2600+ Mobile or A7N8X Deluxe sucks?

[PCTweaker5]

I just got my Mobile yesterday and it cant hit 200FSB and is only stable at 185FSB x 12.5 at 1.725Vcore. Im thinking it was my MB so I checked the BIOS and it is already at the lastest update so Im a bit confused. My previous MB was able to do 200FSB with the same memory but I just got it back from replacement RMA and it cant hit 200 anymore without it crashing at the intro to Farcry. I used a 2500+ Barton with the old MB and it worked great and both boards are rev 1.04. So my question is this: When I installed my NForce2 platform drivers I decided not to install the SW IDE drivers and all the other times I *did* install them so is this the reason why my PC would be unstable at higher clock speeds?

 

[AWhackWhiteBoy]

i got the E deluxe, same problem. my new DFI does wonders with the same ram and cpu. get rid of that board,its trash.

edit: what revision is yours though? not all of them even support 200, and the rest sorta half assed support it from what i've seen.

 

[myocardia]

If you want to make sure it's your motherboard, and not an underpower power supply, lower the multi to 10, and see if it will hit 200mhz fsb. If it will, buy yourself an Antec TruePower 430 power supply, and all of your problems will go away.

 

[essasin]

friend of mine had the same problem with his asus deluxe...and he switched over to a dfi inifinty and had no ocing problems

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: essasin
friend of mine had the same problem with his asus deluxe...and he switched over to a dfi inifinty and had no ocing problems

I personally think it's the motherboard too. I was just letting him know how he could find out for sure whether it's the motherboard.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: myocardia
If you want to make sure it's your motherboard, and not an underpower power supply, lower the multi to 10, and see if it will hit 200mhz fsb. If it will, buy yourself an Antec TruePower 430 power supply, and all of your problems will go away.

Dang, I forgot something in this post. You said that your Asus would run your chip at 12.5x185, stable at 1.725v. That very well could be your problem. Overclocking requires voltage. Before you try this experiment, set your vcore to 1.80v. 2.3ghz is fairly fast for only 1.725v, unless you got one of the IQYHA steppings, that is.

 

[PCTweaker5]

Mine is an IQYHA stepping and I meant that it was at 180 x 12.5 right now but last night it ran fine at 2.3GHz with that voltage until after an hour of Prime95 then it reported errors. I just formatted and started fresh with XP about 5 minutes ago and am going to try some more clocking. My PSU is an excellent one and the first day I had the CPU which was yesterday I tried many multiplier settings at 200FSB and it still crashed at the Farcry intro so I guess it is the MB. I think I'll just keep this MB for a while and then sell it, buy a NF7-S and try again. I hear the NF7-S is where people get 2.5GHz most with these chips but the only thing I dont like on that board is where the power connector goes.

 

[MegaWorks]

bottom line ASUS suck!

------------------------------------------------------
AMD Athlon XP T-Bred B DLT3C 1700+ @ 2.3GHZ (1.775v) 400FSB = 3200+
Abit NF7-S V.2 (nForce2-U400)
Corsair TwinX XMS 3200LL 512MB @ 2-3-2-6 (2.6v)
Sapphire Radeon 9500 Pro 128MB
Antec TrueBlue 480W
Thermalright SLK-947U with 92mm Vantec Tornado @2800RPM
Antec PlusView 1000AMG
Cambridge SoundWorks MegaWorks THX 550 5.1

 

[PCTweaker5]

Lol, I didnt think there were MB fanboys but I have had a nice experience with the A7N8X Deluxe so Im not complaining but it would be nice to try out an NF7-S.

 

[Zebo]

Asus is so 1990's. They make overpriced crap with less features and survive on thier hype and carry over from then when they actaully made good stuff, reminds me of the intel P4a's. Try the new kids on the block DFI/EPOX/Shuttle or even ABIT but never get asus.

I think I'll just keep this MB for a while and then sell it, buy a NF7-S and try again. I hear the NF7-S is where people get 2.5GHz most with these chips but the only thing I dont like on that board is where the power connector goes.

I recommend the DFI ultra infinity, not only it has quiet passive cooling, many report upwards of 250Mhz bus which will give you plenty of overhead. The ABIT, i have two rev 2s which are very different, has made some not so good changes latly to cheapen thier board up like smaller mosfets and even taken some out which is why many users report instabity and mobo heat problems over 210 FSB. ABIT rev 2s is a bad choice right now

 

[PCTweaker5]

HTF are you getting 2.5GHz at 1.63 Vcore? Anyways Im not sure what to get now, I have seen a lot of those DFI's being sold in these forums which makes me think they suck at something. I think I'll just keep this board and deal with my settings until I build a new PC but as for gaming I will be buying the 6800 Ultra to put in this thing so I'll still be moving along just fine.

 

[Zebo]

I donno but new abit nf7s rev 2 wont let me past 207 busText

I even tried making multi 6 and cranking to 218 and it fails prime. I blew old board from PSU failure but before that old nf7-s no problem at 222Mhz. I really heard nothing but priase about the DFI UI, try over at overclockers.com where they have a forum dedicated to the DFI boards then form better opionin. If I was'nt getting a A64 I would definitly get DFI right now.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: PCTweaker5
HTF are you getting 2.5GHz at 1.63 Vcore? Anyways Im not sure what to get now, I have seen a lot of those DFI's being sold in these forums which makes me think they suck at something. I think I'll just keep this board and deal with my settings until I build a new PC but as for gaming I will be buying the 6800 Ultra to put in this thing so I'll still be moving along just fine.

Actually, since you have Geil ram, you aren't going to be able to buy an NF7-S. The Geil works quite well with the Epox 8RDA3+, and that's what I'm using at the moment to run my mobile Barton at 2.5ghz, with no problems whatsoever, though I did recently receive a DFI Ultra Infinity that I bought to see if I could hit somewhere along the lines of 11x225. That would really make me smile.

 

[PCTweaker5]

Ive heard too many bad things about the 8RDA3's and have seen sooo many being sold on the FS/T threads. I guess Im stuck with this board but thats OK as long as my PC is running and will continue to run for over a year with no problems then I am a happy camper. Thanks for the replies guys!

 

[AWhackWhiteBoy]

just because motherboards are being sold doesn't mean they are bad!

 

[PCTweaker5]

I dont know, I remember reading somewhere about some problems that I cant recall of but I remember getting a bad vibe about these boards so Im steering clear.

 

[Jeff7181]

My A7N8X Deluxe is fine... 216x11.5 currently... mine's a revision 2 though... the fact that your's is a 1.04 and was never certified, or even tested to run at 200 Mhz shouldn't be a surprise that it won't run at 200 Mhz. Just get a new motherboard if it's not capable of doing what you want it to do.

By the way... my old KT266 chipset Shuttle AK-31 won't run the FSB at 333 Mhz, it sucks! (see how rational you sound? )

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: PCTweaker5
Ive heard too many bad things about the 8RDA3's and have seen sooo many being sold on the FS/T threads. I guess Im stuck with this board but thats OK as long as my PC is running and will continue to run for over a year with no problems then I am a happy camper. Thanks for the replies guys!

You've confused the 8RDA with the 8RDA3+. Many people who bought an 8RDA couldn't hit 200fsb, they were a first generation nForce2 board. The 8RDA3+ is an nForce2 Ultra chipset, they're completely different boards, I have no idea why the people at Epox thought it would be a good idea to give a different board that close of a name. Anyway, I've haven't had the slightest problem out of mine (but it won't be for sell, either, it's going in my daughter's system). But then again, if you're happy with 180fsb, more power to you.

 

[myocardia]

Jeff, I never heard how your mobile 2500 overclock went, after you got the Antec True 430. Any better?

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: myocardia
Jeff, I never heard how your mobile 2500 overclock went, after you got the Antec True 430. Any better?

Yep... I'm at 2.48 Ghz now... been stable for about a week so I might increase the FSB another Mhz and see if I can get a tad closer to 2.5 =)

 

[PCTweaker5]

I was hoping they would send me a rev 2 but they probably thought I RMA'ed it just for that like a bunch of other people might and gave me the same revision which is OK but I just wish I could hit 200FSB like my other rev 1.04. Why make it support DDR400 when the FSB is rated at 333? It would be best for the FSB of the CPU and mem to run in sync right?

 

[myocardia]

Well, an Athlon XP3200 runs at 200fsb, so that's why all of the new boards support 200fsb. Also, I did some thinking, and it almost seems to me that the motherboards that were having problems getting past 185fsb with Geil ram was the Asus A7N8X, not the NF7. I do have a horrible memory, though, so you might want to look around and see what you can find out about that. Did you have this same ram with your previous A7N8X?

edit: Oh, and load the IDE drivers for your motherboard! Why would you not load them? It doesn't seem like that would be the problem, but anything's possible. Plus, you have IDE drives...

 

[Wigwam]

it's interesting you say it crashed at the intro to farcry; MS actually have a patch in the non-critical section of the update site for crashes that occur at game intros after another of their [critical] patches has been applied.

maybe something as simple as that is also a culprit?

 

[Cashmoney995]

Here's a question, should I go with the lan Party 2 or the Infinity?

 

[AWhackWhiteBoy]

i <3 my lanparty but it comes with a lot of fluff, like a case transport, that lame looking front bay,stickers. but it does of course have extra mobo features. either one would make you happy, but the lanparty is a bit pricey, i'd get the cheaper.