"Official" DFI nF4 Ultra-D / SLI-DR Thread

[CheesePoofs]

I just ordered my ultra-d with a 3000 retail and 6800gt. I got it as part of monarch's combos because i wanted the free software they give you (farcry, HL2, and napster) even though i would have MUCH prefered to build it myself. But oh well ..... its still gunna be sweet.

 

[Tripp17]

Originally posted by: Kaloz
Just got my Ultra-D.. Flashed the 209 beta bios, but I hit the wall at 247MHz with 4X multi.. The same CPU (3200+) and memory (2x512Mb GeiL Ultra Platinum DDR500) ran happily in the Asus A8N-SLI @ 250MHz with 5X multi.. BTW, just to let You know - inserting an SB Live kills the A8N-SLI

Any help/idea is welcomed.


P.S: memtest86+ v1.51 released, it detects the chipset right.

I dont know what your talking about.........i had the A8N-SLI and NOONE could get past 245 and have it be stable, i had it at 245 and when it was ay 250, it would lock up and stuff after awhile of gaming. I also had an Audigy2 in my A8N-SLI and it worked great. And right now im at 275fsb with my Ultra-D with my memory at 550 1T and my processor at 3.0 on air. If ya dont believe me about the A8N-SLI, go to there thread and read what people are stuck at......245.

 

[PascalT]

anyone know what that 2.17 bios changes?

 

[jabronidan89]

I got my DFI today, I have an essay and a test tomorrow but I will build everything tomorrow KTHX! I can't wait, will post results.

 

[imported_burningrave101]

Originally posted by: PascalT
anyone know what that 2.17 bios changes?

Its suppost to address memory related issues for one thing such as the TCCD problem.

 

[imported_Assassin]

If anyone has $260 to drop on an SLI-D then go HERE.

 

[Kaloz]

Originally posted by: Tripp17
I dont know what your talking about.........i had the A8N-SLI and NOONE could get past 245 and have it be stable, i had it at 245 and when it was ay 250, it would lock up and stuff after awhile of gaming. I also had an Audigy2 in my A8N-SLI and it worked great. And right now im at 275fsb with my Ultra-D with my memory at 550 1T and my processor at 3.0 on air. If ya dont believe me about the A8N-SLI, go to there thread and read what people are stuck at......245.

Well, it worked for me with 250 "FSB", 5X HTT, (so 2,5GHz and 1250 HT) all on default voltages. It was rock solid even in prime95. Oh, and yes, it works with the Audigy, but other reported as well that an old SB Live (the 4.1 one) kills it.

With the Ultra-D I can't really get above 247 "FSB". Even with 248, Windows doesn't boot up anymore. If I try to set it to anything above 247 via ClockGen, BSOD.

 

[Rodamus]

I got the Ultra-D a few days ago and started setting up last night. All went well until I dropped my hard drive on the tile. I put it in and I'm getting BSODs on XP installation. I have a couple drives coming in next week to replace this.

My only complaint so far is that my X800 PRO VIVO card barely, and I MEAN barely, clears the northbridge fan.

Rod

 

[nipplefish]

I just got the Ultra-D... it is absolutely great. My 3200+ flies. XP120 fits fine, i have two Geil Ultra PC4000 dimms under it. My 6800GT covers the northbridge fan, but no problems there. Only problem is the Karajan audio module WILL NOT WORK. All drivers are installed, it's detected, everything is plugged in, it SHOULD work, but there is no sound. I am flummoxed.

 

[mooncancook]

I forgot to cancel my order of Asus A8N-SLI and now it's shipping. I guess I'll keep my DFI Ultra and sell the A8N.

I love my DFI except I can't OC it. Very strange as even setting FSB at 205 will crash my system. should I update the bios to see if it'll fix it? ..but using beta bios voids warranty

 

[nipplefish]

Originally posted by: mooncancook
I love my DFI except I can't OC it. Very strange as even setting FSB at 205 will crash my system. should I update the bios to see if it'll fix it? ..but using beta bios voids warranty

I get the same thing. You probably need to up your memory voltage, especially with the Geil ram. I'm not even gonna mess with that till i get a new PS with a 24 pin ATX cable, though.

 

[vanvock]

I've got the XFX 6800gt & it sits right on top of the chipset fan. It appears to be fully seated in the pcie slot but does make contact on both sides of the fan housing. Could this be a problem? The fan doesn't seem to be restricted at least just when hand turning it. Maybe heat or vibration transfer to the vid card?

 

[mooncancook]

Originally posted by: nipplefish

Originally posted by: mooncancook
I love my DFI except I can't OC it. Very strange as even setting FSB at 205 will crash my system. should I update the bios to see if it'll fix it? ..but using beta bios voids warranty

I get the same thing. You probably need to up your memory voltage, especially with the Geil ram. I'm not even gonna mess with that till i get a new PS with a 24 pin ATX cable, though.

that sux. when did manufacturers start making 24 pin power plugs? it's always been 20-pin. well i might as well look for a new PSU with removeable power connectors. now my system is getting way over budget...

hmm.. is there anyone with any luck OC with 20 pin PSU and original bios??

 

[Kaloz]

Originally posted by: mooncancook

that sux. when did manufacturers start making 24 pin power plugs? it's always been 20-pin. well i might as well look for a new PSU with removeable power connectors. now my system is getting way over budget...

hmm.. is there anyone with any luck OC with 20 pin PSU and original bios??

Somewhat.. The top was 247 "FSB" with 4x HTT and 10x multi (2470MHz), and 290 x 3 with 8x multi... Way below with my luck with that buggy A8N-SLI.. Anyway, the nforce ethernet died after 2 days, so i return this board for a new one... Maybe I will have better luck.

Edit: it was with a 20pin Chieftek PSU

 

[Tripp17]

Originally posted by: Kaloz

Originally posted by: Tripp17
I dont know what your talking about.........i had the A8N-SLI and NOONE could get past 245 and have it be stable, i had it at 245 and when it was ay 250, it would lock up and stuff after awhile of gaming. I also had an Audigy2 in my A8N-SLI and it worked great. And right now im at 275fsb with my Ultra-D with my memory at 550 1T and my processor at 3.0 on air. If ya dont believe me about the A8N-SLI, go to there thread and read what people are stuck at......245.

Well, it worked for me with 250 "FSB", 5X HTT, (so 2,5GHz and 1250 HT) all on default voltages. It was rock solid even in prime95. Oh, and yes, it works with the Audigy, but other reported as well that an old SB Live (the 4.1 one) kills it.

With the Ultra-D I can't really get above 247 "FSB". Even with 248, Windows doesn't boot up anymore. If I try to set it to anything above 247 via ClockGen, BSOD.

I didnt mean to come off as rude before, i was just sick of people giving my "old" board a bad rep. Anyways, how come you cant go past 247 fsb? Ive gone to 310 with my memory at 1T and ran some tests, just to see if i could go that high, then i chickened out and went back to what my sig states.

 

[Kaloz]

Originally posted by: Tripp17
I didnt mean to come off as rude before, i was just sick of people giving my "old" board a bad rep. Anyways, how come you cant go past 247 fsb? Ive gone to 310 with my memory at 1T and ran some tests, just to see if i could go that high, then i chickened out and went back to what my sig states.

I can go as high as 290, if I drop the multiplier to 8x and HTT to 3x (and the memory at "180"). But again, the same CPU and memory worked with 250FSB, 5x HTT and 10x multiplier in the A8N-SLI. I have Geil Ultra Platinum PC4000 rams, so I would be happy if I could run it 1:1.. For now, it's only possible with 247 FSB (okay, ruin me, 30MHz isn't that big difference, but that 250 was the first I tried on the Asus, and it worked, so I expected at least the same from this board).

 

[ryant]

Australian company www.pccasegear.com are shipping the DFI Ultra-D with an SLI bridge bundled for AUD$306.

"DFI nF4 UT Ultra D motherboards are now bundled with SLI graphics card bridges that we have been able to import exclusively from a German manufacturer. These are ideal for those considering the Ultra to SLI mod (note: this mod will void your warranty)."

more info here: http://www.pccasegear.com/prod1847.htm

Unfortunatley they do not ship internationally.

 

[ryant]

Anyone know if the Antec True 550W EPS12V will work for this board? It keeps sayng its for Server Systems and not ATX compat.

550W "Antec" (USA) "TruePower" EPS12V Power Supply to suit Tyan S2720 or other DUAL XEON M/B, 24-pin EPS12V main, 4-pin ATX12V, 6-pin AUX, 8-pin ATX12V, Antec Low Noise Technology, two-ball bearing fans with 3-pin fan speed connector. Designed for compatibility with motherboards designed to the Server System Infrastructure (SSI) EPS12V spec

But its got a 24 pin main, and 550W - what PSU's ppl using for this thing? Im running ultra-D no SLI with a Thermaltake 400W 20pin.

it's always been 20-pin. well i might as well look for a new PSU with removeable power connectors. now my system is getting way over budget...

[Edit:] mooncancook: Goodluck finding a 24pin PSU with removable lines. Oh and:

"Overclocking the DFI with a 20pin on anything less than 500 (600 if your running SLI), regardless of adaptor is highly dangerous. We do not recommend overclocking of any kind on a 20pin or 20pin adapted to 24 PSU." - DFI Support Email.

 

[wylecoyote]

This may be futile, but does anyone, anyone at all, know where I can buy for under 250, a fvcking SLI-DR. They were gone within an hour of their release, and now they're like a legend of yore...

Never to return.

-tear-

 

[imported_doc007]

Originally posted by: nipplefish
I just got the Ultra-D... it is absolutely great. My 3200+ flies. XP120 fits fine, i have two Geil Ultra PC4000 dimms under it. My 6800GT covers the northbridge fan, but no problems there. Only problem is the Karajan audio module WILL NOT WORK. All drivers are installed, it's detected, everything is plugged in, it SHOULD work, but there is no sound. I am flummoxed.

I get a XP install BSoD w/o having droped my HD on the floor. :disgust: (bad_pool_caller error or something like that after it starts looking for current system setup in the install)

However, I can install the XP 64 bit RC2 just fine?

Can any one tell my why I can install and run 64 bit XP RC2, but not the OEM version of XP Pro w/SP1a? (not even slipstreamed with SP2)

 

[mooncancook]

mooncancook: Goodluck finding a 24pin PSU with removable lines. Oh and:

"Overclocking the DFI with a 20pin on anything less than 500 (600 if your running SLI), regardless of adaptor is highly dangerous. We do not recommend overclocking of any kind on a 20pin or 20pin adapted to 24 PSU." - DFI Support Email.

dang! that defeats the purpose of getting the DFI board. i guess i'll have to live without OC for awhile which is fine for now, and wait for a 24pin psu with removeable lines. hmm... sell my A8N-SLI and get a decent psu...

 

[imported_Goblin]

Yes the SI 3114 will work in non Raid mode. I have a Abit MAX3 using SI 3114 to control my new Plextor SATA DVD dual layer Burner. So far it seems to work well. I did not enable the raid mode in the bios, just turned on the device.

Windows XP Pro auto detected and installed its own drivers for the device. I think the only reason one would need to use the drivers from the MB would be to use raid mode.

 

[PascalT]

just a FYI, i got my 2 sticks of pc2700 to work in the board using the 2.17 bios and using slots 1/2.. before this it would never work well.

 

[imported_doc007]

So that's in Single Channel mode right? (slot 1 & 2)

 

[theblackbox]

Just got mine up and running. I had originally bought th Ultra but decided to take it back, and by chance i ran into a stock of the sli-dr, biught it and decided to go small so got two bfg 6600gt's
I'm just finishing loading windows.

The only thing that freaked me out is the bios allows the fans like the nvidia chipset fan not to run under certain tempatures. Fixed that in the bios and I was good to go.

Now i just got to wait for windows to finish.

then i'll load the nforce drivers and check out the sli performance against my other amd box with a 6800gt.

can't wait.