Asus A7V8X-X & AMD Athlon XP 2500+ problem

[mbschonfeld]

I was hoping someone here might be able to help me here. In the past, all the systems I've built have been with Intel boards and chips so I've never had to deal with something like this. I did use an Asus board with a Pentium box once but still didn't run into this. Basically I am using the Asus A7V8X-X motherboard with the AMD Athlon XP 2500+ (barton core). When I am in the BIOS I noticed that it gives me the option to set the frequency, but not the bus frequency or frequency multiple. The BIOS defaults (even when resetting it) to a frequency of 1.4 something when the 2500+ I believe should have a frequency of 1.8 something. While it looks like I can change the frequency to a frequency close to what I would expect, I worry that somehow I'd be overclocking it as it doesn't seem to default to that speed. I was wondering if there was something I could set (maybe a jumper) that would make the BIOS NOT ALLOW any setting of CPU parameters and would default to the CPU's actual standard frequency. I don't want to overclock this system as it is being used as an http/IRC server and stability is of much importance, however at the same time, I'd at least like to get the full performance out of my chip. This is my first AMD box (since some VERY OLD AMD procs back in the day... LOL), so I'm a little new to the way some of this is set up. I have all jumpers set to the default settings and I have updated the BIOS to revision 07. The memory is DDR333 so there shouldn't be any problems there. I'm not sure what to do. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Mercurien]

I doubt there's a jumper, but you can just set the FSB to 166. With the locked multiplier (11x) it should run at the default speed. Also make sure that your memory is running 100%, synchronized, or DDR333 (I'm not sure what your bios will call it).

 

[boyRacer]

Theres no jumpers... i have the board... just put all settings on Auto or Optimal.

 

[mbschonfeld]

that's exactly the problem. for some reason it defaults to that speed which isn't correct.

so 166 would be the default fsb? I guess because the DDR workes both ways doubling its speed? Although 166*2=332? Just curious how that works.

 

[mbschonfeld]

wow... this forum moves fast.... bump

 

[adams828]

yup, fsb of 166 is called ddr333, fsb of 200 is ddr400, etc.

as for your problem, if you've already looked through all the bios settings, you might have to consider rma. i actually just ordered the same setup and should be getting it today/tomorrow so i'll let you know how mine works out.

 

[mbschonfeld]

Originally posted by: adams828
yup, fsb of 166 is called ddr333, fsb of 200 is ddr400, etc.

as for your problem, if you've already looked through all the bios settings, you might have to consider rma. i actually just ordered the same setup and should be getting it today/tomorrow so i'll let you know how mine works out.

I set the CPU frequency at 1833 (which is the advertised speed of the 2500+)... this automatically changed the bus frequency to 166/33 and left the multiple at 11x. The fact that the option for 1833 was there makes me think that it's fine and I just needed to set it up right in the bios. When I did that it said that at that speed, DDR333 was the minimum memory I could use, which made sense and I did already have DDR333 so I went ahead and did it. Seems ok so far. I guess I just had it underclocked up until now. Odd.

 

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: boyRacer
Theres no jumpers... i have the board... just put all settings on Auto or Optimal.

I have about 5 of these boards at work... with XP2600+ in them.. they all run fine.. no problems.

 

[adams828]

Originally posted by: mbschonfeld


I set the CPU frequency at 1833 (which is the advertised speed of the 2500+)... this automatically changed the bus frequency to 166/33 and left the multiple at 11x. The fact that the option for 1833 was there makes me think that it's fine and I just needed to set it up right in the bios. When I did that it said that at that speed, DDR333 was the minimum memory I could use, which made sense and I did already have DDR333 so I went ahead and did it. Seems ok so far. I guess I just had it underclocked up until now. Odd.

yup, those should be the stock settings for this board/chip. good to hear it's working right now. gonna OC it at all?

 

[mbschonfeld]

Originally posted by: adams828

Originally posted by: mbschonfeld


I set the CPU frequency at 1833 (which is the advertised speed of the 2500+)... this automatically changed the bus frequency to 166/33 and left the multiple at 11x. The fact that the option for 1833 was there makes me think that it's fine and I just needed to set it up right in the bios. When I did that it said that at that speed, DDR333 was the minimum memory I could use, which made sense and I did already have DDR333 so I went ahead and did it. Seems ok so far. I guess I just had it underclocked up until now. Odd.

yup, those should be the stock settings for this board/chip. good to hear it's working right now. gonna OC it at all?

no.. not this machine... maybe the next. This one is going to be on 24/7 operating as an IRC/http server. I'm actually going to be 30 miles away so I can't reboot it without connecting via PCAnywhere. I'm just going to leave it stable at the normal settings to minimize any problems. So far it's been solid though.