Foxconn WinFast NF4SK8AA 8ekrs and SLI

**abdul.jones** · January 23rd, 2010, 04:11 PM

Son's computer again

Motherboard as above. Fitted with an Inno 3D GF 7100 GS DVI TV DDR2 64bit 256mbPCI-E graphics card and AMD Athlon 64 x 2 dual core processor 3800+, 2.01 ghz, with 2GB ram.It's running Windows Xp Home ed.
I'm having some issues (again) with this computer particularly the relationship between the graphics card and the SLI card. CurrentlyI have the graphics plugged into the slot below the sli slot (assuming the CPU is above the pci-e and pci slots). The SLI is in with the "SLI mode" clipped into the SLI slot and the "Normal" mode open and pointing down to the graphics card. So far this has been the most stable of the set ups I've tried today. Otherwise I either get no screen at all or the boot doesn't get pass the black windows logo.
Problems started with this last week with intermittant crashing of Lord of the Rings BFME II and the disappearance of the System32 files.I did a partial restore of Windows and it started playing okay. But today we can't get past the opening credits of the game.
In my frustration and knowing there were some untamed viruses on his computer, I reformatted the hard drive and reloaded Windows. And then another problem. The installation disc for the motherboard is badly scratched and wouldn't run. Windows was able to lift some from the disc and I managed to download some old drivers from Foxconn. I've put nothing else on as the machine is still tempermental when rebooting. But this is probably an ideal opportunity to start a process of illimination and get it working right.
But where do I start?

**RicheemxX** · January 23rd, 2010, 06:21 PM

I'm a bit confused, or your explanation is at least. What SLI card are you referring to? or what are you calling an SLI card. SLI refers to two GPUs running in tandem

**Aaron_8015** · January 23rd, 2010, 07:36 PM

If you only have one graphics card you should have that SLI bridged flipped to single card and ideally using the card in the top PCI-E slot.

Also, never heard of a 7100 in physical card form? Are you sure its not a 7300 or something?

**abdul.jones** · January 24th, 2010, 09:49 AM

Thanks for replying. Yes, the card is a GF7100, so you live and learn. My thoughts are that while the machine has nothing much on it, it I could try and get it working perfectly before my son starts loading his games. Currently it's got LOTR on it to test the set up.
There are a few things you might be able to help me with if you know how SLI cards and PCI-E are supposed to work.
I've set the cards up as Aaron suggested it should be and at the moment it's all loading right through to the desk top. I managed to get into the set up last night and looked at the settings pertaining to PCI E. There's a setting entitled "Init Display First" which has the options PCI slot, PCIEX-Master and PCIEX-slave. It's currently set to PCIEx-Master. Is this correct?
PCIE frequency is set to 100mhz. How can I check if this is right and how does a change in frequency affect things?
The max payload size is set to 4096, which is the max setting.
SLI broadcast aperture is disabled
PCIE spread spectrum is disabled.
The manual I have doesn't actually explain these, so I don't know if they're correct.

And on a final and different note, what is deemed too hot for a system and the CPU? It has occurred to me that the reason the computer crashes (and it's usually during games) may be because the settings are too low. The shutdown options I have are 70c,78 or 86c.
Your helpis, as ever, greatly appreciated

**abdul.jones** · January 24th, 2010, 10:05 AM

Just tried running LOTR but can't get past the credits before it crashes and reboots. I've set it back to the other pci slot and turned the sli card to sli mode, which was working last night but was crashing after about half an hour

**Aaron_8015** · January 24th, 2010, 02:24 PM

Originally Posted by abdul.jones

Thanks for replying. Yes, the card is a GF7100, so you live and learn. My thoughts are that while the machine has nothing much on it, it I could try and get it working perfectly before my son starts loading his games. Currently it's got LOTR on it to test the set up.
There are a few things you might be able to help me with if you know how SLI cards and PCI-E are supposed to work.

I've set the cards up as Aaron suggested it should be and at the moment it's all loading right through to the desk top. I managed to get into the set up last night and looked at the settings pertaining to PCI E. There's a setting entitled "Init Display First" which has the options PCI slot, PCIEX-Master and PCIEX-slave. It's currently set to PCIEx-Master. Is this correct?
Yes

PCIE frequency is set to 100mhz. How can I check if this is right and how does a change in frequency affect things?
It should be at 100Mhz Changing this can result in problems and even hard drive data loss.

The max payload size is set to 4096, which is the max setting.
The higher this is set the better, it is how much data is being sent per packet via the PCI-E bus.

SLI broadcast aperture is disabled
This is only useful when you are running 2+ cards in SLI. No need to have it on for single cards.

PCIE spread spectrum is disabled.
Spread spectrum is supposed to limit the amount of EMI, but can cause system instabilty. Best to leave it off.

The manual I have doesn't actually explain these, so I don't know if they're correct.

And on a final and different note, what is deemed too hot for a system and the CPU? It has occurred to me that the reason the computer crashes (and it's usually during games) may be because the settings are too low. The shutdown options I have are 70c,78 or 86c.
Your helpis, as ever, greatly appreciated

Really 70C is the limit, you will want it under that, also GPU you would want under 80C. Have you got anything to monitor temps?

Use this....

CPUID

**abdul.jones** · February 13th, 2010, 06:35 PM

Still having problems with this thing. He took off LOTR and put on Railway Tycoon and that didnt crash at all. Which makes me wonder if the grahics card isn't up to scratch. The reviews I've read of the GS7100 suggest it doesn't cope so well with the more intense games. If I changed it, what would be a better buy?
He's only got a 350w power unit too- is this enough for the games he's playing now and the graphics he might need?

**Aaron_8015** · February 13th, 2010, 06:45 PM

Well the 7100 is really low end.... Can suggest a card if you give us a budget, PSU: Make, model, watts and +12v amps....

**jamessmith10** · April 26th, 2010, 04:37 AM

Foxconn is a manufacturer that is relatively unknown among enthusiasts, but they’re one of the largest suppliers of motherboards (and other components) to OEMs, including the likes of Dell. As we write, this is changing after the release of several motherboards with the required spin and features for the enthusiast to make use of.

The company are also looking to penetrate in to the UK market with their products. With the sheer size of the company, we expect that they’ll succeed in making Foxconn a household name for enthusiasts over time too. Today we are looking at their new NForce 4 SLI motherboard that is aimed at the lower end of the market, retailing at around $130 in the US and £80-90 in the UK.

As well as being cheap, it’s got a nice catchy name and is known as the WinFast NF4SK8AA-8EKRS. We suspect that the board is aimed at the more mainstream or price conscious enthusiast, but how well does it match up to the now mainstream SLI solutions such as DFI’s LANPARTY nF4 SLI-DR, MSI’s K8N Diamond and ASUS’ A8N SLI Premium? Read on to find out...

The Bundle:

Two, red SATA cables;
Two SATA power cable providing power for four hard disks;
Two ATA133 IDE cables;
One floppy cable;
SLI Bridge and retention bracket;
Rear metal I/O shield;
The usual array of manuals, drivers CD and floppys.

Unfortunately, there is not a complete complement of extras included in the box. The motherboard supports six SATA hard disk drive yet there are only two SATA cables and four SATA power cables included – a bit of a shame, despite this board being well-priced. There are two standard ATA133 ribbon cables and a floppy cable – not particularly sexy or easy on the eye from a modding perspective, we like to see rounded cables included (IDE cables never have been sexy, or did I miss something? - Ed.).

There is also a lack of IEEE1394 Firewire and USB 2.0 PCI expansion brackets – why supply it on the board if you can’t use it at all out the box? Of course, you can recycle your PCI expansion brackets from your old motherboard if they came with your old board. However, if you didn’t get any with your previous board, you’re unlikely to be able to get hold of them as it seems that you can’t buy these expansion brackets anywhere.

If we consider that the motherboard is aimed at the consumer seeking the best bang for buck, they’re unlikely to start off with half a dozen disks in the same fashion that you might expect with someone looking to purchase DFI’s nF4 SLI-DR. It’s also possible that they’re not likely to want to use the additional IEEE1394 Firewire ports that would be provided by the additional PCI expansion bracket. The lack of a USB2.0 expansion bracket is not understandable, though.

Regards : Registry Cleaners