Gigabyte GA-K8NS Pro

[TeamLeader]

Its On the Gigabyte site under the motherboard

 

[Etrnaly]

CnQ works with this board. Just install the AMD 64 drivers, then go to ur power settings and set it to minimal power management. When you check your clock speed, it should have dropped to about 800mhz or so....depending on which chip you got, it'll be a different speed.

 

[Etrnaly]

So anyone brave enough to try F5 yet? Does it fix anything useful (i.e. tabs in et4/5 that allows u to see temps)?

 

[Savarak]

is it just me or does anyone have trouble with getting a blank screen at bootup? I can't get into my bios sometimes after modifying the bios(it boots into windows fine, but i can't see ANYTHING show up on the screen until windows loads itself(i don't even see the scrolling starting windows bar)

 

[TeamLeader]

I am running the F5 bios and it seems to work fine not much change tho. U still cant do everything u should be able to do in the bios. Also i still cant get my 2*512 Kingston ddr400 HperX to work at 200mhz without constant crashing ie: starting mem tests, CPUZ, and any other program, even changing the voltages and speed it still seems to crash using 2 sticks. Im sick of it i might give it another go tmrw else i will crack it n go buy a 1GB stick which will make me broke wish gigabyte would just bloody fix it for us!

 

[mdogs444]

Im not sure why in the world you cannot run two sticks of 512mb ddr400. I am running two sticks of Corsair VS 512MB ddr400. I have mine in the first, and last slots though. U may want to try that, being that this board/processor does not recognize dual channel, it shouldnt matter if you leave the middle slot open. I am using the F5 bios as well, i have not toyed around with my over clock since F4, but im sure there are not any changes for overclockers besides another bad temperature reading

 

[maced]

Originally posted by: mdogs444
Im not sure why in the world you cannot run two sticks of 512mb ddr400. I am running two sticks of Corsair VS 512MB ddr400. I have mine in the first, and last slots though. U may want to try that, being that this board/processor does not recognize dual channel, it shouldnt matter if you leave the middle slot open. I am using the F5 bios as well, i have not toyed around with my over clock since F4, but im sure there are not any changes for overclockers besides another bad temperature reading

mdogs44,

What speed is your memory running? I just updated to F5 yesterday and memory still locks down to 166. THe only time I was able to successfully get memory to run at 200 without overclockl was by putting in Kinsgton HyperX matched pair (512MB kit) PC3700. I agree that the way to go is probably a single stick of mem though.

maced

 

[mdogs444]

Well if i run at stcok (10x200) and put the memclock at 200Mhz, its runs perfect........by default the memclock is set to auto. Also, i do overclock, i run anywhere from 10x240 to 9x270........my memory has run stable up to 230Mhz (when setting it to 166). You have have bum memory from the factory, or like i said use slots 1 and 3, set your memclock to 200, and up your voltage by 0.1V.....this should improve stability.

 

[TaiJohn]

At 08/30/2004 I posted the following:

I have Geil DDR PC400 2x512Mb Kit Ultra SeriesDC (single sided i presume)

It's stable at
frequency 201.0 MHz

FSB DRAM CPU/11
CAS 2.5
RAS to CAS 4
RAS precharge 4
Tras 8
Trc 11
Idle timer 16

with SPD Bios F2, no problems at all.

But after a few days the system freezes at some moments, mostly in games or benchmarks. So I set the timing on auto. All problems are gone now. with

frequency 157.9
FSB CPU/14
CAS 2.0
RAS to CAS 3
RAS precharge 3
Tras 7
Trc 10

Maybe later on I will clock it manual to 166 and see what happens

But I don't like it at all

 

[mdogs444]

TaiJohn -

What are your settings as far as OC: FSB, Multiplier, Vcore, Vdimm, etc........just because you have it at 201Mhz and it its a 200Mhz memory, it wont be stable unless everything is stable and correct. Usually with something like this, you just need to up the voltage to your memory.

 

[TaiJohn]

I will search for the values, but I'm not very experienced with this matter so give me some time.
I presume that Aida32 or Sisoftsandra can give me the answers.

 

[mdogs444]

Those two are pretty much just benchmarking utilities. You need a stability tester my man. Download a program called Prime95, and run the torture test. If you can pass that for 12-24 hours, then your system is stable, if not, then forget it, you will have to adjust your settings until you meet stability.

But like i said, on this board, go to the voltages setting in bios. By default, them memory voltage is at 2.7. You will want to increase the Vdimm voltage by 0.1V (up to 2.8 and retest.)

 

[imported_Jayl]

Originally posted by: mdogs444
By default, them memory voltage is at 2.7. You will want to increase the Vdimm voltage by 0.1V (up to 2.8 and retest.)

By default the memory is 2.5V and +0.2V is 2.7V and that is 100% correct. (atleast my board overvolts a bit so it is actually 2.75V)

 

[mdogs444]

Hmm, may want to double check that Jayl, unless we are getting two different settings. I dont trust the bios, i use different softwares such as Speedfan, Clockgen, and the Easy Tune 4 that came with it. At stock mine reads 2.7V....when pushed up .1, it reads 2.8.....up .2 reads 2.9.......all these are +/- 0.005

 

[imported_Jayl]

Originally posted by: mdogs444
Hmm, may want to double check that Jayl, unless we are getting two different settings. I dont trust the bios, i use different softwares such as Speedfan, Clockgen, and the Easy Tune 4 that came with it. At stock mine reads 2.7V....when pushed up .1, it reads 2.8.....up .2 reads 2.9.......all these are +/- 0.005

I don´t have to double check because I know that for sure.

You can check it for example from this Hexus.net article.... or do you need more proof

 

[mdogs444]

Yes i do see that, i havent ever paid attention to the readings in the bios like i said. But do you check yours with 3rd party software at all? My perspective is that the temps are always off, the vcore is always off as well.....the vcore in the bios is alwasy at least .5volts under the actual voltage. Im also running a very high output thermltake PSU. So these settings can vary depending on your setup.

 

[imported_Jayl]

Well every probram (easytune MBM5, speedfan, Sandra etc) I have ever used with this MB shows all the volts correctly, expect +5V line. And they all confirm that max mem voltage is 2.7V....
Here is my volts NOW

my vcore

bios = real vcore
1.5 = 1.488V
1.55 = 1.536
1.6 = 1.63V
1.65 = 1.648V
1.7 = 1.73V

 

[maced]

Okay guys so we can tell that everyone has a different perspective and different results with this MB. I am going to ask a simple question so please no ROTFL. What are your recommended BIOS settings (no overclocking initially) from the start or stock as I have seen posted. I have tweaked and thunked this thing and I seem to only have luck getting it to boot properly into XP with all deafult settings except for HTT at 5X. Testing with Sandra gives me 2x1005 HTT, but memory is still stuck at 166. When I try and change this manually, XP does not even come up. Obviously the first thing I need to do is toss the memory I have but until I can, am I SOL?

maced

 

[TeamLeader]

Woop Woop Woop Running at 2*512 ddr400 201mhz stable mem tested all night with SP2004 no errors at all i aint touching it now lol!

 

[Etrnaly]

Originally posted by: maced
Okay guys so we can tell that everyone has a different perspective and different results with this MB. I am going to ask a simple question so please no ROTFL. What are your recommended BIOS settings (no overclocking initially) from the start or stock as I have seen posted. I have tweaked and thunked this thing and I seem to only have luck getting it to boot properly into XP with all deafult settings except for HTT at 5X. Testing with Sandra gives me 2x1005 HTT, but memory is still stuck at 166. When I try and change this manually, XP does not even come up. Obviously the first thing I need to do is toss the memory I have but until I can, am I SOL?

maced

Not sure which chip you have, but my chip defaults HTT to 4X. I've read that increasing it to 5X doesn't really help much, and it causes stability issues. I'm using 2 sticks of Corsair Value Ram PC3200 2X512 on slots 1 and 2. It's OCed to 218 mhz. Everything is stable and I haven't had any crashing at all. Since F2 (I'm running F4 right now), it's been working great. My ram defaults to 166mhz if I set it to auto, but changing it to 200mhz works fine. Occasionally, my OC resets itself back to 200 instead of 218, but when it's running, there are no problems at all. You can try upping ur ddr voltage a little bit to see if it'll help. If you don't know how to set your ram manually to 200 mhz, press CTRL+F1 in the bios and a new menu will appear. I think it's Advanced Chipset Features or something liek that. Your ram settings should be in there. I've left the other timings alone.

 

[maced]

Thanks Etrnaly,

I have actually tried adjusting the memory manually with both 5X and 4X settings but don't think I tried adjusting mem voltage. One other question, I have a 300 Watt PS and I am wondering if I need something a little beefier? If power / stability is an issue will the increase make a difference or does the power have little affect?

maced

 

[Etrnaly]

You can try a different power supply. 300 Watts seems kinda low. I got one that's 500W, but it's a cheap one. It works, so I'm not complaining. Try one from a good company like Antec. It might give you better OC and stability.

 

[mdogs444]

Well a good power supply is always a crucial, and often overlooked, part of a complete system. The power supply provides the essential needed power to use all your parts seemlessly. You can use speedfan to check the voltages (+ and -) on your system. Remember, a generic PSU will give a 300 or 350 watt rating, but thats just it, a RATING. Thats not a nominal voltage. Especially when overclocking, you need a good PSU to give the Vcore, Vdimm, and all your fans, HD's, etc enough juice to run at full capacity. If not, that is a very good reason for system unstability.

Now im not saying to go out and buy a 200$ top of line PSU because you wont need it. Anything in the 420-480 watt range is sufficient enough for todays peripherals. Stay with a good brand though. Antec, Thermaltake, OCZ, and Sparkle are 4 of the best you can get at reasonable prices.

I know for one, Newegg.com has a very nice Thermaltake 480watt Silent PSU w/ fan controller for $55.

 

[Etrnaly]

Is gigabyte even fixing any of the problems people have been having?? i.e. Ram speeds, ET tabs, multipliers, etc. The last few fixes don't seem to be anything anyone has been having problems with.

F5 2004/9/20 Add ITE8212 D-Stepping chipset support

F4 2004/8/5 Fix BOOT sequence error after plugged some SATA HDD on silicon image

F3 2004/7/30 Update Sempron CPU code

Don't think any of that has been relevant to me at all....

 

[Etrnaly]

Well...just realized I've been using F2 all this time. LoL. Tried F5...won't let me go into the CMOS. Crashed comp (I think that had to do with my Netgear MA111 though). Using ET5, I was able to see my voltages, fan rpm, and cpu temp (seems right....37C idle with CnQ). Didn't try any of the OC stuff...since I couldn't even get into my bios. F4 also crashed....but I was able to see voltages, temps, etc on ET5 (probably MA111 again).

So...those who haven't been able to see your voltages and temps with ET4...have you tried using ET5? Also, people with 2 sticks of ram, have you tried reverting back to F2? Since F2 seems to let me keep my ram at 200+ mhz, it might be able to do the same for you. Also...dunno why my MA111 doesn't crash using F2, but it does with the other bios versions....weird...(well...just speculation...but MA111 has been known to crash a lot of systems).