Corsair is very well documented, except for a few details like with my ram. Look it up at their site, they will have a little pdf-file for each model but punch in keywords (searchbox works with no registration) at their forum. Popular motherboard and popular ram will have more than 1 "victim"
2-3-3-6 and 2.75v they say. Opposite of logic you should not expect slower to work, all depends on chip. Corsair will tell you to set up timings manually. What you see in Memtest86 must be correct. Default voltage could be 2.6 so also set voltage, bios cant do that automaticallly.
There are loads of other settings but no need to fiddle. But you should get on top of Asus features like AI NOS and PEG LINK. Check their website, see manual. If you go by default, install what you are told Im not sure pci-e video cards are not overclocked. Chipset can do that and more. Best to disable all that until more familiar with the beast. All these auto-tweaking features are not needed at all. Very easy to overclock/tweak manually. Your Nvidia drivers can take care of video, no need for Asus bios to get involved. At their website bookmark download page for AN832 SLI DELUXE. Get latest version of Asus Probe. Flashing bios should not be needed but keep eye on changelog. Beside that and chipset drivers you dont absolutely need more. Well you will want AMD cool&quiet driver
http://www.amd.com/g...182_871_9706,00.html scroll down to "AMD Athlon™ 64 Processor Driver for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 Version (exe) 1.3.1" Should also be on install cd.
Looking at manual:
(Im guessing most of it but will bet you can look what matters up at Corsair - or any Asus forum.
4.3.7
Here you see "Build date" of bios, probably also seen at bootscreen. Compare with Asus latest bugfixes at download page and see if any are relevant.
4.4.2
I would enable the Cool thing. I think default is mostly Enabled on NF4. Today there are few issues and it does lower temp/power consumption. Like it was not low enough
Should you start to use manual overclocking settings it can be disabled since it will have a hard time doing magic.
4.4.3 Where the fun are.
AI overclocking settings I have doubts about. Default is "Auto" but from manual it looks like you have to use "Manual" in order to "unlock" ability to change voltage. You can see that in menu straight away. Dont use "Standard", "Overclock Profile" or "AI NOS".
CPU FSB Frequency should be 200. Options determined by AI overclocking setting. "Manual" here lets you set 201, 202 and so on.
SB to NB - dont touch
Adjust PCIE Frequency - dont touch
PEG Link Mode - Auto is default, I would change to "Normal" = disabled, as said get to know what PEG Link does before using it. Is not needed at all. Again check some reviews like
http://techreport.co...n32-sli/index.x?pg=1A bunch of "Over-Voltage" settings - disable all of them.
DDR Vcore - is at "Auto" and could be wrong for your ram. Set it to 2.75v as Corsair say they have tested with. I would guess Auto means 2.6v.
FID/VID - no need to change "Auto" unless cpu is not detected properly. This is where you overclock manually. Manual unlocks next 2 settings.
Processor Frequency Multiplier - A 3700 will use 11 as multiplier.
Processor Voltage - should be 1.4v but I dont think all cpus, even same models, necessarily use same voltage. Dont remember what AMD calls it but something like "estimated". Could be 1.45v. Bios will pick that up automatically, is "written" on cpu so you can check with Asus Probe. But just keep FID/VID on auto and you cant fiddle with this.
DDR Clock Skew - definitely dont touch unless you find information at Corsair forum telling you.
4.4.4
1T/2T Auto will probably give you 2T. Test first with that, then try 1T. Gives a little boost and Im pretty sure most Corsair users will want 1T. Popular opinion is only crap ram cant do 1T. More about how well ram is in sync with bios/chipset than actual quality of ram. Not a matter of price either.
Memory setting - From the top: 200mhz, 2.5, 3, 6, 3. Rest is finetuning. Again, dont touch unless other users tell you it make sense. Check Corsair forum again.
4.4.5
Dont touch
4.4.8
Very important to disable "Legacy USB Support" since known to tricker false Memtest86 errors. Yes they say Auto means disabled if no devices detected but best to disable manually. Also mentioned in Corsairs guide on how to run Memtest86
http://www.houseofhe...owthread.php?t=382014.5.5
Asus Q-Fan should be enabled I think. Bios can control rpm according to what must be a preset of heat values. Some NF4 bios lets you select a value where fan should run 100% then 80% etc. Q-Fan might be controlled by software, Asus Probe perhaps. Even with overclocking you can probably make use of this since cpu runs so cool. No need for 3500rpm, more like minimum and medium during heavy load. May be newer bios than the one shown in manual have this, no reason not to enable. Also enable fan alarm should it get disconnected, same with cpu overheating. Might as well let bios do this.
Note what it says at 2.4.2 With 2 modules always use DIMM A1 and B1. Other combinations probably work but not so stable = Memtest86 errors or worse. Actually A1 and A2 could be the most stable but then you have not activated both channels and run single mode!
All the onboard gadgets you can disable/enable according to use. Best to do that before installing a million drivers in XP.
Silly bios if you ask me. Safe to fiddle with though, as safe as any other bios... Should it go all wrong then you just reset cmos and start all over with the many screens. May be 1/4 deserve attention, only a handful really important.
If all works out then you could go low power consumption and try 2.7v for ram, or 2.65v. Why use more than needed? Cant be sure what real voltage is delivered anyway. First checking Corsair forum for same mb/ram combination is good idea. For this you need more sensitive testing like Prime95 as I mentioned
http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft.htm Fire it up, chose Torture test and rest is matter of time. SP2004 has a better interface for P95 code
http://sp2004.fre3.com/ does the same. Let it run while you zzzzzzz is best advice, 6 hours is minimum.
Should you get very experimental like trying 2-2-2-6 and 1T with 2.6v then remember it takes 1 second to blow up XP registry
Always use Memtest86 if you are not sure to get passed login. I would guess 1T works just fine but dont let XP be first program to test. Ram is about the only thing that is risky to play with, can be a pain to tweak/overclock. Cpu you and chipset can throttle up and down with mhz/multiplier not so with ram.
Btw, dont install Nvidia Firewall. Sometimes part of general chipset installation, sometimes separate.
Recent Posts
Good for testing before/after adding whatever. I dont know about Opera but Firefox can certainly be "slowed down" by not so optimal add-ons.
there just got to be room for dual-core. And even if you dont plan to upgrade it is "wrong" to buy DDR1 today, at least when price is about the same. Both Intel and AMD are going DDR2 so cant argue. AM2 might also offer a bit extra speed, a little. More about doing the right thing!
FF does not in any way hog your fast computer while minimized - not unless there are other problem. You are deeply into land of personal preferences I think, some have same feelings towards new theme. Preferences is exactly what FF is good for but you cant really change much about startup speed. Adjust habits or suffer. FF quickly catches up once it gets going.