Gigabyte GA-8N-Sli Quad Royal ... tweaked.

Massman · 13th August 2008, 09:17

Hello all,

Some of you might already know, but I recently picked up one of the older LGA775 motherboards.

Picture of the board. I reckon you all see why I picked up this particular board?

The main problem is, however, that I want it to make Conroe-ready, as the Conroe processors are not officially supported.

No problemo, we're mad enough to find a way past this little issue. Basicly, we can split up this one problem into three smaller problems: Bios, voltage and speed.

1. Bios support

Is it absolutely necessary to update the bios in order to get a cpu running on your motherboard? No, as 45nm C2D experience has taught us that even unsupported processors work fluently. If it's necessary, we can always add the cpu microcode to the bios in order to get it working.

Next to that, there's the problem of the second core. The Nforce4 chipset did not support dualcores, so that might cause the Conroe to fail or work in single core mode.

2. Frontsidebus Speed

Changing from 800FSB to 1066FSB is indeed quite a big step, but as the overclocker's blood is flowing through our vains and the overclocking spirits are there to help us, we know that it's just a matter of overclocking. At worst, we'll need to perform an 1066->800 BSEL mod to get the board booting.

3. Electrical wiring and voltage supply

Now that will be the main problem, I think. When the conroe was released, many of the older boards did not support the processor, because the VRM specifications had to be reviewed in order to get it to work. Kris Boughton (Anandtech), however, found out how to modify an 975X motherboard to get the Conroe working on it.

http://www.thetechrepository.com/sho...hp?p=27#post27

If we want to make the board compatible, I reckon we'll have to follow the same procedure as Kris followed here. I'm really hoping local guru Geoffrey is willing to help out on this one

Massman · 29th September 2008, 17:47

I was going for a quick spin today and the board already died. No idea what happened, to be honest, but I can't read out any vcore anymore, so I presume the cpu PWM died due to an unsupported cpu (which is weird as I installed windows with that cpu and everything when a-okay untill the system just down all of the sudden).

Dunno if you can fix it, Geoffrey, but if you can't, I'll just have to look for another sample ...

29th September 2008, 20:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Massman

Next to that, there's the problem of the second core. The Nforce4 chipset did not support dualcores, so that might cause the Conroe to fail or work in single core mode.

Pentium D's are supported...

13th August 2008, 09:17	#1
Massman [M] Reviewer Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Waregem Posts: 6,466	Gigabyte GA-8N-Sli Quad Royal ... tweaked. Hello all, Some of you might already know, but I recently picked up one of the older LGA775 motherboards. Picture of the board. I reckon you all see why I picked up this particular board? The main problem is, however, that I want it to make Conroe-ready, as the Conroe processors are not officially supported. No problemo, we're mad enough to find a way past this little issue. Basicly, we can split up this one problem into three smaller problems: Bios, voltage and speed. 1. Bios support Is it absolutely necessary to update the bios in order to get a cpu running on your motherboard? No, as 45nm C2D experience has taught us that even unsupported processors work fluently. If it's necessary, we can always add the cpu microcode to the bios in order to get it working. Next to that, there's the problem of the second core. The Nforce4 chipset did not support dualcores, so that might cause the Conroe to fail or work in single core mode. 2. Frontsidebus Speed Changing from 800FSB to 1066FSB is indeed quite a big step, but as the overclocker's blood is flowing through our vains and the overclocking spirits are there to help us, we know that it's just a matter of overclocking. At worst, we'll need to perform an 1066->800 BSEL mod to get the board booting. 3. Electrical wiring and voltage supply Now that will be the main problem, I think. When the conroe was released, many of the older boards did not support the processor, because the VRM specifications had to be reviewed in order to get it to work. Kris Boughton (Anandtech), however, found out how to modify an 975X motherboard to get the Conroe working on it. http://www.thetechrepository.com/sho...hp?p=27#post27 If we want to make the board compatible, I reckon we'll have to follow the same procedure as Kris followed here. I'm really hoping local guru Geoffrey is willing to help out on this one Attached Thumbnails __________________

29th September 2008, 17:47	#2
Massman [M] Reviewer Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Waregem Posts: 6,466	I was going for a quick spin today and the board already died. No idea what happened, to be honest, but I can't read out any vcore anymore, so I presume the cpu PWM died due to an unsupported cpu (which is weird as I installed windows with that cpu and everything when a-okay untill the system just down all of the sudden). Dunno if you can fix it, Geoffrey, but if you can't, I'll just have to look for another sample ... __________________

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