AOpen nCK804Ua-LFS Motherboard report

[dwb]

Hey, I figured out how to work the Google translator. Thanks for the link, PClark99, the pictures, at least, were helpful. I take it that they liked the board for many of the reasons stated here previously.

dwb

 

[GraveLayer]

Hitachi also has 80gig SATA II drives for cheap

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi...odevalue=359:15133&bop=and&Order=price

I'm not sure why newegg lists 2 hitachi 7K80 drives when they both have the same part #
Anyone know?

Also here is the hitachi program that allows the change for SATA to SATA II

http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/download.htm

I'm running a Dell 9100 with the Intel 945P chipset and am going to get Two of the aboveHitachi Deskstar 7K80 drives, set them to SATA II in RAID 0 and see what the benchmarks look like compared to the Seagate 160G 8M/cache SATA drives I currently have in the system.

What benchmarks should I run?
Also when using the Hitachi Feature Tool it mentions this nice warning:
"Warning!: Switching your drive to support 3.0Gb/s, or enabling spread spectrum clocking and then using it, may render your drive unusable in a system that can't support these functions. If in doubt, please contact your system manufacturer."
I know my mobo supports SATA II but what about this Spread Spectrum Clocking?

Lastly do I have to change eash drive individually to SATA II or can I do this AFTER the RAID0 array has been built?

 

[PClark99]

Strangely enough I could view that review in english once, after that only in German.

It seems to have voltage tweaks in all the right places. But can the board OC? I am tempted to try but I have a SFF build I need to work on first.

 

[dwb]

I went ahead and bought the board from Newegg. ChiPCGuy made me do it.

Seriously, I looks like a good product. I don't overclock, disire stability and hate RMAs. I do appreciate build quality and good stock performance - kind of like Toyota. I am a bit leary due to the lack of professional reviews available, but it sure seems like the mainstream boards all have their reported problems. I will let ya'll know how things go with this build (also adding 7800 GT - yippee! Those new bastards in Serious Sam 2 better watch their butts).

dwb

 

[devilkjo]

Hi ChiPCGuy
i want nck804ua bios 1.03
send me please
thank you
have a nice day

my e-mail address is desuperkjo@kornet.net
^^;;

 

[ChiPCGuy]

Originally posted by: devilkjo
Hi ChiPCGuy
i want nck804ua bios 1.03
send me please
thank you
have a nice day

my e-mail address is desuperkjo@kornet.net
^^;;

Hi devilkjo, the board ships with BIOS 1.03 by default. You should not need to update it. The latest BIOS on the AOpen website is 1.02, but I do not know why they have not put up 1.03. I have no file to send.

You are welcome, and have a nice day as well.

 

[emilyek]

Originally posted by: ChiPCGuy
Board is still working perfectly. AOpen is now claiming they cannot fix the incorrect CPU temps in the BIOS due to how they designed the BIOS/ACPI interface. I am still pressing for a Windows based utility, however.
.

That is something like my experience with my old Aopen 478 board that I still use.

Nice construction, but with goofy shortcomings that they never bother to fix.

For instance, my board never could read the CPU voltage correctly. In the BIOS it would jump all over, from 1.3v to 1.8v. SiSandra would always say it was at ! 1.8.

On their help forms, when I went to report it, someone said they had sent Aopen a picture of it and Aopen wrote them back telling them it was normal. =p

They could be close to top-tier if they would get it together just a bit more.

 

[bwanaaa]

will sata 2 have any impact if the hitachi drives are in a raid array pn this board?

 

[ChiPCGuy]

The SATA 2 transfer rate of 3.0Gb/s does make a difference, but not a huge one. The primary benefit is when data is in cache on the harddisk and it gets transferred over the interface at that speed. Once the drive actually accesses, it is no faster than a SATA 150 drive, given all else is equal in regards to platter density, rotational speed, and firmware optimization.

For the most part, I would think the larger the on-board cache, the more you will benefit from the 3.0Gb/s speeds.

 

[PClark99]

What I want to know, since it has not been discussed before, is the Aopen board capable of running an A64 overclocked to 250 fsb with the RAM running 1:1.

Can someone please tell me this? The tools are there in the bios, but can it do it?

I am really interested to know.

 

[cr0ssfire]

I'd be interested to hear about this motherboard's overclockability as well. I can't say that I've ever heard of AOpen, but I'm looking for a great deal of longevity in an nForce 4 Ultra motherboard and from what you all are saying this might be "the one". This board looks nice, but so does EPoX's nF4 ultra board. I'm looking for a rock-solid motherboard with longevity that can give a mild overclock. Once my planned new system is up and running, I'll be getting my feet wet with overclocking for the very first time *sniff*

What's AOpen's customer support like? I've heard from a few people that EPoX's support leaves a bit to be desired. Given the choice between the AOpen and the EPoX, which would you choose?

 

[Trevelyan]

Hmm.. I too am interested in this board. With all the reported problems with the Asus board, I was leaning toward the Epox board, but I also heard of issues with it. Since I don't overclock, and just want a stable board, this might be the one for me.

 

[dwb]

OK, I have my Aopen Ultra board up and running. Easy set up, nicely laid out board. It looks good, and seems soundly put together. The only trouble that I had was that the system wanted to boot off my IDE drive; I have my OS on a Raptor. I disconnected the IDE and the install proceeded seemlessly.

The BIOS features a "turbo" mode, and I seem to be running fine in what I would think would be a mildly overclocked status? So far I like the board, we will see if it lasts for four years - then it will have been a fabulous buy (my wife gets my leftovers every 18 to 24 months).

I had a hardware conflict with my MAudio 5.1 sound card and the new game Serious Sam 2 (What's up with that?). I disabled the card and am listening to the AC 97 audio. It is very respectable sound for onboard.

Anyway, another "yes" vote for this MB from a "Stockclocker" enthusiast.

dwb

 

[SPQQKY]

Originally posted by: cr0ssfire
I'd be interested to hear about this motherboard's overclockability as well. I can't say that I've ever heard of AOpen, but I'm looking for a great deal of longevity in an nForce 4 Ultra motherboard and from what you all are saying this might be "the one". This board looks nice, but so does EPoX's nF4 ultra board. I'm looking for a rock-solid motherboard with longevity that can give a mild overclock. Once my planned new system is up and running, I'll be getting my feet wet with overclocking for the very first time *sniff*

What's AOpen's customer support like? I've heard from a few people that EPoX's support leaves a bit to be desired. Given the choice between the AOpen and the EPoX, which would you choose?

If you want to overclock, I suggest not purchasing the AOpen, although they do provide some OCing options, they tend not to be the best overclockers. If you are looking for longevity, this is definately the board, if you want overclocking ability and longevity, the Epox is the way to go. It's hard for me to not recommend either board as I have owned a few AOpen boards that were solid and several Epox boards that were solid and my current 9NPA+Ultra is without a doubt, the best I have used for quite some time.

 

[dwb]

ChiPCGuy has written a nice review of the Abit K8N that might offer the best of both worlds. Then again, maybe not, you never know...

dwb

 

[ChiPCGuy]

bump, and thanks dwb

 

[dwb]

My pleasure. We have another possible Aopen convert coming this way for info. Maybe we can all get together and talk about the trouble we are NOT having with our Aopen boards. Sort of like the Anti-MSI thread...

We still have time for jazz, backgammon, baseball, buying killer garlic presses...stuff like that.

dwb

 

[Operandi]

I'm going to working with a friend to build a high-end 939 system soon. Aopen is usually my go to company for boards due to their quality and no-nonsense designs, so I was looking at the nCK804Ua-LFS as the prime canadate. There is one concern however; low noise is a prime concern, we're talking low 20 dBA range here so I have a few questions.

1. Will SpeedFan work with the board? I was hoping to be able to use it to keep a tight control on fan speeds to keep noise at a bare minimum but I've been hearing about certain nForce4 boards giving SpeedFan problems.

2. How many of the fan headers on the board are controllable?

3. How far off is the reported CPU temp and will it cause problems keeping the CPU fan down to lower speeds?

4. Is there any hope of getting brackets for any of those on board headers from Aopen, specifically digital sound output?

 

[ChiPCGuy]

Originally posted by: Operandi
I'm going to working with a friend to build a high-end 939 system soon. Aopen is usually my go to company for boards due to their quality and no-nonsense designs, so I was looking at the nCK804Ua-LFS as the prime canadate. There is one concern however; low noise is a prime concern, we're talking low 20 dBA range here so I have a few questions.

1. Will SpeedFan work with the board? I was hoping to be able to use it to keep a tight control on fan speeds to keep noise at a bare minimum but I've been hearing about certain nForce4 boards giving SpeedFan problems.

2. How many of the fan headers on the board are controllable?

3. How far off is the reported CPU temp and will it cause problems keeping the CPU fan down to lower speeds?

4. Is there any hope of getting brackets for any of those on board headers from Aopen, specifically digital sound output?

SpeedFan does not work with the board. In fact, there is no way to get at any of the hardware monitoring via Windows. The CPU temp reading appears to be about 28 degrees C too high. This affects how well the motherboard regulates fan speed, and that control is only present in the BIOS anyway. AFAIK, only the CPU fan header is controlled. I don't see how to get brackets for the board--perhaps aftermarket? If you want a relatively quiet system with this board, I would recommend replacing the NB fan with a Zalman NB47J, and using a quiet CPU fan to begin with.

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: ChiPCGuy

Originally posted by: Operandi
I'm going to working with a friend to build a high-end 939 system soon. Aopen is usually my go to company for boards due to their quality and no-nonsense designs, so I was looking at the nCK804Ua-LFS as the prime canadate. There is one concern however; low noise is a prime concern, we're talking low 20 dBA range here so I have a few questions.

1. Will SpeedFan work with the board? I was hoping to be able to use it to keep a tight control on fan speeds to keep noise at a bare minimum but I've been hearing about certain nForce4 boards giving SpeedFan problems.

2. How many of the fan headers on the board are controllable?

3. How far off is the reported CPU temp and will it cause problems keeping the CPU fan down to lower speeds?

4. Is there any hope of getting brackets for any of those on board headers from Aopen, specifically digital sound output?

SpeedFan does not work with the board. In fact, there is no way to get at any of the hardware monitoring via Windows. The CPU temp reading appears to be about 28 degrees C too high. This affects how well the motherboard regulates fan speed, and that control is only present in the BIOS anyway. AFAIK, only the CPU fan header is controlled. I don't see how to get brackets for the board--perhaps aftermarket? If you want a relatively quiet system with this board, I would recommend replacing the NB fan with a Zalman NB47J, and using a quiet CPU fan to begin with.

I'm assuming the lack of SpeedFan support is limitation of the current software that's available, meaning we should see support sometime down the line? The +28C is pretty discouraging, as is the sole controllable fan header. I really need two as bare minimum, are you sure only the CPU fan is controlled? Even my nForce2 Aopen board has two controllable fan headers.

 

[SteveSAS]

I've been following these posts with interest - I'm also interested in the AOpen nck804Ua. (I think I am the "potential convert" dwb mentioned a few posts back). A couple of questions:

ChiPCGuy wrote ...

"The CPU temp reading appears to be about 28 degrees C too high. This affects how well the motherboard regulates fan speed, and that control is only present in the BIOS anyway."

Does this really mean the cpu fan makes more noise than it should (because it thinks the chip is hotter than it is) and there is no way to fix it?

Any thoughts on the GigaByte GV-NX66256DP (GeForce 6600 256MB) video card? It has a passive heat-pipe cooler. I'm not a gamer and I'm trying for a quiet machine. (Will replace chipset fan with the Zalman heatsink)

Thanks.
Steve Sobel (experienced user/fixer but newbie builder)

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: SteveSAS
I've been following these posts with interest - I'm also interested in the AOpen nck804Ua. (I think I am the "potential convert" dwb mentioned a few posts back). A couple of questions:

ChiPCGuy wrote ...

"The CPU temp reading appears to be about 28 degrees C too high. This affects how well the motherboard regulates fan speed, and that control is only present in the BIOS anyway."

Does this really mean the cpu fan makes more noise than it should (because it thinks the chip is hotter than it is) and there is no way to fix it?

Any thoughts on the GigaByte GV-NX66256DP (GeForce 6600 256MB) video card? It has a passive heat-pipe cooler. I'm not a gamer and I'm trying for a quiet machine. (Will replace chipset fan with the Zalman heatsink)

Thanks.
Steve Sobel (experienced user/fixer but newbie builder)

28C is a lot to be off; it's certainly going to have an affect. How much I can't say hopefully ChiPCGuy can elaborate a bit more.

I would stay far away from Gigabyte's passive video cards. I've heard of several users and at least one reviewer having the card overheat due to the poor performance of the heatsink. You?re better off picking a regular card and replacing the HS/F with a passive Zalman unit. Also if you put any value on performance go for the GT.

Welcome to the forums BTW.

 

[dwb]

Even my new 7800 GT is so quiet that I can't hear the fan above the case fans - those are 92's and 120's that I turn all the way down with a fan bus unless I am gaming. It is no louder than my old 9800Pro - it IS loud upon boot up, however, then spins down as soon as it can monitor its own temp, I would assume.

So far, so good with the Aopen, but then I am not very demanding. I just want it to work without bitching and moaning at me.

My temps in BIOS look resonable, but I don't review them in various situations.

dwb

 

[ChiPCGuy]

Originally posted by: Operandi

Originally posted by: SteveSAS
I've been following these posts with interest - I'm also interested in the AOpen nck804Ua. (I think I am the "potential convert" dwb mentioned a few posts back). A couple of questions:

ChiPCGuy wrote ...

"The CPU temp reading appears to be about 28 degrees C too high. This affects how well the motherboard regulates fan speed, and that control is only present in the BIOS anyway."

Does this really mean the cpu fan makes more noise than it should (because it thinks the chip is hotter than it is) and there is no way to fix it?

Any thoughts on the GigaByte GV-NX66256DP (GeForce 6600 256MB) video card? It has a passive heat-pipe cooler. I'm not a gamer and I'm trying for a quiet machine. (Will replace chipset fan with the Zalman heatsink)

Thanks.
Steve Sobel (experienced user/fixer but newbie builder)

28C is a lot to be off; it's certainly going to have an affect. How much I can't say hopefully ChiPCGuy can elaborate a bit more.

I would stay far away from Gigabyte's passive video cards. I've heard of several users and at least one reviewer having the card overheat due to the poor performance of the heatsink. You?re better off picking a regular card and replacing the HS/F with a passive Zalman unit. Also if you put any value on performance go for the GT.

Welcome to the forums BTW.

I should clarify that the only header I can CONFIRM that will adjust fan speed is the CPU one. Since I never used the on-board HSF, it is possible that the system adjusts that as well. It is possible that the misread CPU temps are core related (I have a Venice), and that is why DWB is not seeing anything amiss. I go into the BIOS and see that the temp is 61 degrees C. That is wildly wrong. The same CPU on a different mobo will give 38 degrees C in BIOS and 32 degrees C in Windows at idle.

As far as the temps and fan speeds not being readable in Windows, this is a ACPI/BIOS implementation issue (ie, non nVidia standard reference) that according to AOpen is not fixable. I suppose AOpen could release a utility that could read them, but I am not holding my breath.

 

[SteveSAS]

Thanks for the replies. Please don't be mad at me, but I've decided to switch to the ASUS A8N-E (feel free to talk me out of it).

I am going to take Operandi's advice and go to a 6600GT video card with a fan. Best current deal is the XFX PVT43GNDF3 Geforce 6600GT 128MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card from newegg till 10/31 for $147-$20 rebate.

Next step up (at newegg) would be to 128MB 6600GTs from CHAINTECH (SE6600G) or GIGABYTE (GV-NX66T128D) for $145.

Your thoughts?

Also...

I assume the fan speed is temperature controlled?
Do you think the fan on this board could be replaced with a passive cooler (though I will start with the stock fan)?
How come the GF6600 cards have 256MB and sell for less than the 128MB GF6600GTs? Is the GT still a better performer with only 128MB?

Thanks again

Steve Sobel (non-gamer, audio enthusiast)