Scariest motherboards ever?

[tacomodo]

I've been reading through this forum, and I didn't think it would be all that difficult to install it. But, after reading through a few posts here I am overwhelmed. Voltage for this and that ram, jumpers, an insane amount of power plugs to be connected, REQUIRED PSU 480W with a REQUIRED 24 PIN CONNECTOR (all in red), flashing a bios should be done with one of the 132508873 links to a bootdisk image with warnings like

MAJOR BUG IN 704 (Vcore Special 123%+ May Cause CPU Failure/Death In Certain Situations):

 

There seems to be a whole lot to worry about.

 

Now, I have a couple of questions in hope of calming my nerves.

 

Does the DFI LanParty nF4 Ultra-D work out of the box, or does one HAVE to flash it?

 

Will I have to move/remove any jumpers in order to get it to work?

 

Do I really need to buy a new PSU? I have a 360W one.

 

Are there any known issues with these components:

DFI LanParty nF4 Ultra-D

OCZ 2x512MB PC3200

Radeon X800XL 256

 

As far as I can tell, these are all pretty mainstream components and should work, right? RIGHT?

[bernardos70]

It worked right out of the box here, tacomodo. You should be just fine. That Radeon is PCI-Express, right?

[red930]

You would want to upgrade your psu,

http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/showthread...ighlight=supply

If you are going to use a venice,san diego or x2 core you will need to update the bios for full support,a fairly simple procedure using a DFI official bios

you will want to know how to move certain jumpers,no big deal,all covered in manual

I'm not sure about your ram without model #

 

Will it work right out of the box....depends on how well you do your homework,here's one example of a member that did,

http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18578

[Angry_Games]

these boards are not for JoeSixPack user

 

they are enthusiast/tweaker/overclocker boards aimed at the overclocker/hardcore user segment.

 

If you are not one of these persons, then you should avoid them and go with the NF4 DAGF DFI or an MSI/Asus/Abit/Gigabyte boards.

 

Every motherboard has problems. There are no motherboards on the market that don't have their own share of problems.

 

 

If you are patient, willing to spend the money to get the right (not the most expensive necessarily) parts, and willing to spend the time to really get to know your setup...it will be a rewarding experience.

 

but most are too impatient, most expect just run-of-the-mill parts to work, most are not experienced with hardcore overclocking setups....again, these boards are not aimed at JoeBlow off the street...they are targeted towards a very specific market (regardless of what you might have read in a reveiw...they are not for everyone)

[tacomodo]

Thanks for your responce!

 

Here are the specifics from my order

AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 2.2 GHz BOXED

Socket 939 512KB cache "Venice"

OCZ 1024MB Premier Dual Channel

PC-3200 2x512MB (2,5-3-3-7) 400Mhz

DFI Lanparty UT NF4 Ultra-D

 

Since I am using a venice cpu, I will have to upgrade my bios for full support.. What does that mean, exactly?

 

And as for homework... Hmm hmm

 

I am sort of expecting to plug in the cpu, plug in the ram, plug in the video card, power&reset and psu cables, and then load it up. What more do I have to remember?

[custom_coms]

You SHOULD be able to boot with the stock 3/10 bios, since it has "offical" venice BOOT support, although a flash to at least the 6-23 bios is reconmended. Just use the cd. Follow the install guide sticked and you should be good. I have had windows install hang b/c of the marvell lan alone, so disabling most everything you don't need to install windows is a good idea. Its in the guides. A new psu might be required, and a 380 isn't going to cut for anything more than maybe a windows install, unless it magically has 30 amps on the 12v rail and a 24 pin connection. Remember to read the guide (thats why its their)

[tacomodo]

I've always avoided flashing bioses after I flashed an Abit card several years ago and it never booted up again.

 

Is there some sort of protection these days? If I flash the bios and something goes wrong, is there anything I can do?

[tacomodo]

Oh, and if I can just shoot in another quick question here.

 

I've got 2x512MB Geil modules from my old P4 system, and I am wondering if it's possible to use these with the pair I mention above, so that it would look like this:

2x512MB OCZ

+

2x512MB Geil

Both are PC3200.

 

Is it possible to run dual channel with 4 modules? The reason I ask is that I recall reading something about this somewhere.

[malinois1]

I've always avoided flashing bioses after I flashed an Abit card several years ago and it never booted up again.

 

Is there some sort of protection these days? If I flash the bios and something goes wrong, is there anything I can do?

 

 

Well flashing the bios shouldn't be a major ordeal if you plan it out carefully and have a back-up plan if for some strange reason you have a bad flash.

 

Protection? Why yes!! contact Tmod he is a member here and can sell you a bioschip flashed to any bios you want. That way if it fails as I stated above you are not dead in the water .

[malinois1]

Oh, and if I can just shoot in another quick question here.

 

I've got 2x512MB Geil modules from my old P4 system, and I am wondering if it's possible to use these with the pair I mention above, so that it would look like this:

2x512MB OCZ

+

2x512MB Geil

Both are PC3200.

 

Is it possible to run dual channel with 4 modules? The reason I ask is that I recall reading something about this somewhere.

 

 

Most likely you will have problems with 2 different pairs of memory. My ADVISE is DON'T DO IT you are just asking for unnessesary headaches and trouble. With the Venice and San Diego cpu's you can run at 1:1 with CPC set to 2T with 4 dimms. If you insist on 4 dimms make sure the are the Same Brand part # and all and hopefully manuf. as close to the same date as possible.

 

One thing to keep in mind also is that this Mobo is real picky about what ram she will work with so choose wisely.