The OFFICIAL MSI K8N Neo2-939 tips and tricks guide thread

[funkflix]

Yes. Don't think they like high Vdimm, bcs thats are the old Rev of the TCCD!

Edit: Ups, no u have Hynix Chips, they dont like high Vdimm too.

[|-jokker-|]

Where did you donwload the bios ?
I had a bad experience in the past with , not tested locations

I have this nice site may i take the try ?

http://www.lejabeach.com/MSIK8N/k8nneo2.html

[split]

Where did you donwload the bios ?
I had a bad experience in the past with , not tested locations

I have this nice site may i take the try ?

http://www.lejabeach.com/MSIK8N/k8nneo2.html

He gets a lot of those BIOS's from me.
I haven't tested them all, but I know all the ones from .135 on all work without problems.
If you are unsure, I suggest you invest in a BIOS savior.
RD1-PMC4 fits the Neo 2.
You can get them in the US here.
Europe here (they will also flash a chip for you)
UK here (no stock) or here.
This is a handy UK link for when it all goes wrong

[Dynasty]

Wow, just like to share this info about ram slots. Seems when I changed
from Dimm 1 & 2 -DC (closest to Cpu) to Dimms 3 & 4 (farthest from Cpu)
my HTT increased by 240 to 265 without my DDR booster. VDimm is at 2.85V
tracking correctly, ram used is pc 3700 ocz gold.

[Orker]

Wow, just like to share this info about ram slots. Seems when I changed
from Dimm 1 & 2 -DC (closest to Cpu) to Dimms 3 & 4 (farthest from Cpu)
my HTT increased by 240 to 265 without my DDR booster. VDimm is at 2.85V
tracking correctly, ram used is pc 3700 ocz gold.

dam! thats awesome.. i wonder if i should try... anyone else notice this?

[Dynasty]

I have lose timings so i can find the max for this mem. and then tighten them back, once I find a nice sweet spot for them. This screenie is without any Vdimm mod or DDR booster. Seemed my MSI never liked my BH-6 cause max.
I could achieve with my Mushkin Cas 222 Specials was 230 HTT

[Byron]

I'm trying dimm slots 3&4 with 2x512 ballistix 3200 at 10x230, CL2.5 2-2-10, 2.80vdimm now... will report later.

[Dynasty]

Eventually I am going to get some GSkill Pc4400LE this week, now that I have some extra funds for it .
I just wanted to test this MSI board first b4 I spend more money on other ram.
Currently at 267 mhz now making this post with the ocz 3700 gold @ 3-4-4-8

[Byron]

Nope... same thing happens even at dimms 3&4....
Could do 230fsb 1:1 at CL2.5 2-2-10 tho... strange because at 235 no matter what i do (tried loosening the timings, still nothing) prime shows up mem error at first minute.

[Orker]

I have lose timings so i can find the max for this mem. and then tighten them back, once I find a nice sweet spot for them. This screenie is without any Vdimm mod or DDR booster. Seemed my MSI never liked my BH-6 cause max.
I could achieve with my Mushkin Cas 222 Specials was 230 HTT

Do you prefer more bandwidth over lower latencies.. ive done a fair bit of testing and the tighter timings yield better results coz of the on die mem controller


btw thanks for testing that byron.. i wont bother then

the ddr booster only JUST fits in this mobo

[|-jokker-|]

For example , i to run my bh5 in my mobo in slots 3 and 4 i have to start the board with 230htt , if not the screen only apears black .
I don´t know why that´s a mistery .
I will try some tccd , in a couple of days .


Cumps

[Orker]

Whats the best ram for this mobo? im considering changing coz its holding me back something bad

[seb87]

max voltage on the booster display???

i'm up 3.4v reset the computer

[krampak]

Mine reboot at any more than 3'65v.

[Jack]

I've made an little Overclockingguide for MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum. There are
so many questions about it (not only at this forum), that i thought it's an good
idea.

Here ist the link (right klick and download/ use WordPad or something to open it): http://people.freenet.de/funkflix/ocgk8n.txt

It's not very good, but i think some "newbie" should help this a bit!

could you fix that guide? as all i get is mostly random letters and numbers

Mine reboot at any more than 3'65v.

if you wind it up in windows, higher than 3.65V it reboots?

[funkflix]

No need to fix it, just follow the instructions!

(right klick and download/ use WordPad or something to open it)

[Jack]

Bugs 'n Fixes

The OFFICIAL MSI K8N Neo2-939 tips and tricks guide thread



Ram compatibility list:
http://forum.msi.com.tw/thread.php?t...5d04e4065483a2
http://xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=46167



Mods:
Vdimm=Vio, Vdimm, Vcore, Vdd & Vht mod




Nice-To-Know-Facts:
- Boot with only 1 stick of ram. Some board come with bios 1.10 and that bios has an issue with dual channel,
which causes the system not wanting to post with 2 mem sticks installed.
- Cpu fan header must be connected, if not the pc could experience boot problems.
- VTT Tracks
- OCZ DDR-Booster works upto 4,0V
- Slots 1&2 are the ones nearer to the CPU and are dual channel, NOT 1&3.
Advised is to put your mem in slots 1&2 and your booster in slot 4.
Although some people are reaching higher HTT using slot 3&4.
- In order to get the AGP/PCI lock to work, you need to set the AGP freq. to 67. With newer bios (1.3 and newer) i might not be necessary anymore.
- Only the 2 SATA ports closest to the cpu (ports 3+4) have working locks.
- In the bios press and hold Shift+F2 and then press ALT+F3 to unlock "hidden" features within the BIOS.
It has a couple of neat things, namely a "overdrive" function that works on any ATi or Nvidia card.
- turn LDT down to 3x to do any kind of OCing. 4x seems to work aswell 'till ~255MHz HTT
- use your +/- key to change the HT instead of entering sub menu
- Most 939 CPU's do not like dual sided BH-5 mem
BH-5 in general seems to work best with bios 1.36 and newer.
- If anyone has trouble getting low temp readings with the K8N NEO2 downlaod the latest MBM5,
use the K8N NEO Plat mobo selection, click settings go to temps, click CPU,
and choose the first option for Winbond Diode 2.
- Kane:It seems that videocards overclock less with this motherboard, than with others. Will Disable ATI/Nvidia speedup help???
- Bios versions 1.2 and later, support winchesters fully
- Some people experienced problems with Antec Neopower and Truepower PSUs and also with PowerStream PSUs and by several others with those PSUs everything works just fine.
Bios 1.37 might help. Turning the PSU off after you shut down, seems to help aswell. (This deal could be a vidcard thing.)
- Dissable Agressive Timings in Cell Menu if you're going to overclock.
- Quantity of thermal compound on the NB is practically zero. Although it seems to differ, some had a lot, some practically nothing.
- Don't use the last PCI slot, it is meant for the WiFi card.
- The MAch II needs a new firmware to operate with this board firmware here
- NB HSF maintanance class
- taiwanese-NB's aren't that good clocker - they tend to lock up at ~ 260-270MHz 1:1, NBs produced in Korea can reach >300MHz.
Not really sure about that tho', issue may be more related to pre-0419 chipsets then site manufactured, as after-0419Taiwan NB's seem to go 300+ MHz aswell.
The Vdd mod seems to help for the taiwanese NB's to reach 300+ MHz.
To found out which version you have, you have to take the NB HSF off and take a peak.
- According to OnePageBook the newer boards, with S/N:K0411xxxxxx and S/N:K0410xxxxxx, seem to go harder and can do with lower voltage.
Also there seems to be no more problems with winchesters and Phase Change.
- There is only one revision of this board: rev 1.0
- the temps are known to be wrong on the neo2. Atleast on some boards. Others appear to give quite accurate temps.
- XL Pros Neo2 xp-90 combo is NO GO!!!
- the vcore of winchesters seems to undervolt about 0.1V, max 1.7V



Bios:
Hidden bios options accessed by hitting shift + F2 then ALT + F3
bios 1.10, 1.20, 1.23, 1.25, 1.30, 1.33, 1.34, 1.35, 1.36, 1.37, 1.41
beta biosses
1.37 modded bios by Trats or
1.37 modded bios by Trats
lots of biosses, incl. beta and modded ones with changelogs



How to flash your bios:
http://www.weckstrom.com/msibios/How...the%20BIOS.doc
windows bios flashing



Winchester & Negative Temps:
Bios 1.41 seems to help:
Who tried winchester (90nm) with Phase cooling?
World's FASTEST Winchester....
look like newer boards, with S/N:K0411xxxxxx and S/N:K0410xxxxxx, don't have this bug no more



A64Tweaker:
A64Tweaker settings for BH-5 by CodeRed



Beginners OC Guide by GraveDiggA
don't open with notepad, use wordpad


That's what i found in this thread
took a day to complete but it's pretty complete now

[Byron]

Holly crap man, make that post a STICKY!!!

Excellent, cheers.

[Orker]

I understand this board doesnt work well with ocz EB but what about PC3200 EL Platinum Rev2??

and is anyone running this setup?

[funkflix]

All TCCD based Rams work fine on the Neo2!

[Orker]

All TCCD based Rams work fine on the Neo2!

awesome thanks im selling my EB for some of that Rev2 goodness

EDIT: anyone else ever get problems with the core temp monitor on this board? whenever i restart i get the "driver not found" and a couple of other errors... i tried to format but that didnt do anything

[Jack]

Holly crap man, make that post a STICKY!!!

Excellent, cheers.

Thanks man
i'll update the post if i find more info

[Sheik]

All TCCD based Rams work fine on the Neo2!

I finally got my K8N Neo2. I first did my homework by reading this entire thread and making notes. Now I try using my PQI Turbo (which does 285 MHZ 2.5-3-3 with 2 sticks on DFI 754 and 300 MHZ with 1 stick) and SuperPI fails even at 220 MHZ never mind anything higher. I can boot at 260x10 with my FX55, but again SuperPI gives error straight away.

I am using all above suggestions ie LDT x3, 67 AGP, BIOS 1.36 ect ect. Am I the only one getting such bad results with PQI TCCD ? I mean people here are getting 290 MHz and I would be happy with 260 MHz. I'm using 2.6 / 2.7 volts. 2.8 volts gives SuperPI error even quicker. My board is made in China.

What do I do now ? This sucks

I see Antec True Power PSU's mentioned as being an issue above ... I have a 400 Watt True Power .... could this be the cause ?

[Jack]

I finally got my K8N Neo2. I first did my homework by reading this entire thread and making notes. Now I try using my PQI Turbo (which does 285 MHZ 2.5-3-3 with 2 sticks on DFI 754 and 300 MHZ with 1 stick) and SuperPI fails even at 220 MHZ never mind anything higher. I can boot at 260x10 with my FX55, but again SuperPI gives error straight away.

I am using all abaove suggestions ie LDT x3, 67 AGP, BIOS 1.36 ect ect. Am I the only one getting such bad results with PQI TCCD ? I mean people here are getting 290 MHz and I would be happy with 260 MHz. I'm using 2.6 / 2.7 volts. 2.8 volts gives SuperPI error even quicker. My board is made in China.

What do I do now ? This sucks

Made in China doesn't say anything, every box says that...
only thing i can think of is Aggressive Timings, did you disable that in the Cell Menu?

[Sheik]

Aggressive is either Disable or Manual right ? I'm 99 % sure I set it to Disable as per one of the first posts in this thread. Also disabled NV/ATI speedup. Used every sugested setting as per your summary Jack (great work BTW).
Don't think trying other RAM will help as it's double sided BH5. Maybe my OCZ3700EB will do better. I do have a 550 Watt Antec but that's powering my Mach2 setup so would be a mission to try. Don't think my 300 Watt Aopen PSU will cut it, but I guess I better try.