My new Diamond plus pt2... a pointless thread!

Hi all
OK, my last post title stated that my Diamond Plus was crap. Well it's not  Let me explain. My last build was about 2 1/2 years ago. it wasnt top of the range but still a good computer, some of the parts are in my new rig. Now that build was so easy. All I had to do was push everything togeather and flick psu switch and everything worked 100% first time. :D and it's been great ever since. All I ever upgraded was the memory to 1gb.
Now I've upgraded to a mother board with the latest technology designed to run at the speed of light, and this is where my problems started. First off the psu. no pci-e connectors, and only rated to 350watts. second a soundcard that doesnt like nVidia for some reason and memory, or maybe a cpu, that very picky on how fast it can run.
So in a hurry I bought a cheapish psu, problem 1 solved, for the short term, then games would crash and prime95 would report errors all the time. So I messed around with the memory timings in bios, with help from a few peeps on here, and now has been rock solid. although prime will get upset between 1 and 2 hours.
Now thats left to sort is the sound card. 
Spose what I'm trying to say is. is. is.... Computer building is becoming a fine art. where you cant just bolt things togeather anymore. you have to tune each part to make it work. and sometimes it may take a week or two to do that.
I now LOVE my MSI Diamond Plus and would recomend one to anyone else looking for a simular build.

Everyone's comments here are 100% true. You need to have the nerve to explore in new terrain in order to do this. If you had any doubt in yourself, you'd either pay someone to build a rig for you or go out, sell out, and buy a frackin' Dell. Patience is also vital in computer building because without it, you won't be able to find the answers to your questions and solutions to your problems.
Building rigs can be fun as well as frustrating. Last rig I put together lasted two years before I considered a new system. Heck, that two year old rig is still ticking strong and I plan on reselling it. At the end of 2003, I bought absolutely every latest and greatest piece of hardware on the market including hard drives up the wazzoo, but there was no power supply on the market at the time that could keep a rig with 8 hard drives, a high demand video card and motherboard happy. I pretty much refunded everything and went from large to small. I built an 865P chipset Shuttle SFF Cube PC, P4 2.8C with Hyper-threading @ 3.02 GHz, 1GB DDR433 Dual Channel RAM, SATA 250GB drive, single DVD recorder, GeForce FX 256MB, Analog video conversion capture card and the rest of my raided hard drives I put them in external firewire enclosures. Ran games, edited film, designed 2D and 3D graphics and finished my thesis for my Bachelor's Degree on it like the champ that computer was. The point I'm trying to make is that we all either solve the issue and if we can't, we adapt.
Congrats on getting your rig straight. Inadequate power supplies can seriously put a blemish on a computer so choose yours based on wattage and reputation wisely. Personally, I've got a Themaltake 650w to run my rig.
On a sidenote, I think SLi has been the best computer investment EVAH. And ultimately, if you build a rig properly with the right components, a two year run should be more than worth it. 
LPB

Similar Messages

  • Bios translation needed for my new diamond plus

    i just got my new diamond plus over the weekend and i loke the board except that im a bit confused about the bios.     my last mobo spelled everything out i.e htt 1x 2x 3x...  ddr 266,333,400.   but the diamond has everything in mhz and 1/2, 2/1 and so on. also i cant change some things it says i should be able to change, like the cpu and ddr voltages. i HAD MY VENICE 3200 RUNNING @ 2.5 on my gigabyte k8nxp-sli but cant get it past 2.2 on the diamond, prob because i have no idea what im doing on this board.
    also can anyone tell me y there is a 1.9 bios as well as a 3.0a and a 3.09 ? and which one is best ?

    Quote
    like the cpu and ddr voltages.
    Use the + - keys (the ones on the numeric kb side) or PageUp/Pagedown to change values .
    Enter to select an item , Esc to go back .
    Dram/FSB under "Cell Menu" - "AMD Overclocking Configuration" is
    1/1 , means 200mhz index/divider
    5/6 , means 166mhz index /divider
    2/3 , means 133mhz index/divider
    1/2 , means 100mhz index/divider
    HTT under "Cell Menu" - "Hyper Transport Configuration"
    LDT (K8) to C51D (NB) Freq. : Manual(disabled) -> Enables you to manually set all HT related data .

  • 2x16 SLI Diamond Plus - Read Review Here

    Just saw this little tidbit of info on the new Diamond Plus 2x16 board...
    Haven't read it all yet, but seeing "Most Overclockable Product Award" on top of the review looks good
    http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?cid=6&id=1787

    Quote
    Haven't read it all yet,
    Do it the british lads way start from back (sports pages   )
    Quote
    Conclusion
    First off, let us say that the K8N Diamond Plus is an excellent feature-rich, enthusiast motherboard. As the successor to the K8N Diamond, we had expected nothing less from MSI. However, therein lies a fundamental problem with the motherboard. It is all too similar to the K8N Diamond. In terms of features, the exact same VIA FireWire, Marvel Ethernet and Silicon Image controllers have been used. Even the updated Audigy SE audio onboard is nothing but a re-hash of the Live! 24-bit, using the same DSP,ADC and DAC ships as well. Sure, the Audigy SE carries a better signal-to-noise ratio, but when put in a gaming environment, we don't think it would be noticeable over the din of rocket launchers, fireballs and napalm explosions.
    Even when it comes down to performance, the K8N Diamond Plus matches the K8N Diamond to a tee
    Hardly sounds inspirational

  • K8N Diamond Plus + Adaptec 39320

    I have just built the following
    K8N Diamond Plus + ATI All-In-Wonder 800GT + Adaptec 39320 + 2 x Atlas 15k II (Raid 0) + 2 sticks of 2100 memory
    When I reboot it's 50/50 whether or not we get to see the XP desktop or get a reset.  From a warm restart (within XP) it hardly ever boots.  From a cold start I get more success. In safe mode it gets as far as MUP.SYS and then waits. After that it may boot XP or reset.  Also the XP logo (fade in) at the start stutters a lot.
    So I get the Adaptec bios screen, I get the XP logo fading in and then just when you expect to see the blue desktop it resets.  I have seen a couple of "controller failed to respond in time" in the XP event log.
    Is this some kind of timing issue?  Is there a known fix?
    thanks
    charker

    Charker,
    You power supply looks like a good one.  The reason that Stick and I were jumping on you power supply is that the symptoms you were giving are those that we see a lot of and the cause nine out of ten times is to small or bad power supply.  Yours being new this should not be the case, but even the best company let a bad one get out the door some times, for right now I am going to assume that the power is OK.
    One other thing before we get to your problem, the Forum likes to see your system specifications in your post or preferred in your signature.  It helps us help serive you better, note my signature, if you would had a signature like mine or Stick’s we would not of had the ask you about you power supply and could have gone directly to other causes of problem that can cause you symptoms and saved a lot of time.
    Now, there have been many problems with the Diamond Plus.  It is a very advance motherboard number and many people with little experience with computer are having the most problems.  As you see I am building a new Diamond Plus system and I am also using a third party Hard Drive controller like you are so, I think we can talk and know what the other is saying, but just so I know what level of instructions I need to give when I ask you to do something.  Wil you let know a little about yourself and computers.
    First, myself and others have had problem with thrashed BIOS parameters that are not listed in the BIOS setup routine, so I would like you to Clear your BIOS as the first thing you do.  However, there is a problem here to the MS-7220 MB many people have been having a problem with the reset circuit on the MB.  Therefore, to insure you have a truly cleared BIOS and it will not given us problems.  Unplug the AC Power and pop the battery out of the motherboard and let it set all night or at lest eight hours.  I personally run around in circles for days until some one clued me in to the trick.
    Second, unplug all equipment not required to start Windows and see if that has any effect on the problem.  Where we are going with all this is looking for some hardware or software that is not responding fast enough or at all the in the required time Windows is giving it.  Following this same line check you System Even Log for Warnings or error about hardware or services that Windows has to restart more than once or does not respond quickly enough.
    Third, I have new BIOS that if you would like to try it sent me a personal message with your e-mail address and I will send you a copy.
    Try all of that and let me know what you find.  Do not reply only if you just still have problem, because we like to know if what we have told you worked and it helps other people who may be having your same problem.
    If you do not understand any of my instructions or need more details, just reply and we will work it out.
    Good luck and hope to hear from you soon.
    Roger
    When submitting a problem, include a complete list of your system components; include part numbers, all Power Supply Voltages, and their output ratings.  It is almost impossible to estimate what your problem is without knowing something about it. 

  • K8N Diamond Plus, dead as a duck

    Hello,
    I'm having problem with my brand new Diamond Plus (in fact every piece of my system is brand new, arrived yesterday).
    It will not boot.
    When I turn it on all the D-bracket LED's turn red, the fans starts but nothing else happens (no sounds).
    I have checked that the cooler (stock) was installed correctly, all the power cables are where they should be.
    I have tried to start with the CPU removed, the same symptoms appears.
    Any ideas about where the problem is?
    TCB

    TCB
    Have checked for any shorts to case?
    Good time to check is if your going to RMA it is after you have it removed from case for packing.
    Plug just the two main power connector from PS, you do not need anything plugged in to MB other than speaker and power switch, no CPU no memory.  Plug-in the PS and press power switch, it speck does not sound off when BIOS find no CPU, you have dead MB, if speaker does soun dff you may have had a short to case causing the problem.
    Just a thought could save you shipping charges and down time and will only take 10 minutes to do.
    Roger
    When submitting a problem, include a complete list of your system components; include part numbers, all Power Supply Voltages, and their output ratings.  It is almost impossible to estimate what your problem is without knowing something about it. 

  • New Diamond Bios. Not Plus...

    BIOS Type Award® BIOS   File Sizes 383KB
      Version  1.A   Update date 2006-4-11
      Update Description - Add safety recover function to revert BIOS into default setting when system unable to boot due to overclocking.
    To enable the function please press the reset button or power button 3 times.
    - Support NVIDIA 7900X2 PCI-E VGA card.  
    Not sure yet what has changed but  you can find it here; http://www.msi.com.tw/program/support/bios/bos/spt_bos_detail.php?UID=638&kind=1
    Take care not to flash a Bios just because a new one is out. Flash only if you know it fixes a given problem as a failed flash can ruin your day and your board.
    I can not say as yet what has changed but I am sure some folks will get that sorted soon. So wait if your unsure of flashing. As always.

    Quote from: Tiresmoke on 26-March-06, 08:42:47
    We don't advocate flashing Bios's for no reason whatever. This is not like a driver in Windows for your vid card. Have a problem while flashing a bios and say goodbye to your MB.
    I agree with you, but some times the trill of it is just too great.
    Not to mention the increased speed posibilities 
    Has anyone tried the IOSS BIOS Savior?
    The SST 49LF004A /3.3V is only listed on the site, the Diamond Plus I have has 49LF004B.
    The Diamond Plus markings off the chip are:
    SST-49LF004B-33-4C-NH-0551003-C
    I am only 18 hrs thru a 40+ hrs re-encode of 80 gigs, don't really wish to verify the boot loader BIOS.
    Can somone please verify that the Flash reads:
    SST 49LF004B /3.3V
    and if "FWH" is also on the ID?
    I'm hoping the RD1 - 8X/PMC4 will work. Feel $25 is well worth the peace of mind 
    Sent off an request for verification, if allowed, I'll post reply.
    enjoy
    PS, Not that I've ever killed a BIOS 
    I also wont mention how a burnt squirrel on a power line can "affect" a flash with NO UPS 
    Be safe, feed your 'puter safe power and save your sanity 

  • New K8N diamond plus questions please help.

    Hi all well i am new to this msi site and am thinking of buying the new MSI K8N Diamond plus motherboard, the problem i have is that i have been a fan of ASUS and have had there last 3 SLI motherboards of which i have not been happy with.
    Well i am totaly into overclocking and have an Opteron 165, balistix ram, 600w Enermax PSU, 2x Gainward 6800gt's,
    what i am looking for is a motherboard that does what i says it will do, yes the asus a8n32 was a great motherboard but has a limitation on the voltage if useing the new E4-E6 stepping cores of which would only give a max voltage of 1.58v of which the asus spec said 1.76v.
    What i am asking you chaps is is this a great motherboard, can you play with all the coms settings without any limitation, or do you think that the DFI motherboard is better.
    If you can let me have some info on this motherboard that would be great, as i can not seam to get any reply from MSI about some information.
    what i am looking for is what is the max CPU voltage and is there any limitation on it for some chips.
    what is the max voltage for the ram
    what is the max voltage for the chipset.
    any help on this would be great.

    Quote from: Stick on 23-February-06, 17:46:08
    there is no mobo that alows 4V for the memory. i think the DFI goes up to 3.4V and you can use a DDR Booster to get to 3.8V. the only mobo that is capable to pass 3.3V is the DFI since you can have the choice to select from which rail the memory will be powered (the 3.3V or the 5V). you don't have that option in any other mobo.
    Hi thanks for the mail but i have just copied this from msi about this motherboard, see below.
    1.Adjust CPU FSB Frequency:
    You can adjust the desired "CPU FSB Frequency" by using "+,-" key. The default value of AMD Athlon™64 is 200MHz. The maximum value is 450MHz.
    2.AMD Overclocking Configuration (CPU Ratio):
    If the CPU is Athlon™64 FX series, the ratio range is from 4 to 25.
    If the CPU is Athlon™64 series, the ratio should be set according to its model number. For example, the ratio range of 3000+ is from 4 to 9, and the 3200+ is from 4 to 10.
    3.Adjust Extra CPU Voltage:
    This is for adjusting CPU voltage while overclocking. Following the CPU default value, the maximum is 1.8V. The interval is 0.05V.
    4.Adjust DDR Memory frequency:
    The Memclock is the major part which has four different frequencies to match many kinds overclocking memory modules. The memory frequency settings includes DRAM/FSB=1/2, 2/3, 5/6, 1/1.
    5.DDR Memory Voltage:
    This is for adjusting memory voltage while overclocking. K8N Diamond Plus has a special design.We use jump to distinguish two level arrangement of voltage. In this way it can get maximum 4.1V for overclocking modules. As you can see the below pictures, the left one is the standard mode when jump hat is located at the top postion. The default value is 2.5V, and the maximum is 3.2V. The interval is 0.05V. As the right one, it is overclocking mode when jump hat is located at the under postion. The default value is 3.2V, and the maximum is 4.1V. The interval is 0.05V.
    What i am asking is there any limitation on the cpu voltage like the asus a8n32 as this had a max voltage of 1.58v due to it having a limit put on it by recomendation of amd.

  • Does new Zalman CNPS8000 fit on MSI K8N Diamond Plus?

    Was wondering about this, and if there would be issues with the height of the copper northbridge heatsink the MSI K8N diamond plus has.
    Will this new CPU cooler fit or will it not like the other Zalman 7000 series?

    TimeReaper,
    I do not see why not:
    Take Care,
    Richard

  • New BIOS for Diamond Plus any problem noted yet.

    Anybody using the new BIOS for the Diamond Plus Version 3.09 BIOS.
    I have got it installed and upgrade went will, but be ready for changes.  Go over you BIOS Setting each and every parameter, because they have changed a lot of the defaults, like all Network controllers are disabled by default.  The have made changes to the Hyper Transport Defaults setting they are what they should have been in the first place.
    Marvel Yukon network controller drivers of old will not will not load and MSI USA download for the driver is off line. Tw site is not down but not taking new requests for the drive because of traffic load.  Old nVidia network drives loaded after I enabled on board LAN on in the BIOS.
    That, all I have checked out so far, Oh yes the changes in Memory BIOS setting, but have not been able to check all of the out.  If some one with experience with memory BIOS settings could check them out and give report back it would be helpful.
    We asked for it now we got it, for better or worse.
    Roger
    When submitting a problem, include a complete list of your system components; include part numbers, all Power Supply Voltages, and their output ratings.  It is almost impossible to estimate what your problem is without knowing something about it. Here is the link to the web site.

    Quote from: NoBS on 22-March-06, 21:40:24
    Wow, funny how 2 gigs still needs a paging file with a standard desk top!
    Of course, even funnier just how fast 2 gigs can be eat'n up with 3d rendering and audio/video encoding!
    Just blowing my mind, remember when 32meg RAM was considered over kill?
    Ah those 3.1 days 
    that's not a bios issue it is a xp home and xp pro 32 bit issue.
    if you want 4 gigs you need a 64 bit OS like server 2003 or xp pro 64 bit.
    Yes it will run in dual channel but due to limitations you will have it run in ddr 333 *UNLESS* you have single sided 1 gig sticks.
    Even with 4 gigs you will see slightly less than 4 gigs in bios, as a portion is Used there. once in windows you will see the full 4 gigs.
    btw I am on my old P4 3.0e prescott as i sent in my two 7800gt's for the step up program.
    They should be here by the 31st.
    For what it is worth I have had 4 gigs working on this mb and cpu using ms's free dl of their 64 bit os.
    It took me for ever to figure out why i was only getting 333 ddr and 3.5 gigs. this was 18 months ago.
    When i ran a dual boot of the xp hom and xp 64 with 4 gigs, i did not see the support from my prefered software vendors.  So i sent back 2 gigs, and stuck with xp home. Now that i have the new amd i stepped up to xp pro 64 bit and love it.

  • MOVED: MSI TECHNICAL - URGENTLY NEED NEW BIOS FOR DIAMOND PLUS MOBO

    This topic has been moved to BIOS.
    https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=93688.0

    We are having a issue here with the Nvidia raid changing the raid from raid 0 to raid 2 all by it's self. This has happend twice now on the Diamon Plus board. We have tried all kinds of drives. Sata 1 Sata 2 from 4 companys with no change. We are also having the op system Windows give errors that I have never seen in 20 years of building computers .
      We have contacted tech support by phone and they have been great trying to help us , but to no good out come. Tech support told us here at the shop that this is an issue that they are working on and trying to find a fix.
    This board is a great gamer board if you can find a build of parts that it is stable with, but if not it is a on going problem.
    We are also getting the boot error on the Raid that you are on some systems that we build.
    I will say again that MSI tech support has been great in working with us on this, And we are also starting to see errors on systems that we put out with the Diamond Plus when the first came out for use. Systems that have been stable for about two months are starting to come back with issues with the drives and that is strange as one would think it would stay stable after this long running.
        But in looking back on what has happend , all the issues seem to be due to the Harddrives or Drive controlers.  Now that could encompass the buss or buss controler and or many other factors. But we do think the problem is with one of these.
     I use the diamond plus for my own gaming system, and it is fast. I love it and the changes I can make in the bios. But I cannot use the raid on the board . I have tired and it was not stable , and after two reloads I went to a fast 300 gig single sata drive. After that I have had no issues at all. And with this drive I am running as fast as I did with the raid. I would recomend that others take this route till a fix is found.
     

  • K8N Diamond Plus & Corecell- temp & voltage accurate?

    I just set up my new system with this motherboard (K8N Diamond Plus,) an Opteron 165, Scythe Mine heatsink, and a Silverstone Zeus 560w. Its these components that lead to my question-
    I am getting temps of about 31C idle, 41C load.  Nice temps yes, but I'm not sure how accurate those are.  That means that it is idling at 86F in a room that was probably in the high 70's, maybe 80.  Seems a little too good to be true, but then again, I am used to Intel's furnace-like temps   
    Its the voltage reading that has me a bit more concerned though.  Corecell is reading my +5v as 5.36v, and my +12v as 12.28v.  The +3.3v is reading about spot-on at 3.33v.  I'm hoping that someone else who has this motherboard can tell me this- are the readings in Corecell for this motherboard generally accurate, and should I be concerned about this?

    You can post more then one item per thread..
    Since you already have a thread running, I am locking this one.
    You can copy and paste to your other thread if you like.
    Richard

  • K8N Diamond Plus Temperatures

    I was doing some initial setup on my new PC, using a PCI Graphics card (my SLI GPU's haven't arrived yet) and I noticed that barely 5 minutes after power on, the CPU and Northbridge are up around 45 and 48 Degrees Centigrade respectively. Whats more worrying, is that the heatpipe from the Southbridge, and the Southbridge heatsink are too hot to touch. My RAM (Corsair TWINX2048C2PT PC3200) also gets extremely hot. Is this normal?
    I have a 4800+ X2, with standard HSF. I have two 120mm fans on the case (one in, one out), but they seem to do little to cool aforementioned components. 580Watt Tagan U22 (TG580-U22)
    Two other queries:
    Near the NB/CPU there is an 8-pin powerconnector (JPWR2), when I got the board out of the box, there was a cap (of sorts) covering 4 of the pins. Any reason for this? The manual indicated to attach an 8-pin connector, as I did (after removing the cap).
    What does the JPWR3 (molex connector) actually do for PCI-E cards which have their own power connectors?

    JonnyManc,
    Your right and that bother me for a while, then I looking at the board layout and it is not the best in the world.
    When, I first fired up my Diamond Plus with a Thermaltake Big Typhoon CL-P0114 120mm, Cooling Fan as a temporary CPU Cooler with system not in the case just laid out on a table.  The System temperature was over 50C.  I had the Graphics Card in the Primary x16 slot right up next to Northbridge Cooler, the Big Typhoon exhausting down on to the motherboard.  Therefore, four major heat generators the Memory modules, CPU, Northbridge and Graphics were all dumping their Hot Exhaust into the same area.  The Northbridge Cooler as Agent Proagandi said you could not touch it without being burned instantly.
    First, thing did was move the Graphics Card to the Secondary x16 slot, that dropped the system temperature a degree or two.
    Second, got the Thermaltake Hyper 6+ and modified it by increasing the fan size to 120mm.  The mounted within take right over the Northbridge Cooler and mounting the Fan on what was now the top, but instead of blowing into the cooler, I reversed the fan, so that not draws air the CPU cooler and exhausting in the top of the case where there are a 120mm and 60mm case exhaust fan.  This arrangement also has the advantage of drawing case air right over the top of the Northbridge Cooler.  Now, I can hold on to the Northbridge cooler for several second before it even starts to feel hot.
    Next, I will be increasing the right side fan from 80mm to 120mm.
    Agent Proagandi,
    Sorry we rather took over you thread, I normally would not do that, but as the subject was Diamond Plus temperature and it is cooling.  I thought you might find the information of interest.  If not I apologize for intruding.
    The system I have been referring to is in my signature. 
    Roger
    When submitting a problem, include a complete list of your system components; include part numbers, all Power Supply Voltages, and their output ratings.  It is almost impossible to estimate what your problem is without knowing something about it. 

  • K8N Diamond Plus- bios freeze & question about temp/voltage monitor

    A weird issue I had right after I setup my mobo last night was that I could not access the "PC Health" portion of the bios.  If I tried selecting it, it would just freeze.  Is this a known issue?  I'm hoping a bios update may solve this one.  Does anyone know anything about this?

    Well I was mostly just asking if this was a known issue, so I guess "no" is all the answer I need...  Now, what would be my best solution?  I am assuming bios update, is there anything else that I should consider?
    But if it helps, as I said its a brand new build, so I'm running the default bios. 1.00.  My other components are:  Silverstone Zeus 560w, 2GB of G.Skill pc4000, Raptor 74gb, 7900gtx, Opteron 165.
    Also, since my other thread was locked (I figured seperating two different topics would make it easier for people to respond to specific questions, I apologize,) here's my other question pasted:
    "I just set up my new system with this motherboard (K8N Diamond Plus,) an Opteron 165, Scythe Mine heatsink, and a Silverstone Zeus 560w. Its these components that lead to my question-
    I am getting temps of about 31C idle, 41C load.  Nice temps yes, but I'm not sure how accurate those are.  That means that it is idling at 86F in a room that was probably in the high 70's, maybe 80.  Seems a little too good to be true, but then again, I am used to Intel's furnace-like temps   
    Its the voltage reading that has me a bit more concerned though.  Corecenter is reading my +5v as 5.36v, and my +12v as 12.28v.  The +3.3v is reading about spot-on at 3.33v.  I'm hoping that someone else who has this motherboard can tell me this- are the readings in Corecenter for this motherboard generally accurate, and should I be concerned about this?"
    Thanks for any help you can give.  No sig yet because I just registered an hour ago, I'll work on it.

  • I need help DDR voltage and latencies (K8N Diamond Plus)

    I noticed my DDR voltage was incorrect in the bios and I don't know what "Auto" is doing with my timings. I have 2GB of Corsair TWINX2048-3200C2 DDR400 Memory installed on DIMM1 and DIMM2 of my K8N Diamond Plus board.
    So far I've made the following changes (as my RAM's specs indicate) in the BIOS but I'm new to this (first build).
    DDR Voltage 2.75V
    CAS  2.0
    tRCD 3
    tRP   3
    tRAS 6
    I left everything else at it's default setting. Are there any other changes I should make?

    Quote from: memeticvirus on 14-May-06, 15:41:10
    I'm having an issue with the 1.10 BIOS that is preventing me from manualy setting the timings...The problem I'm having right now is deciding what BIOS to install and where to download it. Perhaps you could help me with that?
    With pleasure!  I had the same problem with the v1.10 BIOS, as did another member here.  I flashed BACK to the v1.0 BIOS (make sure to use the command line switched (just run the batch file)) and was able to set timings, and then I flashed directly to the 3.0A BIOS and was able to adjust timings still.  See my old thread here.
    For my success (I don't know if any or all of these influenced it, but I'm just happy it works) in flashing I did the following:
    Download the 1.0 (original) and 3.0A (latest "official") BIOS images from MSI's support site.
    Downloaded the DrDos BIOS flash bootable ISO CD image from bootdisk.com
    Used my ISO software to add the BIOS image files onto the ISO image.
    Burned the ISO to CD.
    Booted from the CD
    Flashed to 1.0
    Cut Power (flipped PSU switch in back), held down the CMOS reset switch button on the mobo and the power button for 45 seconds.
    Powered up, set "Optimized Defaults" and set memory voltage to 2.75v and rebooted.
    Set all "normal" BIOS parameters (boot devices, et al).
    Windows (x64) loaded with no issues, Everest reported timings appropriately
    Did the same procedure for the 3.0A BIOS, with similar success. 
    You can see my post or click on the link in my sig for detailed memory reports. 
    Quote from: RogerP on 15-May-06, 03:04:55
    Are you running just one set of TWINX2048-3200C2's?
    Just one pair.  I fiddled with the CR and the only result was with the single known good DIMM my latency got slightly slower (like a 5ns drop), but still no love with 2 DIMMS.  I think it is just dead.  But this is not my story (at least not in this thread)...this is memticvirus's story. 

  • MSI K8N Diamond Plus - Guide to my first week

    OK, not a newb here, but been around the block quite a bit.   MSI K8N Diamond Plus is my 5th A64 mobo (ECS K8M800, my daily undestroyed computer, K8T800, my 12 year olds gamer, Asus A8V Deluxe, first 939 system, Abit AN8 SLI, first SLI gamer, and now the MSI Diamond Plus).   Had the KDP (K8N Diamond Plus) for more than a week now, and here's what I've learned.
    This is state of the art again, and we have no one to blame but ourselves for the pain this causes us when we upgrade like lunatics 
    And as usual, the drivers and BIOS are al Dente (i.e. not cooked enought yet, a little raw)
    MSI is also oddly silent on this system, which is wierd, as they are a large company, and specifically cater to enthusiasts.  But their BIOS guys are MIA.  Hopefully this will not be forever.  Asus, ABIT, DFI, Epox are always fast with fixes
    The board is a nice design, with everything basically accessible, as much as any other board.   Lots of purposeful components, not too many dumb frills.  No tooty fruity colors, but rather practical parts.
    The new 2 piece NForce chipset is fine, and the MSI guys gave us a decent, but funky cooler.  It gets a little warm to the touch when you pound on it with Prime95, or Quake4, but other than that it is fine
    The manual has a zillion typos, and fortunately for us in this forum, we have shared what we've learned.  The translation from Chinese to English leaves quite a bit to be desired, and hopefully, MSI will learn from Asus and Abit and get a better translation service.  In 2006 this is just plain stupid, especially with a $225 board   
    As usual, the mobo supplied tweaker utilities are just aweful.  They look like a hallucination from a Hunter S Thompson book, and they work about as well.  Core center is a sad state of affairs, and the rest of them just burrow their way into your otherwise stable system and cause it to have poor behavior.  And therefore as usual, the BIOS is the best way, if slowest, to tweak this bundle of parts
    Which brings us to the BIOS.  IMHO, the worst one I've seen on a high end board.  ZERO explanation for half the settings (this is not strange in and of itself, BIOS is still a black art, but in a tweakers board, we should have some basic explanation  )
    There seem to be adequate settings in the BIOS for all sorts of doodads and gizmos, but who the heck knows what half of them are.  Roger points out rightfully, that we now need to "Tune" across all these different intermediary bus structures and test.  But with the lack of info from either NVidia, MSI or anyone else for that matter, its kinda hard to know where to start.
    The board is clearly sensitive, which is a result of it being high strung.  This is no different than any "first out" product I've ever bought.  Most take 2 or 3 turns of the crank to get totally stable and forgiving.  This one hated my OCZ platinum EL 2Gb kit memory, and it brought out the worst in one of the SLI based EVGA 7800 GT COs.   These components worked in the Abit AN8 SLI (although not always great), but the MSI has ZERO tolerance for even the slightest pertubation from the memory.  It was BSOD city until I removed both of these components by process of elimination that took probably 100 hours
    Once I removed the bad components, and replaced the memory with Geil Ultra X 2x512 2-2-2-5, it worked great, ran Prime95 for 10 hours with no errors, and seems reasonably stable.  I've RMA-d the bad 7800GT CO back to EVGA, and will report back on how SLI behaves when I get the new one (cross shipped of course, I haveno patience )
    I also now need to replace the 2Gb RAM kit with something that the board will tolerate.  I may RMA the 2Gb kit back to OCZ and try another one, but I dunno.   I love OCZ but I have a bad feeling about this, even though they have great!!! support.  I may try OCZ PC4000 or the RAM that Roger successfully used.
    I did upgrade to the 1.16 BIOS, and found that some new things were added, as well as voltage control in Cell was a little better, but registration of changes in voltage is still a disaster.   I adjusted a bunch of times, it didn't register, and I ended up smoking a new A64 3700+ Diego with 1.95 volts, even though the BIOS claimed it was 1.53.  I had to rebot to see what was going on.   The Thermalright XP-90 kept the proc from melting down through the earth
    Finally, I hope this board attracts more people, and therefore more tweakers that can figure out all these gadgets and settings.  Everyone flocked to the Asus X16 SLI product, which is too bad, as this one needs lots o' folks to hack it up for us to figure out what is going on.
    The on board Creative audio sounds lousy to my ears, and I will replace it with an Audigy 2ZS gamer that I had in the Abit.  It just sounds better, but hopefully the drivers will not trash my newly stable system.   Creative scares me, they scare me alot.
    I've been able to get the CPU up to 2.4Ghz, with a .5 volt bump to the CPU and 2.9 volts into the Geil memory.  So far, so stable, no smoke coming out yet 
    I hope this info is somewhat valuable to someone on this board.  I will post details of all changes that I make, as others are doing, so we can at least take care of ourselves with this thing.

    Quote from: nanohead on 15-February-06, 01:17:10
    Which brings us to the BIOS.  IMHO, the worst one I've seen on a high end board.  ZERO explanation for half the settings (this is not strange in and of itself, BIOS is still a black art, but in a tweakers board, we should have some basic explanation  )
    There seem to be adequate settings in the BIOS for all sorts of doodads and gizmos, but who the heck knows what half of them are.  Roger points out rightfully, that we now need to "Tune" across all these different intermediary bus structures and test.  But with the lack of info from either NVidia, MSI or anyone else for that matter, its kinda hard to know where to start.
    first of all, i do think that all the settings in the BIOS have an explanation in the manual, even if it's a basic one. if that explanation doesn't tell you everything in detail, is because if you do need a detailed explanation of the settings, you probably shouldn't be messing around with those settings.
    Quote from: nanohead on 15-February-06, 01:17:10
    I did upgrade to the 1.16 BIOS, and found that some new things were added, as well as voltage control in Cell was a little better, but registration of changes in voltage is still a disaster.   I adjusted a bunch of times, it didn't register, and I ended up smoking a new A64 3700+ Diego with 1.95 volts, even though the BIOS claimed it was 1.53.  I had to rebot to see what was going on.   The Thermalright XP-90 kept the proc from melting down through the earth.
    wanna tell me how did you get 1.95V on that mobo?
    Quote from: nanohead on 15-February-06, 01:17:10
    I've been able to get the CPU up to 2.4Ghz, with a .5 volt bump to the CPU and 2.9 volts into the Geil memory.  So far, so stable, no smoke coming out yet 
    a 0.5V  bump? again, you must be joking. maybe 0.05V.

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