*** Official ABIT IC7/G (875P) Thread ***

[EvilllBilll]

I'm ready to place my order for this board ... but I still have to chose witch memory type ...

Corsair TwinX PC3200-1024LL or 2x512 Corsair PC3500XMS

witch one ??

I don't plan to overclock right now ... but maybe in a near future

 

[Intelligence3]

Originally posted by: EvilllBilll
I'm ready to place my order for this board ... but I still have to chose witch memory type ...

Corsair TwinX PC3200-1024LL or 2x512 Corsair PC3500XMS

witch one ??

I don't plan to overclock right now ... but maybe in a near future

Read the story on memory comparisons that Anandtech just posted! I got the Cosair based on their extreemely responsive tech support and good performance, but the article says that Crucial is much cheaper and very nearly as good.

 

[joecool]

Originally posted by: acemcmac
so... whats the word on the new HSF unit that was just in the news for the whole abit IC7-IS7 line... are we going to revolt if they dont let us in on some deal to get our hands on the improved heatsink?

Anand News Short

hey, anybody know anything more about this? seems like abit owes us all the new nb hsf. i'll be seriously annoyed if they don't make us an offer we can't refuse ... !

 

[JonnyBlaze]

the old fan works fine. they just replaced it with a quiter one. i dont see how anyone could think that fan is too loud. i cant hear it over the psu or exhaust fans.

 

[Wurrmm]

Originally posted by: Intelligence3

Originally posted by: EvilllBilll
I'm ready to place my order for this board ... but I still have to chose witch memory type ...

Corsair TwinX PC3200-1024LL or 2x512 Corsair PC3500XMS

witch one ??

I don't plan to overclock right now ... but maybe in a near future

Read the story on memory comparisons that Anandtech just posted! I got the Cosair based on their extreemely responsive tech support and good performance, but the article says that Crucial is much cheaper and very nearly as good.

Hey Intelligence3, how did your mem tests go?? I just sent both my chips back so I will be able to get the new Corsair TwinX1024 PC3500LLPT modules. My box will be out of commission for a few weeks, but I really want those modules.

 

[Intelligence3]

Memtest86 keeps failing with the following info

Tst__Pass__Failing Address___________Good______Bad_______Err-bits____Count__Chan
5___#_____00013a6ade8 - 314.6MB___01400000__00400000__01000000__1___________

It fails on most passes, always same addresses, always test 5.

Now here comes the dumb part. It only happens if both RAM sticks are in. Test runs just fine if only one or the other is in. Weird, eh? May be a mobo problem. However, I am always running two instances of SETI and can do both that AND run Planetside for 8 hours at a time without crashing (so, okay, I have no life). And Planetside takes 800MB of RAM if you have the RAM to take. This machine has only crashed ONCE in a couple weeks of always running, and that was over the first weekend. Corsair has received other reports of this and they hope it is just a BIOS issue.

Sounds to me like the RAM is fine.

Just to remind people, Abit IC7-G mobo with 1.3 BIOS, P4 2.8c processor, 2x 512MB 3500C2PT memory, Seagate Barracuda 80GB SATA drive, Plextor CD-ROM/ CD-R/CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive, ATI Radeon 9700 Pro, SoundBlaster Audigy 2 Platinum. RAM set to 2,6,3,3, Fast mode, 2.7v.

Fast mode makes *no* difference in 3DMark03, so I'll prolly turn performance mode off next time I reboot. Since I never have to reboot, it may be a while.

 

[Wurrmm]

Nice....I am sending back my last remaing chip right after I beat half life again, so in the next few days. I was told the new TwinXs are comming out this week and next week. So, Iwill be on my AMD box for a wek or so. I hope those things work out well.

 

[Grit]

Originally posted by: joecool

Originally posted by: acemcmac
so... whats the word on the new HSF unit that was just in the news for the whole abit IC7-IS7 line... are we going to revolt if they dont let us in on some deal to get our hands on the improved heatsink?

Anand News Short

hey, anybody know anything more about this? seems like abit owes us all the new nb hsf. i'll be seriously annoyed if they don't make us an offer we can't refuse ... !

I'm not going to expect Abit to send me a new fan since the current one works, but how can I BUY one? Anyone?

 

[etrin]

Well its a german site...might only be available there. But I doubt it.
Maybe we are going to see a IC7 II.
new bios, new cooler etc.

If they say they are then the sales of instocks will fall.
So July 1 maybe.

Etrin

 

[joecool]

hey, i just read all the stuff on THG about the 865 being able to be PAT enabled, i also noticed that the abit ic7-g scored at the bottom of ALL the benchmarks, by a fair amount. at the end of the article they stated that they had just received a new bios for the iS7-g that also seemed to enable PAT and had test scores that rivaled the asus 865/875 boards. so now what i'm wondering is, did i blow it by purchasing the 875-based board? could i have gotten better performance for a lower price? what do you guys think/know about this? it's not too late for me to exchange my ic7 for an is7 if this is in fact the better board ... !

 

[Wurrmm]

I don't know what they are smoking over there at tom's hardware, but that is not too accurate. Listen to Anand and not tom. Tom even gave the IC7-g a really crappy review where as this site gave it a stellar review. Mine is wonderfull. Wish I could get one of those new fans though....

 

[joecool]

Originally posted by: Wurrmm
I don't know what they are smoking over there at tom's hardware, but that is not too accurate. Listen to Anand and not tom. Tom even gave the IC7-g a really crappy review where as this site gave it a stellar review. Mine is wonderfull. Wish I could get one of those new fans though....

yeah, i agree, tom's can really be lame, but in this case i'm thinking they might have nailed it. the explaination of how PAT can be enabled makes sense, AND they aren't the only one's reporting this. also, it seems like AT is sometimes a little behind the curve on this stuff - not that i'm faulting them, they are sometimes just slower to post breaking news. i guess my only question is, can PAT be enabled on ALL 865 boards, or only on those that were "down-binned" to meet demand?

link to tom's article

link to legit review

what do ya think?

 

[Ketchup]

Originally posted by: Intelligence3
Memtest86 keeps failing with the following info

Tst__Pass__Failing Address___________Good______Bad_______Err-bits____Count__Chan
5___#_____00013a6ade8 - 314.6MB___01400000__00400000__01000000__1___________

It fails on most passes, always same addresses, always test 5.

Now here comes the dumb part. It only happens if both RAM sticks are in. Test runs just fine if only one or the other is in. Weird, eh? May be a mobo problem. However, I am always running two instances of SETI and can do both that AND run Planetside for 8 hours at a time without crashing (so, okay, I have no life). And Planetside takes 800MB of RAM if you have the RAM to take. This machine has only crashed ONCE in a couple weeks of always running, and that was over the first weekend. Corsair has received other reports of this and they hope it is just a BIOS issue.

Sounds to me like the RAM is fine.

Just to remind people, Abit IC7-G mobo with 1.3 BIOS, P4 2.8c processor, 2x 512MB 3500C2PT memory, Seagate Barracuda 80GB SATA drive, Plextor CD-ROM/ CD-R/CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive, ATI Radeon 9700 Pro, SoundBlaster Audigy 2 Platinum. RAM set to 2,6,3,3, Fast mode, 2.7v.

Fast mode makes *no* difference in 3DMark03, so I'll prolly turn performance mode off next time I reboot. Since I never have to reboot, it may be a while.

This is not a new issue. Every time you increase the number of banks of memory, either by adding modules, or by going from single-sided to double-sided modules, you are going to have increased latency due to the fact that it physically takes longer to address each additional bank. This, of course, is more taxing on your memory when you are trying to run tight timings. Are you running SPD timings? These timings work fine for one module, but you will probably need to relax them a bit for two. Remember, Anandtech used 256MB modules and you are using 512MB modules, which means that you have two more banks of memory to address.

 

[Intelligence3]

Ketchup -

Unless I am misunderstanding your question about SPD, I have changed timings from SPD to the settings recommended by Corsair for these memory modules with the IC7-G, 2-6-3-3 (the order of the settings in the BIOS) at 2.7v.

 

[mngisdood]

Originally posted by: joecool

Originally posted by: Wurrmm
i guess my only question is, can PAT be enabled on ALL 865 boards, or only on those that were "down-binned" to meet demand?

link to tom's article

link to legit review

what do ya think?

Here's a linky that may be useful for ya.

 

[Tom]

Originally posted by: joecool
hey, i just read all the stuff on THG about the 865 being able to be PAT enabled, i also noticed that the abit ic7-g scored at the bottom of ALL the benchmarks, by a fair amount. at the end of the article they stated that they had just received a new bios for the iS7-g that also seemed to enable PAT and had test scores that rivaled the asus 865/875 boards. so now what i'm wondering is, did i blow it by purchasing the 875-based board? could i have gotten better performance for a lower price? what do you guys think/know about this? it's not too late for me to exchange my ic7 for an is7 if this is in fact the better board ... !

I have an IS7 and I really like it, but I don't think anyone with an IC7 should feel like they blew it. I imagine the IC7 is a somewhat more deluxe board in terms of compnents, including the Canterwood chipset of course, and it's only $30 more.

But I also hopw that IC7 owners and IS7 owners will be helpful to each other, and not become resentful or gloatful about each other's choices. The bottom line is I think they're both great boards each with it's own advantage.

 

[joecool]

Originally posted by: Dead Parrot Sketch

Originally posted by: joecool
hey, i just read all the stuff on THG about the 865 being able to be PAT enabled, i also noticed that the abit ic7-g scored at the bottom of ALL the benchmarks, by a fair amount. at the end of the article they stated that they had just received a new bios for the iS7-g that also seemed to enable PAT and had test scores that rivaled the asus 865/875 boards. so now what i'm wondering is, did i blow it by purchasing the 875-based board? could i have gotten better performance for a lower price? what do you guys think/know about this? it's not too late for me to exchange my ic7 for an is7 if this is in fact the better board ... !

I have an IS7 and I really like it, but I don't think anyone with an IC7 should feel like they blew it. I imagine the IC7 is a somewhat more deluxe board in terms of compnents, including the Canterwood chipset of course, and it's only $30 more.

But I also hopw that IC7 owners and IS7 owners will be helpful to each other, and not become resentful or gloatful about each other's choices. The bottom line is I think they're both great boards each with it's own advantage.

yeah, the ic7 does have some nice gee-whiz features (i like the black way better than the orange or whatever the is7 is!), the included black rounded cables are nice (tho it would have been nice to get two ide rather than just one!), and the packaging was pretty spiffy, but i'm really missing on-board lan, and the extra space below the agp slot on the is7 is a great idea!

anyway, i'm not trying to gloat or be resentful, i just want to know if the is7 can in fact be tweaked to enable PAT. i think i'm going to start a seperate thread on this. if it's true then that is a very valuable piece of information that should definitely be taken into account when making purchasing decisions!

-joe

 

[roystarman]

Originally posted by: joecool

Originally posted by: Wurrmm
I don't know what they are smoking over there at tom's hardware, but that is not too accurate. Listen to Anand and not tom. Tom even gave the IC7-g a really crappy review where as this site gave it a stellar review. Mine is wonderfull. Wish I could get one of those new fans though....

yeah, i agree, tom's can really be lame, but in this case i'm thinking they might have nailed it. the explaination of how PAT can be enabled makes sense, AND they aren't the only one's reporting this. also, it seems like AT is sometimes a little behind the curve on this stuff - not that i'm faulting them, they are sometimes just slower to post breaking news. i guess my only question is, can PAT be enabled on ALL 865 boards, or only on those that were "down-binned" to meet demand?

link to tom's article

link to legit review

what do ya think?

If the reason that PAT works on some 865 is that INTEL is relabeling 875s to meet demand vs. selling 875s that fail the PAT test as 865s then I think you can expect for the happy state of cocnsequences to exist for a short while. Eventually Intel will get tired of losing many dollars a chipset if the 875 demand stays strong and remedy the situation by opening an 865 manufacturing line where there is no possibility of PAT. I guess a question to be asked maybe, is there anyone out there with an 865 chipset that has tried to enable the MAT Hyperchannel or whatever the manufacturers are calling it that didn't help?

 

[roystarman]

I fianlly got my system up last night, with a full load of memory. I put in 2G of Corsair 3200LL twin X and ran memtest86 for 2 cycles before I had to call it quits with no problems. I also ran Sandra benchmarks but I think I need to check numbers again they seemed to high! I used the SPD settings as was done here in the article and 800 FSBvs 533 with a 2.8C P4 ont IC-7G. It also ran 10 cycles of SANDRA burnin tet without the file test so it really gave the CPU a work out. It was interesting to watch the Spark 7 fan RPM go up and down as the CPU temerature went up and down. The first run it ramped up to a IC-7G reported temp of about 60 C. Each run after that never went above that as the heat sink fan kicked in. When the AC came on I actually watched teh temp drop about a degree C. It appears the BIOS reproting of Latency settings is fixed since CPU-Z and the BIOS agreed whenI had them set to 2,2,2,6. I'll check it tonight and see if CPU-z is reading the SPD parameters.

One thing I noticed using the ULTRA mode is unstable, sometimes I can't load windows XP with it enabled. With it disabled it works fine. I guess I'll give Trubo a try as well.

As for OCing, I don't know yet. This is to be my main home computer and file server, I figured if it was stable while OC'ed, it should be stable at factory settings not OC'ed as all heck. I might OC a little to live on th edge so to speak but once it is hooked up to the network it will be a File server and my desktop for my home setup. So I guess I'll let it run for a little while on the edge before it settles in to a hopefully longlife of servitude.

 

[thatsright]

No Posts in a whole Day!!! I'm getting worried I just read a press release on ABIT's website talking about a new BIOS feature for both the IS7 and IC7 series. Apparently this new update will add different types of 'Turbo' levels of Memory performance for each MB series. So I would assume this would require a new BIOS revision, right?

Heres the Link:

http://www.abit.com.tw/abitweb/webjsp/english/news1.jsp?pDOCNO=en_0306134

So now does anyone know when/if a new BIOS update will be available for the IC7 Series?

Thanks

 

[vailr]

Abit will require updating the bios anyway, to support the new 3.2 GHz P4, which is due shortly.

 

[SonicFlux]

Yes! The new Abit BIOS features could be promising

I just received an IC7 (no G) from newegg and was impressed with Abit's packaging job, including nice rounded cables which I didn't know about.

I'm debating whether to use the onboard audio or Audigy2. With my old system I used Audigy2 5.1 analog out to an Onkyo TX-SR700 for games and spdif out for DVDs.

Does the optical digital toslink on the IC7 function in the same way as spdif (i.e. no 5.1 in games, only DVD using AC-3 passthru)? If the mobo audio is also limited to providing digital 5.1 only via AC-3, then I'll stick with Audigy2.

Oh and FYI, my two 512meg sticks of Kingston HyperX PC3200 rated at 2-2-2-6 showed up in the BIOS (using SPD) as CAS 2.5, not 2. Did I get ripped off?

 

[vailr]

IC7 1.4 beta.
Text
Note: try at your own risk.

 

[Ketchup]

Originally posted by: SonicFlux
Yes! The new Abit BIOS features could be promising

I just received an IC7 (no G) from newegg and was impressed with Abit's packaging job, including nice rounded cables which I didn't know about.

I'm debating whether to use the onboard audio or Audigy2. With my old system I used Audigy2 5.1 analog out to an Onkyo TX-SR700 for games and spdif out for DVDs.

Does the optical digital toslink on the IC7 function in the same way as spdif (i.e. no 5.1 in games, only DVD using AC-3 passthru)? If the mobo audio is also limited to providing digital 5.1 only via AC-3, then I'll stick with Audigy2.

Oh and FYI, my two 512meg sticks of Kingston HyperX PC3200 rated at 2-2-2-6 showed up in the BIOS (using SPD) as CAS 2.5, not 2. Did I get ripped off?

If you have an Audigy, use it. Higher S/N ratio, better sound quality, and it won't use your CPU resources like the Realtec audio codec. As for your memory, you didn't get ripped off, for some reason these boards don't read the SPD settings correctly on some brands of memory, but it may actually perform better at CAS2.5.

 

[mngisdood]

SonicFlux you should definatly, definatly use the Audigy2..


Ketchup, if by performing better at 2.5, you mean it should be able to reach a higher fsb, then you are absolutely correct. If you are implying that memory running at 200mhz @ cas2.5 may perform better than memory running at 200mhz @ cas2.0, I would like to see some benchmarks that you are basing this on.