The OFFICIAL Asus AV8 tips, tricks and guide thread

[Raptor]

Asus A8V via k8t800pro


(pic is a rev2.0 board)

overclocking options
Bus Speed: 200-300mhz in 1mhz steps
Bus Multiplier: 1x-5x
CPU Multiplier: 4x-20x
AGP speed: default, 66/33, 75/37 locks dont work on most rev1.xx boards!

overvolting options
Vcore: 0.8-1.80 in 0.025v steps
Vdimm: 2.50-2.80 in 0.1v steps
Vagp: 1.60, 1.70
Vlink: 2.5, 2.6

periphals and features
IDE: 3 ATA 133 slots (2 VIA and 1 Promise 20378)
IDE raid: 0,1,0+1,JBOD
SATA: 4 SATA 150 slots (2 VIA VT8237 and 2 Promise 20378)
SATA raid: 0,1,0+1,JBOD
sata+ide drives in raid: no
Firewire: 2 IEEE 1394A ports
LAN: Marvell 88E8001 gigabit ethernet
Sound: realtec ALC850 8 channel

links
mainboard homepage: A8V Deluxe
forum discussion: The OFFICIAL Asus AV8 tips, tricks and guide thread
review #1: Anandtech revision 2.0 review!
review #2: Hexus.net revision 1.0 review!
review #3: Hardwareluxx (german) revision 1.0 review!
vmod #1: vcore
vmod #2: vdimm
vmod #3: vht missing
vmod #4: vdd


pros
locks are working on all rev2.xx boards
stable and high vcore up to 1.85v
good pcb layout
runs great with bh5
runs great with ocz eb
runs great with tccd
2x Memory Interleaving?
tracks vtt, ocz booster works up to ~3v

cons
locks not working on most rev1.xx boards!
generally starts topping out in the 250's htt (bios 1005.021 beta for rev 1.02)
OVP on VDimm at ~3.15v with a vdimm mod and ~3v with an ocz ddr booster

cpu temperature reading not working correctly


TIPS
TIP: you have to disable cool n quiet when ocing
TIP: disable fast writes
TIP: if you have problems to boot or get your system stable at very low cpu temps try the beta bios 1009.002 or a newer bios version
TIP: bios 1008 might cause prime95 instability, get the latest bios
TIP: you need bios 1007.xx or later to get a winchester 90nm cpu working on this board
TIP: if you have a winchester and your current bios doesnt support it use 1 stick of ram (in slot B1)
then boot from a floppy and flash to 1007 or newer:
1. power down your system
2. Reset cmos
3. boot from a bootable floppy
4. use another floppy with the new bios and the AFUdos.exe program on it
5. type at the A prompt: afudos.exe /ia8v1007.ami
TIP: 1007 seems to give some people problems with the agp/pci locks, use 1008.002 or later
TIP: thermaltake xp120 and corsair xl pro wont fit on this board
TIP: use the promise ide controller when ocing, the via controller is rumored to get unstable when ocing (not locked?)
if you are using the via controller already and want to switch to the promise controller follow this short guide:
1. Copy the PROMISE SATA drivers to a floppy.
2. Turn off your computer and switch your HDD to the PROMISE controller
3. Turn on goto the BIOS ; Advanced > OnBoard Devices Configuration > Onboard Promise Controller [Enabled] > Operating Mode [IDE]
4. In the BIOSchange Boot priority to CD and exit BIOS
5. Pop in your XP CD and press F6 (look carefully for the message at the bottom of the screen)
6. Pop in your Floppy and let XP copy the PROMISE Drivers.
7. Exit install when asked for.
If the above method doesn't work, follow the same steps only let XP repair the existing installation. You should not lose any data.
TIP: you need a fan connected to the cpu fan slot
TIP: if your having stability problems unplug low speed fans, low rpms are rumored to make the board unstable
TIP: if your board has no working locks try to enable them with a hacked bios, works for some boards
TIP: if you have problems booting with one stick try it in slot3 (counting away from the cpu socket)
TIP: 1007 seems to give some people problems with the agp/pci locks, use 1008.002 or later
TIP: bios 1009 beta seems to have coldboot and stability issues above 240fsb (no lock?)





check out the ultimate 939 mobo guide here for informations, bugfixes and tips for all 939 mainboards


EDIT:
-saaya