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New Nforce

M

mrman3k

Senior member
I was wondering with the probable advent of 400MHz Athlons coming out, will Nvidia come out with a new updated Nforce chipset, or does the Nforce2 fully manage the 400MHz FSB like they say it should?

I am thinking of getting the Asus A7N8X D. and I do not want to buy it then see Nvidia come out with a new Nforce which is even better in the next month or so for the Athlons.
 
The A1/C1 chipset already shipping on some boards is 400FSB ready and even my A2 revision can do the bios limited max of 211mhz with the vdd adjusted to 1.8v. BTW, many of us already have a 400+FSB Athlon running 😀
 
OH, I've seen Soltek, Epox, and Abit boards have them but I'm not certain about any others.
 
I am well aware that many are running 200MHz+ FSB with the NF2, but I just wanted to check if they would be coming out with a newer chipset besides the C1 stepping.

Also, is there any way I can guarantee myself to get a C1 board?
 
Originally posted by: DAPUNISHER
The A1/C1 chipset already shipping on some boards is 400FSB ready and even my A2 revision can do the bios limited max of 211mhz with the vdd adjusted to 1.8v. BTW, many of us already have a 400+FSB Athlon running 😀
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Is this A1/C1 combination the new chipset that nvidia is talking about?
 
Originally posted by: nippyjun
Originally posted by: DAPUNISHER
The A1/C1 chipset already shipping on some boards is 400FSB ready and even my A2 revision can do the bios limited max of 211mhz with the vdd adjusted to 1.8v. BTW, many of us already have a 400+FSB Athlon running 😱"i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0">
Click to expand...

Is this A1/C1 combination the new chipset that nvidia is talking about?
Click to expand...
The A1 is also known as the C1 and it's said to be 400FSB barton ready. Judging by the FSB speeds users with the Soltek FRN2 with the C1 are reporting I'd say that's indeed the case.
 
The Rev. 2.0 A7N8X-D's are supposed to have the A1/C1 NB and the A4 SB. I'll be getting my RMA on Wednesday, hoping for a 2.0, so hopefully I'll know more then.

Chiz
 
Originally posted by: mechBgon
What brings on the RMA, chizow, is your board having problems? 🙁
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Unfortunately yes, but not really the boards fault. 🙁 I got greedy with BIOS 1003 and jumped my FSB from 210 (as if that weren't high enough 😉 ) to 220MHz. I guess I had a false sense of security from previously aggressive jumps/changes to my FSB; a simple cold-boot was all that was necessary to get my board to POST again. I guess 1003 was sensitive enough that it didn't work, so now I'm a lost-BIOS victim. Newegg rocks though! Cross-shipping = 😎

I think I read somewhere that your 8RDA+ died??!? :Q 🙁 I guess it was inevitable though, we've troubleshooted enough issues to think it could never happen; Its ok though, hoping for a Rev 2.0, plus I get to test out a T-bred 1700+ for my bro! 🙂

Chiz
 
Sorry to hear of your troubles :Q Yeah, my 8RDA+ kicked the bucket and I'm using my old K7S5A for now. I might replace it with an Asus A7N266-VM later or hold out for one of the new nForce2 variants with the gigabit NIC in the southbridge... mmm! 🙂
 
Originally posted by: mechBgon
Sorry to hear of your troubles :Q Yeah, my 8RDA+ kicked the bucket and I'm using my old K7S5A for now. I might replace it with an Asus A7N266-VM later or hold out for one of the new nForce2 variants with the gigabit NIC in the southbridge... mmm! 🙂
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What happened? How did the 8RDA+ die on you?
 
D'oh! Lost BIOS as well? Yeah the Crush northbridges are being tossed around the rumor mill...or are these new revisions the Crush chipsets. 😕

But yah, Giga NIC will be nice for the networking/server crowd; I wouldn't get much use out of 'em but I know you would. Also the possibility of integrated SATA which would be sweet with a WD Raptor....may have to look into one of those in 6 months or so.

Backup PCs are sweet tho. 😀 I jury-rigged my trusty 'ole 8KHA+ to my main components; no gaming for now as I'm way too lazy to move everything over for 2 days (with the different chipset and VGA drivers, not worth it at all) and too spoiled to run anything on my GF3.

Chiz
 
Originally posted by: SeekingTao
Originally posted by: mechBgon
Sorry to hear of your troubles :Q Yeah, my 8RDA+ kicked the bucket and I'm using my old K7S5A for now. I might replace it with an Asus A7N266-VM later or hold out for one of the new nForce2 variants with the gigabit NIC in the southbridge... mmm! 🙂
Click to expand...

What happened? How did the 8RDA+ die on you?
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It failed to POST during a routine reboot. 😕 Not OC'ed either. I don't know what went wrong, but I tested it at considerable length. I still think 8RDA+'s are good boards, and maybe they had a bad batch or something (some other people reported similar symptoms with theirs at about the same time).
 
Originally posted by: mechBgon

It failed to POST during a routine reboot. 😕 Not OC'ed either. I don't know what went wrong, but I tested it at considerable length. I still think 8RDA+'s are good boards, and maybe they had a bad batch or something (some other people reported similar symptoms with theirs at about the same time).
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Were you able to get an RMA from Epox or your vendor? If you did, maybe you'll get one with the new chipset steppings? 🙂 One can hope, right?

And now I hope my system doesn't die, I AM overclocking it though moderately (compared to other ATers).
 
Originally posted by: DAPUNISHER
Originally posted by: Doh!
Add MSI to the list of 400mhz-capable board.
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Out of curiosity is it the A3 or C1 chipset?
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The 400mhz "officially supported" board is called Delta (followed by the regular nForce2 board model name). MSI added the name Delta instead of adding a new revision number like other mfgs. I have the older model but it does 400mhz just fine.

Edit: Oops, I forgot to answer your question. It (the delta model) has C1 chipset.
 
Originally posted by: SeekingTao
Originally posted by: mechBgon

It failed to POST during a routine reboot. 😕 Not OC'ed either. I don't know what went wrong, but I tested it at considerable length. I still think 8RDA+'s are good boards, and maybe they had a bad batch or something (some other people reported similar symptoms with theirs at about the same time).
Click to expand...
Were you able to get an RMA from Epox or your vendor? If you did, maybe you'll get one with the new chipset steppings? 🙂 One can hope, right?

And now I hope my system doesn't die, I AM overclocking it though moderately (compared to other ATers).
Click to expand...
I had taken the liberty of sanding down the northbridge's surface to lower the plastic edges to the level of the metal center, so I didn't feel like it was valid to RMA it. I took my chances, and this time I lost. Oh well... 😛
 
Originally posted by: mechBgon
I had taken the liberty of sanding down the northbridge's surface to lower the plastic edges to the level of the metal center, so I didn't feel like it was valid to RMA it. I took my chances, and this time I lost. Oh well... 😛
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Yeah, that's the truth. I didn't lap the chip but I did replace the TIM with Antec Reference (ASIII equiv.), did that void my warranty?

And back on topic, what are you going to replace the board with? Anything mentioned in this thread?
 
I replaced it with my old first-generation K7S5A since it's paid for and works pretty well. If nForce2 variants come out with gigabit Ethernet then I'll probably go for that at some point.

If all I had done was to replace the stock TIM with thermal grease, I would feel comfortable about RMA'ing the board. 😕 If I could do it again, I wouldn't bother with the sanding phase.
 
mech, have you looked into the BIOS savior kits they sell around the 'net and at ExcaliberPC?? I'm thinking it might be worth a shot for minimal money ($15 or so). I don't think the one I linked to is the right one, but I'm sure you could track down the correct one quickly by glancing over at AMDMB or nForcersHQ in the Epox forums. Would be worth a shot if you don't RMA.

Also, although I see what you're saying about grounds for RMA, I don't think a simple NB mod would/should void your warranty. There are documented issues with BIOS death on all the nForce2 boards, so there's a very good chance your board would've died even if you didn't touch the NB. This is a problem that is widespread enough to be a problem they should correct.

Chiz
 
Well, but aren't the BIOS-death issues the result of over-overclocking? 😕 Mine was running stock speed (well, and the RAM was running below rated speed, PC2100 speeds with PC2700 modules).
 
Originally posted by: mechBgon
Well, but aren't the BIOS-death issues the result of over-overclocking? 😕 Mine was running stock speed (well, and the RAM was running below rated speed, PC2100 speeds with PC2700 modules).
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No, any changes to the BIOS could result in BIOS death. Reboots or cold boots possibly as well. I'm not totally sure how the BIOS interacts, but its different from any previous board from what I've read. Its possible that the BIOS went bad at some point during normal operation (dead battery, who knows?!?!), and when you went to reboot, nothing there to boot from. I'd give it a shot...nothing to lose, and nothing wrong on your part.

Chiz

 
Originally posted by: mechBgon
Hmm, well maybe you'll find the full story is worth a few laughs... *hunts up thread that tells the tale of Frankenboard*

Here we go, enjoy 🙂
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😕 Damn! What a PITA. I didn't try to resuscitate my board nearly as much as you (probably because I not-so-secretly desire a Rev. 2.0 😉). Anyways, did you test the VDD while you had the voltimeter out? I'd still try for an RMA regardless. 😀

Chiz
 
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