A7N8X-E Deluxe overclocking giving me HELL!

[mrSHEiK124]

So the time came for me to ditch my crap HP KM133 Based Athlon XP 1600+ System for something to keep me steady for another year when 64-bit CPUs are mature or when Socket 939 and PCI-E come together on a nice motherboard, not the point, I read nothing but good stuff about the ABIT NF7-S v2 and nothing but good stuff about the ASUS A7N8X-E Deluxe, so I went for the ASUS due to my past experience with them. So I plop my new AMD Athlon XP 2500+ in there, apply Arctic Silver 5 better than anyone before me, put the enormous Zalman CNPS-7000AlCuA on it, and two sticks of Kingston HyperX PC3700 256MB in slots 2 & 3, they were a dual-channel kit and they apparently have Hynix chips due to the Hynix sticker on the side of the case. So I fire it up, install Windows XP Pro w/SP1, get the newest ASUS Drivers, load up UBER BIOS 1008, and get the newest ForceWare's for my GeForce FX 5700, and install all the other PCI cards i have in here. I went into the BIOS, and set it to 200MHZ FSB, and had the RAM in 100% Sync Mode, and left it there, it was good, and ran stable at 1.725 VCore, 2.7 VDimm. But after a while that wasn't enough, so i bumped the FSB to 210 MHz, VCore to 1.825, VDimm to 2.8, and restarted, no POST, nothing, I had to go and reset the CMOS. Soon this 2500+ is going into my sister's PC, and I'll prolly replace it with the Mobile XP 2500+ (YAY!) so I can get those so talked about 220 FSB speeds. I just wanna know is my Kingston HyperX ram causing a problem? Should i ditch it for some OCZ or some Mushkin? Anyone got any recommendations based on experience with THIS BOARD. And why the hell will this thing only prime for 13 minutes and zonk out?

 

[mrSHEiK124]

sorry for double-posting but it turns out i have 2 MORE DAYS to ask for an RMA Refund, should I exchange this board for something else, and if yes, for what, i wanna know real quick so I can just finish this, this board hates me and i prolly hate it.

 

[Megatomic]

Personally I would have gone with the NF7-S R2 (and I did!). But I hear that Kingston HyperX and NF7-S don't get along well. Tough call there, I'll think about it some and post back later.

 

[mrSHEiK124]

Well I still have 2 days to return the Kingston HyperX as well, also i don't think this board likes overclocking, I set the CPU to 215 FSB and ram to 83%, VCore to 1.8 and tried booting, no POST, restarted, the piezzo speaker made a weird groan like beep and the pc asked me for a BIOS Disk, so i restarted it while holding down delete and it reset itself to 100 FSB (how exactly does this feature work? anyways i love it) and i set it back to 200. anyone got anything to say? also does the chip voltage setting do anything in UBER 1008?

 

[Megatomic]

Well, my buddy at work got an A7N8X-E Deluxe a few months after I got my NF7-S R2 and he can't overclock his 2500+ anywhere near like I can. Our CPU steppings are very close, too.

If I was you, I send the ASUS back and get either the NF7-S R2 or the DFI Infinity and some Corsair for good overclocking.

 

[mrSHEiK124]

thing is, mine is clocked just like yours , does anyone know EXACTLY which type of RAM to buy, and does anyone know why i am limited to 200 FSB, is it the board, CPU (getting a mobile soon), ram, or chipset (i doubt that) and uno problemo amigo, the NF7-S has no heatsink mounting holes so i can't use my CNPS-7000A-AlCu on it (bummer) gonna have to replace that too, this bites

 

[WobbleWobble]

There's nothing wrong with your board. I personally think it's just your CPU that can't do those speeds. You're aiming for over 2.3GHz and that's already pretty high. I think you're unfairly blaming your board when you're shooting for a chance at a high overclock. I've always been an advocate that even 3200+ isn't as certain that everyone makes it to be.

I'm using the A7N8X Deluxe with a mobile 2500+ running at 2.4GHz right now (12x200 @1.71V).

 

[WobbleWobble]

also does the chip voltage setting do anything in UBER 1008?

No, it doesn't work.

 

[Megatomic]

Originally posted by: sheik124
thing is, mine is clocked just like yours , does anyone know EXACTLY which type of RAM to buy, and does anyone know why i am limited to 200 FSB, is it the board, CPU (getting a mobile soon), ram, or chipset (i doubt that) and uno problemo amigo, the NF7-S has no heatsink mounting holes so i can't use my CNPS-7000A-AlCu on it (bummer) gonna have to replace that too, this bites

Yeah, but mine will run at 2.3GHz at default Vcore and is prime stable for more time than I have patience for (36 hours is the longest I've been able to leave it alone).

It might be your CPU... Who knows? The only way to find out is to try it in another board.

 

[AWhackWhiteBoy]

i've reposted again and again and AGAIN, the A7N8X-E Deluxe i got was trash, returned it. My DFI lanparty makes me very happy. i had the same issues and many others with my Asus.

 

[mrSHEiK124]

i had established my CPU was one of those things that had to go and be replaced by a mobile in my first post, and i guess i'll keep the mobo cause i loves it good, and the system boots with the RAM set high, but not if the CPU is set high, should i exchange my hyperx for something else? or is it good enough

 

[AWhackWhiteBoy]

your ram is way beyond the specs of what that Asus could ever use. i could never get my asus past 195.

 

[mrSHEiK124]

so people here are saying its the board its the cpu bla bla, so i am guessing this ram is fine?? and i thought this thing was the miracle OC'ing board, i see people pumping 220 FSB out of their mobile bartons on this same board/revision (btw, this board has Rev 1.04 silk screened on it but the Asus Probe reads 2.xx), would using an active northbridge cooler and chucking the old passive cooler on the southbridge do any good?

 

[WobbleWobble]

I don't think the -E ever came in a 1.04 form?

The A7N8X-E Deluxe is a very good board still and it's unforunate that some are having problems, but since more people use Asus boards, more are bound to report problems. Adding an active cooler on the northbridge will help a bit, adding the old passive cooler on the southbridge shouldn't really help with overclocking but it can't hurt.

 

[myocardia]

You realize, don't you, that AMD sells a chip guaranteed to do 11x200? It's called the XP3200.

 

[xbassman]

Originally posted by: WobbleWobble
There's nothing wrong with your board. I personally think it's just your CPU that can't do those speeds. You're aiming for over 2.3GHz and that's already pretty high. I think you're unfairly blaming your board when you're shooting for a chance at a high overclock. I've always been an advocate that even 3200+ isn't as certain that everyone makes it to be.

I'm using the A7N8X Deluxe with a mobile 2500+ running at 2.4GHz right now (12x200 @1.71V).

I'll have to agree here...

I put together a system Friday using a 2500+ on an NF7-S v2. and I couldn't get (11x190) stable @ 1.9v vcore! Right now it is running 100% stable (11x185) @ 1.85v vcore. I suspect the power supply is a contributing factor here since MBM5 reported a .1v variance in vcore (over 24 hrs). Antec 400W not very impressive...

I also put together another system in a HTPC case using a 2500+ a couple of months ago with similar results (11x190) @ 1.825.
The computer I am using right now would probably reach very high overclocks. It has a 2500+ on an NF7-M. It is currently (11x197) @ 1.75v vcore 1.7v chipset. The limiting factor on this board is my onboard GPU. I added a Vantec Iceberg Copper and it netted 4 mhz FSB. (CPU is stable@ 11x200 FSB 1.8v. vcore but GPU becomes unstable)

If you want to check your memory download a memtest86 ISO image and burn it to CD-R, then boot to the CD you burned. you'll probably need to go ahead and set vcore to about 1.8 or so so your processor will boot to it. Then run test 5 for a pass or 2. If you get errors bump your mem voltage to 2.7 or 2.8 and try again. On both of the last 2 I built even though my memory was stable @ (11x200) They wouldn't boot windows. I would either get a DOS error prompt or a forced reboot.

Actually I was checking the board to see if anybody has had any luck lately OCing a 2500+ since my best results are from a processor purchased last summer.

 

[mrSHEiK124]

Originally posted by: WobbleWobble
I don't think the -E ever came in a 1.04 form?

want a picture? it actually says 1.01 on it, but my digital camera is hidden in a cave somewhere, or my closet, can never tell the difference between them

 

[WobbleWobble]

I'll take your word for it.

With pre non-E versions, rev 2.0 boards had an updated northbridge to better support the 200MHz FSB. I would have assumed since all non-Es are 2.0 that they would use the updated northbridge with official 200MHz FSB support. They probably reused the PCB board since all A7N8Xs use the same layout.

 

[pcmodem]

Correct me if I am wrong, but the Athlon XP2500+ (Barton Core) is designed for 333 FSB (166 x 2)...

and you are attempting to run it at 400 FSB (200 x)?

If this is the case, that is likely why you are having problems.

Also, try running it first with just ONE stick of RAM.


Cheers, :beer:
PCM

 

[mrSHEiK124]

have you not noticed? this is the overclocking thread, why else would i run it that high? would one stick really help?

 

[mrSHEiK124]

arrr, does anyone know if this ram is also a cause?

 

[SickBeast]

Originally posted by: sheik124
arrr, does anyone know if this ram is also a cause?

ram can cause issues with overclocking. with my a7n8x (great board btw) i have better luck with the memory in slots 1 and 2 which forces it to run in single-channel mode. since you're going for high fsb speeds that's what i would do if i were you.

for reference, i can run generic (hynix chips) PC3200 memory at 200x2.5x4x4x11 at moderately boosted voltage no problem. if i run in single channel, i can hit 220 fsb.

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: pcmodem
Correct me if I am wrong, but the Athlon XP2500+ (Barton Core) is designed for 333 FSB (166 x 2)...

and you are attempting to run it at 400 FSB (200 x)?

If this is the case, that is likely why you are having problems.

Also, try running it first with just ONE stick of RAM.


Cheers, :beer:
PCM

Well, today I got a 2500 333 Barton for another system. I have a 3200 400 in my A7N8X board. For the heck of it I just dropped the 2500 in it's place and left the settings alone. I'm typing on the 2500 at 400 and it comes up as a 3200. Been on it all day and may just leave it in this machine. Run with one 512meg stick of Geil 3200 400MHz. Ordinary stock AMD HS/Fan.

 

[mrSHEiK124]

arrrr, i just want to know, are P4 systems the only things that exist on this planet that can pull over 200 fsb? i was aiming for 215 FSB when i bought this, and i know overheating is not the cause since everything is running so cool, i am gonna try forcing single channel (slots 1+2) and seeing if that helps me, hopefully my Mobile will help me hit higher speeds, i guess since this is Hynix chip ram and people who have tried it plus reviewers give it thumbs ups, it isn't a problem, i'll post with my success (or not)

 

[mrSHEiK124]

oh my god it works! i set FSB to 166 and FSB:RAM to 133% making it 222 (sadly single channel, i'll live) and it boots fine, its rock solid, time to see what Prime95 says about it. so i have pretty much singled out my CPU as the problem, good thing my shiny new Mobile 2500+ is on its way soon. thanks for all your help