SERIOUS problems with intel bad axe 2

b.cummins

b.cummins

b.cummins

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Ok I got the board on it's great merit and coupled it with an E6600, and some crucial 10th anniversary.

Thing is the board doesn't overclock. I mean, it REALLY doesn't.
I've got the cpu on water. And hence idle temps @ stock 30oC ,load never higher than 41oC. So obviously a lot of head room. I was hoping to push 3.2ghz outta this board.. The most increment it's allowed me to have on the FSB is 275mhz. Weird thing is I don't think it's a duff chip cos it's a B revision, Don't think it's the board because I clocked up the ram and it runs stable and @800mhz. This board is solid, run's super stable. It's just annoying it won't budge. I've tried everything I can think of fiddled the voltages just for 10mhz increment. Still nothing. Please help, am i doing something wrong?!
 
Flash to the 2333 BIOS (currently the preferred BIOS for overclocking) then try the following (usually best to work up to these settings in steps otherwise if an o/c fails you may end up needing to do the jumper recovery to get into the recovery BIOS before trying again):


In Processor Overrides:

CPU Voltage Override - 1.40V
Enhanced Power Slope - Enabled
Front Side Bus Voltage Override - 1.35
MCH/ICH Voltage Override - 1.55
Host Clock Frequency Override - Manual
Host Clock Frequency - 356 (for 3.2GHz clock speed)

------

In Memory Configuration:

Memory Frequency - 533MHz (for 1:1 with FSB)
Reference Frequency - 266MHz (for 1066MHz bootstrap)
tCL - 4 (should also do 3 - try when/if this is successful)
tRCD - 4 (should also do 3 - try when/if this is successful)
tRP - 4 (should also do 3 - try when/if this is successful)
tRASmin - 12 (if setting above to mainly 3 then set this to 8)
Memory Voltage - 2.0V (if setting most of the above to 3 then this will likely need bumping to 2.2V)

------

These settings are overkill for 3.2GHz and are close to what it would take to get you to 3.6GHz (assuming the CPU is good for it - CPU voltage may require a jump to ~1.45-1.50V).

For more advice regarding this board, I'd recommend browsing here.
 
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yea i got that bios and got my fsb up to 390 ( 3511 ) just waiting for the bios that sorts the hdd light out but yes this mobo is rock stable and im very pleased

cheers
 
muppet said:
yea i got that bios and got my fsb up to 390 ( 3511 ) just waiting for the bios that sorts the hdd light out but yes this mobo is rock stable and im very pleased

cheers
Click to expand...
Wow I have that as well, just thought that was me!
 
BX2 is an amazing bord and does 500FSB stable out the box for all that have tried it. Some super new hard core mod out now for it which are really impressive and add an extra 50/60+ fsb. Full metal cap mod adds 66+mhz more exactly so alone you could hit 600fsb. Bios has been the only issues but is being sorted as we speak.

Only bummer is there is a new bord coming soon which is ment to be even better
 
Drazic said:
BX2 is an amazing bord and does 500FSB stable out the box for all that have tried it. Some super new hard core mod out now for it which are really impressive and add an extra 50/60+ fsb. Full metal cap mod adds 66+mhz more exactly so alone you could hit 600fsb. Bios has been the only issues but is being sorted as we speak.

Only bummer is there is a new bord coming soon which is ment to be even better
Click to expand...


Are you confusing this board (Intel D975XBX2 a.k.a 'Bad Axe 2') with something else?
On average and without modification this board tends to top out at around 400-425MHz (when using the default 1066 strap).
500MHz is pretty close to impossible, even on the looser, slower 1333 strap.
 
muppet said:
yea i got that bios and got my fsb up to 390 ( 3511 ) just waiting for the bios that sorts the hdd light out but yes this mobo is rock stable and im very pleased

cheers
Click to expand...

Hi there,

I think you'll find that a BIOS that fixes the the HDD led issue has been released. I'm waiting for my Badaxe2 to arrive and in anticipation of setting this up with an E6600 and 2GB Corsair Dominator memory I've done a fair bit of browsing various threads for tips and information. There's a thread on ABX forums extending to 177 pages on the Badaxe2. On that thread there is a reference to the new BIOS your looking for. As this thread is so long I can't easily post a link to the specific post. However, what finally decided me on the Badaxe2 was the very positive tone of ABX's thread on this motherboard.

As I'm about to set my new Badaxe2 based system up, I'd welcome any tips you may have to avoid any avoidable problems.

I've found a link to this new BIOS see the following http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1138697&page=3&pp=20
 
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hi leporello

first thing to do is get another cooler i got the freezer pro and it lowered my idle temps by 12 degrees . why did intel make a cooler with a round base when the plate over the chip is square amazing

cheers
 
Hi Muppet,

Thanks for the response. I had already decided against the Intel heatsink and have ordered the Coolermaster Hyper TX 775. I have the Arctic Freezer Pro on my current and soon to be my old Athlon FX 57 system. I agree that the Freezer Pro is a great heatsink/fan but I found it an absolute bugger to fit. The Hyper TX is a new product and from the reviews I've read, it is comparable to the Freezer Pro in performance.

As I mentioned in my post above, I chose the Badaxe2 as I've come across so many posts from happy users. As far as my upgrade is concerned, I intend to install a fresh copy of Vista Premium retail next week and my main worry is for compatibility issues for my Buffalo based Wifi.

I shall be installing Vista on my Sata Seagate 320 Gb drive and I'm pondering on the question as to whether to buy a second Seagate to set up a RAID. I don't think this is a major issue in terms of overall performance as I am not a benchmark chaser. I'll probably try for 3Gb at most.
 
<<----- Bad Axe 2 Fanboy here as well.

Not had chance to do any serious overclocking, which, considering my water setup is a bit of a crime, but REALLY looking forward to see whats possible.
 
Hi again muppet and others. I've copied the following from another site. Hope you find it helpful....

Finally is the hdd led issue fixed.
BIOS Version 2507
About This BIOS:
 January 23, 2007
 BX97520J.86A.2507.2007.0123.0952
 SATA RAID info:
 Intel(R) RAID for SATA - v5.6.2.1002
 Marvell* 88SE6145 SATA BIOS – v1.1.0.34
 PXE UNDI: Initializing Intel(R) Boot Agent GE v1.2.28
 PXE Base Code: Intel(R) Boot Agent GE v1.2.42
 Intel® Active Management Technology info:
 Intel® AMT BX Firmware: v1.2.3
New Fixes/Features:
 Fixed issue where ECC Mode was not properly displayed when
Performance Memory Profiles set to Manual in BIOS Setup.
 Added workaround for HDD LED always being lit when Secondary SATA
Controller is disabled in BIOS Setup.
 Fixed boot order for add-in SCSI controller.
 Added support for certain SAS controller.
 IRQ Fix for USB Interrupts.
 Fixed failures seen with Vista* DTM BitLocker Drive Encryption
BIOS Interface Logo Test.
 Fixed issue where Microsoft* Vista BitLocker System Check would
not pass.
 Fixed issue where system would not recognize CTRL+ALT+DEL key
sequence from boot cycling machine.
 Fixed failures with the TCG ACPI Event Log when running the Vista
DTM TCG TPM BIOS Interface Test.
 Fixed issue where system hangs when trying to load FreeDOS*
bootable CD from a USB CD drive.
 Fixed ACPI failures when running the Vista DTM TCG TPM Integration
Test.
 
muppet said:
hi arthalen id be interested to see what you can get your fsb up to with that chip and w/c

cheers
Click to expand...

I'll let you know. I spent 5 minutes last night and hit a rather easy peasy 333FSB no problem. I'm sure it will go a lot higher though.
 
i like it, intel actually fixes it motherboards and gives
a changelog unlike ASUS corp.

now i can finally order the motherboard
since the HD light is sorted as i would'nt use that marvel crap.
 
nice arthalen if you havent upped your vcore i would tweek it up now a couple of notches then ease it up to 350fsb . make sure your ram is 533 my geil ram needs at least 2.0 volts
 
james32 said:
i like it, intel actually fixes it motherboards and gives
a changelog unlike ASUS corp.

now i can finally order the motherboard
since the HD light is sorted as i would'nt use that marvel crap.
Click to expand...

I've just read through the Anandtech review of the DFI RD600 board, and the Marvell controller on the BX2 shows considerably better disk I/O than the ICH7R controller in the Southbridge.

I may give rebuilding my PC a go on the Marvell controller and see how it does.
 
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