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Athlon XP 3000+ keeps getting underclocked on ASUS A7N8X-Deluxe

S

skim

Junior Member
I recently upgraded my computer by adding an Audigy 2 Value card and an additional 512MB of DDR400 RAM (I had 2 512's running at dual channel, now I have 3 sticks total).

My computer ran fine for 2-3 weeks with no problems and all of a sudden my CPU keeps getting underclocked with a frequency of 100MHz instead of 200MHz. This happens if I set it to auto or if I manually set it to 200MHz. If I set it to 166MHz or below, it runs correctly at those speeds. I updated my BIOS to the latest version and I tried alternating/swapping/isolating memory sticks and still same problem. Is there something wrong with my motherboard or CPU?

My PC is currently running at 166MHz frequency for the CPU (1.75GHz) along with the memory sticks instead of the usual 200MHz so it's not running to its full potential which is really bothering me. If anyone has an idea of what's wrong with my PC, I'd really appreciate it.

Specs:
ASUS A7N8X-Deluxe (I had for a little over a year)
400 watt power supply
AMD Athlon XP 3000+ (runs no higher than 60Celsius)
3 sticks 512MB DDR400 PC3200 memory (all same brand/type)
ATI Radeon 9500 pro 128mb
SB Audigy 2 Value
2 hard drives
2 cd/dvd drives
 
This reverting to lowest possible speed happens when the system fails to power up and POST with whatever setting has been engaged.

Point here probably being that 3 DIMMs at 200 MHz is beyond what the standard allows, and probably not /really/ 100% good. Try 200 MHz CPU w/ 166 MHz RAM and see whether it happens again.
 
I just tried setting the CPU to 200MHz and memory to 166MHz, no luck. Same thing happens as before, the system won't do a warm reboot after changing the settings and I am forced to do a cold boot. After restarting, the CPU is auto set to 100MHz. I have tried using only 1 and 2 sticks of ram and I get the same problem.
 
I've encountered this when helping a couple of friends with various A7N8X boards, both regular and Deluxe. Try using the jumper to clear the CMOS and, when you reboot, if the system doesn't recognize your CPU or RAM correctly, power down and reboot. If it doesn't recognize it correctly on that reboot, set it manually. You may have to repeat that one more time.

You didn't say which rev your motherboard is. Did you get the right BIOS? Check Asus's BIOS page for your board. There are two versions for each rev., one for ver. 1.0x and one for ver. 2.0 and later.

If I remember correctly, ver. 1.07 only dealt with some timings for some more tempermental RAM, and it was particularly problematic. You may also want to check what your BIOS version addresses and, if possible with your setup, flash back to an earlier version.
 
My guess is that its the third stick of ram.

Check your mobo manual. I'll bet it says that only 166/333mhz is supported if 3 sticks are used. Now some of these NF2 mobos can take 3 sticks and run fine at 200/400. Maybe yours just can't?

Fern
 
I used three sticks at 400 on a regular A7N8X (in dual channel too) for about a year, so that shouldn't be the issue.
 
I just tried clearing the CMOS, still same problem even with multiple reboots.

BTW, I have a A7N8X-E Deluxe Rev 1013. I'm not sure how to check the ver. number but I'm pretty sure I got the right BIOS. I had upgraded from Rev 1011 to 1013.
 
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