OMG, Made a break through! (sorta)

[charlie22911]

yes, please .

btw, how did you get your mobiles to run on such low volts, you under volt or over volt for burn-in?

[charlie22911]

well, i still have not heard anything from dfi about the cpc bug. i sent another email today, guess i will have to bug them every three weeks . the board is not listed as discontinued yet, so there is hope.

 

and something else,

 

when cross updating, i notice that bios settings from the u400s-al bios are kept after i flash to the lanparty bios and vice-versa. is there a way around this? i think this may have something to do with the onboard stuff not working.

[medianOCer]

Can you use the 'kill CMOS' function on Tmod's BIOS/utility CDs?

I think that's supposed to clear out everything. Maybe I'm

incorrect on that. Just check to make sure that's the case first,

as I have yet to use that.

[charlie22911]

ive tried that, but when i use it i still have to reboot to get back to the flash menu. in winflash i used the clear cmosset optimised defaults and that got my onboard sound back working, but still nothing from the onboard usb or lan. now something interesting, i did a clean format, and the onboard nVidia SATA still shows up in the device manager with a flag "cant find enough free resources", ive tried disabling everything but the nessicitys, but it still wont work, i think its because of the bios. i wonder if something could be done to enable this?

 

also another stability update:

i no longer rely on a clockgen to get 280Mhz fsb, im now booting 280 and can do 287 before it hard locks. anyway, 280 in defenitly much more stable than before, here are some benchies, still not 3d stable yet:

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v206/cha...11/2174cb57.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v206/cha...11/95aad444.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v206/cha...11/cac1be3d.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v206/cha...11/58845547.jpg

 

i didnt have everst, just aida32. interesting in that one screen it says i have onboard 1394,lan,sound etc. but then again i am using hellfires rev.3 lanpartyB bios .

 

EDIT:

 

BTW, the NB gets real hot, i have it set at 1.9v in bios, mabye it realy is doing 1.9v! BTW i also laped that thing, it was SoOo uneven o_0.

 

EDIT2:

 

oOo, one last thing, i cant even post at 280x9, no matter the voltage, it seems that i cant boot anything over an 8.5x multi at high FSB... weird...

 

EDIT3:

OMG i forgot, im running 2PSU's for this too. one powers my cpu (P4 connector) and X800XT and my other one powers everything else, makes things a little more stable . and if you wonder how i power them both on at the same time:

turn both psus off (450w and 460w), take a gem clip and connect the green wire to the black wire on the 20pin conector, hold the power button on the case and flip both psus on at the same time. works wonders .

[NEOAethyr]

The better the bios is with your memory type, the more useable fsb's and mutlipliers you'll have.

 

The trick is though, you must have your memory down to a T.

The tighest it can be, and the most stable it can be, one and the same you're looking for.

If you slack on the timings, it hurts stabiliy, not by alot but at those extreme fsb's it does matter if you slack to much.

 

Once you got your memory figuer out a bit, maybe not perfectly, but close to being right, more multipliers become useable.

The bios has a big hand in this, the bios is #1, if you don't have a useable bios in the 1st place, you'll never figuer it out.

However the hellfire bios is not that bad.

The last time I tried it recently I got 263x8 memtest stable.

But that was it.

Not bad though.

 

 

Drive strengths and slew rates, I actually figuer out how to setup these.

Takes quite some time thoguh but once you get the hang of it, it's not so bad.

I'll make a guide on this later, as soon as I finish off my samsung and then my adata.

I got my samsung down to 28 possible combinations though, out of these I gotta eleminate some or figuer out which is best.

 

My new bios is 275x8 allmost s&m stable!

I can't belive it though, very old romsip ver of mine, vey old, and it's hanging liek no other.

Meaning I can inprove this sucker greatly lol.

 

 

Anyways are you testing with memtest before you run into windows?

I mean, are you 280+ memtest stable?

 

I know you got some good memory there too, and a good cpu, keep working on that overclock .

 

 

As for the dual psu's, yeah it's quite nice, very nice really.

I had mine setup the same way, cpu, mobo and video card on the ocz, rest on the nermax.

However my enermax has been giving me odd probs lately, and now I'm betting I had these issues since I had it.

Old low powered psu so I guess it's to be expected though.

 

I allways had issues with floopys getting corrupted.

And now, since I added it as a 2nd psu, and filtered it like a mofo, I could'nt even use the floppy, nor the dvdrw most of the time.

I think it's the +5v rail.

Anyways just recently I noticed I had a hd smart error , that and I was having major probs this mronign so I took it out.

Been running allright ever since, of all things lol, for the most part(still got that stuck in agp2x issue though).

 

So...

I got this big hole in the back of my case where a psu would go, because my ocz is up front.

Gonnna have to pick up some spare car parts or somehting, like a nice oil or transmission cooler.

Once that has the right kind of fins, as well as fitting in the back of my case, even if I have to cut up my case to doit.

Would be an ideal spot for a radiator I think .

 

Anyways dude, keep us updates on that overclocking .

Also are you flashing with awdflash like this?

awdflash bios.bin /py /sn /wb /cd /cp /cc

I would'nt use /tiny though..., every time I try it it screws up my display a bit and hardlocks, corrupting my bios, every time.

/f is ok but only use it when absolutly nessary, sometimes it'll corrupt a bios if there's nothing wrong with it.

[charlie22911]

first off, an update! i have a reply from DFI! here is a copy of the email:

 

:::::::::::::::::: Dear Customer,

 

 

 

Thank you for taking time submit us the query. Due to the product marketing strategy, the BIOS option update of U400S platform has been ceased for some while. Customer may still patch such issue by further adjustment (e.g. performance mode). If there’s still further query please don’t hesitate to let us know.

 

 

 

Best,

 

Junyen

 

-------------------------------------------------------------

 

DFI Customer Service Center

 

100 Huan-Ho St., Hsi-Chih City, Taipei, Taiwan, R. O. C.

 

http://www.dfi.com

 

Tel: +886-2-2694-2986

 

Fax: +886-2-2694-3226

 

BBS: +886-2-2694-3217

 

E-mail: [email protected]

 

-------------------------------------------------------------

 

Issue NBR:

 

 

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

From: Charlie McPherson [mailto:[email protected]]

Sent: Thursday, February 23, 2006 4:30 AM

To: Tech Support [DFITS]

Subject: DFI nFII U400S-AL

 

 

 

this is about a bug affecting all versions of the DFI nFII U400S-AL. after extensive testing at DFI-Street with many types of ram, a soultion to the problem with 2x512Mb ram (dual or single channel) was found. the problem is the memory timing command per clock (CPC). this option is hidden in the U400S-AL bios, but was tested using a lanpartyB and Ultra infinity bios. with cpc enabled, the same symptoms that were displayed with the U400S-AL's bios was also present with the lanpartyB and Ultra infinity bioses. however, disabling this option enables stable, reliable use of 2x512mb ram and even 3x512Mb ram. however using the lanpartyinfinity bioses disables all onboard devices execpt for the ide, floppy, ps2 and com ports. i request that the bios for the U400S-AL be patched either unhiding the option for CPC or disabling it all together. there are many people affected by this problem, and as i understand it, this board is not discontinued.

 

 

 

thanks for your time,

 

 

 

Charlie McPherson (Charlie22911). ::::::::::::::

 

 

hmm, preformance mode? im going to look into that, i would have never thought of that. going to test that out and see what comes up.

 

neo, im not memtest stable at anything over 215-FSB, that is when i have both my TCCD sticks in. i put one in the closest slot to the cpu and shes fine on up to 260 @ 2.5-3-3-3-11-11-13 1t. ive realy have not found the rams sweet spot yet, much less goten into drive strenghts and slew rates. im going to try a bunch more of the bioses and try different thing, i have a backup chip so coruption isnt a problem . BTW, i look foward to that guide, i realy am a little (LOT) lost in this. i have found a sweet spot at 210x12 @ 2-2-2-2-11-11-13 1t, actualy preforms a tad better in the multimediaarithmatic areas of sandra that 251x10 does! anyhow, im going to drill this thing a bit harder, see whats stable and whats not, starting with 1x512 first. should have done that in the first place .

 

oh, and about ram voltage, i usualy leave mine at 2.9v FTR.

[mark_sasongko]

hi

I have just bought a U400S-AL, and I have found problem running memtest with my memory, BH5 PC3200 2x512 MB DC@ 2.9V with CPU setting 220X10.5, can I raise my Vdimm more than 2.9 V?My bios is still standard and I've read through this thread and I'm confused.

-Is there a modded bios that could raise the voltage of the DDRs?

-does turning off the CPC could solve my problem in memtest (only test #5)?

-I'm not using a mobile processor and have no problem running windows and all of my apps, does that means that memtest results are not valid?

 

sorry if the question is too newbie, because I am one

 

thx

[charlie22911]

i think your problem is related to the type of ram you have. you see, BH-5 is a volt hog, and regardless of the options the LPB bios has, 1.9v is the max you can pass through your ram. another problem (or mix of all of these) is 2x512Mb of ram you have. try running one stick at 200x10 in the slot closest to the cpu through 3 passes of test 5, do this with each stick.

i have to say though, with the parts you have in your sig, i would REALY recomend you hunt down a lanpartyultra infinity board as the U400s simply wont let those parts preform to their full potential.

 

as for the CPC issue, there is no way to disable it, the option is hopelesly hidden.

[red930]

I see that old chip is still alive and kicking,must be a tough one to live through the abuse the old "Computer Destroyer" is capable of dishing out.

It looks as though a few system upgrades is what the old girl needed to shine again,plus the tweaking by an old hand like you Charlie...you've done well grasshopper.

 

I thought you might have left the NF2 fold for greener pastures by now,but some new components have given the old system a fresh look apparently.

Impressive numbers Charlie,that new ram seems to be quite exceptional,got a link.

It appears ram prices have really dropped,since I was shopping last,how do you like the new video card?

[charlie22911]

yeah, its alive and well, as a matter of fact i have a friend offering me a phase change system pretty cheap to push this thing further. i am working on a 939 rig but playing with this is so much fun, it was seeing yours and shinobi's OC that made me want to realy push this thing!

as for the ram, it was a gift from a friend. it is darn good ram, uses samsung TCCD on a brainpower PCB.

the videocard is great, scores ~6600 in 3dmark05 and ~68000 in aquamark and ~13000 in 3dmark03. runs kinda warm, but aftermarket ramsinks and cooler let me hit 560635.

when i finaly get the lasp parts for my 939 rig, the ram is going back over to it, so the socketA will finaly be retired, probably going to sell it off since the money will come in handy.

BTW, if you want some benchies and mabye a pic of the rig, LMK .

[CaysE]

*starts sniffing around your parts*

[charlie22911]

here are all the specs of my rig for people interested in the parts:

 

AMD AthlonXP-M 2500+ IQYHA 0530 i think, have to check some time (plan to save this unless im offered a GOOD price :nod:)

DFI nFII U400S-AL

Vantec ION2 460w 24pin PSU

AIW X800XT wZalman VF700 ALCU and ramsinks

Soundblaster LIVE! 5.1 digital

ALI 1394USB 2.0 card

some cheap 10100 NIC

2x80Gb WD Cavair SE 7200rpm 8mb cache (going to save one at least)

1x512Mb Kingston Value Ram (mosel vitelic SAT5B) (Samsung TCCD not for sell)

Thermalright SI-97a w/ 92mm panasonic panaflo

Sony CRX-216e (going to save this if i can)

 

as for the specs of the new machine:

 

DFI Lanparty SLI-DR (have this already)

1xWD Raptor 36gb (have this)

1xWD Caviair SE (have this, personal storage)

2x512Mb G.Skill PC4400LE (have this)

700w PSU, havnt decided what yet

im waiting for unified shaders before i get a GPU

case i havnt decided, something with a windows though

2xNEC DVD-RW DL

ageia PPU when it hits the market

dual core Opteron 170

 

thats my planed rig, mabye i wont kill to many parts before its done .