe shows the 12v reading ,I only installed it once but removed it the next day,anyway I still be inclined to believe the Speedfan reading.

 

[reynrv]

Originally posted by: rsf5w
USB Park Mode - disabled
USB - base memory 640k (I'm not sure of the exact wording here, but this is the USB item that is normally set to 'shadow' by default)

I re-enabled USB 2.0 function and have been experimenting with USB 2.0 devices with the on-board controllers - thus far I have only tested two different USB 2.0 flash drives. Nonetheless, no freezes in almost 2 days now. Perhaps others with the freezing issue could try these BIOS settings to verify.

Will try this tonight!

 

[sgtdic]

ok i done some research. the original thunder probe did not monitor 12v nor had this mobo as supported. USDM was only program that came on my disc. you can only have one or the other installed. as of last month there is a new version of thunder probe out that has this mobo listed and has a few more features, like 12v monitoring. i recommend everyone atleast install it, because it's the latest and greatest from epox. here's the link: http://www.epox.com.tw/eng/utility_software.php

 

[Mem]

sgtdic.Guess I was lucky, my Thunderprobe utility was on the Epox CD .

 

[sgtdic]

*sigh* now i'm confused. i installed the new thunder probe and it doesn't report anything new or any new features FOR ME. i don't get it. maybe it's only for the sli? maybe the 12v monitor is not on my mobo, but the psu? here's the link with the proof. it has a live demo of it. http://www.epox.com.tw/epox_online/onlineevent5906470312/

 

[Mem]

That Thunderprobe version is big file nearly 50mb,anyway I'll give it a try and report back on the 12v situation.


Update:No 12v reading on the new Thunderprobe,oh well.

 

[reynrv]

I tried the option suggested above (disable USB park and switch SHADOW USB to 640K). I copied 5 different 4.3GB files from a networked computer to a USB2 drive connected locally (the operation that was causing consistent lockups). Each one complete successfully. Will continue to test various other things.


Hopefully, others will try this out and report their results.


Edit: Just ran the file system benchmark from SiSoft on the external USB2 drive. 28MB/S was the result (i.e. it didnt lock up the system either)

 

[Mem]

reynrv: Thats good to hear,so looks like a change with some BIOS settings fixes the problem.


We could do with more people reporting feedback on if this fixes their USB 2.0 problems.

 

[RideFree]

Originally posted by: reynrv
I tried the option suggested above (disable USB park and switch SHADOW USB to 640K). I copied 5 different 4.3GB files from a networked computer to a USB2 drive connected locally (the operation that was causing consistent lockups). Each one complete successfully. Will continue to test various other things.


Hopefully, others will try this out and report their results.


Edit: Just ran the file system benchmark from SiSoft on the external USB2 drive. 28MB/S was the result (i.e. it didnt lock up the system either)

Seems to me I tried this combo (as well as every other) of BIOS settings without sucess.
I hope everybody reports their BIOS version, along with sucess or failure of these settings.

 

[reynrv]

I updated to the latest BIOS before trying the setting (since the BIOS version I was running didnt have the park option).

 

[Makubex GB]

I've seen some very nice overclocks on these board, especially memory OCs.

 

[reynrv]

I guess I spoke too soon. Running a chkdsk on the drive managed to lock up the machine hard.


Back to the drawing board. :-(

 

[IlluminiX]

Ridefree - As others have mentioned, this freezing problem is exclusively for X2 processor users, and people with regular Athlon 64's have never reported any problems.

I have also tried disabling park mode and switching off from Shadow to base, but froze later on. I have mentioned this to Tony Lee at Epox, and he knows now that changing the current BIOS options have not worked for people who had this problem to begin with.

And as I pointed out earlier, defragging my non-USB HD also hard-locked up my computer so it is not exclusively a USB problem.

 

[imported_omicron]

Hey everyone. I just completed my first build with this board. The hard drive is being partitioned right now. I just had a quick question. The CPU and Chipset LED's are both lit inside the case. Everything seems to be in working order, though. I have an Antec P150 case and my chassis fan is hooked directly to the power supply instead of the motherboard. Could this be the cause of the lit LED's? And if so, is there some way I could turn them off (i.e. through the BIOS)? Thanks for your time.

 

[sgtdic]

omicron
those leds are supposed to be on and you can't turn them off. there are actually 3, those 2 and the dimm led. your fan has nothing to do with them. they just light to let you know they are working properly. i had my case 80mm fan hooked up to my psu but i put it on my motherboard so i could monitor the speed if i wanted to.

 

[imported_omicron]

Ahh... I see. I thought they were error lights. Hahaha. I feel like a total newb. Thanks.

 

[curran]

The USB/freezing issue is not limited only to epox, but epox is just the only company I know of that hasn't done anything about it. Other companies have issued a bios update w/ a special errata 123 option. Trust me...no bios combination will do the trick. My system has frozen w/ ZERO usb devices attached, but only when USB 2.0 is enabled. This tells me it is somehow connected to 2.0 only. Their tech support is to blame as they have pathetic coordination b/w their USA/Taiwan support teams.