Need HELP with Asrock 939SLI32-eSATA2!

[stevemedes]

Hi, just got this mobo today and paired up with x2 3800+ and nvidia 7900gs

okay, i got everything installed except for two problems

1) hard drive seems to spin up and down and seems active all the time, leading me to believe that the IDE drivers arent working properly..

2) what drivers do i need and in what ORDER do i have to install them?
What drivers/hotfixes do i need for AMD X2 dual core cpus?

thanks alot for the help

[Tweakurr]

Run HD Tach and compare your drive to see if speeds are normal.

There are a couple dual core utilities out there, one from AMD and one from Microsoft. Don't know which is better but I heard not to install both.

[stevemedes]

You see, im coming from nforce-based mobos where i know which chipset drivers i need and in what order they are installed. Just trying to get clarification.

Do i need to install the uli powerexpress sli driver even if im running single card?

heres what i have on my list to install:

1. uli integrated driver
theres two of these, because of the 2 chipset mobo, do i need to install drivers for both or just northbridge?

2. amd cool n quiet cpu driver
do i need to install this? i have CNQ disabled because i am overclocking

3. amd dual core optimizer
what is this, do i need it?

4. X2 dual core hotfix
what is this, do i need it?

5. giga lan driver

6. windows xp sp2

7. direct x 9

8. video and sound drivers

not using SATA so dont need drivers for that, also not using RAID or the eSATA functions.

also, how do i install the usb driver? the driver disc i got from asrock seems messed up. It keeps spinning up and down and not reading the disc.

so did i miss anything? any other drivers i need to install? thanks for the help and your time. I hope once i get my driver issues worked out my system will run very nicely =)

Full System Specs for those interested:

X2 3800+ @ stock speeds (for now)
1gb TwinMOS DDR400 (2.5-3-3-7 1T)
eVga 7900GS 256mb PCIe
Enermax 350w psu (26 amps on 12volt rail)
Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 pro heatsink w/ AS5
and of course the 939SLI32-esata2 =)

[In-Fluence]

No, you don't need the ULI powerexpress driver, only for SLI.

1. Just install the whole of the ULI integrated 2.20 driver from NVidia's site. I'm unaware you could select which chipset to install, but this driver should do it all for you. Install 3rd

2&3. I've never personally used the CPU drivers, as the optimiser in particular gave me hanging problems. I know there's also an M$ update that addresses dual core optimising too, and they conflict if both are installed (I just wish I knew which KB# it was). If you're planning to overclock, make sure c'n'q is disabled in bios, and you don't install the c'n'q drivers.

4. I assume this is the update mentioned in 2&3

5. Install 5th

6. SP2 should always be installed 1st! The USB2 driver is integrated into SP2 and works with all motherboards

7. DX9 should probably be 2nd.

8. Video & sound should be done 4th.

Make sure you defrag after each install. This will help keep the disk performance up.

[stevemedes]

Originally Posted by In-Fluence

No, you don't need the ULI powerexpress driver, only for SLI.

1. Just install the whole of the ULI integrated 2.20 driver from NVidia's site. I'm unaware you could select which chipset to install, but this driver should do it all for you. Install 3rd

2&3. I've never personally used the CPU drivers, as the optimiser in particular gave me hanging problems. I know there's also an M$ update that addresses dual core optimising too, and they conflict if both are installed (I just wish I knew which KB# it was). If you're planning to overclock, make sure c'n'q is disabled in bios, and you don't install the c'n'q drivers.

4. I assume this is the update mentioned in 2&3

5. Install 5th

6. SP2 should always be installed 1st! The USB2 driver is integrated into SP2 and works with all motherboards

7. DX9 should probably be 2nd.

8. Video & sound should be done 4th.

Make sure you defrag after each install. This will help keep the disk performance up.

Hey bro, thanks very much for your detailed reply. I have to go to work now but later on today i'll be reinstalling so Ill let you know how it goes. Also look for o/cing results...
FYI, just cause i couldnt help myself i booted up at 2.5, i ran prime for about 5 minutes stably then i just put it back to stock speeds, right now everything is running bone stock. Hoping for 2.6ghz.

Cheers =)

[AetherBender]

Regarding 2, 3, and 4...

2. If you're not using CnQ, you don't need it.

3. "Fixes" lag, stutter, & screwed up power states caused by apps (mostly games) that go outside the normal API. If you're not having the problems desribed, you don't need it.

4. Microsoft version of #3. If you're not having the problems, you don't need it.

Like In-Fluence, I've never installed either the optimizer or the hotfix...haven't needed them. I do use PowerNow, (Opteron version of CnQ) so I do have that driver installed.

[stevemedes]

ok, still having some problems

every once in awhile the system just seems to choke. Almost like CPU util is at 100%, and its VERY annoying. Dual core is better for multitasking? I can barely get this thing to do one thing, let alone 2 at once.

also, in counter strike source, it jitters about every 2 seconds and shakes the screen.

i tried installing the hotfixes and dual core drivers but to no avail..

what to try?

[Tweakurr]

Need more info, please post your system specs in your signature under User CP. If not at least list them in a reply. Video Card, Ram and speeds we need to see the most. Also bios version too.

[stevemedes]

Okay, specs are in sig below.

Everything is running at BONE STOCK, defaults. All voltages and settings are default. RAM is running 2.5-3-3-7@1T. I want to get this system running perfect before I even think about overclocking.
I know some may be worried about only 350watts on the power supply... However the amps are actually plenty:
5V: 32amps 3.3V: 32amps 12V: 26 amps

WindowsXP SP2 32bit
nvidia 91.47
1.40 BIOS

Temps look great, so can rule that out.
Voltages arent fluctuating...

I'm thinking it has something to do with the CPU. It seems slower than the CPU I had before (S754 A64 2800+ oc'ed to 2.3).

Another issue is that when I play Counter Strike Source or HL2, it autodects my hardware as DX9.0, but runs in DX0.0 mode? In order to enable DX9 I have to force it. dxdiag reports 9.0c is installed fine. And once i actually get it running though, it takes forever to load and then skips badly during gameplay.

I've built tons of systems before with no errors, and IMO, this is a software error somewhere. Not saying its not, but I have a feeling my dual core processor isnt getting along with windows. This is my first system using a dualcore. Maybe i didnt install the hotfixes/cpu drivers right? Which ones should i use?

Theres:
AMD CNQ Driver
AMD Dual Core Optimizer
Microsoft Hotfix
Any others?

Let me know if i can provide more info.

Heres a pic of the 3dm05 score im getting, along with a CPUz shot and Speedfan



Also, BIOS is reporting some voltage fluctations

Vcore: between 1.34-1.36 about once every 5 seconds, very often
3.3V: steady
5v: steady
12v: fluctuates between 12.091-12.144 about once every 15 seconds.

[stevemedes]

Just ran quick benches with HD Tach on both my drives

20GB WD (with the windows installation on it) : 51mb/s
200GB Maxtor (backup files and other stugg) : 121mb/s

Could the low speed of the drive with windows be causing my "thrashing"?
Thinking about reinstalling windows on a partition on the larger drive.