Epox 9NPA+ ultra compatible with an Opty 180 ???

[Luke2]

Yo -
just a quick question - Will an Opteron 180 be compatible with the Epox 9NPA+ ultra mobo ???

Also - when i get the new processor - are there any essential steps to do with the drivers etc >?
or is it just simply swaping the processors ?

tyvm for replies

[Gizmo]

Far as I can tell from a quick Google, it SHOULD. However, I can't speak from personal experience, so take that with a grain of salt.

[Toastmaster]

From my limited experience with upgrading CPUs, there shouldn't be any installation that's absolutely necessary. Intel may have some drivers you can install, but generally it will work right out of the box.

EDIT: Gizmo beat me to it

[Luke2]

ok ty for the input
i should be gettin it on Monday so we'll see

now performance-wise : Currently with 2GB mem, X1950XT and 3700+ San Diego - I have a feeling that the Processor is slowing things down.
Do you think the X1950XT isn't performing at its full potential b/c the 3700+ is holding it back ???

U think I'll see difference with the Opty 180 in games etc ?

Also - It isn't the frequency that matters on today's processors is it ? What is it that really matters the most and makes the difference ?

thx again

[cthulhie]

Hi Luke2:

I would love it if you would post the results of your installation. Just yesterday I received and tried to install an Opteron 180 on my Epox 9npa+ultra. I wasn't successful, though by all accounts I should have been. Lots of people have had success with Opterons on this board.

I sent the processor back to Newegg and am now debating whether I want to order it again and try again. I suspect it was a bad processor, but the fact that Opterons aren't supported (and I can't find reports online about success with THIS PARTICULAR processor) has me a little leery of trying again.

If it works out for you, I'm eager to know--I want to put off having to overhaul my system....

[Luke2]

I'll post it as soon as i get it done - Also have you tried flashing BIOS ?
And do you have revision 1.1 of the board ?

[cthulhie]

I'm not really sure what revision I got, but I'm inclined to believe it was 1.1--I purchased in April of 2006.

I did flash the bios to the latest version. Before doing so, the board gave the error code "FF" (which isn't really an error--it just means it has no idea what's going on). After the revision it flashes "C1" (checking memory). I put the old CPU back in (like seven times over the course of the day trying different configurations) and it runs just as well as ever.

Given the sheer number of reports I've read saying that this motherboard supports Opterons, I'm inclined to believe that I just got a bad chip. But I'm still really hesitant to try again--I don't know if I can talk Newegg out of the 15% restocking fee a second time for trying an unsupported install.

Looking forward to your results.

[Luke2]

ok -The shipping thingy says it'll be here by wednesday so I'll post up after the installation

[mcrae]

I have this motherboard and I'm interested in the 180 as well. I currently run the opti 148 and it's been great. However, I do remember a lot of problems with the dual cores when the mb first came out. I have found very little with google. I'll be watching the forum to see how this turns out.

[cthulhie]

Luke2 - Hope you received it and the install goes well. I'm eagerly looking forward to reading about your results. If you run into any problems and would like to know what I did and didn't try, feel free to post and ask, though my process was pretty straightforward. (When you can't even boot to the bios, there aren't a great many useful changes you can make.)

I'm hoping for the best--I really want to do this upgrade myself.

[Samuknow]

This is good stuff guys. Let's keep this going to see if it can happen.

[Luke2]

ok guys UPS shipped it one day late - how "usual"

here are my results - Before I put the new opty 180 in I downloaded software called MagicFlash which flashes Epox motherboards BIOS right in Windows so no CD or Floppy needed (some say it's dangerous - I just did it) - My BIOS was old and after an upgrade to a newer version i turned off the PC and reseted CMOS jumper settings.
I swapped the CPU's and booted - EPOX 9NPA+ULTRA had absolutely no problems with reckognizing the Dual-Core CPU, so i installed the opteron driver along with the Dual-Core optimization driver (both downloaded from AMD web-site) and restarted PC.

I CAN ALREADY SEE THE DIFFERENCE !!!! WOW - I'm not planning on Overclocking this just yet - Also i'm a gamer and now i feel like my X1950XT is gettin the Full juice from the CPU -

So everything's working just fine guys - Go ahead and make it happen

[Samuknow]

This is great news.

Enjoy your new power. And BTW, those Optys fold great....hint hint...

[cthulhie]

That is excellent news! It's also wildly different than my experience was. I'm putting in my order now.

Thanks for the timely update, and enjoy your new performance!

[cthulhie]

This is an update post in case someone has the same problem I did (and searches the internet feverishly to establish whether this mobo and processor is compatible).

I received my Opteron 180 yesterday and installed it last night. It was detected immediately and booted up like normal. My last cpu, apparently, was simply bad--this install was flawless. (I actually sat there, stunned, for a few minutes after it booted. I fidgeted with the miscellaneous screwdrivers and other arcane tools I'd pulled out. I expected to be at it for hours, like last time.) Count me as another anecdote for the success of the Epox 9npa+ultra being compatible with the Opteron 180.

All that said--it runs a little hot. Nothing I'm worried about, but a little warmer than I'd expected. Stock cooling, it gets up to 56 degrees after about half an hour of two instances of Prime95 running. I probably won't overclock, at least not aggressively. I'd prefer to keep this system for as long as possible and simply upgrade the graphics card from here on out.

[Strongwolf]

Congrats with your new upgrade mate. Where do you get the mobo? I've been looking all around for them without luck. Looks like they are out of stock or something.

ps you might need windows hotfix for dual cores.

[cthulhie]

I'd be surprised if you could still buy this motherboard. It's also not the wisest investment at this point--Epox, if it's still around, isn't providing the strongest service on the board. The board is Socket 939, which is being phased out. (Almost all of the chips with this connection haven't been produced for over a year; it's unclear to me whether the Opterons are still being produced or if we're just working off a vast backlog.)

In fact, the reason I was so eager to perform this upgrade is that it was important to squeeze another year out of what's an obsolete board. The replacement connection is Socket AM2, which uses DDR2 RAM. If I hadn't bought this now, my next upgrade would have to have included a CPU, motherboard, and RAM for what would be a negligible performance bump at this point (given the investment). As all of my components are perfectly functional and perform well, I just wanted a new processor rather than an overhaul.

If you're looking to buy a new motherboard, future-proof your purchase--DON'T buy socket 939. I'm sure other people on this forum can help you with more specifics.