Lanparty Nfii Ultra

[_MID_Viking]

hi all
its always nice to come here cos i always got fast replays and good ansver
to my *newbiesbabynoobs quiesten* anyway back to the subject

im thinking of getting a LANPARTY NFII ULTRA mobo
but iv never tryed to build a comp from the buttum
but i did try to change most hardware *cpu fans hd grafikcard cd rom flashing bios*

but how do i install /flash bios on a new mobo is it alrdy installet when i get it ?

all othere tips/advice is verry welcome


8k7a
amd 2200+
2 256mb kingstone 3200
ati sapphier 9600 pro whit amd2400+ heatsink 80 tt fan *cant oc more than 90mzh cos sapphir more vagp power*
120gb seagate 8 mb buffer

[Gizmo]

The mobo has to have a working BIOS on it when you get it, or it won't even POST.

Or did I not understand your question?

[robbie]

For another $18 you should be able to get a 2600 (333 fsb)
Just a thought.
Rob

[Lazgoat]

A few tips I've learnt:
1) Build the whole system outside the case first and make sure all your new parts work together. It makes swapping things round far easier than inside a confined case.
2) Take your time, especially when installing the CPU and HSF.
3) As well as considering the XP2600 as Robbie suggested, I'd also consider maybe a Mobile XP2400 or 2500 Barton for overclocking.
4) Get a decent HSF, dont use a standard retail AMD heatsink & fan combo for overclocking.

</end my £0.02 worth advice>
Laz.

[_MID_Viking]

Originally Posted by gizmo

The mobo has to have a working BIOS on it when you get it, or it won't even POST.

Or did I not understand your question?

i just wasnt sure if there was installed bios when u get a new mobo
but now i know there is

[_MID_Viking]

Originally Posted by robbie

For another $18 you should be able to get a 2600 (333 fsb)
Just a thought.
Rob

not here in denmark amd 2600+barton 750dkr = around 100$

[_MID_Viking]

Originally Posted by Lazgoat

A few tips I've learnt:
1) Build the whole system outside the case first and make sure all your new parts work together. It makes swapping things round far easier than inside a confined case.
2) Take your time, especially when installing the CPU and HSF.
3) As well as considering the XP2600 as Robbie suggested, I'd also consider maybe a Mobile XP2400 or 2500 Barton for overclocking.
4) Get a decent HSF, dont use a standard retail AMD heatsink & fan combo for overclocking.

</end my £0.02 worth advice>
Laz.

ist it more save to put the mobo in the case first so u have a good grip on u mobo when u mount the heatsink i got a hightower *no brand name* whit 6 cd rom bay 2 hd bay 1 disk bay

[mixx666]

putting a new mobo in is easy just as long as you take your time and check and double check as you go along. Your board should come in with its Bios all set up, but you may need to update it after you install it. My advice is to put CPU/Heatsink first then Ram and FX card. Without connecting your cdrom and Harddrive turn everything on, your Pc should post at least if not then check everything again, try reset cmos ect... If it does post then continue to connect cdrom/harddrive and anything else you need. Good luck

[Staz]

It is definatly safer to put the CPU and HSF on while the MoBo is out of the case.

I have a piece of foam that I set on a flat surface then set the mobo on top of that. Go go so far as to apply the Thermal grease on the cpu befor I install it. Get it just absolutely perfect and even and thin, It is much easier to do this without the CPU in the mobo.

Then I drop in the CPU and very very carefully set the HSF in place, makeing sure to set it exactly where it needs to go so that there is no twisting or dragging when attaching the clip. This is also much easier to do without the mobo installed because you can see 360 degrees and be comfortible.

I am not sure about the DFI boards, but my Abit has the cpu socket at the top edge of the board. That coupled with a PSU mounted directly above the mobo would make it impossible to engage the retaining clip with the mobo installed.

It is also a good idea to install the ram in the board at this time.

[_MID_Viking]

im afread ill have to settle whit the orginal heatsink
in start maybe i put my Tt 80mm fan i curently have mounted on my ATI 9600 pro on my cpu and put an no name 80mm fan *i got like 6-7 of them* on my ATI card

im not gonna spend any monny on some mid range hs for then later to upgrade it again
since im low on cash ill rather wait to i can aford a slk 800 hs
any sugestion for a good noiseless fan *better than Tt 80mm but less noise

thx for all the tips
dont hold back keep em coming

[danrok]

One of the benefits of the DFI board is that it has a tiny on/off switch and a reset switch built on to the board itself - this makes testing whilst building much easier because you don't have to connect those tiny wires to the pins on the board until you are happy that everything is ok.

The lanparty is a good board for novices because it comes with good documentation. It's also a good board for serious overclockers.

[whatever]

Indeed.

those switches come very handy for caseless overclockers like me. I don't have to use my screwdriver anymore LOL.

[JMa2969]

My toughts, if you haven't already, do not buy the DFI Lanparty NFII Ultra B. I used the in-windows winflash utility to flash the bios and got instant death. DFI swore by the in windows flash (I have flashed an ASUS A7N8XE-Deluxe, worked but the board was garbage and went back). I am finally with the Abit AN7 and contrary to popular belief, am finding it a very good motherboard. You just need to get the latest bios (and they are still working on it to get it better at Abit) and the latest drivers. Then let it settle in for a few days and overclocking becomes a reality, along with an in windows flash based ulility that wont fry the bios. As they say, just my $.02 worth.

[JMa2969]

BTW...forgot to mention, both the ASUS and the DFI hadhorrible overclocking (Asus was worse, never got above 200FSB with an Athlon 2600+ Barton and TwinX pc-3200LL [512Mb dual channel] and the DFI never went above 205). I have hit 220 with the AN7 but not comfortably. I find 210-215 to be a good zone and 200 on the barton gets me 2300Mhz rock solid and low temps to boot (along with needing less voltage supplied to get there than either of the other mobo's). Also, I never deviate from the standard latencies of 11-3-2-2 (probably listed as 11-2-3-2 for most motherboards).
Happy hunting :-)

[danrok]

Some amazing overclocks have been acheived with the DFI boards, this is a very popular board with overclockers, see: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...?s=&forumid=58

I don't understand why your DFI set-up wouldn't go above 205 - perhaps it was a faulty board.

So far, my DFI board has behaved very well. I am not into hardcore overclocking (280+ mhz), so I can't offer my own experiences of how well the board handles at those speeds.

[_MID_Viking]

no didnt get it yet but im getting it on monday
but JMa2969 u got me worrie cant i just flash the bios from dos ?
how did u flash ur bios danrok
scould i forget all about this mobo DFII lanparty

im confused

[JMa2969]

Originally Posted by _MID_Viking

no didnt get it yet but im getting it on monday
but JMa2969 u got me worrie cant i just flash the bios from dos ?
how did u flash ur bios danrok
scould i forget all about this mobo DFII lanparty

im confused

[JMa2969]

Yes, you can update in the bios with the award flash..in fact I would recommend it. I am just speaking to my Air cooled system. I have an Athlon "Barton" core (Locked :-( ) with Corsair Twinx 512 Mb PC-3200LL (and I keep the latencies tight). I have a Vantec Aeroflow that cools quite well....not a noisy Zalman, but it does the job. I just found that the Asus A7N8XE-Deluxe and the DFI board were terrible overclockers and then I flashed the Bios on the DFI, well, enough said. I have already flashed the Bios on this AN7 I have 2 times in windows and one through DOS (a new Beta Bios they just posted last night!!!!!) Abit works on their machines and from what I can tell Asus and DFI build em and forget em...on to the next project. I do know that is especially true of Asus (horrible customer service). But when I flash a bios from windows and the chip either oozes orange liquid or cracks a corner (I couldn't tell because by the time I got to looking at it it was hard....but raised so it looked like it cracked and something oozed then hardened. They also use the Winbond HF chip and I am not overfond of that. Yeah the micro-guru chip I have is winbond to but it actually quiets the system down and raises the fan speeds to cool when I need it. I am not a waterblock cooler (or refrigeration) and am not going for big numbers, but this AN7 I got so far seems to have enormous potential with the continuing bios revisions and driver updates. Also, DFI is using an outdated bios for the sil3114 SATA controller and the AN7 is using the most current, I get much better speeds (although it is only the 3112A 2 channel SATA..Raided I get around 122Mb/s Buffered and sequential reads with around 70 Mb/s random....and Between 90 and 100 Mb/s Writes (buffered and sequential) with around 60Mb/s random writes...not too shabby and way outperformed the other two boards for Dual SATA RAID0 (I am running a pair of Hitachi/IBM 7k250 80GB 7200RPM SATA drives. And you would not believe the numbers I have seen in ATTO with direct input (although being for APPLE I am not so sure of those...the first I posted were Sisoft Sandra SP1). I have maxed out at about 422 FSB with a clock speed of 2426.5...and believe it or not...the longer I run the board the better it gets....I started with a max of 210 FSB Stable. Like I said, I am not a 280 FSB overclocker, but I am very happy with this board and look forward to being as happy as those with the refined NF7-S Boards....it just takes Abit time is all....I spent the $147.00 for the DFI because of the reviews and the looks, and am darn glad I got my money back (less maybe $5.00 shipping).

[JMa2969]

I am not trying to worry you, just be aware of what you are paying for and what you might get. I paid $104.00 for the AN7. You could case mod the DFI and never have a problem...as I said, I had never heard a bad word before I bought...just a cautionary tale. (Just don't EVER flash from within windows). I sound like a schill for Abit so i will shut up....I know people have problems with them too...best of luck whatever you decide!!!!!! :-)

[danrok]

I prefer to do a 'manual' flash using a floppy, I haven't tried to use the windows flash tool on my DFI board. I am always wary of 'wizard' type utilities.

The DFI board certainly looks the part - there's some good clear pics of mine here Lian-Li PC75 case

You will read tales of woe about any make of board. If you buy a top-end board it should be backed up with a sound guarantee. Check the situation before buying. I would have to deal with DFI directly if mine were to become faulty. This is usually better than having to deal with the retailer, unless you know you are dealing with a reputable retailer.