I just ordered:

DFI LanParty UT nF3 250Gb (Socket 754) Motherboard
Corsair 512MB DDR XMS3200C2 Pro CAS2 RAM

Is there anything I should know about this motherboard, (prolly too much to say in this one thread) as I have just ordered it, it should be here tomorrow, and I wanna know if theres anything important I should do whilst setting it up, see Im a bit of a n00b to OCing and mobos, but everyone here highly reccomended this board to me about a month ago so I ordered it along with that RAM.

I will be using with this board:

AMD 3000+ 64bit CPU
Sapphire ATI Radeon 9800 Pro Ultimate
The above listed RAM
Maxtor IDE ATA-133 120GB HD
400watt Q-Tec PSU

in case anyone needs to know.

Does the board have like... preset settings that will be able to run everything through it ok, or will I have to set it up? So yeah, if anyone has any information that will help me to get to know this board, any advice about OCing with it and so fourth, it would be much appreciated.

Many thanks.

here are some reviews on it, hope this helps:
AnandTech
OC New Zealand
OC Work Bench
3d Velocity

OC NZ review is good, but still it doesnt teach me how to OC.

I really dont want to touch any of the OC features on this board until Im confident I know what Im doing. Will the manual explain everything I need to know?

The most important thing right now, is knowing that the second I have all my hardware set up, theres not going to be any complex configuration I have to go through, that there is preset settings that will run all my equipment until I have learned what Im doing. Can anybody confirm that this will be ok? and is there anyone here who uses or has used this board and would be willing to teach me how to use the boards OC features?

Cheers.

The Lanparty UT is the ONLY reason I even looked at s754 over s939. You have yourself an amazing motherboard, just be careful not to overvolt your CPU, crank up the VRAM though

everything on that board should be preset to setting that will work....if u wanna oc all u need to do is go into the bios but u dont have to mess with that stuff yet...nice mobo and ram choice... once u install it i all it will detect everything and when u install windows u should also install the mobo drivers.... good luck

ThanksMicron, and I wont be reinstalling windows, I just did that the other day >.>

Im just gonna be keeping everything as it is, but changing over the mobo and the memory, assuming of course Im not going to have to, for some odd reason, reinstall XP. I wont will I? I can just set it up, follow instructions and install drivers right?

Well, if you're installing a new mobo on a system that you're already running, it would be a good idea to do a fresh install of windows (gets rid of all the old drivers...nudge, nudge...mobo/chipset). Do you have to? No. However, it'll be better if you do. Also, the printed owner's manual is next to useless. On the mobo install disc, there's an option to load the PDF owners manual. Do it, it has a lot more info than the printed version. Don't freak if you start to get some squirrely temperature readings (i did) on the new mobo, just flash the bios to the newest version and it should take care of the probs(unless it is truly a hardware issue). As far as the default settings in the bios: if memory serves, the only things i initially did to them were lower the thermal throttling (if i try to turn it off, the sys. crashes; i just set it to the lowest option),mess with the fan settings (off @ 25c, full blast @ 26 c...i use an external fan controller), and set my comp to shutdown if the proc temp reaches 65c. This mobo is awesome, i think you'll be very happy with it.

Get the latest Oscar Woo Bios from DFI Street, the stock one won't allow you to turn off thermal throttling. AMD-64 does not like going from a cold idle to a heavy load for some reason when Overclocked.

http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/index.php?

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=328318

If you have a Sata HD, you need to plug it in to channel 3 or 4, channel 1 and 2 won't run above 240FSB.

Here are some other links you will like, some have great explinations of Bios OC settings:

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=329627

http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/show...&threadid=2517

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu...n-3100-oc.html

http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=2226&p=9

http://www.3dvelocity.com/reviews/la...3/nf3250gb.htm

$SOLID$...you are the epitome of cool (many thank-yous)
You Have Bling

You shouldn't have any problems setting the board up and getting it to boot.

As far as overclocking goes, I still don't understand 64-bit overclocking. HTT what?

Quote: Originally Posted by Alexia You shouldn't have any problems setting the board up and getting it to boot. As far as overclocking goes, I still don't understand 64-bit overclocking. HTT what?

Alexia...
Welcome to pimprig...
Glad to see ya posting, enjoy, there is a whole bunch of cool things here...

What is thermal throttling and why would I need to turn it off or down?

Also, can someone give me an exact link to the BIOS driver update I'll need?

Many thanks.

"Cool 'n Quiet" lowers the cpu's speed/power consumption during slack periods....hmmm thermal throttling slows down the cpu based on heat generation (ie temp)...i think i've just gotten the 2 confused (throttling was on XP's).
As for bios, you can go to DFI, or another site that $SOLID$ sent me to...links coming up as soon as i find 'em


EDIT: Good lord, i'm retarded tonight ...$SOLID$'s link is in this thread....D'OH (i'm currently running the 10/15 3.1 vdim by Oskar Wu) http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=328318
DFI: (use the most current) http://www.dfi.com.tw/Support/Downlo...FLAG=A&SITE=NA

Also in this thread (the one you're reading ), scroll up to post #8. $SOLID$ posted some awesome links.
DFI includes winflash on the mobo disc. That's what i used, just be sure to follow the directions (if there are any) to install it.

EDIT: I fixed the LED problem and can boot the comp now, but I cant get into windows, except in safe mode, and then I get a 'PArser error' saying "parser "0".

I also have a problem with the floppy drive, the green light on the drive stays on constantly, and it wont read any disks so I cannot reinstall with my boot disk. I have all the drivers installed and Im positive Ive linked everything up correctly.

How do I get into the bios? I have tried all of the F keys throughout booting, but none of them get me anywhere, all is says whenever I turn it on is "Veryfying DMI pool data" then starts straight into windows.... oh and I get the DFI LAN blah blah logo on startup too....

ANY HELP IS DESPERATELY NEEDED!!!!!!!!

Green light on floppy = cable plugged in upside down : http://forums.pcapex.com/showthread....n+light+floppy

To enter bios: hold the "delete" key during start up (when the DFI logo is on the screen).

EDIT: Linkage for explanation of Cool 'n' Quiet - http://www2.amd.com/us-en/protected/..._12367,00.html

Yeah I fixed that problem, right now Im trying to boot into windows. Yhis hard drive works in this comp, but when I plug it into the new mobo, it wont work - starts to load Windows then just reboots, so I think I need to reinstall XP, but I only have recovery CDs so it wont install on the DFI because of the serial number, so I have to go and get an XP installer CD... Man this is a pain in the ass. I JUST WANNA USE MY NEW PC DAMNIT! >_<

I also dont like these rounded cables, they're stiff and hard to tuck away.

Quote: Originally Posted by Arkangyl The Lanparty UT is the ONLY reason I even looked at s754 over s939. You have yourself an amazing motherboard, just be careful not to overvolt your CPU, crank up the VRAM though

Slightly off topic but what do you regard as an overvolt? (apart from seeing smoke )

I'm currently running at about 1.76v (on the same board) on a A64 3200+ Newcastle - and the fastest I've been able to run the chip (stable) is about 2510mhz (stock is 2200). I'm not really confident enough to bump the voltage higher as everything I've read/seen says absolute max for this chip is 1.65v and I haven't run into anyone who's gone any higher than 1.72v

Do you already have a proc? If not then you should find another board and go s939.


--Alex

Quote: Originally Posted by open_coder Do you already have a proc? If not then you should find another board and go s939. --Alex

Yup I bought a processor specifically for this mobo... Im seriously considering getting my money back for this mobo if I cannot solve the problem soon. Im currently tying to install the OS using my old system (which I just rebuilt) and its working, but when I try to install windows on the DFI it wont ****ing happen... Ive tried swapping between different parts but nothing makes a difference so it must be the board...

I now have an XP Home installer CD, but it still will not install on the DFI system, I get error messages saying "DVDROM.sys could not be installed" or "MCMDX could not be installed" etc etc.... Im now installing the HD on the old system, and will then plug it into the DFI and see if it boots into windows after being installed on tho old system.... wish me luck.

EDIT: Is it possible that there is some BIOS setting I need to change that is stopping my comp from booting into windows?

Quote: Originally Posted by Mad Axe I really dont want to touch any of the OC features on this board until Im confident I know what Im doing.

Well at least your honest.....
thank god....
Digi