Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe thread

[polonyc2]

Originally Posted by deckard

Did you guys see X-Bit has revised their review, correcting their mistake about the HTT link width and providing lots more good info:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/mai...-update_2.html

good stuff...thanks for the info...

"When you start your system with this mainboard up for the first time, make sure the K8 to NB LinkWidth and the SB to NB LinkWidth options are both set at 16|16 and that the SB to NB Frequency option is set at 5X. Make this check every time you update the mainboard’s BIOS or reset the CMOS to be sure the performance of your mainboard is at the maximum."

"This problem may be solved in upcoming BIOS updates, but the last available update we tried didn’t help. It is possible ASUS will release a new revision of the mainboard without the mentioned defect."

[Demian_abx]

Hi,

please excuse me, if this question has been asked or even answered before, but I got my new A8N32-SLI yesterday and was not patient enough to read all 51 pages of this thread to possibly find a solution to my problem.

I installed the new mainboard and put all my other hardware (see my signature) - especially my 2 Western Digital 150 GB Raptor HDDs - in.

As I had configured at least 50 S-ATA RAID0 arrays on nF4-chipsets in the past, I didn`t believe there could be any problem, but now there is a serious problems I obviously can`t solve:

Booting up and entering RAID-BIOS, then selecting "Striping" and a Striping Block Size of 16kb.

Then adding both WD 150GB Raptors to the new array by moving them from the left to the right side.
After that: Closing this section with "F7" and answering the following question "Clear Disk Data ?" with "yes".

When the next screen appears, I see the newly build array, but I`n not able to set this array bootable...

In the lowest line I can select: EXIT, SELECT and DETAIL, but SET BOOT and NEW ARRAY are grey and can`t be selected.

The array itself shows the following informations:

BOOT: N/A
ID: 2
STATUS: HEALTHY
VENDOR: NVIDIA
ARRAY MODEL: STRIPE
NAME: 279,47 G

What am I doing wrong ???

What can I do to set my array bootable ???

Any hints are very much appreciated !

CU

Demian

[BKA]

My array does the same thing. And I also posted this question back a while ago but no one answered. The array will still show up in hard drive boot priority and boot device priority also. And it is bootable, why these option aren't available. I don't know. Maybe not necessary on the particular board.

[Demian_abx]

Originally Posted by bka4u2c

My array does the same thing. And I also posted this question back a while ago but no one answered. The array will still show up in hard drive boot priority and boot device priority also. And it is bootable, why these option aren't available. I don't know. Maybe not necessary on the particular board.

Strange...

My array is definitly NOT bootable...

I can start installing WinXP but after the array is formatted and files are copied from installation-CD to HDD and system reboots for the first time I get a Bluescreen !

CU

Demian

[BKA]

Originally Posted by Demian

Strange...

My array is definitly NOT bootable...

I can start installing WinXP but after the array is formatted and files are copied from installation-CD to HDD and system reboots for the first time I get a Bluescreen !

CU

Demian

What version of nvidia's RAID drivers are you using? The ones that are included with the motherboard?

[alien resident]

Guys I would like a little help to avaoid a potential disaster.
I am confused about the 24-pin EATXPWR connector on this mobo.
I have an OCZ 600w PSU. The main mobo connector on the PSU is a 20+4 pin housing. It allows the user to slide off the 4-pin housing if one wants to use the 20-pin connector for a 20-pin mobo connector. If the mobo is a EPS12V or BTX type then the 4-pins can be used in addition for 24-pin connector.
so what do I do in the case of this A8n-32 mobo. What the heck is EATXPWR.
I am kinda confused because the PSU instructions say that 24-pins are used on EPS12V & BTX mobos and 20-pins are used on p4/Athalon mobos. The A8n-32 is an ATX mobo with a 24-pin connector !!!!!!!!!!!so what do I do. I have an FX-60 and twin 7900GTX in SLI. As you can imagine the fear of blowing up something is causing me nightmares. So a little advice/explanation would be very appreciated .

Mind you I also know about the seperate 4-pin +12V connector on the top left of the mobo and the PSU has seperate blue connectors for that.

[Sick Willie]

The 20 pin + 4 for EATX is connected to the 24 pin power connector. The +12v connector connects like it does on other boards with the 4 pin +12v

[alien resident]

Originally Posted by Sick Willie

The 20 pin + 4 for EATX is connected to the 24 pin power connector. The +12v connector connects like it does on other boards with the 4 pin +12v

pardon me for asking a seemingly dumb question but EATX is same as EPS12V ?

and if I understand you correctly I should be OK connecting all 24 pins to main connector and then the seperate 12v+4-pin on top left as well right ?

[alien resident]

also I should'nt have to connect the EZ-plug if my vid cards have direct power from the PSU right ?

[John64]

no, but most people do

[BKA]

Originally Posted by alien resident

also I should'nt have to connect the EZ-plug if my vid cards have direct power from the PSU right ?

Correct, no need to connect if your vid cards have their own power.

[Sick Willie]

Originally Posted by alien resident

pardon me for asking a seemingly dumb question but EATX is same as EPS12V ?

and if I understand you correctly I should be OK connecting all 24 pins to main connector and then the seperate 12v+4-pin on top left as well right ?

It's not quite the same, but the 24 pin connector is identical. Connect the 24 pin connector and the separate +12v 4 pin connector to the respective locations.

also I should'nt have to connect the EZ-plug if my vid cards have direct power from the PSU right ?

Shouldn't need it. Won't hurt anything if you do connect it.

[alien resident]

cool beans ya'all. thank you for replying and helping.

One more question.

on the mobo, there are four SATA ports for the nForce RAID chip. They are labelled SATA 1, SATA 2, SATA 3 & SATA 4. How do these pair up. If I wanted to run just a RAID 0 using 1 pair of Raptors which two ports do I connect to ?

[BKA]

Originally Posted by alien resident

cool beans ya'all. thank you for replying and helping.

One more question.

on the mobo, there are four SATA ports for the nForce RAID chip. They are labelled SATA 1, SATA 2, SATA 3 & SATA 4. How do these pair up. If I wanted to run just a RAID 0 using 1 pair of Raptors which two ports do I connect to ?

Typically, you should either use 1,2 or 3,4. Which ever set you don't use, you can disable in the bios.

[alien resident]

Boy I thought I was done. One more.

page 5-4 in the mobo manual describes how to make RAID discs using the CD and a floppy. There appear to be options for 32 bit and 64 bit drivers. Is that based on which version of an OS or is that based on type of Processor (64 bit processor)

I have an AMD FX-60 and the regular (32 bit I think) version of XP pro ...?