*** Official ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe (nForce4) Thread ***

[chexi]

iscsidude

Yes, I'm using the same IDE cables I was using in my old machine. Have IDE cables changed lately?

I tried a "bad" DVD in another machine and it seemed to playback okay. I think it's the playback on my Nforce machine that's bad.

I haven't updated firmware in a long time on the CD Drives, so I'll be sure to do that and post an update. I am using the latest BIOS (1003 beta) for the mobo. I tried to install the latest nforce drivers, but the stupid file wouldn't execute.

 

[canislupy]

Originally posted by: r00tcause

I ordered mine on the 21st. It shipped out that day. It arrives today via FEDEX.

It sure would be nice if I had a board to put it on. I just cant seem to get my hands on an A8N.

UPDATE:

ZZF A8N on order.

6800GT OC PCI-E *has arrived*

Ditto

 

[TheNiceGuy]

OK. Finally got everything ready to order.

The Mobo I just switched today, because I just found out it was here in Japan! I was going to get the nForce3 neo2 Platinum, but this new one was the missing link I was waiting for. I really need your help about anything the new mobo may have warranted a change in!



SEAGATE ST3160827AS (160GB SATAII 7200) (10,970 yen) Barracuda 7200.7 160GB SATAII 7200rpm 8192KB 8.5ms [X2 about $215 US]
-OR-
The same drive 80GB version [X3 for slighty more $]

Athlon 64 3000+ Socket939 BOX 16,280 yen [about $160 US]

ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe nForce4 22,450 yen [about $220 US]

NEC ND-3500A BLK 7,444 yen [about $70 US]

LEADTEK WinFast PX6600GT TDH (PCIExp 128MB) 21,729 yen [about $210]

Hynix PC3200 (DDR400) 512MB×2 Dual Set (shop verified)
Basis (seal number): Hynix HYMD264646D8J-D43 AA
Tip/chip: Hynix HY5DU56822DT-D43
(Apparently can run at DDR500 too) 19,500 yen [about $180]
Details at: http://216.239.37.104/translat...mory/hynix32_D512.html
-OR-
The above shop also has Samsung, Crucial, and Kingston for a little more $.
-OR-
TRANSCEND TS64MLD64V4F (DDR PC3200 512MB - CL 2.5) 10,480 yen [X2 about $200 US]



My rational on this setup is that I should be able to play any new game now on high settings with no lag or trouble, at stock speeds. In the future, if I encounter new games and lag, etc., I can just pop in a couple of Ballistix RAM and OC the whole mess. Sound like a plan???

I'm not too worried about the rest:
As for the case- I'll try and pick up something with a 12cm fan front/back and a side fan, and a 400W PSU with over 18A/12V.
Keyboard/mouse- something ergonomic.
Monitor, I already have (22" CRT).

Please keep in mind I live in Japan, so availabily/price is a little different than the states. Generaly, anything not on this site:
http://216.239.39.104/translat...p;u=.../kakaku.com/pc/
or here
http://216.239.37.104/translat...ocworks.com/index.html
may cost more or have to be imported (ie, I couldn't find any Mushkin value RAM).

Let's helping TheNiceGuy! Onegai!!!

 

[iscsidude]

Originally posted by: chexi
iscsidude

Yes, I'm using the same IDE cables I was using in my old machine. Have IDE cables changed lately?

I tried a "bad" DVD in another machine and it seemed to playback okay. I think it's the playback on my Nforce machine that's bad.

I haven't updated firmware in a long time on the CD Drives, so I'll be sure to do that and post an update. I am using the latest BIOS (1003 beta) for the mobo. I tried to install the latest nforce drivers, but the stupid file wouldn't execute.

Chexi,
IDE cables have only changed if you're still using 40 wire vs. 80 wire.
I'm assuming the A8N-SLI came with new 80 wire cables.
If your old cables are 40 wire, yes they can cause problems at ATA/133.

Edit: Of course, if your DVD burner is SCSI or SATA none of this applies and I've wasted your time.

 

[Robor]

I just ordered one from EWiz. Now I've got to sell my BFG 6800GT and find a good PCI-E replacement.

 

[chexi]

I am using IDE drives (all Hard drives and CD and DVD drives in the machine). All of them are on what I think are 80 pin cables. I'm using the ones with the blue connector, not the really old ones with both black connectors. I'm guessing it's a driver problem or a problem with my DVD playback program (because the backup DVD works fine on other machines). I'll try another DVD playback program to try to isolate the problem.

Anyone else have trouble installing updated Nforce drivers from the Asus site? The executable file doesn't want to launch for me for some inexplicable reason.

 

[Arcuivie]

Looks like Newegg just entered the game:
http://www.newegg.com/app/view...=13-131-517&depa=0

Apparently everybody just got large shipments in yesterday (according to atacom).

Why did I order from atacom? Why?

 

[Crushproof]

Hey all... okay, this is a cry for HELP!

I have all my components in and installed... however I can't enable SLI mode in the ForceWare drivers for some reason. I've got the A8N-SLI, along with two eVGA 6800 GT videocards (I'm also using a PC Power and Cooling 24-pin 510 Express power supply / I've got both the 12v and the EZ Plug plugged in). I've tried both the latest release and beta ForceWare drivers. I've got the newest release BIOS and chipset drivers. I've physically swapped both cards slots into the other slot (they both work). I've tried it with the videocard selector chip set both to single and dual video cards. I've tried swapping the connector PCB both ways. I've tried several things in the BIOS to no avail. I've looked in my device manager, and only one video card shows up (no errors), not sure if I should see two here or not.

Anyone have ANY ideas what could be going wrong. I put an e-mail into eVGA's helpdesk. Asus's helpdesk seems to be out due to a winter storm (according to the message).

At this point I would barter a firstborn for a solution! =P

Thanks in advance!

 

[BOLt]

I ordered my BFG GeForce 6800 GT OC PCI Express from Chumbo.com on the 20th, the same day that they got their first shipment. It said low stock, so I hurried up and bought it for $400 with free overnight FedEx, which I thought was a steal. I got the card the next day, but one of the capacitors on the heatsink side was half attached (poor affixation by BFG or mishandling by Chumbo or FedEx). Box was poorly packed and the package of extras to go along with the card was abismal. However, that is not was I was looking for, so I can't complain about that. I am disappointed at having to RMA, but I don't have a motherboard right now anyway, so meh.

Called BFG to request an RMA about 10 minutes after I opened the package. Good service, but still disappointed in the VERY POOR PACKAGING. There was all of one piece of brown paper crumpled up to cushion the box containing the GPU. This is in stark contrast to my iPod from Amazon or my Audigy 2 ZS from JandR.

Bottom line is I want my ****ing ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe and my BFG 6800 GT OC and the rest of my shiz (working)!

Sidenote: the BFG 6800 GT OC PCI Express sold out in 1.5 days from their initial stocking. I don't know what the status is now, but damn, that's fast!

Edit: I just pre-ordered the ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe from EastLuna.com. Checked their ETA on it today and they said 12/31 (just in time for the end of my X-Mas break... I hate life). I really wish I had known that Newegg.com was gonna stock the card, although I'm only paying $210.00 at EastLuna.

 

[exdeath]

Originally posted by: Crushproof
Hey all... okay, this is a cry for HELP!

I have all my components in and installed... however I can't enable SLI mode in the ForceWare drivers for some reason. I've got the A8N-SLI, along with two eVGA 6800 GT videocards (I'm also using a PC Power and Cooling 24-pin 510 Express power supply / I've got both the 12v and the EZ Plug plugged in). I've tried both the latest release and beta ForceWare drivers. I've got the newest release BIOS and chipset drivers. I've physically swapped both cards slots into the other slot (they both work). I've tried it with the videocard selector chip set both to single and dual video cards. I've tried swapping the connector PCB both ways. I've tried several things in the BIOS to no avail. I've looked in my device manager, and only one video card shows up (no errors), not sure if I should see two here or not.

Anyone have ANY ideas what could be going wrong. I put an e-mail into eVGA's helpdesk. Asus's helpdesk seems to be out due to a winter storm (according to the message).

At this point I would barter a firstborn for a solution! =P

Thanks in advance!

Have you tried each card individually to make sure they BOTH work With SLI, they both show up in dev mgr like this: http://members.cox.net/~exdeath/pc/sli.jpg

Also are both cards the same BIOS rev?

SLI bridge connection? I don't think it will disable SLI, it will just cause tearing and desynchonization between the cards and poor performance.

SLI is only functional in 66.93, it's broken or non existant in all other drivers.

Once you can enable SLI in the main panel you have to reboot, then when you look in the performance options the very bottom has an option to enable single or multi GPU rendering when SLI is enabled.

Everything in the BIOS should work fine set to AUTO (PEG options and SLI mode)

 

[Crushproof]

Originally posted by: exdeath

Have you tried each card individually to make sure they BOTH work With SLI, they both show up in dev mgr like this: http://members.cox.net/~exdeath/pc/sli.jpg

Also are both cards the same BIOS rev?

SLI bridge connection? I don't think it will disable SLI, it will just cause tearing and desynchonization between the cards and poor performance.

SLI is only functional in 66.93, it's broken or non existant in all other drivers.

Once you can enable SLI in the main panel you have to reboot, then when you look in the performance options the very bottom has an option to enable single or multi GPU rendering when SLI is enabled.

Everything in the BIOS should work fine set to AUTO (PEG options and SLI mode)

Exdeath,

I'm only seeing one card in the device manager. I was just on the phone with eVGA's tech support, the guy sounded a bit confused when I explained the problem. He told me he "talked to someone in the labs" and said that I would need to install my video drivers twice because there are two cards... this sounded like b.s. to me. Just so I'm covering all my bases, you don't really have to install your video drivers twice do you? He was trying to tell me that I needed to use the windows hardware wizard to install the Forceware drivers too... which sounded kinda odd.

I'm starting to think my bottom PCI-Express slot might be bunk.

I've tried each card individually in the top slot, and they both work. Ohh, how do I check the bios versions of the actually videocards themselves?

And one last question... what do you have your Plug and Play OS setting set to in your BIOS... I've fiddled with both settings and neither seems to make a difference.

Anyway, thanks for taking time to respond to this man! You've been more help the eVGA's tech support already.

 

[dli2k3]

Can anyone tell me if it's possible to use the EZ plug when running a single video card? The reason for this is because I have a 20 pins psu and apparently you can get away by connecting only the top 20 pins of the mobo connector, because the lower 4 pins is only to deliver more power to the pci-express lanes which the EZ plug can do too. But i'm unsure if I can use the EZ plug with only 1 pci-express video card.

 

[TaZZeR]

Sorry to interupt, but having real grief with my Asus An8 SLi setup.......

Please help.

----------------------------------
Asus A8N SLi Deluxe Mobo
Enermax 600W PSU
2 x XFX PCIe 6800GT's
FX-55
PC4000 Ballistix
----------------------------------

My rig has been running, but not without problems with the GFX cards. All I get is a flash from the LED on the cards and a slight spin of the fan. I have taken all components out of the rig and tested the power supply, no faults. I have power in the 4 pin EZ plug, 24 pin, and 4 pin ATX sockets......

However the setup has worked by fluke, installed windows and tried doom 3, but is has now gone back to the above problem.......

Any suggestions, please, it's driving me mad!

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Originally posted by: dli2k3
Can anyone tell me if it's possible to use the EZ plug when running a single video card? The reason for this is because I have a 20 pins psu and apparently you can get away by connecting only the top 20 pins of the mobo connector, because the lower 4 pins is only to deliver more power to the pci-express lanes which the EZ plug can do too. But i'm unsure if I can use the EZ plug with only 1 pci-express video card.

I'm running one card with the EZ plug, and have had no problems

 

[gobucks]

bah, i just jumped ship! Asus wanted to RMA the board cause the SATA controller died, and said it would take like 3 weeks total! Screw that. I just found a Chaintech NF4 ULtra for $119 at newegg, and bought it. NovaPCs said they'd let me return the Asus board, so i'm gonna do that. 5 days seems much more reasonable than 21 to me. Besides, i saved $80 and the only things i'm losing are things i don't really care about - Dual GBE, 4 extra SATA ports, and an extra PCIe x16 slot, none of which i'll likely ever use. I was planning to add another 6600GT, but i figured that by the time i need it, a 128MB framebuffer isn't gonna cut it anyways, so i'll have to upgrade to a newer generation card. Oh, well, i just hope i don't have any of the issues i had with the Asus board. Oh, well, i hope everybody's A8N-SLIs work better than mine did.

 

[SkyBum]

Monarch RMA'd my dead A8N, it was supposed to arrive today but I suppose at this time of year, overnight means over one night......

Why didn't you RMA your board at NovaPC?

 

[cyto]

How is the overclocking suppose to work for two 6800 GT's in SLI mode? Do you need to overclock each card separately or just with the one coolbits function use?

 

[exdeath]

cyto: When overclocking, both cards work at the same speed.

Crushproof: Well when you install the drivers, it will automatically seem to install twice and your monitor will go blank twice, before it asks you to reboot. There should be stickers on the cards with the BIOS revision, but how to see the BIOS rev of each card, I have no idea! Might be better just flashing each card individually and verifying 1 card at a time before trying SLI. Can you use the second slot at all? Try tunning it in PCIe 1x mode (single card) and putting a single card in it.

 

[cyto]

Originally posted by: exdeath
cyto: When overclocking, both cards work at the same speed.

Crushproof: Well when you install the drivers, it will automatically seem to install twice and your monitor will go blank twice, before it asks you to reboot. There should be stickers on the cards with the BIOS revision, but how to see the BIOS rev of each card, I have no idea! Might be better just flashing each card individually and verifying 1 card at a time before trying SLI. Can you use the second slot at all? Try tunning it in PCIe 1x mode (single card) and putting a single card in it.

Thanks! I am looking to get one of these with a couple of 6800 GT's in January(if they're available at a reasonable price) and was planning on OCing beyond Ultra (425 gpu, 1.15 memory). I've seen both EVGA and XFX PCI-e boards and I know the AGP versions OC to those speeds quite easily.

BTW, has anyone fit an XP-120 to this mobo?

 

[TheNiceGuy]

Oh, BTW,
I have to specially request English drivers, etc. for my new PC. Is there anything that needs English stuff? I know the mobo does - anything else?
Thank you so much! I love you all!

 

[runestone]

http://www.thermalright.com/a_...therboard_xp120_k8.htm
Shows xp 120 heatsink as compatible. It's tight though.

 

[milo29k]

is this board be compatible with 2x512mb kingston hyperX pc3200? does anyone have it? how does it run? etc

 

[chexi]

When overclocking this board, do you need to set the RAM speed at Auto? Or higher than 400? I thought you could run async by keeping ram at 400 and upping th fsb (CPU) and reducing the HT multiplier, but it keeps resetting it for me unless I overclock the RAM?

Here's what I've tried, which doesn't seem to work.

1. AI is loaded in Win XP, but not enabled in BIOS.
2. I have Athlon 64 939 3000
3. Set HT multiplier to 4x
4. Set PC (fsb) to 250
5. upped cpu voltage, tried several settings as high as 1.5v
6. locked PCI-e at 100
7. locked RAM at 400

I always get post error and reset of bios settings.

I'm doing something wrong. Do I need to unlock the RAM setting?

 

[Tab]

Originally posted by: runestone
http://www.thermalright.com/a_...therboard_xp120_k8.htm
Shows xp 120 heatsink as compatible. It's tight though.

:camera:

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Originally posted by: chexi
When overclocking this board, do you need to set the RAM speed at Auto? Or higher than 400? I thought you could run async by keeping ram at 400 and upping th fsb (CPU) and reducing the HT multiplier, but it keeps resetting it for me unless I overclock the RAM?

Here's what I've tried, which doesn't seem to work.

1. AI is loaded in Win XP, but not enabled in BIOS.
2. I have Athlon 64 939 3000
3. Set HT multiplier to 4x
4. Set PC (fsb) to 250
5. upped cpu voltage, tried several settings as high as 1.5v
6. locked PCI-e at 100
7. locked RAM at 400

I always get post error and reset of bios settings.

I'm doing something wrong. Do I need to unlock the RAM setting?

Yes set the RAM speed to auto!, it will automatically run your ram async once you push the FSB over 217.

If you set the RAM speed manually it will boot at DDR400(9x200) DDR466(9x233) DDR500(9x250), and will keep your RAM 1:1 as you raise the FSB. The ram your using will determine how high you can run 1:1 with FSB. And as you increase your ram over 200 you will have to increase your ram volts.

I've found that this board seems to lock the max CPU voltage @ 1.52 for winchesters. You can set it higher in bios, but when you boot up CPU-Z and AI booster both show 1.50-1.52. So it appears this board won't let you overvolt your winchester past this point. I have mine set at 1.55

I have a 3200+ and am currently running 268 x 9.5 = 2542mhz
RAM AUTO @ 170mhz 2-2-2-5
I can also run Prime95 stable @ 281 x 9 = 2528mhz
I can run everything all day long except Prime95(errors in 20-30min) @ 2601mhz

Your 3000+ may be able to do similar with the volts maxed. You should easily get 265 x 9 = 2385mhz