A few questions about NF4 Ultra-D

[wevsspot]

Leiw,

 

Based on the failure rate of the stock n/b "magnetic levitation" fan on these boards, I'd highly recommend that you follow RaiderFan001's suggestion and replace the oem fan while you still have the board out of the case. Either of the two recommendations he made are great alternatives, and I've personally used both of them. They are great.

[iamkoza]

i'll 3rd the vc-re idea... i'd also say leave the module in place, unless you have some custom i/o plate... IMO it would look weird to have all the holes in the i/o plate for the module, but no module. I say leave it installed, but turn off the module in the bios... it's nice to have in case your sound card craps out (based on my creative experience so far, i say it might one day )

[Guest Blooz1]

Just another vote to re-enforce the idea of replacing the chipset fan before you do the initial installation!

 

If you build the system, then every time you think about this, you'll also think about how much work it'll be to rip everything apart for the 10 minutes it'll take to actually replace the fan.

 

And once the stock fan starts to whine and make a racket, you'll be kicking yourself that you didn't do it before you built the rig!

 

Trust me on this! I'm a good example - about a year ago, I bought a used SLI-DR, and I knew that eventually I'd be replacing the fan. So, I bought 2 VC-RE's, and used one on the SLI board. (I bought 2 so I'd have a spare on hand, but wound up selling it to a buddy who needed one on a Sunday. then forgot to order a replacement!)

 

I got an Expert board in a deal about 9 months ago. Now, I had sold my spare fan, and, after running the board outside the case while doing the memory and stability testing I usually do on a new build, thought I'd "take a chance" since the stock fan seemed quiet enough.

 

Well, sure enough - the stock fan's now making rude noises on an intermittent basis! So, every time I look at the board, all I can think of is how I'll have to rip the rig apart to do the fan replacement!

[mousekin]

Well, sure enough - the stock fan's now making rude noises on an intermittent basis! So, every time I look at the board, all I can think of is how I'll have to rip the rig apart to do the fan replacement!

 

I was able to replace my cooler with out ripping my rig apart. I used some pliers/cutter that allowed me to cut the little plastic push pins heads. I made sure to have the rig unplugged of course and got all the parts out especially the metal springs(don't want to short anything). Then it was easy to put the new cooler in place and push the pins in the board.

 

If you do go this route be careful! This may also cause problems if you had to RMA the board as the original fan couldn't be put back on.

[wevsspot]

To the best of my knowledge DFI was pretty lenient on RMA policy for people that replaced the stock n/b fan. I think after a while they knew there was a problem with that particular fan and decided it was a lot cheaper for people to replace them on their own that to have to deal with cost of warranty repair or replacment.

 

I personally wouldn't worry about it creating a problem if I needed to send my board for RMA directly to DFI for a different reason. I'm pretty sure they would honor the warranty anyway.

[Leiw]

It won't be a problem replacing the chipset, I have done it several times on other boards, but...

 

Where can I buy such chipset coolers online here in Europe ?

It isn't available in my local shops.

 

Also, won't the Tr HR 05 SLI add too much heat since it is colled passively?

And it looks like it will come very close to the Gfx card. (btw my 7900 GS has a Zalman Fatality cooler on it)

 

And the Arctic Cooling Chipset Cooler seems also like a good choice but like the others, I can't seem to find it.

 

Here's a comparison screenshot I found. It's in Slovak but we can easily understand it.

 

 

 

Taken from HERE

 

Thanks for helping me

 

 

 

Edit : I am tempted to buy the HR-05 SLI because I just found it on a french online shop

Also based from the screenshot it will give me the lowest temperature.

Though the small space between the Gfx card and chipset cooler is scaring me. Won't it put additional heat on it?

Sorry if I sound a bit paranoid but my 6800 Ultra died in such a situation where I had put a passive cooler too close to it.

[davieslim]

I would recommend the HR-05 SLI, i've taken a pic of mine last time, cant upload here but view at flickr..

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/krapman/417048401/

 

As u can see my card is old x700 pro but the clearance shudnt be an issue, u can turn the HR-05 SLI any direction, mine is now rotated anti-clockwise.

 

Reason becuz i have a 120mm fan at the front of the case, so its just warm even at load. Cheers.

[Leiw]

I would recommend the HR-05 SLI, i've taken a pic of mine last time, cant upload here but view at flickr..

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/krapman/417048401/

 

As u can see my card is old x700 pro but the clearance shudnt be an issue, u can turn the HR-05 SLI any direction, mine is now rotated anti-clockwise.

 

Thanks for that picture, there is actually a lot of space indeed. This convinced me to order the HR-05 SLI along a couple of other things since it's basically the only fan that I have found to be available. Shipping from France will cost 15€ but I guess that is my only solution.

[n_w95482]

I have an HR-05 SLI on my Expert with no fan, and it stays in the 40's (44 C right now with a 25 C ambient temp, FSB at 334, full load). I haven't had any issues with other components getting too hot either.

[Leiw]

Yay I got the board however I cannot get it to run...

 

I've tried various memory settings, some worked some didn't but when trying to install Windows it always crashes at the same spot, I've got no idea why. Memory is GSkill LE and it doesn't matter if I run at FSB of 200, 250 or 275...

 

I don't know what Bios I have on it. I'll try with some standard PC3200 Ram and see if it helps. Also my cpu temp is weird. 39° in idle for a single core E6 Toledo 1,35v (one core is disabled).

 

 

Edit : Swapping Ram and CPU didn't help. Removed X-Fi didn't help. Using ps2 keyboard and mouse instead of USB didn't help.

What should I do ? I am unable to finish Windows install sucessfully. Do I have a defective motherboard ?

I still could be a memory problem, because Bios is unable to recognize that my Ram is 2-2-2-5.

[davieslim]

maybe try a cmos clear first, 8 hrs should be enough i guess. Try to find other Rams, maybe it'll help.

 

Definitely update the Bios to the 704-2bt or the latest official one to ensure compatibility with your ram. Did u plug all the power cables to the motherboard?

[Leiw]

maybe try a cmos clear first, 8 hrs should be enough i guess. Try to find other Rams, maybe it'll help.

 

Definitely update the Bios to the 704-2bt or the latest official one to ensure compatibility with your ram. Did u plug all the power cables to the motherboard?

 

Well I have tried other Ram in yellow or orange, single stick or dual it doesn't make a difference.

 

How can I flash the bios if I can't even install Windows??

 

 

And yes all power cables are connected