First 4P Rig Problems

[Imaginaerum]

I've been folding for LTT and wanted to get more than 6k PPD, so I learned about 4P rigs, their (somewhat) low cost and much lower energy use as compared to other methods. As usual, something went wrong and I can't get any video to show up when I use the 6-core processors.

To be more specific:

I bought this motherboard: http://www.supermicro.com/Aplus/motherboard/Opteron8000/MCP55/H8QME-2_.cfm

It came with 4 dual-core CPUs (not sure which kind, planned on selling/tossing them), 16GB of RAM and heatsinks. It says it supports 6-core AMD Opteron 8000 series CPUs, so I bought 4 Opteron 8425 HE 6-core CPUs for a plan to use a total of 24 cores.

The problem is, I can't get any video when using the Opteron 8425s. Video shows up just fine with the dual-cores that came with the motherboard, so I'm sure the motherboard works. I tried putting each one of the four 8425s into the CPU1 socket to see if any of them would show up, and no luck. I tried a dedicated video card (Nvidia GT 610) and still no video with the 8425, and I can still get video, onboard or not, with the included dual-cores. I'm certain it's the CPUs now.

I even tried putting a dual-core and an 8425 together just to see what would happen... and nothing. It only shows video when the dual-cores are installed.

The motherboard has a speaker, but there are no beep codes suggesting a memory or other error.
My PSU is a Seasonic 760w Platinum with a single 12V rail, so I should have enough power.
The only other things I have connected are my PS/2 keyboard and the VGA cable to my monitor. I even tried unplugging the PS/2 keyboard and nothing.

My last thought now is that it has to be a BIOS update, so I downloaded the latest update from the "Update BIOS" link located on the Supermicro website for my motherboard. I created a Win98 DOS boot disk on a thumb drive, put the BIOS files on it, entered the command listed in the readme.txt file, and get this error: File ROM ID incorrect.

Here's a picture of the error: http://i.imgur.com/3dO0z1S.jpg (my TV happens to be my monitor, and I couldn't get my phone to take a clearer picture)

Basically, I've tried everything I can think of, and I'm stuck. Any help at all would be appreciated.

 

[bigted]

i'll just put this right here:

http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1039794714&postcount=107

in summation, you need to flash your bios to support 6 core, note the part about forcing the flash to bypass the incorrect rom id error

 

[bigted]

the general thread should be of use to you as well:

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1749898

 

[Imaginaerum]

i'll just put this right here:

http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1039794714&postcount=107

in summation, you need to flash your bios to support 6 core, note the part about forcing the flash to bypass the incorrect rom id error

Of course, /X and problem solved. Thanks!

 

[bigted]

no problem, glad i could help.

with 8425's you'll be looking at 113k ppd on 8101's and upwards of 160k ppd on the better WUs

have fun

 

[Whaler_99]

Thanks bigted for the help!

He wants to try and give me a run for my money over at LTT.