THE A8N32 Build database

HARDWARE:
mobo: A8N32SLI-Deluxe
cpu: 3800+ X2 & Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro HSF
memory: 2GB Mushkin PC4000 (2x1GB)
hard drive(s): 250gb Maxtor Sata II
graphics card: XFX 7800GT Extreme Edition - Arctic Silencer still to buy
sound card: Creative X-fi XtremeMusic
power supply: Seasonic 600w
monitor: Viewsonic Ve710b
shipped bios 1009
current bios 1103

PROBLEMS DURING BUILD:
1) Had 'ACPI non compliant error', then when I hit F7 during setup to disable ACPI I got a 'Bad Page Header' error instead

SOLVED PROBLEM BY:
1) Enabling parallel port

CURRENT STATUS:
Still fiddling about during initial install - seems fine though!

Greetings alI, I stumbled on on this thread while trying to fix the errors mentioned above, and the solution I found here worked a treat - thanks! I do have a couple of questions though which I wonder if someone could help with... I've only got 1 ethernet port enabled as that's all I need, but do I need to install the just Nvidia ethernet driver from the Forceware package, just the Marvell Yukon ethernet driver or both? Also, just to double check, '64 bit' drivers are ONLY for WindowsXP 64 bit edition, correct? Even though I understand that the X2 is sort of a 64 bit CPU, with Windows XP Home I assume should still be using the normal Windows XP drivers? Any help appreciated.
 
HARDWARE:
mobo A8N32-SLI
cpu 4400+
memory 2x512 corsair
hard drive(s)1x160 wd
graphics card 1x 7900 GT
sound card Creative Audigy 2
power supply ANTEC True Control 2.0 550 Power supply
shipped bios no idea
current bios no idea

PROBLEMS DURING BUILD:
Will not boot cpu fan will not spin

SOLVED PROBLEM BY:
Bad Board, got a new one, updated bios viola!

CHANGED/REPLACED HARDWARE:


CURRENT STATUS:
Up and running still don't think i am getting everything i can out of her thou. PCmark has been quite frustrating.
 
Although this board is a great overclocker (it ran great at 2.6Ghz/1.55v), after finishing off this build with another video card and HD it no longer seems necessary (unless for bragging rights I guess).

Specs in sig:
 
I answered my own question in the end with a bit of experimenting - the Nvidia driver is for Ethernet port 1, the Marvell driver is for Ethernet port 2.
 
HARDWARE:AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+
ASUS A8N32-SLi Deluxe (1009 shipped)
eVGA nVIDIA GeForce 7800 GT
G.Skill DDR400 2048mb (1GBx2) (2-3-2-5)
160gb Seagate SATA Barracuda
Creative X-Fi Platinum Soundcard
Viewsonic VA1912wb widescreen
Klipsch 4.1 ProMedia
Antec TruepowerII-550W
CoolerMaster Centurion 5 Case
G5 Laser Mouse
Microsoft Ergonomics 4000 Keyboard

PROBLEMS DURING BUILD:
User error on mounting it on the case;
The case was a pain in the ass to work with, next time im definately going removable mobo tray, but still was livable to work with.

SOLVED PROBLEM BY:
Besides problems, nothing else.

CHANGED/REPLACED HARDWARE:
All new parts

CURRENT STATUS:

Running like a champion, very quiet; hardly noticable AT ALL from my old build.
Haven't even begun to overclock yet =)
 
I just got my A8N32 board back from RMA...when booting up I can never see the BIOS post screen, all I get is a black screen up until the XP loading bar comes on...anyone else experiencing this or know of a way to fix it?

*to get into the BIOS I now just blindly hit the DEL key when I see the black screen and I'm able to enter the BIOS but I want to see the full load screen
 
Perhaps it's just that the pictures missing?

Select the option in BIOS where it displays text instead of the picture (can't remember what it's called of the top of my head!) and see if that fixes it?
 
Forthy said:
Perhaps it's just that the pictures missing?

Select the option in BIOS where it displays text instead of the picture (can't remember what it's called of the top of my head!) and see if that fixes it?
Click to expand...

I've already set the option in my BIOS to disable the Full Screen logo...when I set my BIOS to disable Quick boot then I can see the very end part of the BIOS post, the part where it says "press ESC to boot" and gives you the 10 second countdown...but that part is there because of the quick boot being disabled...I want to see my entire BIOS post
 
Question: What does everyone have the following set to?

K8 to NB Frequency
K8 to NB Link Width
SB to NB Frequency
SB to NB Link Width

My SB to NB Link Width was originally 16 up 16 down, but it caused all sorts of problems with my SLI configuration. Setting the SB to NB Link Width to 8 up 8 down fixed it.... I also increased my SB to NB frequency from 2x to 4x. Does this sound about right?
 
RexPokinghorn said:
Question: What does everyone have the following set to?

K8 to NB Frequency
K8 to NB Link Width
SB to NB Frequency
SB to NB Link Width

My SB to NB Link Width was originally 16 up 16 down, but it caused all sorts of problems with my SLI configuration. Setting the SB to NB Link Width to 8 up 8 down fixed it.... I also increased my SB to NB frequency from 2x to 4x. Does this sound about right?
Click to expand...

"When you start your system with this mainboard up for the first time, make sure the K8 to NB LinkWidth and the SB to NB LinkWidth options are both set at 16|16 and that the SB to NB Frequency option is set at 5X. Make this check every time you update the mainboard’s BIOS or reset the CMOS to be sure the performance of your mainboard is at the maximum."

"This problem may be solved in upcoming BIOS updates, but the last available update we tried didn’t help. It is possible ASUS will release a new revision of the mainboard without the mentioned defect."

I got the above quote from the article below...a must read for all A8N32 owners...it helped me :D

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/mainboards/display/asus-a8n32-sli-deluxe-update.html
 
polonyc2 said:
"When you start your system with this mainboard up for the first time, make sure the K8 to NB LinkWidth and the SB to NB LinkWidth options are both set at 16|16 and that the SB to NB Frequency option is set at 5X. Make this check every time you update the mainboard’s BIOS or reset the CMOS to be sure the performance of your mainboard is at the maximum."

"This problem may be solved in upcoming BIOS updates, but the last available update we tried didn’t help. It is possible ASUS will release a new revision of the mainboard without the mentioned defect."

I got the above quote from the article below...a must read for all A8N32 owners...it helped me :D

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/mainboards/display/asus-a8n32-sli-deluxe-update.html
Click to expand...
Wow, that cleared things up!

And to think... I was going to sell one of the 7900GTs for $250 :eek:
 
The manual is no help on identifying which chip drives "LAN 1" and "LAN 2"...the A8N32 manual says that both LAN 1 and LAN 2 are Marvell LAN's

"Supported by Marvell Gigabit LAN controller, this port allows Gigabit connection to a Local Area Network (LAN) through a network hub."

but I believe that Nvidia is LAN 1 and Marvell is LAN 2...can anyone confirm this?...also which one is best to use the Nvidia or Marvell LAN?...I have heard that the Marvell LAN has much higher CPU utilization...true?
 
HARDWARE:
mobo: A8N32SLI-Deluxe
cpu: AMD 64 3800+ ATHLON X2
memory: 2GB PC3200 Kingston Memory
hard drive(s): bunch of SATA Maxtors
graphics card: BFG 7800GT OC
sound card: Creative Audigy
power supply: BFG 600W
shipped bios: didn't check
current bios: didn;t check, but 1009 sounds right

PROBLEMS DURING BUILD:
#1 video card issues
#2 one reboot did not bring back 64-bit XP

SOLVED PROBLEM BY:
#1 was faulted to Antec 550W PCSU, not enough Amps on the 12V rails
#2 boot order got changed somehow in BIOS

CHANGED/REPLACED HARDWARE:
Besides new BFG PSU, none

CURRENT STATUS:
Up and running :D
 
HARDWARE:
Mobo A8N32 SLI Deluxe
Cpu Opteron 165
Memory 2 X 1gb 3200 Corsair Value
HDD 5x 150GB Raptor RAID 5
Graphics Card 2x XFX 7900 GT
Sound Card Creative Audigy2
Power Supply PC Power & Cooling 510W SLI
shipped bios 1009
current bios 1009

PROBLEMS DURING BUILD:
Video display corruption and system instability.

SOLVED PROBLEM BY:
Bad default settings on:
K8 to NB Frequency
K8 to NB Link Width
SB to NB Frequency
SB to NB Link Width

Manually setting to 16up 16down 5x

CHANGED/REPLACED HARDWARE:
None

CURRENT STATUS:
Up and running.
 
HARDWARE:
mobo : A8N32SLI
cpu : AMD64 3800+ (Zalman CPNS7000)
memory : 2 X 512MB Corsair XMS 2-2-2-5-1
hard drive(s) : 2 X 250gb Hitachi DeskStar
graphics card : XFX 7900GTX (EE)
sound card : Creative Audigy 2ZS Platinum
power supply : Rosewill RP 500W
shipped bios : 1009
current bios : 1009

PROBLEMS DURING BUILD:
ACPI non compliant issues. Failure to completely restart when USB thumb-drive connected.

SOLVED PROBLEM BY:
1) Resetting BIOS to defaults (I always fiddle immediately after installing a new mobo and before re-installing Windows)
2) Remove USB thumb-drive when restarting.

CHANGED/REPLACED HARDWARE:
None

CURRENT STATUS:
Up and running, some minor stalling issues (in another thread).
 
SxyBstrd said:
HARDWARE:
mobo : A8N32SLI
cpu : AMD64 3800+ (Zalman CPNS7000)
memory : 2 X 512MB Corsair XMS 2-2-2-5-1
hard drive(s) : 2 X 250gb Hitachi DeskStar
graphics card : XFX 7900GTX (EE)
sound card : Creative Audigy 2ZS Platinum
power supply : Rosewill RP 500W
shipped bios : 1009
current bios : 1009

PROBLEMS DURING BUILD:
ACPI non compliant issues. Failure to completely restart when USB thumb-drive connected.

SOLVED PROBLEM BY:
1) Resetting BIOS to defaults (I always fiddle immediately after installing a new mobo and before re-installing Windows)
2) Remove USB thumb-drive when restarting.

CHANGED/REPLACED HARDWARE:
None

CURRENT STATUS:
Up and running, some minor stalling issues (in another thread).
Click to expand...

There is an option in the bios under boot section to fix the usb drive boot off issue, the only thing that doesn't work (or at least I am not willing to wait) is an attached Ipod.
 
Cool. It just surprised me that there was no erorr message, no warning, nothin'. Just a blank black screen with a blinking cursor forever (not usually a good sign after your first build and OS install). Now that I know why, though, I don't suppose I'll forget again any time soon.
 
Hardware
A8N32SLI
CPU Opteron 148 :D
Memory 2 x 1gig Mushkin
HD WD 74gig Raptor and 4 other drives
Graphics - 2 x XFX 7800GT OC
Sound Card Creative Audigy Z gamer
Power Supply 680w Aspire
Shipped BIOS 903
Current BIOS 1103
PROBLES DURING BUILD
None
CURRENT STATUS
Up and running sweet!!! Want to see if I can run comfortalbe at 2.8 on air. Plenty fast as it is.
I learned a lot from this thread, Thanks to everyone who contributed, it helped a lot!!! :D
 
HARDWARE:
Case : Antec P180
mobo : A8N32SLI
cpu : 3200+ Manchester running 8.5*330 for 2.8ghz 1.375 vcore
memory : 2 X 1024mb Corsair XMS Cas2, 3-3-7 (133 divider, ram is at 217mhz)
hard drive : Maxtor Maxline III 300gb SATA
graphics card : EVGA 7800 GT CO w/NV Silencer 5R3
sound card : Creative Audigy 2
power supply : Antec TPII 550 SLI
shipped bios : 1009
current bios : 1009

PROBLEMS DURING BUILD:
First few boots I had some instability, but was fixed after a forced my ram timings to Cas2, 3-3-7 (the 3-3-7 part was the problem, auto would set it way too low)
Current Status: Up and running. 100% stability

 
HARDWARE:
mobo : A8N32SLI
cpu : AMD X2 4400+
memory : Corsair TWINX2048 3200C2PT
hard drive(s) : 1 WD 74 GB Raptor
graphics card : BFG 7900GT OC
sound card : Creative Audigy 2 ZS
power supply : OCZ Powerstream 520 SLI
shipped bios : 1009
current bios : 1103

PROBLEMS DURING BUILD:
None

SOLVED PROBLEM BY:
None

CHANGED/REPLACED HARDWARE:
None

CURRENT STATUS:
Up and running, 100% Stable.
 
^^^Stealin your layout :)

HARDWARE:
mobo : A8N32SLI
cpu : AMD 3700+ SD
memory : OCZ PC4000 XTC Gold 2x1gig
hard drive(s) : 2 x Seagate SataII 80gig
graphics card : 2 x eVGA 7800GT's
sound card : Onboard
power supply : Enermax 535watt SLI
shipped bios : 1009
current bios : 1009

PROBLEMS DURING BUILD:
Computer would not turn on, no beeps, nothing. RAM tested fine in another machine, as well as the CPU (both tested in a eVGA n41). Assumed the board was a dud, so took it back. After a bunch of goofing around, it turns out the board will NOT boot with the OCZ modules, but works fine with cheapy 512 Samsung sticks.

SOLVED PROBLEM BY:
Not using the OCZ sticks I guess. Which sucks ass, I bought the kit just for this mobo.

CHANGED/REPLACED HARDWARE:
I had 4 512 DDR400 sticks that may have to do for the time being.

CURRENT STATUS:
Still boning around with it, but it powers on and runs memtest now.


EDIT: The OCZ PC4000 was infact bad, despite testing ok once in a different mobo. Got it exchanged, and using the setting suggested on the OCZ forums for this mobo, everything is running tick tock. 3700+ at 2750, 1:1 with the memory at 1T.
 
HARDWARE:
mobo A8N32SLI
cpu AMD 4000+@2.8ghz
memory2 X 1gb OCZ Gold Gamer
hard drive(s)1 X 34gb Raptor(OS) 1x74 gb Raptor(games etc.)
graphics cardEVGA 7800GTX@500/1300
sound cardCreative Audigy 2 Platinum
power supplyANTEC SMart Power 500y
shipped bios1009
current bios 1009

PROBLEMS DURING BUILD:
None
SOLVED PROBLEM BY:


CHANGED/REPLACED HARDWARE:
None

CURRENT STATUS:
Up and running
 
Guess I'll add to the pot...

Hardware:
a8n32 sli deluxe
x2 4200 @ 2.6ghz (11x236, 1.3v)
2x 1gb patriot 3200
2x dvd ide 1x hd ide 2x hd sata
radeon 9250 pci vpu
creative audigy 2 zs
kworld video capture card
antec true power 2.0 480w
antec p150
bios shipped-1009 current-1103

problems:
ram fails a memtest run, same ram does not fail on alt mobo
tight fit getting it into a loaded p150
marvell lan port occasionally conks out

solutions:
memtest only fails if usb legacy support is on in bios (apparently due to memtest overwriting certain sections of memory dedicated to the usb legacy function)
switched to nvidia lan port, doing fine so far...

current status:
stable, 24hr prime95 run pending...
 
HARDWARE:
Mobo: A8N32SLI-Deluxe
CPU: AMD 64 4200+ X2
Memory: 1GB PC3200 OCZ Titanium (2-3-2-5)
Hard drive(s): (2) 74gig Raptors (2) EIDE 250gig Maxtors
Graphics card: PNY 7900 GT
sound card: Onboard
power supply: Thermaltake PurePower 680w
shipped bios: 1103
current bios: 1103

PROBLEMS DURING BUILD:
Setting up Silcon Raid (could not enable during POST)
Setting up Nvidia Raid( Errors during windows install and BSOD)

SOLVED PROBLEM BY:
None Solved; currently researching...if you have any suggestions please PM me...

CHANGED/REPLACED HARDWARE:
None

CURRENT STATUS:
Running beautifully ^_^ recieved a 8140 in 3Dmark05
 
TheSandman2236 said:
HARDWARE:
Mobo: A8N32SLI-Deluxe
CPU: AMD 64 4200+ X2
Memory: 1GB PC3200 OCZ Titanium (2-3-2-5)
Hard drive(s): (2) 74gig Raptors (2) EIDE 250gig Maxtors
Graphics card: PNY 7900 GT
sound card: Onboard
power supply: Thermaltake PurePower 680w
shipped bios: 1103
current bios: 1103

PROBLEMS DURING BUILD:
Setting up Silcon Raid (could not enable during POST)
Setting up Nvidia Raid( Errors during windows install and BSOD)

SOLVED PROBLEM BY:
None Solved; currently researching...if you have any suggestions please PM me...

CHANGED/REPLACED HARDWARE:
None

CURRENT STATUS:
Running beautifully ^_^ recieved a 8140 in 3Dmark05
Click to expand...

I had this same issue someone recommended limiting the ram to 200fsb or turning off acpi those worked for me.
 
HARDWARE:
mobo: A8N32SLI
cpu: Athlon 64 4000+ San Diego
memory: 2 X 1gb DDR500 OCZ Plat
hard drive: 2 X 160GB Deskstars in RAID 0
graphics card: 2 X BFG 7900 GT
sound card: Creative Audigy Xtreme Music
power supply: Enermax Liberty 500 watt
shipped bios: 1009
current bios: 1009

PROBLEMS DURING BUILD:
Screen would come out fuzzy. BSOD when floppy enabled. BSOD when both RAID controllers enabled

SOLVED PROBLEM BY:
Updated NVidia drivers, disabled floppy, and second RAID controller

CHANGED/REPLACED HARDWARE:
None

CURRENT STATUS:
Up and running
 
I have a question regarding

K8 to NB Frequency
K8 to NB Link Width
SB to NB Frequency
SB to NB Link Width

I understand that if you're stock, you want the KB to NB Frequency and SB to NB Frequency to be 5x so you have a 1000MHz HT.

Right now, I'm at 260MHz FSB and I set the SB to NB speed to "auto" but it has options for 200 / 166 / 133. Should SB to NB be the same speed as the FSB and should I lower my multiplier? I can't find the overclocking thread, but I remember someone saying the total HT speed should be under 1000.

Thanks :eek:
 
Tired of the USB issues with my Abit AN8 SLI (machine freezes during large file transfers). Considering this board.

Looks like you need to enable Parralel port and/or game port in order for Windows to install correctly? Is this a universal thing or did only a few people have to do this? I always disables unused ports (LPT, game, serial), so the idea of needing to enable them is sorta annoying (probably not a deal-breaker if I already had the board, but since I'm just now shopping). Though, I suppose the real question is: Can you disable them successfully after Windows is installed without future problems?

Thanks!

Hurin
 
ive never had my parallel port enabled so i guess its a fluke thing with some people
 
Well, Newegged it, took everything out of my case, cleaned everything up (darn cat hair!). . . and installed this beauty of a motherboard. Things are going well. Though, it seems I too suffer from the "fluke" of needing to enable the Parallel port. . . Otherwise Windows XP SP2 fails to install (after initial reboot following "text mode" install steps, it gives blue screen of death and cites ACPI issues). Other than that minor annoyance, things seem to be going smoothly. Though I won't be able to say for sure or add myself to this database until I've gotten through some stress testing.

Edit: 24-hour dual prime95 and 3dMark06 loop at stock settings succeeded. So, I'm calling the swap a success. Now attempting to import in my overclock settings from my Abit board. So far so good. Database entry below. . .

Best,

H
 
HARDWARE:
mobo: A8N32SLI (rev 1.01)
cpu: AMD X2 4400+
memory: 2GB Corsair TwinX2048-3200C2
hard drive(s): 400GB Seagate Barracuda
graphics card(s): Two 7800GTX (SLI)
sound card: Creative X-Fi Extreme Music
power supply: ANTEC TruePower 2.0 550 Power supply
shipped bios: 1103
current bios: 1103

PROBLEMS DURING BUILD:
ACPI error on Blue Screen of Death during Windows install (after first reboot).

SOLVED PROBLEM BY:
Enabled Parallel port during Windows install as suggested above (haven't tried disabling it yet after install is complete. . . currently in middle of Prime95 24-hour test).

CHANGED/REPLACED HARDWARE:
None

CURRENT STATUS:
Up and running - No problems! So far I'm very happy with this board.
 
Okay, for the record, I was not able to re-enable my parralel port after Windows installation. Doing so causes Windows not to boot and it just restarts (infinite loop). The good news is that the port doesn't take an IRQ once inside Windows. . . so no real harm done.

But, what's the consensus about this quirk? Permanent? Or is this just a BIOS tweak away from disappearing?
 
Hurin said:
Okay, for the record, I was not able to re-enable my parralel port after Windows installation. Doing so causes Windows not to boot and it just restarts (infinite loop). The good news is that the port doesn't take an IRQ once inside Windows. . . so no real harm done.

But, what's the consensus about this quirk? Permanent? Or is this just a BIOS tweak away from disappearing?
Click to expand...

It's really hard to say. Quite a few of us (myself included) have had our parallel ports disabled since our initial boot with this board and haven't had any problems related to it.
 
ill throw my rebuild into the pot here:

SPECS:
BIOS: unsure, updating to 1009 soon
opteron 165, 1.8Ghz (havn't had time to OC yet, cant wait!)
2GB mushkin 500Mhz ram (2x 1GB)
1x EVGA GeForce 7900GT (total bitch to get my hands on!)
Enermax 535 All in one (SLI certified, second 7900GT comes when the price drops;)
X-Fi xtreme music
1x 250GB western digital caviar 16mb SATA 2
1x 80GB western digital IDE (7200rpm)
NEC 16x dual layer DVD burner
LG 16x DVD reader
z-board gaming keyboard

PROBLEMS:
1. ACPI startup/BSOD crap. 2. corruption on downloads with the nvidia NIC 3. cant install asus update utility (unsure about others) 4. can't get my z-board software to see the keyboard properly and remap keys to gaming keyset, may be linked to corruped download.

SOLUTIONS:
1. in the bios, disabled ACPI support. save& exit, let windows crash. reset and turn it back on. done that twice so far. 2, 3 and 4: unresolved as of yet. some of you guys may have done so for me;) thanks! at my moms place for easter, we'll see when i get home tomorrow night.

CURRENT STATUS:
up and running, but still ticking me off.
 
Been reading through this thread for a while but no one has come up with a build with the RAM OCZ4002048ELDCPE-K ...
So does anyone know if this kit will fit with the board? :(

Thanks
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top