EP-8KHA+ memory bandwidth problem.

[dimmreaper]

First off, for anyone interested in purchasing this board. No one else that I am aware of is having this problem. So don't let my problem stop you from purchasing this board. It's great, I love it, except for this little issue I'm having.

OK, now EPoX tech. I'm having some issues with my memory bandwidth. It is much lower than other EP-8KHA+ scores that I have seen. I'm gonna throw some screen shots your way, lemme know what ya think.

But first one question. Has the wrong BGA ever been soldered on by accident? Or is that highly unlikely to ever happen? Should I remove the HSF on my northbridge and check?

First the Sandra Screen Shot:
sandra.jpg

Now the processes that were running before I started Sandra, lemme know if anything looks wrong here:
processes.jpg

Now the memory settings in the BIOS that were used for the above memory bandwidth benchmark:
memsets.jpg

Finally, the frequency/voltage settings used (somethin funny is going on here, my Morgan's L7s are all connected from the factory, and I still only get 1.85v):
freqsets.jpg

Please help me sort this out, I've tried everything that came to mind!

BTW, Dan when you see this; I sure hope you don't mind me borrowing this little space on the server for a few days(less than 4k). If it's a problem just ask and I will remove the files.

[EPoX Tech]

I will reassure you - you have the correct Northbridge. If you are unsure - check it - it wll say KT266A on it (not 8366A as some assume).

Please see herewith my Sandra memory bandwidth for 8KHA at 133Mhz FSB only which shows great differences to yours :

[EPoX Tech]

Originally posted by dimmreaper


Finally, the frequency/voltage settings used (somethin funny is going on here, my Morgan's L7s are all connected from the factory, and I still only get 1.85v):
freqsets.jpg

Please help me sort this out, I've tried everything that came to mind!

The L7's are joined on all Morgan and Palomino cores - it does not adjust the voltage.

The maximum voltage of any K7 SA voltage regulator is 1.85v nominal without they have jumpers on the board to"hack" higher such as those on 8K7A. It does not matter what the default voltage of the chip, or the pencil work that may have been carried out.

[Daniel ~]

Jeff! Mi Casa su Casa!

[dimmreaper]

Originally posted by EPoX Tech
I will reassure you - you have the correct Northbridge. If you are unsure - check it - it wll say KT266A on it (not 8366A as some assume).

Please see herewith my Sandra memory bandwidth for 8KHA at 133Mhz FSB only which shows great differences to yours :

Ok after seeing that, I am certainly a believer. So what can I do to give me more bandwidth. I want scores in the 900-1000 range as I've seen others with FSBs of ~150MHz achieve.

What happens if I set "DRAM Act to PreChrg CMD" to "5T", is it true that this will royally mess my harddrive up as I have heard from a few EP-8KHA(not plus) reviews? That's the only setting I can find that I think might make her faster.

And what happens if I toy with "DRAM Drive Strength"?

[dimmreaper]

Originally posted by EPoX Tech


The L7's are joined on all Morgan and Palomino cores - it does not adjust the voltage.

The maximum voltage of any K7 SA voltage regulator is 1.85v nominal without they have jumpers on the board to"hack" higher such as those on 8K7A. It does not matter what the default voltage of the chip, or the pencil work that may have been carried out.

So I need a to hack the voltage regulator to get above 1.2GHz then, cause that's as high as she goes at 1.85v . . . . I'd of been sweet if EPoX's engineers would have placed a +0.20v jumper on the board, and a VIO trimmer(even though that would need to be covered with a "warrantee void if removed" sticker).

Is there some specific reason why EPoX puts all the goodies on the AMD boards and not there VIA counterparts? Will the EP-8KHA2 have more OC goodies? Or will it be just the EP-8KHA+ with on-board raid(I hope you can answer this one, but we will all understand if you have to give us a "We will not comment on unannounced products" line)?

[EPoX Tech]

The vccCore hack is to place a 220K 1/4W dissipation resistor accros pins 2 and 17 of the CS5301 V.reg.

[EPoX Tech]

Originally posted by dimmreaper
Ok after seeing that, I am certainly a believer. So what can I do to give me more bandwidth. I want scores in the 900-1000 range as I've seen others with FSBs of ~150MHz achieve.

What happens if I set "DRAM Act to PreChrg CMD" to "5T", is it true that this will royally mess my harddrive up as I have heard from a few EP-8KHA(not plus) reviews? That's the only setting I can find that I think might make her faster.

And what happens if I toy with "DRAM Drive Strength"?

I don't believe that changing that figure alone makes you blow hard-drives !!! I have used that timing at 5T many times.

[dimmreaper]

Originally posted by EPoX Tech


I don't believe that changing that figure alone makes you blow hard-drives !!! I have used that timing at 5T many times.

I heard it messes up the partition table real bad. Does using it increase memory bandwidth? I would think it would.

[dimmreaper]

I'm using the latest VIA 4in1 and Nvidia Detonator drivers, could one of these possibly be hindering memory bandwidth? I wouldn't think so, but you never know . . . .

[EPoX Tech]

The fact that you have a Morgan will give you lower memory scores than you see in the reviews due to the fact that the Palomino with 256Kb L2 cache consistently scores more.

Here is a default speed Athlon XP1800+

[EPoX Tech]

Please see next

[EPoX Tech]

Memory scores for default speed Athlon XP1800+ on 8KHA

[dimmreaper]

Well, I'm gonna try changing the bad Mojo setting to 5T. Think it would be wise for me to use Norton Ghost to back my HDA up first (BTW- Ghost was one of the nice little touches, I appreciate you guys throwing that it. You just can't live without it! It's nice to have a newer version.)?

[EPoX Tech]

BTW - There is a nasty goldfish bowl like curve on your monitor in those photographs which may be affecting your overclock.

[dimmreaper]

Originally posted by EPoX Tech
BTW - There is a nasty goldfish bowl like curve on your monitor in those photographs which may be affecting your overclock.

LOL

Not really, my Camera distorts stuff when you zoom all the way out and take close ups. It's pretty flat in real-life. That's a Komodo 17" monitor, and It looked as good as the ViewSonics when I bought it last year. All the brightness/contrast/trapezoidal/width/height and other settings are digital (no knobs, you use buttons and the settings are displayed on the monitor itself). Probably the best $169(on sale) I ever spent. I had a refurbished 21" monitor for a while, but it bit the dust and came with no warrantee

[EPoX Tech]

Originally posted by dimmreaper
Well, I'm gonna try changing the bad Mojo setting to 5T. Think it would be wise for me to use Norton Ghost to back my HDA up first (BTW- Ghost was one of the nice little touches, I appreciate you guys throwing that it. You just can't live without it! It's nice to have a newer version.)?

We would frown on anyone who didn't make the effort to use Norton Ghost - we include it because it is an essential that we hope reduces the amount of "I've lost everything scenarios".

If you learn the batch commands you can make yourself some very nice recovery CD's with menus et al.