MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum/SLI questions

[gixxer]

I have tried looking thru this forum and specifically the "official" MSI thread, but most of the replies there are for the Ultra and not the Platinum SLI version.

So if anyone has the MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum/SLI, I was hoping you could answer a few questions for me.

1. Can anyone overclock this higher than the invisible ceiling of 250 with 1T timings for the RAM?
2. Does this board have issues dropping SATA drives? (like many people report about the ASUS SLI board)
3. Does NCQ work on this board? (or is this truly a N-Force 4 chipset issue)
4. Has anyone had any problems with USB devises causing the system to crash?
5. Has anyone had any problems with the PS/2 connectors for their mouse or keyboard?
6. Is the chipset fan annoyingly loud? (like the ASUS)
7. And finally, are you happy with your purchase? If not, why?

Thanks in advance to anyone has time to answer any or all of the questions.

 

[gixxer]

bump

 

[gixxer]

well, from the lack of replies, it looks like no one bought the SLI version and everyone got the MSI K8N Neo4 nForce4 Ultra instead. Since there is a lot of feedback on this board, I will revise my questions.

Is there any real difference between the MSI K8N Neo4 nForce4 Ultra versus the Platinum SLI board? (besides the 2x video card slots) More specifically, will the feedback/issues that I have read about MSI K8N Neo4 nForce4 Ultra be what I can expect to have with the Platinum SLI?

I know the Nforce 4 chipset is VERY similar between the different versions (DFI proved this), but I am not sure if the board layout or later release date compared to ASUS helped work out some of the bugs.

Thanks,

Gixxer

 

[Teknet]

I've got mine coming next week...along with a couple of the DiamondMAX 10 NCQ drives, and a Hitachi 80 SATA II drive that supports the full SATA II spec. Even got the Plextor 716SA/SW SATA Dual Layer DVD burner. Will let you know how it goes.

 

[gixxer]

Thanks for the reply Teknet. I will look forward to hearing how things go. I hope everything installs ok.

What CPU did you get? I have now read in a few places that the MSI board is having issues with the Winchester chips. But most of what I have read about this have been with the non-SLI board and I have been having a hard time finding out just how much of the problems I read about the non-SLI MSI board carry over to the SLI version.

Has anyone else had a problem of not being able to overclock a winchester chip beyond 220 FSB?

 

[theblackbox]

i originally bought the dfi, it didn't work, so i got the msi. to answer your questions:

1. Can anyone overclock this higher than the invisible ceiling of 250 with 1T timings for the RAM?
i don't overclock, sorry
2. Does this board have issues dropping SATA drives? (like many people report about the ASUS SLI board)
My primary is a sata, and i have never had a problem. you can do it through the system tray, but i never had an issue, not yet.
3. Does NCQ work on this board? (or is this truly a N-Force 4 chipset issue)
don't use, sorry
4. Has anyone had any problems with USB devises causing the system to crash?
My system has been stable since i put it together. I have usb mouse keyboard, scanner, printer, camera and personal media center, and not a crash
5. Has anyone had any problems with the PS/2 connectors for their mouse or keyboard?
I had originally installed the mouse ps2 to install and get it up and running, no problems
6. Is the chipset fan annoyingly loud? (like the ASUS)
I don't find the fan loud. But then again, i don't pay much attention to the sound level of my pc. if i don't hear it, i figure it's okay
7. And finally, are you happy with your purchase? If not, why?
Very happy, it only took minutes to get up and running and has been stable ever since. it replaced an intel northwood 3.2 with an x800. It runs cooler, faster, and i really like the onboard creative sound. it is my favorite mb. i also have a k8n neo platinium nf 3 250

 

[theblackbox]

by the way, mine is a winchester, and it booted fine the first time

 

[gixxer]

thank you for the feedback theblackbox

 

[gixxer]

how goes the system build Teknet?

 

[amdcool]

1. Can anyone overclock this higher than the invisible ceiling of 250 with 1T timings for the RAM?
I have not been able to get past 255fsb without the board deciding tnot to boot and having me reset the bios.
2. Does this board have issues dropping SATA drives? (like many people report about the ASUS SLI board)
I dont have a prob with that. My primary is a wd raptor and its always thre when the comp starts.
3. Has anyone had any problems with USB devises causing the system to crash?
No probs with usb devices. i use a ub keyboard, camera, card reader, hubs etc
4. And finally, are you happy with your purchase? If not, why?
I am generally satisfied with th the mobo tho if i had a choice to do it agian i might pic a diff company. The board wont oc that high, unless i am doing somethihng wrong, other than that its rock stable when it boots.

 

[sauria]

I just did 266 MHz 1:1 on mine (Platinum SLI version) with some GSkill 2x512 LA -- just set it up. Newcastle 3800+ CPU not Winchester.
2.5-3-3-7 1T

 

[Heinrich]

I have this board - yes, the SLI version - and it's going back.

1 - the invisible ceiling with new Winchesters is 219.

2 - the board is just not reliable or stable for days on end as my old NF7-S 2.0 was. The other day I was having trouble with my Nostromo getting recognized. This happens every so often with USB devices, and my solution is either unplug it and plug it back in to a different port. Well, the board hung and would NOT post until I did a CMOS clear. Yesterday I plugged an IDE drive into an IDE cable, and the board would not post. I had to unplug the drive and do a CMOS clear.

I already have a DFI SLI-DR in Charlotte NC (maybe it's on a USAir plane!) on its way to me to replace this thing with.

I've grown to not like this board over the past couple of weeks.