P7n diamond - no bios - 2 of them - fun troubleshooter

Hello,
I write fun troubleshooter because I went so far as to try my friends "working for years" Asus P5B-Plus mobo and CPU and RAM and had same results...
Specs:  P7n Diamond - OCZ GameXstream 700W PSU - E8400 Wolfdale - G.Skill 4gb RAM (2x2) - MSI NX8800GT 512mb OC - 2 Sata WD HDDs - 2 Sata DVD drives
The Story:
I get my supplies from newegg and built it, it turns on (gives CMOS Checksum Error) but then enters bios..... then I get random freeze-ups (even in bios) that were fixed by manually setting my ram to its default timings and low end of voltage.  This fixes it enough to allow me to install Vista 64 business.  I get everything running happily and play HL2/TF2 games for about a week before it starts locking up more and more frequently.  my USB mouse would die in game and the mouse lights/laser would turn off before the system just froze about 10 secs later...   So I decide it could be a Vista issue and so I setup a dual-boot with XP-32.  It seems to fix the freeze-ups before about 5 days later it starts freezing in XP too.  I ran memtest for 6+ hours with zero errors (albeit it did give me memtest errors when i used bios auto timings for ram)...   During the freeze-up issues I went from bios 1.0 to 1.16 to rule that out.....  didnt fix it.     It ended up getting to the point where I was freezing before windows XP or Vista even loaded...  so I RMA'd the p7n diamond.
Receive my 2nd p7n diamond and got it in..   It boots to Vista before freezing 2min later.. same with XP.. mouse stopped working after even just surfing IE. then it hard locks... one time I did get the (PFN_LIST_CORUPT) BSOD... but its not consistent.. most freeze-ups just hard lock it with no BSOD.    I get immediately frustrated and try throwing my friends 4 (1gb) sticks of PNY DDR2-667 in the machine... turn it on and it doesnt boot to bios at all/nor give any beep codes..  re-throw my DDR2-800 back in and again.. not even an attempt to show bios - i turn it on and nothing comes up on the monitor (the monitor just flashes waiting for a signal)..   So I try more troubleshooting.   Disconnected EVERYTHING but one stick of ram and the graphics card... same result - no post....    swapped ram, even tried taking the graphics card out.. no beep codes...    I then assume its a bad CPU and try my friends working-for-years E6300 core-duo chip.... same result-no bios..     
Then I figure - it has to be 2 bad p7n diamond mobos..   So i try my friends Asus P5b-Plus with my E8400 CPU... turn it on.. SAME result!!  no bios or beep codes..   i'm thinking now bad PSU and its frying Mobos on contact??  Odd because both p7n diamonds gave me perfect on-board LED readouts when plugged in and turned on (and on standby)..  All peripheral cards lit-up fine...  and my friends p5b-plus also had the red light showing it was getting power....  Is it possible a PSU that worked for 2 weeks relative fine all of a sudden fry things? 
so I go to best buy and buy an Antec 650W PSU to rule it out..    same result! no bios......   the main frustration is I was using the system for about 2 weeks relatively fine and now all of a sudden things seem to "fry" on contact..
Anyway, I RMA'd this p7n diamond, and the OCZ 700W PSU to try new ones...     I was just looking for opinions on what could be the problem..  I mean as it looks.. either the PSU was frying motherboards yet still lights their LEDs up..  or my E8400 CPU is ruining the motherboard??  or my RAM went bad after being OK?   
some questions - when I get my new setup - im going to plug it in paranoidly......    Can I power up the system with no RAM sticks in it at all??  I just want to make sure RAM wasnt causing the mobo to short out?    Is it possible the GPU is frying the mobo?   Could my Antec 900 case wires be causing this?   I feel since I tried so many diff combinations its the one thing thats staying consistent??
Thanks in advance!!
-mike

Mike...when you get it back...run it outside the case, just the bare essentials, lay the MB on a non-conductive surface (the foam packing works fine.)  If it boots up and works normally..start checking your case for extra MB standoff pins that you may have left in..they will short the board.   If it still has a problem out of the case w/ minimum components...then you can start troubleshooting components.  This is the way to start.  G/luck.
Paul.

Similar Messages

  • P7N Diamond Compatibility w/ Pentium E6300 Wolfsdale

    I would like to know if the P7N Diamond, Flashed to the latest 1.4 bios, is compatible with the new Pentium E6300 Wolfsdale (DualCore)?
    Intel's Product Info for the E6300:
    http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=41493
    Thanks

    Quote from: owilky1 on 01-September-09, 21:28:07
    Yes see here.........
    http://eu.msi.com/index.php?func=prodcpu2&prod_no=1372&maincat_no=1
    Hmm... just to clarify, Intel is playing games with their CPU model numbers and has re-released "E6300" under Wolfsdale.  The original "E6300" was a Conroe core and is what is listed in the official MSI P7N Diamond CPU compatibility list (both B2 and L2 stepping).  Unfortunately, the Wolfsdale version isn't listed yet.  However, the P7N Diamond latest BIOS does support all the prior Wolfsdale cores and the mobo generally supports 1066 FSB processors.  So, although I'm not 100% certain, I'm pretty confident the E6300 Wolfsdale should work.  Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but my impression is E6300 Wolfsdale is much like an E8300 Wolfsdale but with only 2MB L2 cache instead of 6MB.
    Same CPU compatibility list from MSI Global site can be found at the link below
    http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=prodcpu2&prod_no=1372&maincat_no=1
    For absolute certainty, perhaps you should try to contact MSI support directly or wait for a response from a user who's successfully confirmed compatibility between P7N Diamond and E6300 Wolfsdale.

  • P7N Diamond, Bios P07, QX9650, 8GB PC-8500 problem

    Read through main fo the topics in this forum, and tried to identify similar problems, but seem not to be successful.
    P7N Diamond board, with the nwest beta P07 bios.
    QX9650 quad chip,
    and patriot PC2-8500 2GB memory sticks.
    2x EVGA 88800GTS-512 (G92) video cards.
    So first I flashed the new bios, with only 2 memory sticks in 0, 2 slot, I get  post with just fail safe settings, and SLI ready memory enable, which the vendor claims these stikcs can do.
    I boot, but the CPU bounces around between 6x and 8x.
    If I add 2 more memory sticks to come to 8GB total, I crash during boot in Vista 64.
    So remove 2 sticks again, and try to play with bios settings to get anything stable, but... nothing.
    Any ideas, help.
    Thanks much.

    It's normal for your speeds to fluctuate.  It is speedstep(EIST) in action.  It lowers your cpu speed to save power when it isn't doing anything or a light load.  You can disable it in your BIOS if you want and it should run full speed at all times.
    Can you boot into Vista with 1 video card and be stable?
    What power supply are you using?  It sounds like you are lacking enough power to run both those cards.  Make and Model number for PSU.
    You may also need to manually setup your memory timings.  DDR2 memory has a top limit and it is PC2-6400.  Anything over that limit is overclocking and may need adjusting to get them to run.
    Make sure you only have keyboard, mouse, and monitor plugged for testing to help eliminate other issues.
    Can you make a signature with all your computer components listed similar to the one I have below.  it will help us help you.  It's sometimes hard to help when you don't have enough information.
    -=Mark=-

  • Back to a previous bios version / P7N Diamond

    Hello,
    I've a P7N diamond motherboard and I update every time it is possible the bios.
    I did it with version 1.1 and it works if I wanted to overclock my E6700 processor from 2,66 to 3 GHZ  and my PC8500 RAM from 800 to 1066 Mhz.
    As soon as I update with version 1.2, it is not possible anymore to overclock with EXACTLY keeping the same parameters (see my previous subjects).
    Is it possible to return to version 1.1 after flashing to version 1.2 ? Could you help me ? Or tell me what to do with version 1.2 if I want to go on with overclocking ?
    Thank you so much ....
    Didier

    Quote
    As soon as I update with version 1.2, it is not possible anymore to overclock with EXACTLY keeping the same parameters (see my previous subjects).
    Did you clear CMOS with main A/C power cable removed from PSU after flashing the BIOS?  If not, please do that and test again.  OC settings can vary between BIOS Versions, that is not that unusual.
    Quote
    Is it possible to return to version 1.1 after flashing to version 1.2 ?
    Yes.
    Quote
    Could you help me ?
    >>Use the MSI HQ Forum USB flasher<<
    Quote
    Or tell me what to do with version 1.2 if I want to go on with overclocking ?
    Provide full system specs. >>Posting Guide<<  Create a signature with all relevant details about your system so we don't have to ask for it every time you open a new thread.
    Also, post the BIOS settings you used with BIOS v1.1 (all of them) and describe your problem in more details.

  • BIOS Post Error Beeps on P7N Diamond

    Hello. I have had this board for a few days now. I was playing a windows game and got a BSOD after a few minutes. The PC rebooted and I noticed the BIOS Post beeps were different. Before this there was just one long beep, which my research tells me that everything is ok. Now when I boot up I get 3 beeps ... 1 long, followed by 2 short. I researched this as well and found the following in my situation. According to AMI BIOS Beep Codes:
    1 long, 2 short - Failure in video system An error was encountered in the video BIOS ROM, or a horizontal retrace failure has been encountered.
    I'm not sure what this means exactly. It suggests 2 possible errors. Does this mean my video card is bad (8800GTS 512MB)? I have no idea what the second possible error ... retrace failure ... means. I am hoping that you might shed some light on this. Much appreciated.
    My setup:
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    E8400
    4x1GB Transcend PC2-8400 @ 1066 5-5-5-15
    500GB Seagate 7200.10
    500Gb Seagate 7200.11
    X-Fi by MSI
    MSI NX8800GTS 512MB
    Thermaltake Toughpower 700W
    Thermaltake Big Typhoon CPU Cooler
    MS USB Mouse + MS USB Keyboard
    LG DVD Reader + LG DVD Writer + Lightscribe

    Quote from: loonym on 06-March-08, 08:58:24
    I also get the faint short beeps after the initial louder long beep but I never associated this with usb devices or really attached any significance to it. 
    UPDATE:  Ram MEMTEST86+ for 8 hours - no errors.
    Replaced the USB keyboard connector with normal keyboard - and using a single tethered USB mouse - get 1 beep on startup.
    Put in USB keyboard - get two beeps on startup.
    Put in USB remote wireless mouse and get 3 beeps on startup....
    Conclusion:  Beeps seem to be USB related not error related.
    Sierra2 below- the office deskietop being refurbished...
    Added USB extension cable to link to the Dell Screen; and then connected a other couple of UBS devices to the three open ports on the board and one to the Screen [Screen is not USD2 - other ports are USB2]
    Apacer MultiCard Reader
    Wireless Mouse
    Wireless Keyboad and
    an extra USB [tethered] mouse. 
    All was fine until I added the 5th USB device - and then thought it was just missing the mouse driver - but on reboot -  heard a few more beeps [didnt listen that closely post midnight] and got various stops eventually getting through to WIN.  Then it went bellyup unstable and kept rebooting - unpredictably and  intermittently but within 5 to 10 min of each windows adventure. 
    Removed all but the wireless keboard and the tethered mouse - and it has settled down - but am now getting three short beeps at the start.  In setting this up yesterday - no beeps at all with a USB mouse and standard keyboard connector.  Sound at start is maybe one beep and two short ones or three short ones - neither of us listening can tell.  I guess I need to hook up the case speaker as the board speaker is pretty small.
    AMI BIOS beeps diagnostix says it is likely a faulty RAM error on 2 or 3 beeps
    But now, seeing this about the P7N Diamond, I am beginning to wonder if it is a USB related issue.  Maybe too many USB devices.  P4M900 has 2 x 2ports.  Just wondering if adding more than 4 USD devices really cause unstability??  Will run MEMTEST86+ on the RAM this evening to check.  Totally wierd- especially for a supposedly stable and simple board...  Thanks for any ideas...  k2

  • P7n diamond bios'

    Hello, I was wondering what do you guys/girls consider to be the best bios for the p7n diamond edition motherboard? I am overclocking to 3.6ghz on a q6600 kentsfield GO edition, anyway what would be the best for overclocking? thanks!

    Read >>Posting Guide<<
    You can check other topics around, like:
    https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=115746.0

  • P7N Diamond / MS-7510 -- Flashed my BIOS & now S.O.L.?

    Long, excruciating story put short: I bought an MSI MS-7510 motherboard which is OEM for an Acer Aspire G7700 machine. It's based on the retail MSI P7N Diamond board, but a few minor differences. Anyway, the BIOS that came with it was an Acer BIOS, as reported by the BIOS itself, but an MSI Live Update utility reported that the BIOS in there was the 1.4 (an MSI P7N Diamond BIOS). Not knowing which was actually in there, I tried to install a more current Acer BIOS for that board. The Acer flash utility informed me that my board ID was incorrect, so I went on to flash using the MSI P7N Diamond BIOS, v1.4. After successfully flashing via DOS, the computer does not post, it doesn't do anything when I start it. The hard drives, MB, CD-ROMs, PSU, and case fans all get power, but my monitor gets no feed from the video card, nothing. It seems to me that I put the wrong BIOS in there. Am I S.O.L.? Is there any way to flash the BIOS at this point? I'm guessing I can't do anything via USB stick or CD-ROM, as without a proper BIOS, the computer doesn't know what to look for, etc. Is there a hard modification I can do for this board? Jumper pins to reset the BIOS? Anything?    I'm stuck here and could really use help!

    Sorry to say, but we don't support OEM products on this forum. You need to contact Acer in regards to your problem.
    https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=110544.0
    Sorry, but topic locked. :(

  • P7N-Diamond fails to even P.O.S.T/unable to enter the BIOS

    Hi,everybody out there......Recently purchased a P7n-Diamond mobo hoping to build a gaming rig.Alas..upon connecting all the necessary peripherals and powering up the system....there is no displat...no beep.Tried a barebone test with intel q6600,corsair 1gb ram and a zotac nvidia 8800gt card...yes the psu is coolermaster 1000watts.Upon powering up it is seen that all the fans are spinning smoothly...little leds are all glowing....no beep is heard....no display is seen.....no P.O.S.T..........cannot enter the BIOS hence.
    Any angel out there with helping hands please

    Quote from: comp-novice on 04-August-08, 23:39:49
    Tried outside the cabinet also...cleared the cmos...tried to boot only with cpu cooler.an8800gt card ,1gb ram( Corsair ).Same  case...No..post ..
    Even tried with the same configuration in my spare P5n-e sli mobo there it posted fine.
    Beginning to feel that the mobo is defective.
    "tried to boot only with cpu cooler"
    You need a CPU as well
    Can you try with different PSU too?
    Also check mainboard CPU socket for bent-ed pins

  • Random reboots /no BSOD P7n Diamond

     Specs:-
     P7n Diamond (Bios version 1)
     Intel C2Q Q6600 GO @ stock cooled by Thermalright ULTIMA 90 +92mm fan
     2GB Crucial Ballistix 1066 DDR2 ram @ 2.1v (5-5-5-15 2T)
     BFG 8800gts 512 OC
     Creative X-FI Fatality
     2x 74GB WD Raptor Raid 0
     Enermax Infinity 720w
     Xp SP3
     3d06 12540
     Graphics driver 169.21
     Chipset driver 9.64
     All other BIOS settings on auto
     Hi everyone,
     I've had my board up and running for around a week now and up until Saturday it had given me only a few minor problems, the first of which was a BSOD when trying to install the Jmicron drivers and the driver s for my X-FI (they do not seem to like each other). I eventually uninstalled the Jmicron  drivers and disabled the controller in bios which seemed to do the trick.
     For a while after that everything seemed fine got my various games installed all of which seemed to play fine ( TF2, HLF2 (EP 1 & 2), Stalker, X3). Then on  Saturday I decided to install the Crysis demo and for a short time all was well, then my system just rebooted, no BSOD no error just restarted to windows this happened again and again. I also bought COD4 and the same happens with as well never in the same place just random. It also rebooted once during a norton virus scan when tried to enter My Computer
     My system is running cool enough I think I have 1 105CFM 120mm intake fan, 1 side intake fan 80mm and 2 55CFM 80 mm exhaust fans the air is only ever slightly warm and that was after playing HL2 EP2 for 2/3 hours.
     I am at the moment running prime 95 and so far after 3hours all is well, I am also running X3 demo (@ max settings 4xaa 16xaf)in a continuous loop in the background as well to try and trip my system up but at the moment no reboot.
     Any Ideas?

    Quote from: Bigduke6 on 14-May-08, 04:40:55
    Specs:-
     P7n Diamond (Bios version 1)
     Intel C2Q Q6600 GO @ stock cooled by Thermalright ULTIMA 90 +92mm fan
     2GB Crucial Ballistix 1066 DDR2 ram @ 2.1v (5-5-5-15 2T)
     BFG 8800gts 512 OC
     Creative X-FI Fatality
     2x 74GB WD Raptor Raid 0
     Enermax Infinity 720w
     Xp SP3
     3d06 12540
     Graphics driver 169.21
     Chipset driver 9.64
     All other BIOS settings on auto
     Hi everyone,
     I've had my board up and running for around a week now and up until Saturday it had given me only a few minor problems, the first of which was a BSOD when trying to install the Jmicron drivers and the driver s for my X-FI (they do not seem to like each other). I eventually uninstalled the Jmicron  drivers and disabled the controller in bios which seemed to do the trick.
     For a while after that everything seemed fine got my various games installed all of which seemed to play fine ( TF2, HLF2 (EP 1 & 2), Stalker, X3). Then on  Saturday I decided to install the Crysis demo and for a short time all was well, then my system just rebooted, no BSOD no error just restarted to windows this happened again and again. I also bought COD4 and the same happens with as well never in the same place just random. It also rebooted once during a norton virus scan when tried to enter My Computer
     My system is running cool enough I think I have 1 105CFM 120mm intake fan, 1 side intake fan 80mm and 2 55CFM 80 mm exhaust fans the air is only ever slightly warm and that was after playing HL2 EP2 for 2/3 hours.
     I am at the moment running prime 95 and so far after 3hours all is well, I am also running X3 demo (@ max settings 4xaa 16xaf)in a continuous loop in the background as well to try and trip my system up but at the moment no reboot.
     Any Ideas?
    Give this a try.
    FSB 1333
    DRAM (800 is the best I can get, you might work at 1066)
    CPU RATIO 9
    DRAM VOLTAGE (your rated spec)
    CPU VOLTAGE 0.08750
    NB VOLTAGE ONE TICK UNDER 1.400
    SB VOLTAGE 1.525
    CPU GTL 20
    NB GTL 20
    FSB TERM VOLTAGE 50
    D.O.T / EIST/ SLI Mem = DISABLED
    Spread Spectrum = DISABLED
    You may be one of the ones like me and a few others that can only run this board stable with overclocking the cpu to 3ghz. That should be easy to do even on air, but keep an eye on it. I was unable to get viper, g.skill or patriot memory to run at 1066 with my board, at least so far, so you may have better luck than I. Except for getting your memory to work at 1066, I can almost promise that this will work for you. I also had the problem with the jmicron drivers and do not use them now.
    Word of warning, too much playing around with this can lead to OS corruption, so be easy.

  • MSI - P7N Diamond ESATA doesn't work under XP

    I have 2 P7N Diamond motherboards and am running XP Pro/sp2.
    I have never been able to get the esata ports to work. I have spent the last 4 months RMAing boards back and forth to MSI. I have tried at least 4 motherboards, 3 esata external drives, and 3 cables (all 6 feet).
    Sometimes on the upper port (lower port doesn't work at all), the drives get detected in bios as gibberish. Other times it is listed correctly in post, but then I get a "9th slave hard disk error". I press F1 to resume, enter the bios, and the drive shows up. The drive never gets detected in windows, however.
    In bios I have the Extra IDE/RAID Controller enabled and RAID mode is set to IDE.
    In XP I have the JMP36X IDE Controller installed.
    During all this time, MSI Tech Support has insisted that I am doing everything right. I called them last night and they mentioned doing an rma yet again, but when I called back today and talked to someone else, he told me that esata only works under vista in AHCI mode. He said that it won’t work under XP in IDE or AHCI mode.
    Hope someone can help me!!

    Thanks for the reply.
    Quote from: NovJoe on 19-July-09, 17:51:41
    Have you tried to install the RAID controller driver using F6 option by using the XP installation disc?
    I did that when I installed XP. 
    Someone provided this link to set up AHCI mode. Plan to try that in the next day or two.
    http://http://expertester.wordpress.com/2008/07/27/how-to-enable-ahci-windows-xp/

  • P7N Diamond heat issues

    I got my GTX 275 FTW in yesterday and while my rig is pretty screaming now, I'm having some heat issues. My profile contains all my specs and settings. I was hitting temps of up to 66c or so on my CPU when playing Grid at 1920x1080 with full AA/AF turned on yesterday. I've got a Cosmos 1000 case, which is quite silent, but not the best at moving heat, although it has a good number of fans.
    I installed Nvidia Precision tool and set my fan to 70%. I'm hoping that helps some. Is there a way to crank up the fans any with the P7N diamond mobo? I've checked speedfan and it shows my CPU fans at 100%. I'm not sure about PSU or case fans and if there is any way to crank them up some. Any advice on maybe cooling it down some? Also, any suggestions on maybe tweaking my bios settings? I had a hell of a time getting the thing to run stable, as I had to OC and crank up the voltage to get the thing to even work out of the box. Thanks!

    Quote from: Jack t.N. on 18-September-09, 23:46:05
    Well, this temperature limit is not defined for the Core Temperatures, but actually for the so-called "TCase" temperature (temperature measured at/in the geometrical center of the CPU's own heatspreader).  There is no sensor there, so you can't really measure it anyway.
    The limit for the Core Temperatures (TJunction) is much higher  (Core Temp should show you the TjMax/TJunction value).  It is usually around 95-105°C for a Quad Core processor.
    Thanks for the info. So what would you think is a good "max" Core Temp temperature to go by before worrying? Obviously you would prefer to stay well below the TjMax value I would think... Also, what about GPU temp for a GTX 275 or do you know? I really appreciate the feedback by they way. It helps a lot.
    I have also been worried about some of my bios settings, but have been unable to move to a new bios because I'm not sure how to convert the % based values to the more meaningful ones used with later revisions.. but alas that is another topic in and of itself.

  • Problems with P7N Diamond

    Very Sorry if i upset you!
    MSI P7N Diamond  Ver: 1.1 with Bios 1.3
    2x1 Gb Corsair xms2 PC2 6400 tested and works on same board but not this one.
    2x500Gb Samsung F1
    Win XP Pro SP3
    cannot update bios to 1.4 from 1.3
    Tried USB method, CD, Floppy even safe mode command prompt.....disabled everything but the drives with bios files( usb,cd,floppy) but it still it finds the disabled Hardisk and boots into windows.
    Memory will not work in Dual channel...sometimes it boots but nothing on screen.
    Single channel boots most times but after trying USB or CD method it sometimes does not boot into windows.
    Tried online too but only comes up with 1.3 bios
    MSI support is none existent or impossible to get any sense out of them...after repeating my name and email address several times over the telephone i am still not sure if they understood.
    I have filled in the online report system 3 times over the last two weeks but no reply and nothing active in box although it says report complete after submitting.
    Have tried all the ways stated on updating bios.
    I have updated many bios's on various boards, ASUS, ASrock, Aopen, Biostar etc no problems! Even modded bios on Asus boards.

    Quote from: stooper on 04-September-09, 06:04:06
    Against my better judgment, I'm going to reply to this.  By your own admission, the motherboard was functioning fine in single channel mode.  Your issue only occurred under attempts to operate in dual channel mode.  Considering the real world benefits of dual channel memory are arguably negligible, one could remark it's such a minor technical detail, that nobody need b infatuated over it.
    Indeed, again by your own admission, the problems were resolved after you disassembled and reassembled the system with different cables.  Since your arrival, you've been quick to hijack other threads, spew frustration and venom over your issue, and vent agitation against the trouble and bother with all this crap you've had to endure.  Yet, all along, it seems there really was no defect at all on MSI's part.
    You've taken the time to customize your profile avatar with a nice Leeds United animation, but can't be trifled to actually learn about how your equipment operates and how to troubleshoot and optimize it.  So it's so long and farewell and thanks for nothing, hmph!  That's quite a remarkable attitude.
    Good luck with your future Asus adventures.  Perhaps you'll be more satisfied with that choice, perhaps not.  My sense is people with unhappy, wretched personalities will have the odds against them. 
    Oh, and please don't fool yourself that you have so much more of a life to live and real work to get done than anyone else here.  You know nothing about the forum members here, but your demeanor reveals the type of life you have.  I, for one, don't envy you one bit.
    Take a look at reviews of this Motherboard you will see that most people come to the same opinion as myself.
    As for poor support it seems it is a bit hit and miss where ever you go. Some get good support some bad all from the same company.
    I have a nice life living in the English countryside with lots of friends, a dog, three cats and nice girlfriend of many years. A massive garden full of fruit trees, fields full of horses both front and back and good neighbours.
    Thanks for your good wishes and have a nice week-end your self.

  • HELP! - Voltages for Overclocking Q9450 on the MSI P7N Diamond (780i chipset)

    Hey.  I fully understand the settings as far as frequencies go, but am a total voltage newb.  No matter what I do I cant seem to get a stable vista load up with my voltage settings. 
    Please help me by providing suggested voltage settings for my hardware.
    CPU - Intel Core2Quad Q9450
    RAM - 6 gigs of DDR2-800 rated at 2.1V
    VIDEO - Dual Nvidia Geforce 8800GT's in SLI
    MOBO - MSI P7N Diamond, based off the Nvidia Nforce 780i SLI chipset
    My cooling is sufficient, and I have the BIOS version 1.2
    I also turned off all of the overclocking not friendly functions, example: spread spectrum, and DOT, ETC....
    I am trying to run my CPU at 3.2 GHZ (400 mhz before multiplier)
    my settings I want are (as shown in the P7N bios)
    System Clock Mode - Manual
    FSB clock - 1600
    DRAM clock - 800
    Please help me by providing the proper voltages for my setup
    Everything I need is marked by "???"
    CPU Voltage - ???
    DRAM Voltage - (already have, its 2.1)
    NB voltage - ???
    SB voltage - ???
    NB Memory reference voltage - ???
    DIMM memory reference voltage - ???
    Memory terminator voltage - ???
    CPU GTL reference voltage - ???
    NB GTL reference voltage - ???
    FSB terminator voltage - ???
    SB sleep mode voltage - ???
    PCI Expander PLL voltage - ???
    For the sake of you not typing too much, if you specify voltages, any that you do not specify will be assumed to be left at [AUTO]
    PLEASE help me by providing some voltages for me, as I have absolutely no clue what to put for them.  If you have any questions about my hardware feel free to ask, and any help is GREATLY APPRECIATED

    Quote from: nihilkrist on 08-October-08, 08:03:22
    adjusting gtl ref. voltages isn't very difficult, but it is probably best to learn the basics first.
    So, basically, increase the fsb a little. So, for example, from 1333 to 1400. See if it's stable, if it isn't try bumping up vcore one notch and try again. If not try Northbridge. Then later move on to stuff like the fsb term.
    Test stability using prime95, there is a 64-bit multi-core aware version floating around somewhere. Try the ftp server linked to in the "hot use prime95" sticky on here.
    Tbh with your OC you shouldn't need to touch any other voltages, or really use the gtl ref settings. What exactly is "sufficient" cooling though? Stock?
    *EDIT: on a side note, just so you don't think I'm deliberately being awkward not telling you specific voltages, they wouldn't do you any good. Every cpu/mobo can handle different freq. at different voltages. Also, use cpu-z to check on your actual voltage and make sure you don't raise it beyond 1.3625 (I think that's right, it's 1.36something anyway)
    Thanks for the tips.  The reason I wanted to jump straight to FSB 1600 is because the MSI p7n is really picky and only likes 1:1 ratios. 
    My "sufficient cooling" is an aftermarket heatsink, high performance thermal paste, and MASSIVE airflow through my case.  If you want specifics, its the Scythe Zipzang
    Quote from: AaronYuri on 08-October-08, 09:05:16
    CPU Voltage - No one can tell you this.
    NB voltage - Depends on what frequency you want
    SB voltage - What's your HDD setup?
    NB Memory reference voltage - Auto
    DIMM memory reference voltage - Auto
    Memory terminator voltage - Auto
    CPU GTL reference voltage - Depends on speed and other voltages
    NB GTL reference voltage - Same as above
    FSB terminator voltage - Depends on CPU voltage and CPU/FSB clock speed
    SB sleep mode voltage - Auto
    PCI Expander PLL voltage - Auto
    My recommendation is do some reading. Guessing leads to dead hardware.
    6GBs smells like mixing modules... Or do you have 3 modules?
    First of all, I already stated the frequencies that I wanted in the top post, and fairly clearly at that. 
    CPU shouldnt be too hard to figure out, as there are very few to choose from.  I'll try to get back to you on that one
    I have 5, 7200rpm SATA 3.0 drives.  It sometimes runs with only 4, as one is a hot swap. 
    My ram IS mixed, unfortunately.  I'm using 2x 1gig sticks, and 2x 2gig sticks.  However, both sets have heatsinks, and are rated at 800mhz, 4-4-4-12, 2t, timings.  (2.1v)
    I AM running them in dual channel.
    If this helps you suggest voltages please do, If not, then I will just have to start trying using nihilkrist's suggestions.

  • PC keeps crashing P7N Diamond, soundcard driver issue?

    Hi everybody!
    I have followed some forums on xtremesystems.org and I ended up here.
    I'm doing my 3rd build over the years (haven't done one for the last 2 years). I have done so far everything with extreme caution as don't want to mess up anything (I have had the case together already for the last 2 weeks and haven't even had chance to fire up even one game  ). So far I have stayed away from trying over clock anything since my rig is not even stable with stock settings (plus I'm newb so I'm not ready to over clock yet). Haven't adjusted anything in Bios except DRAM voltage to 2.10 (recommended factory settings) and the timings 4-4-4-15 (again recommended factory settings). Everything fired up with first go but when I started to intstall drivers then I started to run into problems. I'm running XP Pro 64 and these are the drivers that I have used used so far:
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    GPU: 169.21_forceware_winxp_64bit_english_wh ql
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    All ideas are welcome, as I have no idea what do try next.
    Sincerely,
    Janx
    PS! I do apologize for my bad English as its not my native language.

    Quote from: janx4u on 15-April-08, 03:54:49
    Regards "creative 5.10.0.33 whql dated 3/2/2007" drivers, are those the ones that you can download from MSI website (from here http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?func=downloaddetail&type=driver&maincat_no=1&prod_no=1372 ) ? If yes then I cant even install them. I cant remember what error it prompts me with as I'm using that Audigy for time being. I will edit my post later after I have swapped the cards back and done some further testing. I let you know what error it shows.
    It shows the following message:
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    Quote from: loonym on 14-April-08, 11:11:16
    and just a question here although this might be a futile exercise, have you tried moving the card around to different slots?
    Tried few different slots. Same old story, computer keeps crashing when trying to install some software. As a side note its quite random. Sometimes it crashes with first software I try to install, sometimes with second or third. It doesent have any preference which program it likes more or less. Sometimes if it doesn't install some certain software with first run I may be able to install it with second or third run. Quite random thing. There isn't any specific pattern that I have discovered (well except the fact it only becomes unstable after I install those drivers. Everything is so random.
    Quote from: loonym on 14-April-08, 11:11:16
    If you want to experiment you can read about some end-user modded x-fi drivers here: http://www.driverheaven.net/audio-general-technical-discussion/149754-vista-xp-driver-support-audigy-xtreme-audio-xfi-cards.html and here: http://www.youp-pax.org/
    Tried those Youp_Pax_XFIAudio&XFIXpressAudioV1.01 drivers and it produces following message:
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    I'm also going through these issues with MSI online support. They are very helpful, but so far there isn't much breakthrough. This is their last advice:
    Quote
    Dear,
    Please go to the following link to download the xp 64-bit driver for your sound card to have a try. If still can't help, please mail us again.
    http://us.creative.com/support/downloads/download.asp?MainCategory=1&nRegionFK=&nCountryFK=&nLanguageFK=&sOSName=Windows+XP+Professional+x64+Edition®ion=1&Product_Name=Sound+Blaster+X-Fi+Xtreme+Audio&Product_ID=15855&modelnumber=&driverlang=1033&OS=23&drivertype=0&x=17&y=10
    Regards
    MSI Technical Support Team
    Using that driver results with the same error message when I try to install it:
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    I know it was long shot but it was worth to try.
    I have notified them about my results, will see what other ideas they might have.
    All ideas or suggestions are very welcome
    Cheers
    Janx

  • Help overclocking E8500 on P7N Diamond

    Hi to all!
    Can you help me to overclock my system, please?
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    by!
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    What were your voltages? You're going to need a lot of nb volts with all that ram in there. The only thing I have is some screens from e8400 bench runs. I'll put them here so you can look. These were with beta bios 1.21. I was pushing voltages quite hard for this although I can't remember the exact numbers. That mobo doesn't have that cpu now. I'm running a q6600 in the P7N diamond now. I may have some photos of those bios settings though stored on my drives, I'll try and look tomorrow.
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