I'm going to play a missionary:

265-MHz FSB, Abit NF7-S 2.0, no Vmods at all
ProMos DDR RAM (Corsair Pro C2 LED) 2x 512 MB

Bios is available at www.Biosbude.de

Should be the EBED one.

I'm surprised to not find the Taipan D27 there (unless it's under a different name). I have it saved from when I had to rescue a NF7-S with a bad BIOS chip, and was going to use it sometime in the future once I get my hands on another NF7/7-S v2. I currently have a single-channeled A7N8X-X, which I find quite hindering in performance imo.

EDIT: nvm. Found it there as well.

Tzk wrote on 2026-05-22, 04:44:

Here's a score of mine which i did a few years ago. The goal was to prove FSB scaling in 3DM01, so this is not a maxed out score […]
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Here's a score of mine which i did a few years ago. The goal was to prove FSB scaling in 3DM01, so this is not a maxed out score, but the cpu was kept at 2500Mhz. FSB is at 262MHz and the gpu is only a 9800Pro at stock frequency.

The attachment snap-24-04-12-58-1.png is no longer available

paradigital wrote on 2026-05-16, 08:54:

Recapped the A7N8X Deluxe, installed the Uber 1007D bios,

Please use a proper bios and not the pointless Uber. Choose at least the Trats one or (even better) use the newer bios made by digitalbath, preferably the ED55 one (https://biosbude.de/%21%20BIOS%20VAULT/Asus/A … .0/digitalbath/). Also mind that:

1. NF2 overclocking needs a lot of chipset/silicon lottery luck - board mostly doesn't matter, but chipset quality does
2. keep the FSB in sync (1:1) to the ram - that's always the fastest and most stable option
3. always use single sided ram when going for (very high) FSB at or above 250MHz
4. NF2 loves low latecy - so Winbond BH-5 as 2x256mb sticks running at 2-2-2-5 is the best option for highscores

And of course:
5. NF2 does absolutely need a mod bios, as it won't load faster/more stable FSB timings ("romsips" or "straps") with stock bios. So when using a FSB133 Cpu you won't hit high fsb without a modded bios.
6. even with modded bios some boards (looking at you asus...) will hit a fsb wall as chipset voltage isn't sufficient. So voltmods are needed. Other boards like DFI or abit got an option in bios.

I've prepped a PLCC with the digitalbath ED55 BIOS (thanks _digitalbath), but I really need to at a minimum sort out the "unlocked item Chipset Voltage, this will only work if you solder missing parts on board". Have you got a link to a decent guide for the missing components? I can find info on general vmods for the A7N8X Deluxe V2.0 but nothing specifically that's "missing" from the stock board for allowing voltage adjustment of chipset in (modified) BIOS?

PcBytes wrote on 2026-05-22, 19:06:

I'm surprised to not find the Taipan D27 there (unless it's under a different name). I have it saved from when I had to rescue a NF7-S with a bad BIOS chip, and was going to use it sometime in the future once I get my hands on another NF7/7-S v2. I currently have a single-channeled A7N8X-X, which I find quite hindering in performance imo.

EDIT: nvm. Found it there as well.

Merlin modded a lot of BIOSes. I tended to use Mantaray BIOSes from Tictac.

paradigital wrote on 2026-05-23, 07:12:

I've prepped a PLCC with the digitalbath ED55 BIOS (thanks _digitalbath), but I really need to at a minimum sort out the "unlocked item Chipset Voltage, this will only work if you solder missing parts on board". Have you got a link to a decent guide for the missing components? I can find info on general vmods for the A7N8X Deluxe V2.0 but nothing specifically that's "missing" from the stock board for allowing voltage adjustment of chipset in (modified) BIOS?

You need
2x 2N7002 N-Channel MOSFETs (SOT23)
2x 10 Ohm (0603) – to the right of the MOSFETs
1x 680 Ohm (0603) – to the left of the MOSFETs, at position R460
1x 1.2 kOhm (0603) – to the left of the MOSFETs, at position R463

You can find the full post (in german ) here: https://www.hardwareluxx.de/community/threads … 5#post-30611636

I used hot air and flux to solder the missing parts. It should look like this

What digitalbath said above. It doesn't make a huge difference if you add those components or just use a regular vmod. Having the adjustment inside the bios is just a lazy and convenient option, nothing more. Before we figured that out, i ran the chipset at 1.825V via vmod and it worked great. Stock is 1.58V which is a bit low and thus most A7N8X begin to struggle at ~230Mhz or even earlier, regardless of the modbios used.

Note that you will need a bit of luck to get a good chipset, so binning boards/chipsets is a must for a top end score. My best A7N8X runs 278Mhz 3D stable and the worst is barely stable at 1.8V chipset and 208Mhz (no, not a typo...). Coincidentally the mentioned asus is also my best board so far. i also got two DFI, NF7,... but no board will hit 270+. I guess bad luck on my side.

Tzk wrote on 2026-05-23, 18:12:

What digitalbath said above. It doesn't make a huge difference if you add those components or just use a regular vmod. Having the adjustment inside the bios is just a lazy and convenient option, nothing more. Before we figured that out, i ran the chipset at 1.825V via vmod and it worked great. Stock is 1.58V which is a bit low and thus most A7N8X begin to struggle at ~230Mhz or even earlier, regardless of the modbios used.

Note that you will need a bit of luck to get a good chipset, so binning boards/chipsets is a must for a top end score. My best A7N8X runs 278Mhz 3D stable and the worst is barely stable at 1.8V chipset and 208Mhz (no, not a typo...). Coincidentally the mentioned asus is also my best board so far. i also got two DFI, NF7,... but no board will hit 270+. I guess bad luck on my side.

Prety sure nF2 binning might be less painful than 761 🤣

Tzk wrote on 2026-05-23, 18:12:

What digitalbath said above. It doesn't make a huge difference if you add those components or just use a regular vmod. Having the adjustment inside the bios is just a lazy and convenient option, nothing more. Before we figured that out, i ran the chipset at 1.825V via vmod and it worked great. Stock is 1.58V which is a bit low and thus most A7N8X begin to struggle at ~230Mhz or even earlier, regardless of the modbios used.

Note that you will need a bit of luck to get a good chipset, so binning boards/chipsets is a must for a top end score. My best A7N8X runs 278Mhz 3D stable and the worst is barely stable at 1.8V chipset and 208Mhz (no, not a typo...). Coincidentally the mentioned asus is also my best board so far. i also got two DFI, NF7,... but no board will hit 270+. I guess bad luck on my side.

I’m hoping I have a reasonable board as it will at least do runs at 233 at stock voltage and boot to Windows at up to 242Mhz. A few extra mV will hopefully help with stability.

This result was more stressful than I thought. I am not 100% happy with it, but I leave it as it is for now.

_digitalbath wrote on 2026-05-24, 00:06:

This result was more stressful than I thought. I am not 100% happy with it, but I leave it as it is for now.

Good enough for 2nd place. Thats a nice FSB. Looks like you need a better gpu.

Im using Trats D27_EDc18 bios. I just picked one at random really. Ill try some other ones next. I have some CMX512-3200XLPRO's on the way. Should help a little.

Very nice scores! Seems like the 7600gt and 6800gt are closely matched in performance.

Regarding the 3200XL, just keep in mind that NF2 will clock better with single rank dimms (256mb TCCD or BH-5 sticks, 512mb CE-6, 512mb Hynix ETR) and in contrast to other platforms there’s almost no performance boost when using double ranked dimms. Also NF2 loves low latency (2-2-2-5) at high clocks. So going for 250-255Mhz 2.5-3-3 is quite good, but 240-245 2-2-2-5 will probably be faster in most cases.

My A7N8X won’t run 512mb TCCD sticks higher than 250Mhz while my 256mb BH-5 limit is at 263Mhz and my Hynix ETR 512mb single rank hit 278Mhz 2.5-3-3-8. performance of the BH-5 is best though.

We both didn't operate at the Brink (phun intended) his 7600GT could do more with a vmod as my 6800GT could do also... and maybe but only maybe there is also a little bit more fuel in the tank left for the cpus..

but yeah, it was fun so far 😉

The Sandman wrote on 2026-05-24, 11:56:

We both didn't operate at the Brink (phun intended) his 7600GT could do more with a vmod as my 6800GT could do also... and maybe but only maybe there is also a little bit more fuel in the tank left for the cpus..

but yeah, it was fun so far 😉

true, the 7600GT could do more, but I won't do it. It needs a recap first.

Tzk wrote on 2026-05-24, 06:50:

Very nice scores! Seems like the 7600gt and 6800gt are closely matched in performance.

A unlocked X800 seems to match a simmilar performance. The framerates is a lot better on the ATI graphicscard. Do the X800 cards perform better in terms of shader performance?

supercordo wrote on 2026-05-24, 04:46:

Im using Trats D27_EDc18 bios. I just picked one at random really. Ill try some other ones next. I have some CMX512-3200XLPRO's on the way. Should help a little.

Nice! Romsip values seems to look good!

Scores are updated. And yes it has been fun so far.

@supercordo
I'm sorry, I saw your PM too late. Unfortunately, I am not allowes to use PMs yet.
The BIOSes you mentioned have the same mods, but differ in the romsips ( = chipset / CPU timings ). You have to test what romsips may work best on your board. Some may work good, others not. I would start with the ED55 BIOS.
The mod romsips are based on the DFI Lanparty Beta BIOSes. All modders like Merlin, Tictac or Hellfire did use the DFI SIPs to mod their famous mod BIOSes.

Yea! thanks for starting the tread! I am thinking about making also a list for Palimino CPUs?

_digitalbath wrote on 2026-05-24, 12:47:

The framerates is a lot better on the ATI graphicscard.

I meant the nature test.

_digitalbath wrote on 2026-05-24, 13:10:

@supercordo I'm sorry, I saw your PM too late. Unfortunately, I am not allowes to use PMs yet. The BIOSes you mentioned have th […]
Show full quote

@supercordo
I'm sorry, I saw your PM too late. Unfortunately, I am not allowes to use PMs yet.
The BIOSes you mentioned have the same mods, but differ in the romsips ( = chipset / CPU timings ). You have to test what romsips may work best on your board. Some may work good, others not. I would start with the ED55 BIOS.
The mod romsips are based on the DFI Lanparty Beta BIOSes. All modders like Merlin, Tictac or Hellfire did use the DFI SIPs to mod their famous mod BIOSes.

Yea! thanks for starting the tread! I am thinking about making also a list for Palimino CPUs?

_digitalbath wrote on 2026-05-24, 12:47:

The framerates is a lot better on the ATI graphicscard.

I meant the nature test.

Thanks for the info. Slowly learning what these romsip do.

_digitalbath wrote on 2026-05-24, 13:10:

@supercordo I'm sorry, I saw your PM too late. Unfortunately, I am not allowes to use PMs yet. The BIOSes you mentioned have th […]
Show full quote

@supercordo
I'm sorry, I saw your PM too late. Unfortunately, I am not allowes to use PMs yet.
The BIOSes you mentioned have the same mods, but differ in the romsips ( = chipset / CPU timings ). You have to test what romsips may work best on your board. Some may work good, others not. I would start with the ED55 BIOS.
The mod romsips are based on the DFI Lanparty Beta BIOSes. All modders like Merlin, Tictac or Hellfire did use the DFI SIPs to mod their famous mod BIOSes.

Yea! thanks for starting the tread! I am thinking about making also a list for Palimino CPUs?

_digitalbath wrote on 2026-05-24, 12:47:

The framerates is a lot better on the ATI graphicscard.

I meant the nature test.

How does the soft L12 mod work? Doesnt seem to be doing anything.

supercordo wrote on 2026-05-24, 15:05:

How does the soft L12 mod work? Doesnt seem to be doing anything.

supercordo wrote on 2026-05-24, 13:16:

Thanks for the info. Slowly learning what these romsip do.

Romsips (or „straps“ on newer platforms) will to some extend tell the chipset to set timings, delays or drive strength on the front side bus. Some settings inside the sips are known, some are not.
The sips are stored for each default FSB. So 100Mhz, 133, 166 and 200. The default FSB is set by the L12 bridge of the cpu.

There are two possibilities into tricking the chipset to load other Romsips or to force specific sips:
1. either hard mod - tiny wire inside the socket may work.
2. „soft L12“ - you replace the romsip bytes by custom values inside the bios. So the bios loads the same sips for all CPUs, regardless of the default fsb.

There’s a lot more to it and DFI did a tremendous job back then. Their Romsips still are the best ones after all these years. Using DFI 619 or ED sips is a solid choice in most cases.

Fun fact:
Other chipsets (so non-nforce) like AMD and VIA also have sips and tweaking these does also work great.

I shouldnt be this hard to find sticks of ram with 256MB with good timings. What ram are you guys using?

This is looking fun in here. I might have to fire up my UltraB and/or NF7S and see if I can join the fast SocketA club.