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

[swamyg1]

Hey All...

I had a problem with overclocking the memory on this board and I couldn't get it to boot... I realized it was a memory problem so I swapped out the memory to get into the bios and everything seems to be find, even with my original memory I had in before!

However, I'm still getting error codes (it cycles through 7 or 8 different codes) on the onboard LED and as I am sitting here in windows I have a code of FF... any ideas?

Everything seems to be working fine!

Thanksa

 

[IlluminiX]

Swamyg1 - Someone can correct me if I am wrong here, but I am quite certain that this is cycling of codes before FF is NORMAL. That is what happens for me - all the different codes do not necessarily signal an error but rather what part is being accessed at that time. As long as you eventually get to FF, you are fine.

As far as your memory goes, you can flash the CMOS if you overclock too much rather than swap out the memory. I guess one may not necessarily be easier than the other, especially if you have a big video card as the CMOS jumper is under the video card. But clearing the CMOS will erase any harm done to the BIOS and reset it back to factory settings.

Glad everything works!

IlluminiX

 

[teddyv]

Any one ever have a problem of no video? My RX800 started melting down in WoW so I RMA'd it for a new one. When I put the replacement in it posted fine but wanted to boot from the CD so I hard rebooted it. Since then it won't show video. The card fan works fine and it is seated correctly, but even with no drives attached it will not produce any video (it has always take the monitor out of sleep mode and displayed.)

Any ideas? Not sure if it makes a difference, but with the opticals hooked up it goes through the post (long beep and FF) but no video and the CD tray opens.

 

[sgtdic]

i have a few questions and concerns that hopefully someone can help me out with. in the dram config, what is the recommended burst length/speed? mine is set at 4 i think. the other options are 2 and 8 i believe. the setting is at the bottom.

the reason i ask is because i'm getting a lower SM2.0 score on 3dmark06 even with overclocking my cpu and video. the only thing i see as causing this is when i put in my other gig of ram or the newest nvidia driver. my ram timings did not change when i added the ram either. i don't get why i get a lower score with and extra gig added. any thoughts?
thanks

 

[imhungry]

Any idea if I can remove the Northbridge HSF and have the motherboard still work properly.

Mine is INCREDIBLY loud, I fear it's bent or something. It's louder than the rest of my system combined.

Or if I can deattach the fan, anyone know?

 

[sgtdic]

imhungry, yeah sure you can, but your system will fry from the heat most likely and a big performance downgrade. someone else had the loud fan also. i recommend buying the zalman heatsink then, if i was you. newegg of zzf should have it; it's a big blue square hs.

 

[bs73]

I have this board too...has anyone had trouble with the usb2...i have always intermittent freezes/resets (once every 2-3 days) and have since done a full re-install of windows...since then, the usb2 drivers were not installed..so usb2 is not functional and shows up as a '?' in device mgr. The machine is rock solid, no resets, has been up for days etc....When i install usb2 using device mgr (just automatic driver update), usb2 installs fine but then the machine seems to get into the same old freezes/resets issues..likewise, when trying to sync an ipod over usb2, i have freeze problems....When i do an automatic driver update i assume it is simply installing the usb2 drivers from windows but am not sure...is there any specific nvidia usb2 driver and/or usb2 driver version i should be looking for? I know there are a few USB options in the BIOS but have not played with them much...Not sure if any of these would help.

Any thoughts/help appreciated!...It is NOT a heating/cooling issue...

 

[Ultralight]

This USB 2 has been a problem but there is a Beta patch put out earlier this year that fixes the issue. Also, if you screen up you'll notice Mem and IlluminiX telling us about the newest patch. I think this takes care of the issue as well.

Edit: I meant to say the latest BIOS, not patch. Sorry.

 

[Mem]

bs73: I suggest you use Epox's Magic Bios program(on your Epox CD) and download the latest Offical BIOS and update your board,then let us know if this fixes your problem.

 

[sgtdic]

noone can help me with my issue?

 

[Jawo]

Originally posted by: perdomot
I had to RMA this mobo because the pin on the chipset heatsink snapped and the RMA I got sent is messed up too. Anyone had to deal with this problem on their mobo? Can someone recommend to me an aftermarket cooler that fits on the chipset? Not sure if it has to have active cooling or not. Thanks.

I am using the Zalman ALCU 7000 and it works rather well temps are around 40C


bs73:
I had to RMA mine since the USB ports were so flaky....It was quicky (~week) but still annoying. Might want to try the software updates first though

 

[imhungry]

Originally posted by: sgtdic
imhungry, yeah sure you can, but your system will fry from the heat most likely and a big performance downgrade. someone else had the loud fan also. i recommend buying the zalman heatsink then, if i was you. newegg of zzf should have it; it's a big blue square hs.

Do you have a link to one?

 

[sgtdic]

imhungry, here you go. best price; zzf has it for 10.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835118214

 

[RideFree]

Originally posted by: teddyv
Any one ever have a problem of no video? My RX800 started melting down in WoW so I RMA'd it for a new one. When I put the replacement in it posted fine but wanted to boot from the CD so I hard rebooted it. Since then it won't show video. The card fan works fine and it is seated correctly, but even with no drives attached it will not produce any video (it has always take the monitor out of sleep mode and displayed.)

Any ideas? Not sure if it makes a difference, but with the opticals hooked up it goes through the post (long beep and FF) but no video and the CD tray opens.

I have the Gigabyte x800 xl and the dang thing keeps cutting out (as in black/blank screen). I haven't a clue.
I don't particularly want to replace the card as I have a bunch of water cooling stuff in the way.
If you come up with anything, don't hesitate to post it.

 

[Allio]

Originally posted by: IlluminiX
Official BIOS update

Wow, looks good. I'd really like to get my hands on those 150 and 183 dividers, I didn't know anyone but DFI did those. Of course the update is only out for the Ultra and not for the SLI

 

[tjpark1111]

is SATA(all ports or only 3 and 4) and PCI-Express locked on this board?

 

[liqnit]

Hi
Thanks for the great thread.
it really helped me a lot
i am aware about the USB problem but my problem is diffrent
when i connect Scanner & Printer to the usb it is working ok
when i add my digital camera it is not connecting to it until i unplug the SCanner & Printer

Both scanner and printer have their own power supply.

any ideas?

 

[you2]

Will a x1800xt or x1900xt fit in this board without issues ? (concern abuot the north bridge fan)

 

[Mem]

Will a x1800xt or x1900xt fit in this board without issues ? (concern abuot the north bridge fan)

No problems that I'm aware of,so 99.9% sure both are fine.

 

[Ultralight]

Originally posted by: liqnit
Hi
Thanks for the great thread.
it really helped me a lot
i am aware about the USB problem but my problem is diffrent
when i connect Scanner & Printer to the usb it is working ok
when i add my digital camera it is not connecting to it until i unplug the SCanner & Printer

Both scanner and printer have their own power supply.

any ideas?

lignit, I'm still learning so I don't know how much this will help you but have you tried the latest BIOS? It came out in mid-April and now you can download it via Zip format from EPoX's website. Also, have you tried the firewire port for your digital camera use?

 

[liqnit]

Originally posted by: Ultralight

Originally posted by: liqnit
Hi
Thanks for the great thread.
it really helped me a lot
i am aware about the USB problem but my problem is diffrent
when i connect Scanner & Printer to the usb it is working ok
when i add my digital camera it is not connecting to it until i unplug the SCanner & Printer

Both scanner and printer have their own power supply.

any ideas?

lignit, I'm still learning so I don't know how much this will help you but have you tried the latest BIOS? It came out in mid-April and now you can download it via Zip format from EPoX's website. Also, have you tried the firewire port for your digital camera use?

hi
i don't have the FireWire in my camera Canon S1 so i cant use it
i just learn about the latest BIOS from this thread
i will try it
thanks

 

[RideFree]

Be very careful with that "latest" BIOS...it ate my NAS when I flashed from BETA to the latest via the EPoX utility over the www.

 

[liqnit]

Originally posted by: RideFree
Be very careful with that "latest" BIOS...it ate my NAS when I flashed from BETA to the latest via the EPoX utility over the www.

thanks for the info i will wait a little longer before updating my BIOS

 

[IlluminiX]

Umm - What does eating your NAS mean? I had no problems upgrading from the Beta Bios to the latest one using the Magic BIOS utility, and you can always just save the .bin file to a CD and upgrade using the alt - f2 trick to start Winflash at bootup. I don't know why you were even on the Beta BIOS Ridefree since it was intended for people with USB issues in conjunction with the X2 processor and I thought you had no probs with your Opteron.

Anyway - there is no great need to upgrade for people with the Beta, but no harm should come to your system whichever way you deside to flash either.

Peace!

 

[teknopath]

I just built a new PC with this MOBO and the x1900xt. No problems with northbridge fan. With the Antec P180, this board, and this card, cabling is a bit messy due to the placement of power connector.