Guest anewb ie Posted May 5, 2006 Posted May 5, 2006 I have a few basic questions (I've searched the forum but didn't find the answers): a) Is it safe for me to put the x1800xt in the far pcie slot and let it overhang the nb fan? (this will free up the two pci slots). B) I know a lot of people eventually replace the stock nb fan. Does this void the warranty? c) How many board revisions are there ? d) Which bios should i use? (I've heard that the latest bios has incorrect temp monitoring - i presume this breaks auto shutdown of the cpu) e) Is there a document that describes first time setup or common do/don't. For example from various things I've read I know I should not install active armor, nvida eide disk controllers, use dimm 2 and 4. Are all of these (and things I might have missed) lumped into a faq somehwere ? (I will not be using raid) Thanks - hope these questions are reasonable and not annoying. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PsyCLown Posted May 5, 2006 Posted May 5, 2006 Sorry, I dont kow the answers...but try and search for stuff like that in the forum! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
225Slant6 Posted May 5, 2006 Posted May 5, 2006 a) Yes it is safe, I have a 7800GT over my chipsetfan and the it is fine. d) If the stock BIOS does not work well for you then I would change it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchy2k1 Posted May 5, 2006 Posted May 5, 2006 a) Is it safe for me to put the x1800xt in the far pcie slot and let it overhang the nb fan? (this will free up the two pci slots). Not only is it safe, but it is required. The lower PCIe slot is only 2x. There is no problem with it. The only problem might be the noise of the NB fan and its somewhat high temperature (although it is perfectly safe). B) I know a lot of people eventually replace the stock nb fan. Does this void the warranty? Not sure if your problem is not related to the change, but if anything goes wrong DURING the change (like a cracked chipset or overheating), this is your responsibility. However, the change is quite easy to do and I've heard that DFI will still service boards that had their NB fan replaced or the thermal grease changed (I would place the original one back if I had my MB serviced). The cooler replacement is easy though (just did it yesterday and yields both better cooling AND quieter computer. Worth it in my opinion. Angry Game just released a video tutorial to show how to do it. c) How many board revisions are there ? Only one that I know of. The board comes in 3 flavors though: Ultra-D, SLI-D and SLI-DR. The "revision 2" of this board is the SLI-DR Expert (different layout). d) Which bios should i use? (I've heard that the latest bios has incorrect temp monitoring - i presume this breaks auto shutdown of the cpu) read the stickies. The good answer is: THE ONE THAT IS RIGHT FOR YOU. Different people use different BIOS. It depends on how much you want to overclock and how much time you have to experiment. If you just want to run stock, any recent BIOS will work. Angry posted a new one a few weeks ago with some fixes (stiky in NF4 board). e) Is there a document that describes first time setup or common do/don't. For example from various things I've read I know I should not install active armor, nvida eide disk controllers, use dimm 2 and 4. Are all of these (and things I might have missed) lumped into a faq somehwere ? Angry has a video of his software setup after a clean windows install. It can be found in the video tutorial part. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
225Slant6 Posted May 5, 2006 Posted May 5, 2006 Not only is it safe, but it is required. The lower PCIe slot is only 2x.There is no problem with it. The only problem might be the noise of the NB fan and its somewhat high temperature (although it is perfectly safe). No, it is 2x or 8x depending on the SLi jumpers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest anewb ie Posted May 5, 2006 Posted May 5, 2006 Ok thanks. I won't change the NB fan until i know how bad it is (sound). Not sure I'll ever know how bad the heat is . I guess this will force the fan on the video card and nb to run faster. Hum. I'll watch angry's video (if I can find it) while I'm setting up the hardware this evening. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawk454 Posted May 5, 2006 Posted May 5, 2006 You sound like you know the basics so far. After installing the minimum amount of hardware to boot your computer (one stick ram, one hard drive, one cd/dvd drive, one video card) go directly to the bios to verify your settings. Install windows and begin adding the rest of your components as you complete each phase. You will save yourself headaches if you run into problems this way. There are many detailed posts on new installations so take your time to research. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
supershanks Posted May 5, 2006 Posted May 5, 2006 @anewb ie try NF4 SLI-DR - NF4 Ultra-D Step by Step New Build as 225Slant6 rightly said by moving the jumpers you can use the lower pci-e slot @ x8 i'm using it myself with no performance hit, though my card is not as powerful as yours. luck Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest anewb ie Posted May 5, 2006 Posted May 5, 2006 You will save yourself headaches if you run into problems this way. There are many detailed posts on new installations so take your time to research. -- What key word would you search for to find these posts? I tried "ultra-d new installation [faq]" on google and various other combinations. dfi-street doesn't like the word new. Not to be obtuse but i must be missing something obvious Hum -- I found this thread which looks pretty good http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/showthread...install+drivers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smoken Joe Posted May 5, 2006 Posted May 5, 2006 Correct can replace the chipset fan without voiding the warrenty (not called notbridge anymore as they combined the two) You dont need to with good case temps and maby a fan blowing on the fan turn down the speed in bios of program of choice and scheck temps. Dont change bios unless you have a reason to you can cause yourself a lot of headaches. Never do it inside of windows unless you are memtest stable- of cource you probibily dont need to change the bios if you are memtest stable. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawk454 Posted May 5, 2006 Posted May 5, 2006 --What key word would you search for to find these posts? I tried "ultra-d new installation [faq]" on google and various other combinations. dfi-street doesn't like the word new. Not to be obtuse but i must be missing something obvious I went to the sticky forum to search for initial builds, installation, and ultra-D: Found this great detailed list of steps to follow for DFI builds: http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6615 http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29190 Another critical post to read for future upgrades: http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11400 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest anewb ie Posted May 5, 2006 Posted May 5, 2006 Ok sounds good. I think I'm set to at least start tonight build. Last question (I hope). What is best way to check temp of nb/chipset ? I do not own any sort of probe. Does the bios report the temp or do i need some software (??mb5??). Maybe I am being panicky. I've built 5 system in the past (last three were nf3) without issues but after reading all the threads and issue folks have with nf4 in general and dfi ultra - i'm getting worried. btw the case is lian 60a plus 2 with no modification (it has 4 fans). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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