Building an MSI K7N420 Pro system - newbie questions

[Newbldr]

Here's what I'm starting with:

Case: Antec SX880
MB : MSI nForce K7N420 PRO includes:
CPU: AMD Athlon XP 1800+/266 FSB
RAM: CRUCIAL 2x256MB 32x64 PC 2100 DDR
HD: IBM Deskstar 60GXP 7200
CD: TDK 24/10/40 veloCD Internal ReWriter

So, being new to this, I have some basic questions (I'll start with the easiest)

1. How important is thermal grease between heatsink and chip? (AMD doesn't mention it at all)
2. I read conflicting things about where to place the memory chips. Manual says slot 1 & 2, but some reviews say 1 & 3 (else bug results in big slowdown). Can I really use 1 & 3 with an empty 2 slot (against the manual's advice)
3. Is there a way to use the MB to get modem functionality? There are jumpers controlling it, but there's no jack
4. There's a little card for sound output, which includes the markings "R" "C/W" and "S/PDIF" on the 3 jacks. What are R and C/W ?? Is there a way to hook this up to my speakers that have 2 mini DN's for front and rear channels?

Thanks for any help, I'm a little overwhelmed already, and I'm sure the fun is only beginning....

 

[Dreadogg]

personally the thermal tape that is on the heatsink is fine I have a Volcano 7 and H/F and I did'nt bother cleaning in up and puting some Artic silver on but thats just because I did not have some, my temps are 33-39 full load! As for the memory i built one the other day with the K7N420 and I used the first slot but if i had two sticks I would of used 1 and 2, try it both ways i really cant hut anything! For that little card thingy I did'nt even use it so cant tell you what it is! By the way I dont think you could have picked a better board for your first build it is very stable and all the drivers and etc. install with out a glitch., the sound and video are great I played MAX Payne on it yesterday and I was really amazed!

 

[Athlon4all]

First off welcome to Anandtech!

Btw, nice choice on the mobo. Solid board, lots of goodies.

<< How important is thermal grease between heatsink and chip? (AMD doesn't mention it at all) >>

It only matters when overclocking. If you are ocing, then thermal paste can decrease temps by 5C but it's not a necessity.

<< I read conflicting things about where to place the memory chips. Manual says slot 1 & 2, but some reviews say 1 & 3 (else bug results in big slowdown). Can I really use 1 & 3 with an empty 2 slot (against the manual's advice) >>

Ok. This is gonna sound complicated, but here's the way it works. With the Shipping BIOS (v2.0 I believe), you must put 2 sticks of identical size and make in slots 1 and 3. But, if you flash the BIOS to v2.1 or higher, then instead of using slots 1 and 3, you will use slot 2 instead of slot 3. Do you understand?

<< Is there a way to use the MB to get modem functionality? There are jumpers controlling it, but there's no jack >>

I don't believe so. Sorry

<< Is there a way to hook this up to my speakers that have 2 mini DN's for front and rear channels? >>

Somebody wull come around to explain this. I know zip about Speakers and the like so I honesly dunno.

<< I'm sure the fun is only beginning.... >>

You bet it's only beginning Any more q's?

 

[Newbldr]

Thanks guys,

Anandtech is an amazing resource. Hope I'll be contributing new knowledge soon...

I'm not going to OC, and the case has good airflow so I won't need to bother with thermal grease.
I'll check the bios rev. and see what happens with 1&2 vs 1&3. Won't damage anything, right?

I've search the web best I can for any info on what they call the "S/PDIF bracket", and there's no mention anywhere of the other 2 connectors (the R and C/W) on it. I really hope someone can clarify. I can't believe it's not mentioned at all in the manual!

Thanks so much for the encouragement, can't wait to get this up and running.

 

[Dreadogg]

yes your right its not mentioned in the manuall at all and the other wierd thing is if you look on Newegg it does not show that part to be with the board at all, Im thinking that it is something new that came with the board and is not reported in the manual! I just used the standard outputs that are in the place where the normal onboard outputs are and ran it through my home-stereo to see how it sounded!

 

[Athlon4all]

<< Won't damage anything, right? >>

Not at all. The "bug" is really making sure that the system is stable, but it slows it down which is unacceptable for people. Dont worry though. It's perfectly stable when you do 1 and 2 or 1 and 3 which ever it's supposed to be.

 

[sanz]

The little card you mentioned is a CNR for analogue audio on nforce mobo. You can also run modem but you need CNR modem to do that. Obviously, you can only use one thing.. either the audio or modem.

Anyway, R & C/W on your audio CNR stands for Rear & Center/Woofer respectively. And yes, you can connect your speakers to it. As you can guess, connect the front speaker to "Line Out" on the back of mobo (just below LAN connection) and rear speaker to "R" on your CNR.

If you have any specific question regarding K7N420, just pop in here and you'll find most answers.

Good luck.

 

[Newbldr]

Wow, thanks.. So I can pick up the rear channel there, cool. Never considered the idea of plugging front and back into 2 different cards!
Also, the MSI forum pointer looks like it will be very handy, esp. the cookbook someone wrote for building a K7N420 system!
(forum is also a little scary seeing some of the troubles encountered...)

Again, thanks Dreadogg, Athlon4all, sanz!!

 

[arynn]

MSI released a new bios that eliminated the memory issue. I believe it was revision 2.3 - I'm not sure, but it should be easy to find on the MSI web site. Supposedly, that BIOS will allow you to install RAM in any slots without slowing down the bus speed.

I think I remember reading in the MSI forums somewhere that the modem functionality has been enabled on newer motherboards. If you didn't get a CNR card with a modem jack, it would probably be easier to just get a PCI modem.

 

[rmblam]

<< I'm not going to OC, and the case has good airflow so I won't need to bother with thermal grease. >>



You best have something in between that heatsink and the cpu; even if it is that pink TIM. Otherwise you'll possibly have a new keychain.

Enjoy your system. I may be building one similar for a friend as soon as he comes up with the $$$.

 

[John]

Definitely flash to the latest bios to get rid of the memory slot issue. My K7N420 Pro is rock solid. i can only run 145FSB 100% stable though. It looks like the Asus is the king nForce o/c'er.