# Which Athlon64 Motherboard?

## farrioth

Hello,

I am intending to get an Athlon64 system in the near future but cannot decide which board to get.  Currently my main options are the Asus K8V or the MSI K8T.  Could you tell me what your experiences with either of these boards are?

Thanks,

Farrioth

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## llew

Hi,

I have the Asus K8V. I can recommend it, because it supports the Athlon64 feature "Cool 'n Quiet".

I means, the Processors' fan slows down, and even stops completely in longer processor idle times, works really well.

Other nice features are:

4xSATA with Promise RAID

3xIDE with 1x RAID Controller

Gigabit 3com Ethernet Interface onboard

Quality sound card onboard with analog, digital (coax,toslink) connectors

Here comes the BUT:

In the lates issue of the german Computermag C'T, there is a small article about some faulty capacitors on the board (located directly left at the CPU Socket - 6 capacitors in a row)

Before you buy, take a look at them and check, they don't have

"RLZ 0333" written on them. (Mine have 0337, lucky me)

Anyway, new boards should't have them anymore and even if, ASUS replaces them without questions.

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## farrioth

Thanks for your help.

I found an article (http://www.linuxtested.com/results/Asus_K8V.html) stating that the sound chip was faulty.  Could you tell me your experiences with this.

Do you have the 802.11b card and if so does it work well?

Were can I find drivers?

Thanks,

Farrioth

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## llew

Sorry, I can't answer both of your questions.

I have a Soundblaster Card installed, never tried the onboard sound, because I have a Creative 5.1 set which requires a Creative Card...

And I have a wired LAN...I am currently working on how to get the 3com to work, I found some interesting articles. Seems that I have to load either 3c2000 module OR sk98lin (2 manufaturers, one NIC-Core, weird thing..)

Good luck!

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## The Ennead

K8V here and likewise I use external cards so can't help with either question. 

From a usage point of view i've been more than happy with Asus in general and this board specifically has only given me the one problem which may have been self-inflicted. I'd given it a stressful day of normal use plus finishing a Gentoo 64bit install and it crashed on reboot. The crash was probably the result of my overclock as when I finally got into bios it wouldn't accept anything but default speeds. Certainly not something to complain about, overclocking is a luxury rather than a staple, but my reason for mentioning it is the built in reset which they advertise as returning the system to default after a failed overclock. Well, the overclock failed and so did the recovery programme so, it was back to the good old tweezers and jumpers method a few times to get it running again.

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## secondshadow

Just FYI the MSI-K8T800 Neo also supports cool'n'quiet. Thats the board I've been eyeing for quite some time now.

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## wolf@zh

i've got the k8v here working with alsa...setup was a bit nasty, but now everything works ok, except i cant get sensor-data for lm-sensors....did anyone suceed with this?

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## llew

How did you setup alsa? I mean, which module loaded, config and so on? (I suppose, you use the onboard sound)

Thanks!

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## wolf@zh

i'm using the snd-via82xx module, compiled into the kernel

/etc/modules.d/alsa:

# ALSA portion

alias char-major-116 snd

alias snd-card-0 snd-via82xx

# options snd-via82xx dxs_support=1

# options snd-via82xx index=0 dxs_support=2

# OSS/Free portion

alias char-major-14 soundcore

alias sound-slot-0 snd-card-0

##

## IMPORTANT:

## You need to customise this section for your specific sound card(s)

## and then run `update-modules' command.

## Read alsa-driver's INSTALL file in /usr/share/doc for more info.

##

##  ALSA portion

## alias snd-card-0 snd-interwave

## alias snd-card-1 snd-ens1371

##  OSS/Free portion

## alias sound-slot-0 snd-card-0

## alias sound-slot-1 snd-card-1

##

# OSS/Free portion - card #1

alias sound-service-0-0 snd-mixer-oss

alias sound-service-0-1 snd-seq-oss

alias sound-service-0-3 snd-pcm-oss

alias sound-service-0-8 snd-seq-oss

alias sound-service-0-12 snd-pcm-oss

##  OSS/Free portion - card #2

## alias sound-service-1-0 snd-mixer-oss

## alias sound-service-1-3 snd-pcm-oss

## alias sound-service-1-12 snd-pcm-oss

alias /dev/mixer snd-mixer-oss

alias /dev/dsp snd-pcm-oss

alias /dev/midi snd-seq-oss

# Set this to the correct number of cards.

options snd cards_limit=1

because the sound quality was nasty, i had to do a little hack of the via82xx.c, merging some code from 

http://cvs.sourceforge.net/viewcvs.py/alsa/alsa-kernel/pci/via82xx.c

(the whole module wouldn't compile, i just needed on line, look for "k8v" and copy this line into your via82xx.c)

and dont forget to set the dmx volume up, else you won't get any sound, even some errors....(i made this with kmixer)

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## llew

Thank you very much, I will give this a try tonight or tomorrow.

1 last question, what musicplayer do you use? I heard mplayer

won't work in 64 bit mode, because it can't load the 32bit windows codecs.

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## wolf@zh

mplayer and xine...both can't use 32-bit windows codecs, but that seems to bo no problem, can watch divx, xvid, thats enough for me...openquicktime should also work, and you can always use a 32-bit compiled mplayer/xine with the windows-codecs

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## llew

Hi wolf@zh,

I am obviously too stupid to configure alsa for my system, see here

https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=136997&highlight=athlon64

Maybe you have a tip for me, as you made it work on the asus k8v...?

Thanks!

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## farrioth

Has anyone had any experience with Asus 802.11b slot & card?

If you've got this working, how does it compare to a normal PCI card?

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## Config

wolf@zh: Which alsa-version and kernelverison are you using? I've got the same board and run it in 64-bit mode. But Even after applying the 1-liner fix, the onboard sound-card won't show up. The odd thing is, even windows can't see it even if it's enabled in the bios. May be it got disabled automatially because of my pci-card?

I've got an Audigy games too, which woks flawlessly, but I want to use the optical out which the onboard-soundcard comes with.

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## hifidelity

Hi guys, just a little background first of all.  I work at PC Club, some of you may know of this place we sell lots of computer hardware  :Smile: 

I can tell you a few things about the K8T and why you should stay clear!  We have had alot of returns on them because of some instability issues and alot of times it won't even post with alot of kinds of unbuffered memory. ...

its the via chipset.. its a little buggy.

i would reccomend a board with the nforce 3 chipset, even if the performance benchmarks arent nearly as sweet.  you will have a much more stable system.

secondly, all you amd64 fans might want to hold off on buying one since they are changing the socket very soon!

there are two advantages to the next generation of athlon64's

-has dual onboard 64-bit memory controllers, just like the AMD 64 FX, without the need to have registered memory (in other words it will support unbuffered memory, which is good for most systems performance wise, bad for servers stability-wise)

-umm unbuffered memory is cheaper ( and has better raw performance).. not to mention the price will be cheaper  :Smile: ... anyhow, my two cents.. oh and the next revision of the nforce3 will supposedly use the hypertransport to full spec at full-duplex 800 as opposed to 800 one way and 600 the other.. other new features it will supposedly include is an on-chip sata-raid/controller pretty cool eh?

for those of you who want to buy one now i would reccomend at least the 3200+ (it has a 1mb cache compared to the 512 cache on the 3000+).. 

phew..

well yall have a nice day  :Smile: 

p.s. if any of you are from bakersfield, ca come in some time and ask for matt i'll hook you up with a deal  :Very Happy: 

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## wolf@zh

@config: kernel 2.6.1, alsa-lib 1.0.2

@hifidelity: can't confirm the issues with the kt800-chipset, my machine is running very stable here, never had any problems....and for the new socket: yes, of course you can wait...but then you could also wait for pci-x, then for ddrII, then for the new nvidia&ati cards, and so on....there will be always something new just a few months ahead, thats life! and why wait for the new nforce3, when the kt800 already has sata/raid?

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## Config

 *wolf@zh wrote:*   

> @config: kernel 2.6.1, alsa-lib 1.0.2
> 
> @hifidelity: can't confirm the issues with the kt800-chipset, my machine is running very stable here, never had any problems....and for the new socket: yes, of course you can wait...but then you could also wait for pci-x, then for ddrII, then for the new nvidia&ati cards, and so on....there will be always something new just a few months ahead, thats life! and why wait for the new nforce3, when the kt800 already has sata/raid?

 

You're very correct - and If I upgrade my processor - it's not going to be at least until 2 years - I'll replace the mobo anyway.

But Benchmarks (fair or not) - seem to have shown that the K8T800 io throughput is quite bad. I have one and get about 49mb/sec on my udma100 hd. nforce3 and sis are both better in this are - which does have it's importance

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## wolf@zh

don't you think the 49mb/s are the limit of your hd? i've got 56mb/s on my sata-hd...can't imagine that 50mb/s are really the max io-throughput..,

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## wolf@zh

and just for clarification: i don't think by any means that the nforce3-chipset is bad, the only thing i noticed that boards with the nforce3 are more expensive...but i never tested a nfroce3 board by myself

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## Config

 *wolf@zh wrote:*   

> don't you think the 49mb/s are the limit of your hd? i've got 56mb/s on my sata-hd...can't imagine that 50mb/s are really the max io-throughput..,

 

Your 56mb/sec sound _very_ low to me. Sata has (let's say could have) theoretical 150mb/sec - so there is quite a difference.

 There was a thread on different amd64-chipsets - and the comparison had some astounding results.

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## wolf@zh

of course, 150mb/sec is the theoretically limit, but i'm speaking about real transfer from my sata-hd (where the hd is the limiting factor, not the bus), i assume you mean the same, cause you speak of 49mb/s on a udma100 hd...but maybe i'm wrong?  :Wink: 

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## hifidelity

just to clarify, i wasn't saying the kt800 was a bad chipset, we have had many customers who have bought them and have no problems, i am saying however we have had alot of returns on it, and it is because of some potential buggy issues with the via chipset.  the gigabyte nforce 3 we carry on the other hand has had no returns since i've been working there.

and well hey i've always like the nforce line  :Smile:  so maybe i'm a bit biased   :Twisted Evil: 

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## Kiroku6

Does anyone know anything about the Abit KV8-Max3? I am interested in those, but im too new to pcs to know what to look for so.

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## grantmasterflash

 *Config wrote:*   

>  *wolf@zh wrote:*   don't you think the 49mb/s are the limit of your hd? i've got 56mb/s on my sata-hd...can't imagine that 50mb/s are really the max io-throughput.., 
> 
> Your 56mb/sec sound _very_ low to me. Sata has (let's say could have) theoretical 150mb/sec - so there is quite a difference.
> 
>  There was a thread on different amd64-chipsets - and the comparison had some astounding results.

 

This is a very common misconception that I would like to lay to rest right now. Your SATA drives will never do 150MB sec. Not now and not in the next 10 years. Your interface does 150MB, not the drives! The only time you see this kind of speed is out of the cache on the drive. If you are pulling 56MB sec out of your drive consider yourself very lucky. Thats a great drive you have there.. The fastest Ultra 320, 15,000 rpm SCSI drives can pull off about 75 MB/sec. 

Grant

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## Kiroku6

Anyone, anyone at all?

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## srs5694

 *hifidelity wrote:*   

> I can tell you a few things about the K8T and why you should stay clear!  We have had alot of returns on them because of some instability issues and alot of times it won't even post with alot of kinds of unbuffered memory. ...
> 
> ...
> 
> there are two advantages to the next generation of athlon64's
> ...

 

Can somebody clarify this for me? Hifidelity seems to be suggesting that the current crop of Athlon 64s doesn't work with unbuffered memory, or at least works unreliably with it with the K8T800 chipset or some boards based on it. This is the first I've heard such a claim, though, and I can't find mention of a preference for unbuffered or registered memory in a couple of manuals I've downloaded. Before I drop $100 or so on RAM, I'd like to know that what I'm buying will stand a good chance of working. Thanks.

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## hifidelity

 *srs5694 wrote:*   

>  *hifidelity wrote:*   I can tell you a few things about the K8T and why you should stay clear!  We have had alot of returns on them because of some instability issues and alot of times it won't even post with alot of kinds of unbuffered memory. ...
> 
> ...
> 
> there are two advantages to the next generation of athlon64's
> ...

 

Sorry if that wasn't clear.   Here is a clarification:

The Athlon 64 uses unbuffered memory.  but from the motherboards we have sold at my work, it is kind of picky, and seems to work better if the cas latency is 2, it is just picky about memory.  but it does take unbuffered memory.

The Athlon 64 FX (the 900 dollar chip) is basically the next version of the opteron with a different name.  It has an onboard ddr 400 controller( dual 64 bit controllers "dual channel) .. and THIS chip will only take registered memory. 

As for the incompatibility problems with the kt800, i would just make sure you research the ram you buy and make sure it is compatible, or has been tested with your hardware just to be safe.

Hope that helps   :Rolling Eyes: 

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## Tuxuser

Anybody out there with a recommendation for a µATX board for Athlon 64?

Cool'N'Quiet is a must, SATA preffered. If SATA is not onboard, a recommendatin of a cheap controller is appreciated.

Problem: Board must be available in Germany. 

Thx

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## molander

 *farrioth wrote:*   

> Hello,
> 
> I am intending to get an Athlon64 system in the near future but cannot decide which board to get.  Currently my main options are the Asus K8V or the MSI K8T.  Could you tell me what your experiences with either of these boards are?
> 
> Thanks,
> ...

 

I have the K8NPro and it works very well. Sound/LAN/SATA/PATARAID.

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## kode54

This is probably not the best place, but just to clarify, Cool 'n Quiet lowers the clock speed and voltage when the CPU is not fully utilized. Some boards have a feature, such as ASUS' Q-Fan, which slows or even stops the CPU fan when the temperature is below a certain threshold. This can probably be enabled even if CnQ is disabled.

Useless fact: I keep Cool 'n Quiet disabled because the speed switching interferes with my Revo, causing audible clicks in the output stream. Q-Fan does not appear to interfere with anything.

MM, yes, another problem with Cool 'n Quiet. I'm not sure about Linux, but in Windows, the service process/thread which monitors the CPU usage and adjusts the speed/voltage runs at a normal or low priority, so if a high priority process suddenly utilizes the CPU, it will remain locked at the minimum speed until the monitor wakes up. Quite possibly, the monitor may not wake up until the high priority process finishes.

Also, some legacy applications that depend on the processor timestamp (rdtsc) for speed regulation will go nuts because they'll detect the initial speed (ie. 800MHz) and then the monitor will ramp the speed up (ie. 2GHz) and things will be pretty fast. One such offender is the original Unreal engine, therefore all games powered by it.

Thankfully, it can be disabled, and if you find it worth keeping on most of the time, you can switch power profiles to temporarily disable it if problems such as these arise.

Just some food for thought.

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