EP-9NPA+ AND amd64 x2

m|Ke · 10 Jul 2007 at 17:02

Hi,

I have being lookin around forums and epox site and cant find if my EP-9NPA+ will run an x2. The board is revision 1.1, some say I might need a bios flash but I dont want to do this unless I have to.

Ive being doing some overclocking on my 3200+ recently and its addictive

. I am thinking of getting an x2 4400 (coz of the 2mb cache) and overclock it. The cooler I had in mind was an arctic 64 freezer.

So my questions are really in a nutshell:

- Does anyone know if my board will run an x2 (with or without flash)?
- What x2 would you recommend (going to overclock)?
- Does the 1mb/2mb cache make a big difference?
- Is the arctic 64 freezer a decent cooler or would you recommend another?

any help appreciated
thx
Mike

brendy · 10 Jul 2007 at 17:04

My lanparty ultra-d ran my 64bit 3000 fine, no patches, then when I changed to the 4400 x2 I ran it fine but the bios only picked up that it was an amd processor and so it only ran single core, the update for dfi boards is cool, not so sure about yours though but thought this might help.

Mike UK · 10 Jul 2007 at 17:21

I have the same motherboard as you just put an A64 X2 3800 in it works perfectly (although running the latest bios i belive)

Also have a artic cooler 64 on it works very well almost as good as the old thermalright cooler on my old system

m|Ke · 10 Jul 2007 at 19:03

mmm I just realised I dont have a floppy drive in my pc, ill have to pick one up?

Mike UK · 10 Jul 2007 at 19:22

m|Ke said:
mmm I just realised I dont have a floppy drive in my pc, ill have to pick one up?

Hell no! floppy drives are ugly!

have a look on Epox`es website and download Magic Bios and then you can flash it from XP doesnt work under vista though

m|Ke · 10 Jul 2007 at 20:40

so this "Magic Flash 2.2 - Automatic BIOS update through the web." is good? safe? does this backup the bios incase it fails? Im abit cautious since ive never flashed bios before.

Mike UK · 10 Jul 2007 at 20:42

I have used it for the last couple years (or near enough) the board`s still working and it backs up your current bios to file.

Personally think you will be fine unless your unlucky enough to have a power cut half way through

m|Ke · 10 Jul 2007 at 21:17

mike you say you have an EP-9NPA+ and use an Artic freezer 64 cooler, does this fit ok? ive being lookin at some reviews and measurements and it seems it would be very tight, there is big resister thingys on one side and the memory is close on the other.

Mike UK · 10 Jul 2007 at 22:09

m|Ke said:
mike you say you have an EP-9NPA+ and use an Artic freezer 64 cooler, does this fit ok? ive being lookin at some reviews and measurements and it seems it would be very tight, there is big resister thingys on one side and the memory is close on the other.

It fits fine although i am only using two sticks of ram unsure if it would go on with 4 sticks though.
You can change the direction of the cooler so it fits better

m|Ke · 11 Jul 2007 at 07:25

you must have the memory in dimms 3 and 4 then and not 1 and 2? so the coolers fan is pointing at the memory?
Im just trying to think of the best orientation since I own a Xaser3 case I have 2 fans blowing out of the back and 2 blowing in from the side onto the cpu.

EDIT: looking at a lot of reviews of the cooler it looks like it will fit with 4 dimms in, its just if you have the corsair pro ram which is twice as big as normal dimms that wont fit.

Also would you recommend updating the bios before I install the cpu, or install it and then update the bios?

Mike UK · 11 Jul 2007 at 21:25

I would update the bios before installing the new CPU so you know its running the latest so you shouldnt have any bios related problems.

The way i have mine mounted is the fan on the cooler is facing the ram think i got ram slots 3 and 4 populated doesnt matter either day as its working in dual channel alright

m|Ke · 12 Jul 2007 at 08:49

ok thanks for the info mike, appreciated.

the cpu and cooler should be arriving today so ill post my progress

EDIT: updated the bios using magic flash, was pretty easy though I was terrified

, windows then asked me to re-activate and couldnt locate the auth server for some reason, cleared my firewall and changed the bios date then it said it needs to be activated before i can login which scared me since it couldnt find auth before, but worked thankfully. just hope it doesnt want me to auth again after i update the cpu.

m|Ke · 12 Jul 2007 at 11:59

Got it all up and running, I ran 3dmark05 then I ran prime for about 30mins and it hit a max temp of 48C, around 32C idle.

I have noticed that the chipset fan is not working, I am abit worried about this. I cant remember if it worked before I updated, but I have just noticed it isnt spinning