My thought's on the IC7 beta 17 bios.

[Tony]

guys im seeing multiple posts on different forums saying this bios is the ultimate fix...truth is it is NOT.

5:4 overclocking is ok but memory bandwidth is VERY poor with my 3700Gold at ddr464.Im getting 2187MB/s unbuffered which i can do at ddr400 with one module single channel!

1:1 is fixed over 255 but does seem a little limited.Remember Im using an OCZ supplied board which is brand new and unmodded.

Im going to post my findings in this thread, the bios is not for public release so please don't ask me for it.

[Tony]

Modules that worked fine on the 14 thru 16 bios files 5:4 now seem to have problems, so it does look like the bios is more picky about ram.

[ThugsRook]

good, this means im prolly gonna love it :chit:

(B chips never agree with C chips) :lol:

:wave:

[Tony]

Thugs..I KNOW you like the board...I also know it causes quite a few headaches for us peeps that have to offer support also.

1:1 over 255fsb is fixed yes, does it clock very well 1:1 NO.I can get higher with asus and epox probably due to better power regulation.

I have also found this bios may make the board more picky about the ram you put in it...something else that will give me a headache.

Im running 5:4 now ok after i played with modules, lucky for me i have a fair few.

I did back to back overclocking tests 1:1 and 5:4 upto 280fsb with the P4P800 and this IC7 using Identical ram and timings.Memtest86 bandwidth was mostly identical or the asus was slightly ahead.Where the asus beat the IC7 was the asus was running error free where the IC7 was not.It also seems most of the tweaks in GAT only work with older BH5 and BH6 based modules, not good for the people who are just buying the board as they can't buy this ram anymore.The ONLY people to have BH5 are Mushkin..have you seen the price of it:eek: :eek:

Anyway...my thoughts are the bios needs more tweaking by Abit. Better ram compatibility for one, and an improvement in 1:1 overclocking.I fear this won't happen as all eyes are on the Max3 now which has been built with 1:1 800fsb+ overclocking in mind.

[Hawk]

We'll, if the 255FSB limitation is fixed, that is a step in the right direction. Maybe the next pass at the BIOS w/ address the memory compatibilty. . . .

[Tony]

What i don't like is files being leaked and then pimped as the best thing since sliced bread.All it takes is 2 or 3 people who have done limited testing to say its awesome and everyone wants it. I have found some small issues that could become very large issues already...better to let people knoe and let them make their own minds up knowing all the facts.

[Silencer]

I`d tested this bios, it doesn't do anything for me. Nor better 1:1, neither better 5:4.
My IC7 is in the countdown now, I will wait until friday to see what happends with the oficial release, then (obviusly the will not fix it) I will be buying a p4c800-e.
I'd changed the nb cooler, first with the zalman mod, lately with a nb WB, all my nb cramps are paperclips...
I'd volt modded de vmem. Great, now I can set it up to 3.2v...it didn't perform better with my pc3700 gold.
I'd really tried everything, just to find out that even the mic is full of garbage.