Asus and 7950 GX2

[richardd43]

My DFI MB died so the store replaced it with the Asus A8N-32 SLI Deluxe. While I was there I bought another 7950.

After installing everything, only 1 of the 7950s were working.

The original 7950 had a BIOS that was not compatable with the motherboard.

The store replaced the GPU for me and both boards worked.

Was quite surprised at the cause of the first graphics board not working.

[cheesegrater]

When the DFI "died" did you try a different card in the board?

[richardd43]

The DFI would not boot at all. The shop checked it before they replaced it. That was the 4th DFI Expert I returned for the same basic problem.

[cheesegrater]

Wow. Although a 7950 creates some compatability issues I'm surprised it happens on high end boards.

I gave up on MSI after one bad board and one bad graphics card.

[richardd43]

That was my 4th DFI that went bad for the same problem.

Am sure it will be my last also.

[Ashton Lawson]

I'm not sure wat u guys are talking about, but if its working now, wats the quality like?  On FSX...

[richardd43]

On FSX with everything maxed I average about 25 FPS. The lowest FPS I observed was 14 and the highest near 50 but it runs pretty constant at 20-25 FPS

Am hoping that once the computer is tweaked I will do a little better, but am not hopeing for much.

[NicksFXHouse]

On FSX with everything maxed I average about 25 FPS. The lowest FPS I observed was 14 and the highest near 50 but it runs pretty constant at 20-25 FPS

Am hoping that once the computer is tweaked I will do a little better, but am not hopeing for much.

not sure what processor your running but assuming its a 2.2 or 2.4 gig single or X2,... I would set that board up with the following:

DISABLE COOL & QUIET (allows CPU settings changes)
AI Overclocking = MANUAL
CPU FSB Frequency =250
SB to NB Overclock = MANUAL [200]
PEG Link Mode = DISABLED <---causes instability and overclocks video card
DDR VCORE = 2.75V (Try 2.7V first)
FID/VID Change = MANUAL
Processor Frequency Multiplier = xx
2.2 processor, set to 10 2.4 processor, set 11
Processor Voltage = 1.4
1T/2T Memory Timing = 1T
Memclock Mode = LIMIT
MCT Timing Mode = MANUAL
Memclock Value = 166 [5:3]
(assuming your memory can run CAS 2.5)
CAS LATENCY = 2.5
TRAS = 11 <--- important Nvidia memory controllers love 11 even if memory is rated for 6-8
TRP = 3
TRCD = 3
ALL OTHERS SET TO = AUTO
Bank Interleaving = AUTO
Burst Length = 4

[Jimbo]

I wonder if those settings would work on my PC?  ;)

[NicksFXHouse]

[quote]I wonder if those settings would work on my PC?

[richardd43]

Thanks Nick

I am not normally an overclocker (never new how) but will give these settings a shot this week.

[NicksFXHouse]

Thanks Nick

I am not normally an overclocker (never new how) but will give these settings a shot this week.

Whats nice about the A8N32 is the settings I posted will not be a major overclock but WILL give your system a really nice boost.

You may need to tinker with the Vcore and Vdd a tad. The lower the VCORE and Vdd and still remain stable the better. What I posted should give your system as much as a 25% increase in performance over the default BIOS settings and still stay well within the limits of not coming anywhere near cooking anything, even under full load for hours.

Another major boost would be to get memory specifically designed and rated for 1T @ 250FSB (expensive), which means you would be able to boost the FSB to 280-300, drop the CPU multipler so it equals about 2750 or so and drop the KB to NB frequency multiplier to x3 and see a true 240-250FSB on your memory.

Your quad-sli setup will love it because it removes the bottleneck the defaut settings produce.

Card placement and shutting down un-needed devices in the BIOS is more important for quad than standard SLI or single cards. The manual shows the sharing taking place and you can see the advantage to a good layout and settings stradegy has for maximum bus time.

Here's the Math:

FSB x CPU Multipler = CPU SPEED
FSB x K8 to NB Frequency times 2 = HTT (2000)
(must stay @ or under 2000, closer the better, over just a tad is OK on A8N32)
Memory Divider: 166 = 5:3 (example = FSB divided by 3 times 5 divided by 2 = Memory speed)
So 250 FSB /3 x 5 = DDR416.66 /2 = 208MHz (respecfully)

That should give you the information you need to tune it.

Raising VCORE is a matter of monitoring temps... I like to keep mine under a load @ or below 50 but 52 is OK. I typically run 47 SOLID unless the ambient room temp is a bit warm. I run 1.7 VCORE with this HSF http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835118004

[richardd43]

Ok, a quick posting of the results.
3DMark06 Scores
All Settings Stock: 7400+
FSB=218: 7700+
Nick's Settings: 7932

Thanks for the info. Now, if I can get the score over 8000 I will be a happy camper

[NicksFXHouse]

Ok, a quick posting of the results.
3DMark06 Scores
All Settings Stock: 7400+
FSB=218: 7700+
Nick's Settings: 7932

Thanks for the info. Now, if I can get the score over 8000 I will be a happy camper

LOL

Its actually easy to get that but you WILL need to do the math and bump up the overclock.

Before you do that,... it might be better to keep my settings as posted and bump up your vide cards CORE and MEM frequencies just a TAD, perhaps 20MHz on both CORE and MEMORY for each card. By doing so it wont hurt the cards and you stay well within the range on the motherboard.

Ill bet you would get to 8000 or very close to it



I made some edits the the post above your last one... so you might want to review it again assuming you have not already done so.

[NicksFXHouse]

I assume you MUST be running the latest BIOS because the one dated 12/05 does not recognize the 7900 series cards at all.

Latest official BIOS is May 06 but there is a beta BIOS available too