DFI Ultra D = Ultra Picky?

[imported_lando]

Hey guys- i am a first time builder and i am looking for a motherboard that is reliable and possibly an overclocker in the future...i have heard recommendations for the socket 939 Ultra D but i have read a lot of places that this isnt a novice board and is picky about the Ram you choose...I was wondering if Geil or Corsairs value series would work in a Ultra D....Does anyone have any experience with this?

Here is my current shopping list:
Thermaltake W0014RU Purepower 480W
DFI Ultra D or Asus A8N-E
Athlon 64 3200, Socket 939 (Winchestor)
Corsair VS DDR 400 (512x2)
Leadtek PX6600GT TDH
Seagate Barracuda SATA 120GB
NEC16x Dual Layer DVD

 

[CheesePoofs]

My corsair value select is working with my ultra-d, but I've heard it has some trouble with the 1/25 bios (I'm using 3/10). Flash to 3/10 and it should work fine.

 

[Demo24]

theres a BIOS that recently came out that has a setting thats a must for system stability with value ram apparently. Its still in a BETA stage, but if your up for it, worth the shot

 

[MajorPayne]

I have used Kingston Valueram, Corsair Valueram, Kingston HyperX, and Mushkin RAM in my DFI SLI board (identical to your board except for the SLI bridge) with no issues. I have heard that earlier BIOS did have an issue with them, but these are apparently fixed (as the posters above pointed out as well). To add to that, this board is a great, and very stable board, with very good overclocking abilities. I have been VERY happy with mine!

 

[Mucker]

If you ask that question at DFI-Street you will be unmercifully slammed, however, just as MP says, value ram works fine. As Demo said, there is a new 510 beta bios out that deals better with value ram, however, I had no problems using Corsair VS and Patriot LLK as long as you use the 3/10 bios and up the Vddr to 2.7v at least.

m

 

[MajorPayne]

Originally posted by: Mucker
If you ask that question at DFI-Street you will be unmercifully slammed

This is the reason that I often tell folks with questions about thier DFI boards to ask here as well as DFI street. You can sometimes get useful answers at DFI street, but often as not, you get slammed for asking a legitimate question. Here, you at least are not likely to be slammed for not wanting to use the fastest, most expensive gear in every part of your computer.

 

[rise]

lol, yeah, dfi.street is great but its very much "their way or the highway". its too bad too because while its a great resource, they come across a little... well lets just say its not hard to understand they are tech guys, not csr's

i still love it tho, great info.

 

[Painman]

I agree about DFI-street having a bit of attitude... I do lurk there to soak up info, but take a lot of it with a grain of salt. Especially with RAM issues. Too often, if some particular RAM doesn't behave well on the board, it's dismissed as being flaky and/or inferior... no matter if it be from Crucial, Kingston, Corsair or other top tier manufacturers... the board is never to blame there, but that's to be expected when DFI sponsors the place. Maintaining face and credibility is paramount with almost any corporation

 

[imported_lando]

thanks for saving me the abuse...looks like i'll be setting my sights on Ultra D.....maybe you guys could help me when i start to build?? until then i'll be reading up on whatever i can on this forum..it looks like quality ppl are here.... thanks again....cheers

 

[Budarow]

I've also been debating about the Ultra-D, but I've read a LOT of posts indicating the DFI nForce4 Ultra boards are "designed" to work with native 24-pin ATX PS connectors. Until I get a clear consensus about this issue, I'll keep looking at MSI, Epox, Gigabyte, Asus and yes even Chaintech and ECS boards until I decide which nForce4 Ultra mobo to buy;-)

And for sure I'm not going to buy any mobo until it's confirmed "all" 939 pin boards will work with X2!

I've got time to wait until things "shake out";-)

 

[rise]

lando- don't dismiss dfi.street, there is tons of good info there. same with extreme sysytems and hard oc and others. i like dfi.street because they are actual reps so yes, they can be a pita, but they definitely know their stuff.

budarow- dfi.street has an x2 running now.

http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11540

and they definitely spec the 24 pin native, no 20-24 adapter. they did a poll over there and 10% are still using 20 pin so take it fwiw. who am i to argue with the engineers?

painman, yes they definitely have some fanboyism but it seems a lot of the problems are solved with the proper hardware (ram and psu come to mind) not all, but alot.

 

[imported_lando]

...the reviews on Newegg state to 'be sure and have a 20 to 24 pin adapter for the ultra D'.....

 

[imported_lando]

so what are some psu's that are 24 pin native.....i thought my Thermaltake W0014RU Purepower 480W would work...guess not?

 

[Budarow]

Opps...I meant 24-pin native ATX with the Ultra-D;-)

 

[Mucker]

This is a great match for the Ultra-D at a great price: http://www.actbuy.com/details.asp?item=FS17500%2D2%2E0

You may need one of these too: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...3&item=6770286096&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

FYI, the Ultra-D requires a floppy power connector to the board, so, if you use a floppy disk drive, you will need 2 available plugs. I believe the Bluestorm only has 1. The Antec TP 2.0 480w is a great choice too. It has the required amount of floppy plugs.

m

 

[rise]

Originally posted by: lando
so what are some psu's that are 24 pin native.....i thought my Thermaltake W0014RU Purepower 480W would work...guess not?

no way, that has 18 amps on the 12v, dfi wants 26a for single cards. the new antec tpII line has 24 pin native, ocz, enermax-

http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/showpost.php?p=55275&postcount=13

its hard to tell from newegg what has what sometimes so double check the manufacturers site.

 

[Painman]

Originally posted by: lando
...the reviews on Newegg state to 'be sure and have a 20 to 24 pin adapter for the ultra D'.....

I don't know how much truth there is to that... some mobos may be wired up differently but the extra 4 pins on a 24 pin PSU connector are +12, +5, +3.3 and GND all meant to help power the PCI-E bus.

Here is a popular one

Here is mine

Here is its very capable little brother

Here is a no-frills but solid unit

Here's a solid looking Antec

A very solid OCZ

A very solid slightly cheaper OCZ

I won't get into dual rail PSUs, I prefer one fat single +12v rail. The voltage dip on my Enermax is 0.04v, 12.21 CPU idle, 12.17 CPU 100% load measured by multimeter... About 1/3 of one percent drop. Look for some real PSU reviews, not the stuff posted at Newegg, to make a decision. IMO (and of many others) the best quality of an OCer's PSU is the ability to maintain steady voltages when the load is piled on.

(Edit: Quoted the post I was replying to for clarity)

 

[rise]

i got this antec after my failed x-clio experiment. 12v=11.99 idle and 11.97 loaded.

i ran my board for a few days with just the 24pin and the atx connector before i realized the others were "required". i certainly don't think it hurts. i read that they help feed the pwmic area of the board and whatnot. i dunno, i just plug them in.

 

[imported_lando]

wow....i guess i need to rethink my PSU....and my financing *whew* those are a big difference from the $55 i was paying for the thermaltake ....thanks for the suggestions! Cheers!