A8N-SLI Deluxe/Premium thread

[pointreyes]

Looks like I'm keeping the dual-core Opty system.

I will know later today but I might have sold my P4C800E-Deluxe system for $650.
Here's what I had on that bugger:
2.8e slighty oc'ed to 3.0
Koolance Exos-AL unit with the more powerful proc water block
Pinnacle Studio 9 hardware capture card with the Studio 9 Deluxe software
ATi AIW 9600
Audigy 2
Two IDE drives that total 300Gig
PC Power & Cooling 410w PSU
Lian-Li PC6070b case
Corsair PC3500 RAM 2x512Meg

I have been trying to sell this system since November. The Exos, board, and case are worth $600 (very frustrating how hard it is to sell in this area).

[pointreyes]

Change in status once again.

I sold both systems!

All that is left is the dual Xeon system. Startin' to think maybe I will just keep that bugger. Upgrade the Smithfield to the Presler sometime later in the Spring. I might just live with the RAIDCore in the dual Xeon system-get the MCE remote keyboard for the KVM and use the old LogiTech keyboard for the Xeon system.

[Zeppelin]

Congrats on selling the two systems

The Dual Xeon system worked before, didn't it. What was the issue, why the change, lookin to use 64bit?

[pointreyes]

Cons: No 64-bit, no DDR2 (uses slow PC2100 registered ECC), and I have to use the RAIDCore which we now know is a problem with the Avocent KVM.
Pros: Hot-swappable SATA drives, 64-bit 100Mhz PCI-X slot, 8x AGP, and USB 2.0.
Solution: Go to Wal-Mart tonight and get that cheap $25 wireless keyboard/mice and just have it hooked up to the Xeon system. If Broadcom or Avocent ever gets the issue resolved then I'm only out $25.
More expensive solution but might do it: Purchase a 3Ware controller card.
Another pro: It's cheaper than a Smithfield EE These two 2.66Ghz Xeons have HT.

The only reason why I was trying to sell the dual Xeon was due to the mistake of not being able to return the dual-core Opteron and ending up with around $1,100 of new hardware that made me consider selling the Xeon. However, the Xeon with the RAID5 setup has proven to be a very good system. By correcting this $1,100 error I'm no longer in the arrears with financial costs.

[blackdog]

i know this thread is long but it helped alot in setting up my mobo and the sli video cards thanks guys

[Zeppelin]

Originally Posted by pointreyes

Cons: No 64-bit, no DDR2 (uses slow PC2100 registered ECC), and I have to use the RAIDCore which we now know is a problem with the Avocent KVM.
Pros: Hot-swappable SATA drives, 64-bit 100Mhz PCI-X slot, 8x AGP, and USB 2.0.
Solution: Go to Wal-Mart tonight and get that cheap $25 wireless keyboard/mice and just have it hooked up to the Xeon system. If Broadcom or Avocent ever gets the issue resolved then I'm only out $25.
More expensive solution but might do it: Purchase a 3Ware controller card.
Another pro: It's cheaper than a Smithfield EE These two 2.66Ghz Xeons have HT.

The only reason why I was trying to sell the dual Xeon was due to the mistake of not being able to return the dual-core Opteron and ending up with around $1,100 of new hardware that made me consider selling the Xeon. However, the Xeon with the RAID5 setup has proven to be a very good system. By correcting this $1,100 error I'm no longer in the arrears with financial costs.

I'm glad your seems to be pretty much at an end.

[pointreyes]

Originally Posted by Zeppelin

I'm glad your seems to be pretty much at an end.

It might even be getting better.
1) With my Dell monitor when I first got it I tried the DVI on the video card I currently have in my dual-Xeon. It did not work. It does now! Video card is the Gigabyte 6600GT.
2) KVM is working! With the Xeon that means that the DVI, USB keyboard, USB mouse, and Sound are all working.

Er, I think I need a

[Zeppelin]

Originally Posted by pointreyes

It might even be getting better.
1) With my Dell monitor when I first got it I tried the DVI on the video card I currently have in my dual-Xeon. It did not work. It does now! Video card is the Gigabyte 6600GT.
2) KVM is working! With the Xeon that means that the DVI, USB keyboard, USB mouse, and Sound are all working.

Er, I think I need a

Maybe 2 or 4

Let's see, hmmmm, on all three Motherboards that you had issues, you were running 64bit windoze. Now that you dropped back to 32bit, everything seems to be working. Too bad all the boards are now gone and you are unable to check to see if they could have served your needs in 32bit windoze.

[pointreyes]

Originally Posted by Zeppelin

Maybe 2 or 4

Let's see, hmmmm, on all three Motherboards that you had issues, you were running 64bit windoze. Now that you dropped back to 32bit, everything seems to be working. Too bad all the boards are now gone and you are unable to check to see if they could have served your needs in 32bit windoze.

Actually I was using 32-bit on all the systems. I don't have a license for Windows 2003 64-bit, only 32-bit. Plus the problem with the KVM was even before Windows, couldn't even use it for the bios. Interestingly, I do have to connect the keyboard to the PS2 connection for the non-GUI portion of the installation of Windows. But everywhere else including the non-GUI portion of setting up the RAIDCore was done through the KVM.

[BujuB]

Ok i just install both7800 gtx ko and by doing so, the first pci slot that doesn't share any other irq is cover leaveing the 2nd and 3rd pci slot open so i installed my audigy 2 zs in the thiird slot. I wondering if this would cause any issue, because the video cards and the sound card share the same irq

[Zeppelin]

Originally Posted by BujuB

Ok i just install both7800 gtx ko and by doing so, the first pci slot that doesn't share any other irq is cover leaveing the 2nd and 3rd pci slot open so i installed my audigy 2 zs in the thiird slot. I wondering if this would cause any issue, because the video cards and the sound card share the same irq

I don't have an answer to your question. Many devices share IRQs without problems. Let us know if you discover that there are problems when you try this set-up. I have to assume that you have found something lacking in the on-board audio. I am curious to learn what is wrong with the on-board audio. Please advise.

[fallguy]

Originally Posted by Riptide

Yeah it's a PITA. Basically I'm going to have to start troubleshooting this all over from scratch. I don't intend to take the driver back to 78.03 so I need to figure out what is going on with this 2T setting. I might call OCZ and see if they are aware of any known problems with my config.

Check this out:
http://www.nforcershq.com/forum/a8n-...l-vt61980.html

Wierd eh? I might try setting 1T and then Cas 2.5 and if the problem goes away then I'm seeing the same thing these guys are. I'll have to check it out tonight. Also I might be able to borrow a 512x2 EL Rev2 kit from a friend (TCCD) and try that out. If that memory runs OK at 1T and Cas2 then it really starts to point towards some sort of finicky motherboard compatibility issue here.

God why can't it ever "just work"?

I have this exact same problem. I have a A8N-SLI Premium, 2x1gig Ballistix PC4000 and 2x BFG 7800GTX's.

When its at 1T, I too bet BSOD's, game crashes, and random reboots (while just surfing the net). Setting to T2 fixes all of this for me. Like you, it was not a problem on another motherboard. I had a DFI NF4-D modded to SLI, but sold it, and got this. My DFI board ran my 2x1gigs at 1T, all the way up to 265@1:1, even at 3-3-3-8. This Asus board wont do 2T at stock. Very annoying. It doesnt cost much, if anything in performance, still annoying.

[fvbounty]

Originally Posted by fallguy

I have this exact same problem. I have a A8N-SLI Premium, 2x1gig Ballistix PC4000 and 2x BFG 7800GTX's.

When its at 1T, I too bet BSOD's, game crashes, and random reboots (while just surfing the net). Setting to T2 fixes all of this for me. Like you, it was not a problem on another motherboard. I had a DFI NF4-D modded to SLI, but sold it, and got this. My DFI board ran my 2x1gigs at 1T, all the way up to 265@1:1, even at 3-3-3-8. This Asus board wont do 2T at stock. Very annoying. It doesnt cost much, if anything in performance, still annoying.

I'm running Corsair 3500llpro 2x1gig stock at 2-3-2-6, 1T with no problems on the Deluxe board now for 3 months, I wonder if its your ram (I know your ram is considered one of the best)

[fallguy]

Might be. As I said, worked fine in the DFI motherboard.

[Zeppelin]

I know I have been told or read in here that if you fill all 4 slots that you have to run at 2T while filling only 2 slots depending on the sticks I guess, you can get 1T. So for the best performance @ 2Gb = 2@1Gb sticks instead of 4@512Mb sticks.