This is my little FAQ for the DFI NF4-D /LP Ultra-D / LP UT SLi-D /LP UT SLi-DR /LP UT Expert.
First of is the differences between the boards.
NF4-D / LP UT-D / LP UT-SLi-D
LP UT-SLi-DR
LP UT-SLi-DR (Expert)
No Silicon Image 3114 Controller
on any of these boards. The
D & UT-D version has no SLi.
The D version does not support
SataII.
Has the Silicon Image 3114
Controller, SLi ready.
Ram slots have been turned
90 degrees anticlockwise
Cpu moved to top right
3phase to 4 phase
PCIe slots moved further
apart for bigger GFx
SLi jumpers removed
SLi enabled in bios
3x pci slots
DFI NF4 D / Ultra-D / SLi-D / SLi-DR / Expert / Venus......Test Build Guide.
1. Remove the motherboard from the box and bag along with the foam padding and sit on top of the foam padding on a NON Conductive surface....
Note: DO NOT place the motherboard on the electro-static bag, that the board came in.
2. (Optional) This is the time if you have an after market Cpu Heatsink Fan to remove the stock cpu retainer bracket....replacing it with your "new" after market HSF "retainer bracket".
3. (Optional) Also some users have found removing the stock Chipset Dfi HSF and replacing it with the Evercool VC-RE/VC-RF or the Thermaltake HR-05 "SLi" is a great alternative to the stock HSF, at the very least you should remove the stock HSF and at least clean it up and re Arctic Silver it or Ceramique or whatever you use......a 10C drop in temperatures is possible after doing this.
4. Prepare your cpu, clean it using rubbing alcohol or similar. Insert it in the socket lowering the leaver to lock it in place.
5. Next, take your AS5 (Or if you use something else, follow the instructions!) and put a dab of it right in the center of the cpu. About the size of a grain of rice.
6. Align your Cpu HSF and secure it, squishing the AS5 at the same time.
7. (For the D / UT-D / SLi-D / SLi-DR), plug in ALL FOUR power connectors to the board. Plug in the 24-pin main power connector, then the 4-pin 12v secondary connector. Then plug in the 4-pin molex connection and the 4-pin floppy connection. There is only one way these connections will go into the board.
8. (For the Expert), there are ONLY 3 power connectors, plug in the 24-pin main power connector, then the 8-pin 12v secondary connector. Then plug in the 4-pin floppy connection to the header marked Fan3 just above the First PCIe slot.
DFI boards require a native 24 pin 480w PSU Minimum of +12V@26A for Single Video Card Systems & +12V@34A for Dual Video Card (SLI) Systems.
9. Plug in a single memory module into the orange DIMM slot closest to the edge of the motherboard, (furthest from the cpu) which is named DDR2.
10. Now, connect your keyboard ps/2 or USB connection (It's preferable to use PS/2 during initial builds for less hassle and troubleshooting).
11. Plug in your GFX card to the top PCIe1 slot, connect any power cables that are needed for it, i.e 6pin PCIe1, then connect your monitor cable. It should look something like this.
12. Hit the EZpower switch on the motherboard (check the manual if you cannot find these two buttons!!!) and see if it will boot up.
13. If it posts then you can continue to Enter your bios and Enable Memtest86..its Enabled in the Genie BIOS Settings, scroll to the bottom and Enable it. F10 to Save and Exit.....On Boot after the Post Screen, Memtest will run.....You should run Memtest on each individual stick of memory.... The 2nd stick would go in DDR4 or the 2nd orange slot. When it has passed on each individual stick then run the tests on both sticks. Here is a guide on How to Run Memtest86, (ignore the part about running it from usb stick). Start from #6 in the memtest guide if your running Lanparty Motherboards as its embeded in the bios.
DFI NF4 D / Ultra-D / SLi-D / SLi-DR / Expert / Venus NVRaid Guide.
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1st Part Array Setup.
This is based on a 2x Sata hdd Raid0 array.
1. First hook up your 2x Sata hdd to your Sata Headers i.e Sata 1&2
2. Start your pc, hit Del to enter bios, go to Genie Bios and enable the Sata Controllers you want to use i.e (the Internal Phy SATA 1/2).
3. Hit Del to go back to Main screen and Go to Integrated Peripherals / RAID Configuration.
4. Enable Raid and scroll down to Internal Phy SATA 1/2 and Enable them. Hit F10 to save and exit.
5. When your puter has rebooted, after the POST screen, you will see the NVRaid Bios Utility screen come up with a prompt saying to press F10. Hit F10 to enter it.
6. The first screen you will see allows you to choose the Raid Mode i.e Striping array you want, use the Tab key and arrow keys and enter key to highlight and select your choices, (Striping = Raid0) also choose the Stripe Block Size you want i.e Optimal or 16k etc.
Really what you choose for Stripe Block Size is what works for you, most go with either 16k or 32k for general use and for shifting large files around they go with 64k.
7. Tab down and highlight each hard drive (Left screen) and use the arrow keys to add them to the array section. (Right section of the screen).
8. When you have done that Hit F7. It will ask if you want to Clear Disk Data. (Yes or No).
9. You will then be taken to the last screen which lists the array. It should already be set as Bootable. If not Hit B to set it to Bootable.
Thats your array set up, you can now either use a 3rd party Partitioning program to partition and format or just use windows.
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2nd Part Windows NVRaid Driver Install.
There are a few ways you can install the Raid Driver.....
Text Mode Install.
1. Download either the Nvidia 6.86 Drivers or if you have problems you can try the DFI Raid Driver. Extract them to a blank floppy.
2. Start your windows install, at the text mode part of the install you will see the prompt to press F6, Hit the F6 key.
3. Eventually, you'll get a screen telling you that Setup couldn't determine the type of mass storage devices. Insert the floppy disk in the drive, and hit S. Then hit Enter when prompted.
Windows Setup will examine the files on the floppy disk before showing you a screen detailing two drivers.
BOTH DRIVERS are needed. Select the "NVIDIA NForce Storage Controller" first, then hit Enter. That'll take you back to the earlier screen, where you need to hit S again, then you can add the "NVIDIA RAID CLASS DRIVER". Remember BOTH DRIVERS must be installed. Once you've added both drivers, you'll see the following screen.
4. Follow the instructions to continue. If you have done it correctly then you should see your raid array at the partition selection screen....If you see 2 separate hdd's you will have to back track to see where you went wrong as the raid driver is not installed properly.
Slipstreaming Install.
Some users have problems when installing the raid driver from text mode, i.e it errors out saying nvraid.sys can not be found, or they get constant rebooting looping. If you have this problem then the slipstream install is for you.....
Follow this guide. Integration of nVRaid drivers into XP, W2k and W2k3 (32-bit)
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How to Setup SLi NF4 D / Ultra-D / SLi-D / SLi-DR / Expert / Venus
1. Have both Gfx cards inserted into their PCIe slots, with the SLi bridge connecting them both.
2. Make sure your monitor is connected to the top graphics card (PCIe1) and in the lower Dvi/Dsub port nearest the motherboard.
3. (For the NF4 D / Ultra-D/SLi-D/SLi-DR) make sure the SLi Jumpers are Enabled
4. Start PC. Hit Del to enter your bios. Go To Advanced Bios Features/SLI Broadcast = Disabled or (Auto). (I have tried both of these options and Disabled works for me).
5. (For the Expert) go to Genie Bios and ensure you have PCI eXpress Configuration set to 8-4-NC-8.
6. Also in Genie Bios go to Dual 6600 GT Cards Support = Disabled. (Depending on the bios version, this option might not be available, so leave it). Hit F10 to Save and Reboot.
7. When windows is Rebooting hit F8 to Enter Safe Mode. Uninstall your nvidia graphics driver from Add/Remove Programs, remove only the Nvidia Dislplay driver........DO Not reboot when it asks you to.
8. Download Driver Cleaner Pro and run it too remove any remnants of the old driver......when you run driver cleaner choose the option for Nvidia not any of the others. Click on the Start button, when its finished Reboot your PC.
9. On restart Winblows will find your hardware and try to install drivers Cancel it....Download and install the Forceware drivers 93.71 (or newer)
10. Once the display driver is installed you will be prompted to reboot. Upon reboot you should see the prompt in the taskbar saying that your Gfx cards are SLI Capable. Click on the popup.
11. The Display Properties box opens at the SLi screen, Enable both options for Sli. A reboot is required.
12. Once its rebooted you should see the prompt telling you your SLI is enabled.
Note: If your getting a warning that states that one of your cards is not compatible. Then try turning the SLi Bridge around the opposite way...
