CPU temp went 3-5C higher when switching mobos, CPU not stable OC'ed anymore. Also problem with latest A7V133 BIOS... EDIT - RESOLVED... A7V133 owners

[Bryan]

I have an unlocked TBird 900. I'm using a FOP 38 w/ Delta and Arctic Silver. I switched mobos from a K7T Pro 2-A to an Asus A7V133. Previously, my temps were 36/39 (idle/full load). Now, they run 39-40/43-45. The CPU doesn't overclock as well anymore, either. I've tried re-applying the ASG/FOP several times after using Goo Gone to remove the old compound, and smoothing the fresh compound with a credit card, all to no avail. Any ideas?

BTW - Updated the BIOS to the one released on 2/5, seems to have made it worse. Now the BIOS won't go back to defaults after an unsuccessful boot at an OC'ed speed. I have to set the system to manual dipswitch mode to boot, then switch it back to soft BIOS before it will reset. Anyone else experiencing this?

 

[Vinny N]

Hmmm...

Well I think it's been noted before than the Pro2A overclocks better than most boards but that aside...

The higher cpu temperature is normal, I think Mikewarrior2 has mentioned a few times that the Pro2A severely underreports the CPU temperature...(10C-15C was the number I think)


As for your instability at OC'd speed and problem of not POSTing after a failed OC'd test run, have you checked to see what is the reported vcore voltage is?

I know my Pro2A gave at least 0.06v more(which is quite a bit) than what I set it to. So 1.75v was actually 1.81v.

Maybe you should try to make your A7V133's reported voltage is the same as the Pro2A's reported voltage. It may not be enough to simply make sure the set voltages are the same.

 

[Bryan]

Well, I can't get 1 GHz with this 900 even when setting the voltage to 1.85. I think heat is a major factor here because I couldn't overclock the CPU much on the MSI until I switched to the FOP 38/ASG over a StooperOrb/Silicone.

 

[bacillus]

it could well be that your bridges aren't properly closed so I suggest you work redoing them!

 

[Bryan]

I thought the bridges only affected the multiplier unlocking, which seems fine to me. I can change the multiplier via the BIOS fine. I am currently running at 9.5x100 until I resolve this. My biggest problem is the lack of a successful boot at previously achieveable speeds.

 

[Mikewarrior2]

I'm not sure why its unstable, but

As far as the temps go, the MSI board is on the low-end of temp reporting spectrum(Severe underreading), whereas hte A7V series "reads higher" temps.

Seeing higher temps on an A7V series board is normal, and i don't believe temps are causing your problems.


Mike

 

[Bryan]

Hooo boy, I was afraid you might say that. Any suggestions on where to begin dissecting the problem?

 

[Mikewarrior2]

Nope, I have no clue why its now unstable...


Mike

 

[Bryan]

Silly me always thought it'd be cool to stump an expert. Boy, was I wrong. :frown:

Thanks for the tip about the heat though.

 

[Mikewarrior2]

I'm no expert on overclocking t-birds/durons, and only an "apprentice" in cooling. . Sorry I cant' help you any more.


Mike

 

[Bryan]

I think I may have figured out what bonehead moi did wrong. Although I changed the jumper back into soft BIOS mode, I left the dipswitches set at 9x multiplier/100 FSB instead of putting them back the way I found them. It's odd that the CPU ran at 950, but no higher. I am currently at 1 GHz via 7.5x133 setting. I am running Prime95 now. Thanks everyone for your help!

EDIT - Nope. It ran Prime95 like a champ, but failed to reboot properly, and reset itself to defaults again.

 

[DaddyG]

Bryan, I'm going out on a limb and saying that heat is NOT your problem. With a FOP-38 and halfway decent application of AS thats not your problem. Its important to establish some base points with Ocing, the new capability to increase the FSB signifiacntly on TBIRDS add some new issues. Fist step, is to establish how your memeory preforms. Start at 100FSB and default multiplier. Select HSTCLK + PCI CLK for memory and test your system with CPU at 100 and memory at 133. You might have to back off some memory timings to get 100% stable. Once you've established that your memory is good at 133, set the memory timing back to HSTCLK, FSB at 100 and select a lower multiplier say 7X. Make sure that your system boots at 700. Now, switch to 133FSB and check stability. If your system does not BOOT at 133, you have a couple of options. Connect all the L7 bridges to default cpu core to 1.85 at power up. If your mobo has dips for ocing, use them instead of BIOS settings. If your mobo does not have dips, modify your L6 bridges to lower the default multiplier. Good Luck.

 

[Dulanic]

Also do keep in mind Asus Probe has something funky going on with A7V133... it reads about 10C higher then MBM5 or the BIOS.

 

[Bryan]

Alright. Thanks for the tips. I'm going to give it a shot right now. I ran Prime95 all night since my last post, and it was fine, but the system failed to restart properly, and reset itself to defaults again. Also, I am currently using 2 sticks of Mosel 7ns RAM, so I'm pretty sure the RAM is alright.

Edit - Just before flashing to the latest BIOS last night the system was running, though not rebooting correctly, at 7x150. Should I go back to the old BIOS?

 

[Bryan]

Well, well. This sounds like me right here (this is from the FiringSquad review):



<< Overclocking
In our last ASUS review, the CUSL2-C, readers informed us of a small limitation of the motherboard when overclocking. Unfortunately, if you are running your overclocked CPU at a speed that requires a core voltage higher than the default, you might run into problems successfully rebooting your system. This is because once you shut down your computer the motherboard returns the voltage to default. ASUS owners refer to this flaw on forums as the cold boot problem and it can only be remedied by modifying your processor.
In our overclocking testing we noticed the same problem with our A7V133. Fortunately, we were able to overclock the system bus on our motherboard to 150MHz before this became a problem. >>



I think folks contemplating the purchase of this mobo need to know this.

 

[DaddyG]

Thats why I suggested connecting your L7 bridges for a higher default on power up. This is not just a problem with ASUS, it effects any mobo that uses BIOS options to overclock.

 

[Dulanic]

Try using the jumpers, even in jumperfree mode you can still set the Vcore with the jumpers and still beable to have the rest jumperless.

 

[Bryan]

Oh you can? That's great, I'll try it!

 

[Leo V]

From what I've read on these forems, the higher temperature simply comes from more accurate sensors!

Check out the latest A7V133 review for the &quot;cold boot&quot; problem.

 

[Bryan]

The jumpers did the trick! Thanks everyone for your help! I'm running 7x150 right now, and it's about time to push the envelope.

 

[Leo V]

&quot;I'm running 7x150 right now&quot; 300MHz FSB :Q

 

[Dulanic]

Your running exactly the same as me 7x150.

 

[Mule]

I'm having that same problem with the original A7V, I'm using the bios for overclocking/voltage using bios 1005C and I get that &quot;cold boot&quot; everytime I restart. I'm thinking about going back to good old jumper setting and even changing my bios to 1004D. It doesn't bother me a whole lot as I restart my computer every 2 weeks or so.