DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D Tips Please!

Big.Wayne

Big.Wayne

Big.Wayne

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dfiultradqs2.jpg


Is anyone still using this board? I've just whipped a spare machine together using kit from my Ghoul-Box and I have ended up with psychedelic socket 939 mono-core system! :D

dfilanpartyutnf4ultrad5dx7.jpg


I'm pretty familiar with Socket 939 Athlon 64 but I always used boards from the ASUS A8N-Series so this DFI board with it's freaky BIOS has blown me away a little! :o

I wondered if anyone still uses this board can you throw me some general tips. I'm having trouble clocking a Venice 3200+ to 2500MHz which it can do with ease on the previous A64 boards I've used it on?

I am using a 1GB set Corsair Twinx1024-4000Pro which I picked up from v0n @Members Market so in theory that should be able to run 250MHz (DDR500) but the sticks are currently uproven.

The problem I am having is I am unable to boot to Windows once I start overclocking? it's like I am losing my SATA disks for some reason? I have changed the HTT link from x5 to x4, slackened the memory and given both the memory and CPU more voltage than I think they need. Is there some option for locking the PCI BUS or is that automatic? Does the HTT link and chipset need a voltage boost also for just 250MHz-FSB?

I think I will try and work out how to drop the memory divider and keep that running at 200MHz (DDR400) as that seems to be working fine. .

Man what crazy BIOS :eek: lots of cool options in there though and I will work it out in due course hopefully. Anyways these are the main BIOS screens as set up for stock use, all I have adjusted is the memory timings . . .

dfilanpartyutnf4ultrad1tr9.jpg


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Thanks in advance for any pointers, I've got a week or two with this board so it would be good to tweak it a little and see whats it made off, everything is working nicely at stock so it would be nice to get the old Venice running at's its 2500MHz-2600MHz comfy overclock speed! :)
 
Same Athlon 64 chip? I've had some older ones that would genuinely refuse to go north of 2.4GHz.

For me, my old DFI nF4 Ultra-D overclocked without much fuss. All of my initial overclocking problems were due to leaving a couple of things on auto. I'd start off on a 166 divider, manually set 1T Command Rate, CPU Multi, LDT and default Voltage. Drop your LDT to 4x and go just overclock as you do.

Losing the SATA drives is odd though. I remember on the older nForce 3/Ultra based motherboards, two out of four SATA ports were affected by increases in HTT frequency but I never experienced this with nForce4.
 
Hey! I have one of these Boards, they're great! (not like frosties)

From what you have posted i can't immediately see anything wrong, I seem to remember it being better to leave the startup Voltage as it is and using the Special control. Also i remember reading that the PCI-express frequency should be set @ 101MHz (dont asky why)

PS i also (occasionally) had the problem with SATA drives missing!
 
I loved this board when I had mine. Loads of modded BIOS' available as well for it. :D

Is your RAM in the yellow slots? As this helps with Stability. Orange means you can overclock further. But I had no problems with OC'ing with my RAM in the Yellow slots.

I did have like "the worlds" best guide to overclocking with this board... and I can't find it!!! :eek:

This may help a little:-

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=57317

This may help also:-

http://i4memory.com/f56/amd64-overclocking-guide-07-11-06-a-327/


Actually.... I'll send you an email. ;)
 
Mul said:
Same Athlon 64 chip?
Click to expand...
Yeah my old faithful Venice 3200+ (2GHz 512Kb cache) which runs at 2600MHz using 1.35vCore on several ASUS nForce-4 boards I've used in the past?

I am just doing some undervolting testing at the moment, its something I do a lot using Intel Core 2 Processors but I always had problems in the past with undervolting socket 939 chips, they ran stable but on accasion the PC would POST however this board has a neat *Start-Up* vCore option which I think may be helpful. That PC in the picture above is down to 72Watts atm testing 1.300vCore, not sure how low I can go!

Will get back to the overclocking later, should be alright and Im sure its just a simple option I missed, will try that memory divider also just in case there is problems with the Corsair. I always heard the DFI board had a full on BIOS flip! :D
 
Big.Wayne said:
Yeah my old faithful Venice 3200+ (2GHz 512Kb cache) which runs at 2600MHz using 1.35vCore on several ASUS nForce-4 boards I've used in the past?

I am just doing some undervolting testing at the moment, its something I do a lot using Intel Core 2 Processors but I always had problems in the past with undervolting socket 939 chips, they ran stable but on accasion the PC would POST however this board has a neat *Start-Up* vCore option which I think may be helpful. That PC in the picture above is down to 72Watts atm testing 1.300vCore, not sure how low I can go!

Will get back to the overclocking later, should be alright and Im sure its just a simple option I missed, will try that memory divider also just in case there is problems with the Corsair. I always heard the DFI board had a full on BIOS flip! :D
Click to expand...

I used to do the same. Had my CCBBE Opty down to around 1.0xV at stock and at 1.3V at it's 24/7 2.8GHz clock. Had similar results with my KAB2E 3700+ :cool:

I actually have the opportunity to buy my DFI back from the person I sold it on to a year ago. Head's saying I shouldn't collect more hardware that I might not use but the other part of me wants it back :o
 
Firegod said:
This may help a little:-

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=57317

This may help also:-

http://i4memory.com/f56/amd64-overclocking-guide-07-11-06-a-327/


Actually.... I'll send you an email. ;)
Click to expand...
Thanks for that! :)

Just a couple of quick questions, I notice the board accepts a molex power plug and also a 4-pin floppy style power plug, I dont have these powered but I am not using a powerful graphics card, is that cool?

Also do I need to lock the PCI BUS on this board? Im thinking that may be why Im losing my hard disks when overclocked?

dfilanpartyutnf4ultradwi6.jpg


DO you think blue looks better than the UV purple in the first pic? :D
 
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Oh! Also just noticed from the pic there is a molex connection on the board. I'm pretty sure you should have that connected as it helps for stability. :) It's just above the NB fan.

EDIT: Lol you've read my mind. I'd still plug in the molex like. :)
 
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Lol, I don't think I've seen so many different *FAIL* messages in my life! :D

After an hour or so of tinkering it would seem the system is unable to boot if the memory is set to run any higher than 220MHz (DDR440), I've tried different vDimm, HTT voltage and chipset voltage etc, I've also tried different timings and so far no joy. I suspect either something is set incorrectly in the BIOS or perhaps the sticks are a bit iffy?

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I am having a break now for a bit but my next bit of troubleshooting will be to test the sticks individually just in case one of them is a little flakey, will also probably try the other ram slots just in case its something to do with that.

I have managed to clock my chip anyway which is the main thing, I should have tried dropping the memory divider straight away but I kinda thought Corsair PC4000 would be cool for 250MHz.

twinx10244000pro12bg7.jpg


I will most likely start a new thread in the memory section but if anyone knows a bit about memory tweaking on this board bung a reply up pls!

I may make another post back here once I get it all working good, I do like this board and can see why it was so popular back in the day! :cool:
 
the DFI NF4's are individuals, no settings work the same for everyone even with similar hardware ...but once dialled in they are great boards.

TREF/MAL/RP/Drive Strengths were all important for stability, a bad TREF can make the board extremely flaky at stock :)

at a minimum you want LDT voltage @ 1.3 ;)
 
Could anyone let me know if they have an Ultra D running with 4 mem sticks!

Using the Ultra D in my HTPC with 2 gig of Ballistix PC 4000 (2x1GB). I have a spare 2x512MB matching pair of Corsair PC 4000 which I thought would be a useful addition as I'm using memory gobbling Vista on the HTPC!

Both sticks work o.k when only 1or2 mem banks are populated,but no boot with all 4 sticks,just wondering if anyone knows of any quick fixes before I start bios flashing etc!
 
Unfortunately I only have really basic overclocking knowledge, but I have this board still (my machine is so old but this MB is still going strong!) and recently put in two more 512mb sticks, which work fine.

In other words, I have 4x512MB (2GB) Geil Value Dual Channel DDR PC3200 sticks which worked straight away when I added the additional two.

You probably want some more advanced info from people though :)
 
Tom* said:
Unfortunately I only have really basic overclocking knowledge, but I have this board still (my machine is so old but this MB is still going strong!) and recently put in two more 512mb sticks, which work fine.

In other words, I have 4x512MB (2GB) Geil Value Dual Channel DDR PC3200 sticks which worked straight away when I added the additional two.

You probably want some more advanced info from people though :)
Click to expand...

Thanks,thats useful info.:)

It maybe that 4 identical sticks are required,not sure if DDR1 Ballistix pc4000 is still sold,doubtful i reckon.I'll try a few bios tweaks that I've just come across on the web.
 
These 2 copy's of my DFI Overclocking Database entries may well be of some use to you.


DFI LANPARTY nF4 Ultra-D (04/06/06 BIOS)

AMD OPTY 175 (CCBWE 0551VPMW)

2x512MB G-Skill PC4800 ( PN – 1GBFF-DDR600-1T )

X1900 XT-X@689/797, CAT 6.6 DRIVERS

2X36GB Western Digital Raptor RAID 0

LITEON 832S DVD R/W

PCP&C 1KW PSU

Mach2 GT/Chilly1 head/Desuperheater


Code: 
[b]Genie BIOS Settings:[/b]
[color=red]
FSB Bus Frequency.............................  -  289
LDT/FSB Frequency Ratio.......................  -  4
CPU/FSB Frequency Ratio.......................  -  11
PCI eXpress Frequency.........................  -  105MHZ

CPU VID StartUp Value.........................  -  STARTUP

CPU VID Control...............................  -  1.35v
CPU VID Special Control.......................  -  123%
LDT Voltage Control...........................  -  1.2v
Chip Set Voltage Control......................  -  1.6v
DRAM Voltage Control..........................  -  2.6v[/color]

[b]DRAM Configuration Settings:[/b]
[color=red]
DRAM Frequency Set............................  -  200=RAM/FSB:01/01
Command Per Clock (CPC).......................  -  Enable 
CAS Latency Control (Tcl).....................  -  2.5
RAS# to CAS# delay (Trcd).....................  -  4
Min RAS# active time (Tras)...................  -  6
Row precharge time (Trp)......................  -  3
Row Cycle time (Trc)..........................  -  7 Bus Clocks
Row refresh cyc time (Trfc)...................  -  13 Bus Clocks
Row to Row delay (Trrd).......................  -  0 Bus Clocks
Write recovery time (Twr).....................  -  02 Bus Clocks
Write to Read delay (Twtr)....................  -  01 Bus Clocks
Read to Write delay (Trwt)....................  -  02 Bus Clocks
Refresh Period (Tref).........................  -  3120 Cycles
DRAM Bank Interleave..........................  -  Enabled

DQS Skew Control..............................  -  Auto
DQS Skew Value................................  -  0
DRAM Drive Strength...........................  -  6
DRAM Data Drive Strength......................  -  4
Max Async Latency.............................  -  8
DRAM Response Time............................  -  fastest
Read Preamble Time............................  -  5
IdleCycle Limit...............................  -  16 Cycles
Dynamic Counter...............................  -  Enabled
R/W Queue Bypass..............................  -  16 x
Bypass Max....................................  -  07 x
32 Byte Granularity...........................  -  Disable(4 Bursts)
[/color]


==========


DFI LANPARTY nF4 Ultra-D (04/06/06 BIOS)

AMD OPTY 175 (CCBWE 0551VPMW)

2x512MB G-Skill PC4800 + 2x512mb OCZ 4800 Platinum

X1900 XT-X@689/797, CAT 6.6 DRIVERS

2X36GB Western Digital Raptor RAID 0

LITEON 832S DVD R/W

PCP&C 1KW PSU

Mach2 GT/Chilly1 head/Desuperheater


Code: 
[b]Genie BIOS Settings:[/b]
[color=red]
FSB Bus Frequency.............................  -  289
LDT/FSB Frequency Ratio.......................  -  4
CPU/FSB Frequency Ratio.......................  -  11
PCI eXpress Frequency.........................  -  105MHZ

CPU VID StartUp Value.........................  -  STARTUP

CPU VID Control...............................  -  1.35v
CPU VID Special Control.......................  -  123%
LDT Voltage Control...........................  -  1.3v
Chip Set Voltage Control......................  -  1.6v
DRAM Voltage Control..........................  -  2.8v[/color]

[b]DRAM Configuration Settings:[/b]
[color=red]
DRAM Frequency Set............................  -  166=RAM/FSB
Command Per Clock (CPC).......................  -  Disabled
CAS Latency Control (Tcl).....................  -  2.5
RAS# to CAS# delay (Trcd).....................  -  3
Min RAS# active time (Tras)...................  -  5
Row precharge time (Trp)......................  -  3
Row Cycle time (Trc)..........................  -  7 Bus Clocks
Row refresh cyc time (Trfc)...................  -  14 Bus Clocks
Row to Row delay (Trrd).......................  -  02 Bus Clocks
Write recovery time (Twr).....................  -  02 Bus Clocks
Write to Read delay (Twtr)....................  -  01 Bus Clocks
Read to Write delay (Trwt)....................  -  02 Bus Clocks
Refresh Period (Tref).........................  -  3120 Cycles
DRAM Bank Interleave..........................  -  Enabled

DQS Skew Control..............................  -  Auto
DQS Skew Value................................  -  0
DRAM Drive Strength...........................  -  7
DRAM Data Drive Strength......................  -  4
Max Async Latency.............................  -  8
DRAM Response Time............................  -  fast
Read Preamble Time............................  -  5
IdleCycle Limit...............................  -  16 Cycles
Dynamic Counter...............................  -  Enabled
R/W Queue Bypass..............................  -  16 x
Bypass Max....................................  -  07 x
32 Byte Granularity...........................  -  Disable(4 Bursts)
[/color]


==========
 
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