ASUS A7V333 Question

[Jfrag Teh Foul]

I am having a local computer store install a new mobo in my system (>: had to let them since it was being repaired via an insurance claim... the insurance need a 3rd party to do the work and wouldn't let me do it myself... GRRR!). Anyway, the board that they ordered me was the ASUS A7V333 w/raid. Well, it came in the other day and when they went to install it... they found out that it was DOA and RMA'd it for a new one. I have read several reviews on various ASUS boards with the result being that they were a good brand. Is the A7V333 any different? Does anybody here have any first hand knowledge on this particular board? If so, what are your thoughts?

I have never personally used any ASUS boards as most of the time I used Abit, MSI, Gigabyte...etc.

Thanks in advance!

 

[KillerCow]

I dont think that I have ever had a DOA Asus... out of... maybe 50-60 Asus builds. I always recomend and personaly use Asus... except in piece of junk machines.

I installed an a7v333 yesterday. It smoked when I did a clear CMOS, but was fine after that. One of the dambedest thing I ever saw.

 

[Markfw]

No DOA's from ASUS for 10 boards in 10 years. I also have an A7V333, and no problem. Make sure they aren't idiots, and forgot to hook the CPU fan to the correct connector, otherwise it won't boot.

 

[YetiIronfst]

My new A7V333 board is running like a champ with my XP2200+ at home. I'm very happy with things (hard not to be happy when upgrading from a PII-400 )

If you tell me more about your system (such as memory and CPU and an OCing / unlocking plans you have) I may be able to help more.

In the mean time, I'd recommend reading the info on the A7V333 at www.lostcircuits.com - pay special attention to the page about the jumpers where the reviewer discovered that the default shipping configuration for this board has the DDR SDRAM slightly overclocked / out of spec unnecessarily. You MIGHT want the extra voltage, but only if you're pushing the latency or memory bus speed and it won't run stably without it. Otherwise it's just unnecessary heat and possibly reduced lifespan.

Ummm, let's see. All BIOS versions after 1006 seem to be less stable if you're running with an unlocked CPU and OCed FSB.
The RAID controller slows down boot up considerably, so unless you're using it you'll want to disable it with the jumper on the motherboard (can't be done from the BIOS).
Ummm - the Turbo / Optimal setting in the BIOS changes chipset / motherboard timings. It runs more aggressive (faster) latencies in the Turbo setting, but those may not work in conjunction with certain overlocking or high speed memory settings (especially if you have BIOS 1007 or later).

I've played a lot with this board, unlocked my CPU, tested 5 different BIOS versions, and done a lot of benchmarking with it, so once you get it up and running, let me know if you have questions - I'll try to help!

 

[Jfrag Teh Foul]

Wow, thanks for all the help!

The replys here kinda confirmed what I thought about ASUS... I have always heard they were great boards. I just never had any first-hand experience with em.

I read Anand's 333 mobo roundup done in June and there was one thing that piqued my attention. There was some Kingston DDR333 memory that wouldn't work with it. I have a 512 stick of Kingston PC2100 memory in that system... I wonder if that could have some bearing on it. What do you guys think?

 

[YetiIronfst]

I remember that article too. I'm too lazy to go back and read the details right now But I think it was specifically the Kingston VALUE line of memory that it had trouble with. So if you have a stick of that, then it could be an issue. However, I'm not sure exactly what the incompatibility was. It could be anywhere from won't even POST (what you mentioned) to just being unstable at full speed and/or with multiple sticks installed.

It's even possible that the problem with the Kingston memory is that it won't run with the voltage out of spec, as is the default (via the J1 and J2 motherboard jumpers) with that board. I doubt it... but it's possible.

 

[Markfw]

First, you need to be running PC2700 memory !! And good stuff at that, that alone could be your problem. But even with PC2100, if you set your bus to be 100 (I think there is a jumper, but not sure, and can't check now), it should still boot. If you do get it to boot, even with PC2700, make sure the CAS setting is 2.5.

What were the symtoms when they said it was DOA ?? What about the fan header question ? What bus speed was the motherboard set to ?