Abit KN9 SLI - bit-tech.net Forums

Tim S · 25th Aug 2006, 17:07

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/200...erboard/1.html

BUFF · 25th Aug 2006, 17:14

BIOS 1.4 has been out for a week or so & reputedly improves further on things (including a working PCI lock).

DougEdey · 25th Aug 2006, 17:18

Have you had a response from Abit about the BIOS problems?

Bindibadgi · 25th Aug 2006, 17:20

We finished testing early last week (after testing it again.. and again). The amount of times we've been through this with BIOS 1-1.3 made us go nuts. Unfortunately we don't have time to test all BIOS revisions but if someone could let us know what it's like if they already have the board we would appreciate.

Tim just spoke to an Abit rep and we're gonna do a follow up in the next week or so (short article, Tim is telling me the details as I type...

).

Tim S · 25th Aug 2006, 17:27

It's all a bit crazy, because Abit knows we've been having some rather big issues with the board, yet it has not kept us up-to-date on BIOS releases (that may, or may not fix the problems encountered). A shame.

Anyway, we will have a look at the new BIOS - I'll set off a stress test before I leave tonight and then have a look at the other issues we've had to see if they are fixed.

DougEdey · 25th Aug 2006, 17:34

Have ABit acknowledged that there is a problem?

Tim S · 25th Aug 2006, 17:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by DougEdey

Have ABit acknowledged that there is a problem?

I know that the BIOS team has been putting a lot of work in, and they have acknowledged that there were problems with the early BIOS revisions - details of the fixes are on its website. The problem here is a break down in communications for whatever reason.

BIOS 1.0 was awful, as was BIOS 1.2. BIOS 1.3 is better, but there were still problems. Hopefully (as we should find out next week), 1.4 will fix the outstanding issues. We will be keeping you informed on that.

DougEdey · 25th Aug 2006, 17:41

Sorry Tim, was just that most of the time when a piece of hardware has a significant problem like this an official press release goes out and is included in the review so that people know Abit are addressing it (straight from the horses mouth as it were)

Tim S · 25th Aug 2006, 17:53

The thing is, this board has sapped up more than enough time (read: Both of us, on and off over a four-to-five week period) and we eventually called it quits the weekend 12/13th on fourth time lucky. The board is going to sap up more time now, but then we want to get to the bottom of what the hell is going on with it. I've got a meeting with Abit next week, so hopefully I'll find out some more then.

DougEdey · 25th Aug 2006, 17:56

Sorry, didn't realise Abit had taken that long to respond

Tim S · 25th Aug 2006, 18:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by DougEdey

Sorry, didn't realise Abit had taken that long to respond

It's not that Abit has been unresponsive, it's just taken a long time for the BIOS to get fixed. It looks that when it was fixed, we weren't told about it. The board has been out for a while, and we don't physically have the time to spend a month reviewing a mobo, but the board was in such an un-reviewable state when we first got it, we've had to keep trying until we got somewhere with something that semi-worked.

BUFF · 25th Aug 2006, 18:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim S

Hopefully (as we should find out next week), 1.4 will fix the outstanding issues. We will be keeping you informed on that.

from what I understand it's better (certainly for overclocking) but still not 100%.

Bindibadgi · 25th Aug 2006, 18:14

Im using it now and it's not been a promising experience

The word "frustrating" comes to mind.

Random lockups in windows after booting and it just reset when I tried enabling SLI with 91.33s (91.31s had the SLI on 570 problem, 33's were fixed). It's also inconsistent when settings agressive BIOS timings, 50% of the time it'll reboot and POST right away, but the other half refuses to POST. It's also a LOT slower booting.

"Fix some problems, create some more" comes to mind.

The board needs a new revision. New BIOS revisions aren't going to fix it.

DXR_13KE · 25th Aug 2006, 20:03

its not like they are gona recall all the boards they sold and substitute them for revised ones..... i think... its a bit sad that ABIT put out such bad board.

Tulatin · 25th Aug 2006, 20:30

So basically, it's as big a piece of **** as the KN8 SLI was?

Tim S · 25th Aug 2006, 21:15

I've added an update to the bottom of the final page, as a result of our preliminary testing with the new BIOS this evening - the board didn't get any better.

DarkReaper · 27th Aug 2006, 18:09

That's a helluva shame - I was really getting excited at the performance of the board especially considering how much cheaper it is than some of the boards it was equalling or beating.

Stability comes first though - if two tech-heads struggle for ages with it I'm not going near the darn thing. I'll take the M2N32 instead despite the price hike.

ages_devil · 30th Sep 2006, 15:21

hi everybody,
does this mean that the nf4 ultra version is better than this one?

25th Aug 2006, 17:07	#1
Tim S Pewlius Caesar bit-tech Staff Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ascot, Berks Posts: 18,021	Abit KN9 SLI http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/200...erboard/1.html __________________ Tim on Twitter \| Tim's Blog \| Tim's Flickr The bit-tech Blog \| bit-tech on Twitter \| Join the bit-tech & Custom PC folding team (#35947)

25th Aug 2006, 17:18	#3
DougEdey I pwn all your storage Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Southampton Posts: 13,933	Have you had a response from Abit about the BIOS problems? __________________ Burnout: Paradise Stats!XBL: DougEdey Bindi PSN ID: DougEdey Twitter

25th Aug 2006, 17:20	#4
Bindibadgi Richard Swinburne bit-tech Staff Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Omnipwntent Posts: 28,228	We finished testing early last week (after testing it again.. and again). The amount of times we've been through this with BIOS 1-1.3 made us go nuts. Unfortunately we don't have time to test all BIOS revisions but if someone could let us know what it's like if they already have the board we would appreciate. Tim just spoke to an Abit rep and we're gonna do a follow up in the next week or so (short article, Tim is telling me the details as I type...). __________________ Made you look, made you stare, made you clicked this in your underwear! Den of Geek!

25th Aug 2006, 17:27	#5
Tim S Pewlius Caesar bit-tech Staff Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ascot, Berks Posts: 18,021	It's all a bit crazy, because Abit knows we've been having some rather big issues with the board, yet it has not kept us up-to-date on BIOS releases (that may, or may not fix the problems encountered). A shame. Anyway, we will have a look at the new BIOS - I'll set off a stress test before I leave tonight and then have a look at the other issues we've had to see if they are fixed. __________________ Tim on Twitter \| Tim's Blog \| Tim's Flickr The bit-tech Blog \| bit-tech on Twitter \| Join the bit-tech & Custom PC folding team (#35947)

25th Aug 2006, 17:34	#6
DougEdey I pwn all your storage Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Southampton Posts: 13,933	Have ABit acknowledged that there is a problem? __________________ Burnout: Paradise Stats!XBL: DougEdey Bindi PSN ID: DougEdey Twitter

25th Aug 2006, 17:14	#2
BUFF Hypermodder Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Glasgow Posts: 912	BIOS 1.4 has been out for a week or so & reputedly improves further on things (including a working PCI lock).

25th Aug 2006, 17:41	#8
DougEdey I pwn all your storage Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Southampton Posts: 13,933	Sorry Tim, was just that most of the time when a piece of hardware has a significant problem like this an official press release goes out and is included in the review so that people know Abit are addressing it (straight from the horses mouth as it were) __________________ Burnout: Paradise Stats!XBL: DougEdey Bindi PSN ID: DougEdey Twitter

25th Aug 2006, 17:53	#9
Tim S Pewlius Caesar bit-tech Staff Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ascot, Berks Posts: 18,021	The thing is, this board has sapped up more than enough time (read: Both of us, on and off over a four-to-five week period) and we eventually called it quits the weekend 12/13th on fourth time lucky. The board is going to sap up more time now, but then we want to get to the bottom of what the hell is going on with it. I've got a meeting with Abit next week, so hopefully I'll find out some more then. __________________ Tim on Twitter \| Tim's Blog \| Tim's Flickr The bit-tech Blog \| bit-tech on Twitter \| Join the bit-tech & Custom PC folding team (#35947)

25th Aug 2006, 17:56	#10
DougEdey I pwn all your storage Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Southampton Posts: 13,933	Sorry, didn't realise Abit had taken that long to respond __________________ Burnout: Paradise Stats!XBL: DougEdey Bindi PSN ID: DougEdey Twitter

25th Aug 2006, 18:14	#13
Bindibadgi Richard Swinburne bit-tech Staff Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Omnipwntent Posts: 28,228	Im using it now and it's not been a promising experience The word "frustrating" comes to mind. Random lockups in windows after booting and it just reset when I tried enabling SLI with 91.33s (91.31s had the SLI on 570 problem, 33's were fixed). It's also inconsistent when settings agressive BIOS timings, 50% of the time it'll reboot and POST right away, but the other half refuses to POST. It's also a LOT slower booting. "Fix some problems, create some more" comes to mind. The board needs a new revision. New BIOS revisions aren't going to fix it. __________________ Made you look, made you stare, made you clicked this in your underwear! Den of Geek! Last edited by Bindibadgi; 25th Aug 2006 at 18:46.

25th Aug 2006, 20:03	#14
DXR_13KE Madeira's banana is the best!!! Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Madeira ; Portugal Posts: 6,466	its not like they are gona recall all the boards they sold and substitute them for revised ones..... i think... its a bit sad that ABIT put out such bad board. __________________ *Renegade X - 0.40 Release!* <---- CLICK!

25th Aug 2006, 20:30	#15
Tulatin The Froggy Poster Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 2,941	So basically, it's as big a piece of **** as the KN8 SLI was? __________________ Desky E8400 @ 4.0 1.42v; P5K-E WiFi; 4x1 Kingmax Mars 1066 @ 1129 CAS 5; 2x [TOO CHEAP TO SPONSOR] 4850 @ 675/1050; Enermax Liberty; WCing in a CM690

25th Aug 2006, 21:15	#16
Tim S Pewlius Caesar bit-tech Staff Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ascot, Berks Posts: 18,021	I've added an update to the bottom of the final page, as a result of our preliminary testing with the new BIOS this evening - the board didn't get any better. __________________ Tim on Twitter \| Tim's Blog \| Tim's Flickr The bit-tech Blog \| bit-tech on Twitter \| Join the bit-tech & Custom PC folding team (#35947)

27th Aug 2006, 18:09	#17
DarkReaper Alignment: Sarcastic Good Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Belfast, NI Posts: 1,750	That's a helluva shame - I was really getting excited at the performance of the board especially considering how much cheaper it is than some of the boards it was equalling or beating. Stability comes first though - if two tech-heads struggle for ages with it I'm not going near the darn thing. I'll take the M2N32 instead despite the price hike.

30th Sep 2006, 15:21	#18
ages_devil What's a Dremel? Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 1	hi everybody, does this mean that the nf4 ultra version is better than this one? Last edited by ages_devil; 30th Sep 2006 at 15:45.