*** Official ABIT NF7/S (nForce2) Thread ***

[Megatomic]

NP etech, good luck.

One more thing... what video card do you have in that machine? You might want to delete the video driver folder from the extracted 3.13 drivers if you are using a GF4. The 45.23 Dets are working the best so far for me with the 3.13 UDPs.

 

[Spike]

how good is an install over the top of the existing nforce dirvers? I actually have no idea what versions mine are (where can I check?) but I know they are not the latest. I was just curious if an over the top installation works well with this board

-spike

 

[pelikan]

I always install nforce drivers over the top of the old ones without problems.

 

[Megatomic]

It works fine for most people Spike, but my personal preference has always been towards formatting the system disk and reinstalling the OS and applications along with the new drivers. But I'm really anal about details due to my profession and training. I'm all about the details.

 

[Spike]

hmmm, reformatting and installing OS clean is kinda outta the question. I just did that a few weeks ago and do not want to do that for another 3 monthes at least. I guess I could try and install the new drivers on top... time to set me a system restore point. Thanks for the replies

-spike

 

[Tullphan]

You guys that are running dual-channel...can you notice a difference?
I'm thinking of getting this mb to replace my Albatron PX845PEV & P4 2.53. I'm currently using one stice of Cosair XMS3200PT, but was thinking of going the dual channel route w/1 gig of either Buffalo or Hyper-X.
Any issues w/booting from a SATA drive?
Theoretically, can one have 2 SATA hard drives along with 2 IDE hard drives?
Comments? Suggestions?

 

[Sid59]

Originally posted by: Tullphan
You guys that are running dual-channel...can you notice a difference?
I'm thinking of getting this mb to replace my Albatron PX845PEV & P4 2.53. I'm currently using one stice of Cosair XMS3200PT, but was thinking of going the dual channel route w/1 gig of either Buffalo or Hyper-X.
Any issues w/booting from a SATA drive?
Theoretically, can one have 2 SATA hard drives along with 2 IDE hard drives?
Comments? Suggestions?

dual channel for P4 is different than dual channel AMD. But welcome to the Nforce2 Abit thread

the difference? P4 dual channel actually works.

 

[pelikan]

In the gaming benchmarks I've run dual channel over single channel gives the equivalent of approx. 100 cpu MHz. Also approx. equivalent to Cas 2-2-2-6 over 2.5-3-3-6.

 

[Tullphan]

So i'd be better off going w/dual channel?
Will I notice much difference w/2 512mb sticks or 2 256mb sticks?
Any memory incompatibility issues like its' P4 counterpart?

 

[Sid59]

Originally posted by: Tullphan
So i'd be better off going w/dual channel?
Will I notice much difference w/2 512mb sticks or 2 256mb sticks?
Any memory incompatibility issues like its' P4 counterpart?

i think you are better served in a Intel Chipset thread than an AMD

 

[pelikan]

Yes there are memory incompatibility issues. Memory with winbond bh-5 chips are best. If you get anything else just make sure the manufacturer has approved it for the nf7.

 

[Tullphan]

Originally posted by: Sid59

Originally posted by: Tullphan
So i'd be better off going w/dual channel?
Will I notice much difference w/2 512mb sticks or 2 256mb sticks?
Any memory incompatibility issues like its' P4 counterpart?

i think you are better served in a Intel Chipset thread than an AMD

Perhaps.
I'm just weighing my options. Whether or not to pay an extra $100 for a P4 2.6c setup over a XP2500 setup, and trying to find what works best & what won't work with this particular motherboard.

 

[Aftermath]

Not really on anything specific, just posting my thoughts.

I bought this motherboard about a month back, upgrading from an XP 1800+ on an MSI KT3 Ultra ARU, which I passed down to my wife to replace her aging Slot-A Athlon 800Mhz setup. I've been running a Barton 2500+ on it, and I didn't really find a need to try to overclock it, but I gave it a whirl last night just for kicks.

Running beautifully right now at 3200+ speeds. Absolutely rock solid stable after a vcore nudge from 1.65 to 1.675, everything else is untouched.

Beautiful motherboard, I'm very happy with it.

 

[LordNoob]

This is my first build and I need help, please!
I am running a retail 2500+ on NF7-S V2.0 with 2X512 Corsair value RAM, WD 80 Gig 8MB cache, ASUS radeon 9600XT, Lite-on combo drive, and a 400 watt Antec PSU. It starts up, red and green lights come on mobo, but it keeps beeping and will not post. Any ideas? Do I need to RMA or can it be fixed?

 

[LordNoob]

oh yeah- that value ram is PC3200. Hope that helps.

 

[Noid]

Check the beep codes at the Abit forums... Beep codes

 

[LordNoob]

Thank you- hopefully it will work now.

 

[Megatomic]

What slots do you have the memory in LordNoob? Have you tried pulling one stick of RAM out and booting up that way? I had this problem when I first got my NF7-S, I thought my memory was bad. I then pulled one stick and was able to boot up. I set up my RAM timings in the BIOS and shut down the system. I then popped the second stick in and was able to boot up normally.

 

[LordNoob]

I have tried one stick of ram... still doesn't work- also tried pc2100 RAM that I know is good and that didn't work either. The CMOS jumper was in the clear position when I tried to turn it on for the first time (it apparently came that way). I read somewhere that can damage your mobo. Is that true? Also, on the heatsink, does the side with the thing to latch it on there with the screwdriver face the edge of the board?

 

[Fern]

Yes , the clip should face the edge. That way the heatsink fan wire is near the mobo plugin. I had the same problem w/my NF7-S and just sent it back for rma a couple days ago. The beep I got was a repeating long beep. This typically means memory. BTW, they have only 3 beep codes, not enough to be very helpful. (My other mobo has 8 codes).

Since I could test my memory in another mobo, and other memory in the NF7-S. I decided it was bad mobo. I don't recall checking the jumper to see if it was in the "clear" position. It seems odd it would come from the factory like that?
Good Luck

 

[OpTiX]

does this board have features where you can lock the memory, agp and pci bus?

 

[pelikan]

Originally posted by: OpTiX
does this board have features where you can lock the memory, agp and pci bus?

yes

 

[OpTiX]

Originally posted by: pelikan

Originally posted by: OpTiX
does this board have features where you can lock the memory, agp and pci bus?

yes

thx for the info

 

[amheck]

Hey Gang, lots of good info here. I'm just starting to research to build a home theater PC and I think I've narrowed it down to an nForce board that I want (specifically for the 5.1 digital audio out) and this seems to be the board to buy. My initial question is, how "future-proof" is this board and it's features? Does AMD plan to make CPU's in increasing frequencies that will be supported with this board? Basically, my question is, is there anything right around the corner (1-2 months) worth waiting for?

Thanks!
Aaron

 

[Megatomic]

1. It's pretty future proof, but Abit is releasing the Abit AN7 soon and it will be a top of the line board. Both it and the NF7-S Rev. 2.0 should last you a long time. I plan to keep using my NF7-S until the A64 platform becomes more affordable to me.

2. As far as I know, the AthlonXP 3200+ is the fastest 32bit Athlon that AMD plans to build. There is no newer 32bit chip in the works. FYI, the older 2500+ chips were a safe bet for 3200+, but now newer chips are coming multiplier locked. If you get a good chip you should be able to set the FSB to 200MHz at the default (locked) multiplier and get a 3200+.

An NF7-S/AN7 and a 3200+ are plenty for just about any standard PC application.