cant run new CPU at optimal power

[zylander]

Hi guys,

i recently upgraded just about all my computer components. i am using an Asus A7N8X-X mobo with 764mb of PC 400 ram and an Athlon XP 3000+ cpu with 400fsb.

my problem is that when i installed the cpu it was not auto detected and i had to configure the external frequency and the multiplier. right now it is set at 166mhz external Freq. and a multiplier of 12, giving me 333 fsb and 2ghz. when i try to set it to 400 fxb and 2.1 ghz which is what it should be at, i just get a blank screen when i exit the bios. my first impressions are faulty CPU or mis labeled. but my friend suggested that the heat is not being disipated well enougha nd there fore it cant run at what it should run at. that does make sense because the heatsink fan i am using is old and i think only supports up to 1.8ghz. could this be a factor? i already orderd a new thermaltake volcano 12, but i just want to eliminate all possibilities. any help is greatly appretiated. thanks.

 

[bdjohnson]

heat will not really affect whether you can get the system to boot unless you totally botched the heatsink installl. My guess is that you have your fsb jumpers set incorrectly. read your mobo manual and check it out.

 

[mechBgon]

Also, what power supply is running the show there, is it a quality brand with adequate wattage? Try setting the multiplier to Auto and the FSB to 400 and see if it likes that better.

Here's a check on your heatsink installation: photos 3 & 4.

 

[zylander]

the jumper settings on the mobo are correct.

i am using an Antec true power 550W power supply. and i installed the heatsink correctly.

the reason i thought maybe it was heat is because i decided to buy a cheap heatsink fan from compusa (ya i know, very stupid) anyways, when i turned it on, the fans were rubbing against the heatsink and only spinning at about half of what they should be and eventually the computer turned itself off and i couldnt get it back on until about 3 hours later.

 

[LeetestUnleet]

Clear your BIOS by removing the battery and moving the appropriate jumper and wait a little bit. Put everything back to normal position (battery, jumper) and try booting then. Enter the BIOS and set everything to Auto -- what does it give you then?

 

[zylander]

when i reset the BIOS and put everything to auto; during the boot-up screen where it calculates the ammount of ram and drives, it says that the CPU speed is 1050Mhz. it also says that my PC 400 ram is only running at 100mhz or 166mhz on single channel. i also get a warning message saying that the CPU has been changed.

 

[LeetestUnleet]

Yes it will say your CPU has been changed because of the new FSB, so it thinks it's a different processor (A Barton 2500 detects as a 3200 at 185 FSB and above, I believe, for example). Go back into the BIOS and change the FSB to 200, and make sure the RAM is set to "by spd" or "auto" or something like that. On reboot, everything should be running at 200 (400 when multiplied)

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: zylander
when i reset the BIOS and put everything to auto; during the boot-up screen where it calculates the ammount of ram and drives, it says that the CPU speed is 1050Mhz. it also says that my PC 400 ram is only running at 100mhz or 166mhz on single channel. i also get a warning message saying that the CPU has been changed.

Normal. First raise the memory voltage and do a Save & Exit. Then go in again and raise the FSB to its proper 200MHz, Save & Exit again. Leave the multiplier on AUTO.

 

[zylander]

god its always these little things that get me...

so exteranl freq at 200mhz. multiplier on auto. then should the ram be at "by speed" or "auto" or should i manually set it to 400?

 

[zylander]

well i just tried it again with the not so good heatsink (my volcano 12 wont be here until tuesday) and i got the same results;

external freq was set at 200mhz. multiplier was at auto. memory was at "by speed"

when i set the ram to by speed and saved and exited the bios, it started fine, but it said that my ram speed was only 200mhz. then i went back into the bios and set the fsb and multiplier and when i exited, i got a blank screen and had to turn off the computer.

 

[LeetestUnleet]

RAM speed of 200 mhz is what you want!
133x2 = 266 mhz
166x2 = 333 mhz
200x2 = 400 mhz

 

[zylander]

oops. i didnt know you multiply the ram speed my 2 also. but i still have that problem with the CPU. could this be the cause of if being faulty or mis-labeled?

 

[mechBgon]

but i still have that problem with the CPU

What problem specifically?

 

[LeetestUnleet]

It's likely just a faulty CPU -- it works at lower clock speeds, correct? RMA it and see what happens with the new one.

 

[LeetestUnleet]

To clarify, what I meant by faulty is not that it doesn't work, but rather that it doesn't work at the stamped clock speed.

 

[zylander]

ya the problem is that it will not run at the stated clock speeds. im going to RMA it this week and hopefully the new one will work.

thanks for the help everyone.