Athlon 64 4000+ mobile on MSI K8T Neo-FIS2R

[Peregrine]

the reason some boards don't support turions and the processor u have is because they don't support e core stepping, so add that and ur cool as a cucumber. any board that supports turion should support ur mobile athlon

So how do I add the e core support? I mean, I think I know how and have the tools to update the BIOS file, but where do I find the e core stepping file/patch with which I'm supposed to update it? Isn't that what the Wiz already tried (adding patches for later CPU support)?

The Wiz is MIA again...

[1234s282]

Find another bios which Supports the CPU officialiy , preferably using the same chipset and also manufacturer if possible

Admin

[Peregrine]

There's no BIOS made by MSI for the same chipset that supports this CPU. We already went through this in the past posts. There are different chipsets or diff manufacturers, but I don't want to risk bricking my BIOS. I wanted the correct BIOS modified to include support for this CPU / core stepping.

[TheWiz]

After reading and rereading, I don't see any way of doing this without taking some risks here. It looks like the major issue is the ACPITBL is no good for this proccessor. The best solution I can offer is trying the closest matched board (with a VIA KT800 chipset) and inserting its ACPITBL into yours with the updated AGESA, because microcode seems to be useless in this scenario.

What kind of BIOS chip do you have (is it socketed) and if so, can you pull a similar chip off an older board?

Also, please try this:

I have had that board and Kingmax RAM just like you. I had to use a later bios like 1.9 and slots 1/3 and I ran at ddr400 at 1T with my 3400 clawhammer. Mine was also dead stable and ran folding@home 24/7/365

Keep in mind that the Memory Controller is inside of the CPU and the MB has almost nothing to do with RAM other than give it slots to live and some Bios settings to send the CPU's Memory Comtroller.

The Timings on that RAM must be set manually at 2.5,4,8,4 in order on your Bios Setup screen. Also 2.6 Vdimm was helping me at stability

TheWiz

[Peregrine]

After reading and rereading, I don't see any way of doing this without taking some risks here. It looks like the major issue is the ACPITBL is no good for this proccessor. The best solution I can offer is trying the closest matched board (with a VIA KT800 chipset) and inserting its ACPITBL into yours with the updated AGESA, because microcode seems to be useless in this scenario.

I have to rely on your expertise for that. So updating the ACPITBL is what would add the e core support for this CPU? I'm hoping that if we brick it I could recover from reflash using the procedure defined in this forum, right?

What kind of BIOS chip do you have (is it socketed) and if so, can you pull a similar chip off an older board?

CMOS chip is soldered in, not socketed. No real possibility for actual CMOS chip replacement.

Also, please try this:

I have had that board and Kingmax RAM just like you. I had to use a later bios like 1.9 and slots 1/3 and I ran at ddr400 at 1T with my 3400 clawhammer. Mine was also dead stable and ran folding@home 24/7/365

This doesn't apply. He used the ClawHummer CPU, which I also have and there's no issue with its compatibility. What he wrote here I had been running for years with no prob.
The problem at hand, as you already know, is that the Newark CPU with e core stepping is not handled correctly in respect to assigning/utilizing memory.

Keep in mind that the Memory Controller is inside of the CPU and the MB has almost nothing to do with RAM other than give it slots to live and some Bios settings to send the CPU's Memory Comtroller.

Right, I know, we already covered that.

The Timings on that RAM must be set manually at 2.5,4,8,4 in order on your Bios Setup screen. Also 2.6 Vdimm was helping me at stability.

Not applicable in my case. I used different RAM sets, with default (Auto) settings and factory prescribed settings and none of it makes any difference.

[TheWiz]

Darn, I'm hesitant to do this then because if you fry your board, I doubt that the recovery procedure mentioned will help you if the bootblock and main module gets damaged. Your call, I will try to think of an alternate solution, but really you are looking @ trying and risking or leaving things. I will look over all the MSI revs, see if I can't find a simple way to add it.

TheWiz

[Peregrine]

Well, I wouldn't want to risk bricking this board, so any other ideas you have would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

[Peregrine]

Revisiting this project.
TheWiz, any way you can update that BIOS in a "safe" way? According to this: http://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=119375.0, as long as the bootblock of the bios is not corrupt, we should be able to recover the old one if the new one is not good.
Thanks!

[TheWiz]

That's the stupidity of Award BIOSes. Even if you don't touch the bootblock, the recovery procedure in the bootblock is not nearly as reliable as AMI, and doesn't work all the time. I'll see if I can come up with some other plans meanwhile, but a soldered BIOS chip does limit our testability.

TheWiz

[Peregrine]

This board has AMI bios, though... not Award...
Hope this helps